Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Oct 1st - How Time Flies

WOW, already the first of October. Leaves are falling here (mostly because of the dry weather) and the temperatures are getting down to where it is actually comfortable to be outside. I don't think it hit 80 yesterday. Highs for the next 4 days are supposed to be in the low 80's and then they drop to the high 60's for the next 5 days. Finally some wood cutting weather.

Kathy had these photos on her phone.

This one is for my brother who wondered if there was a time when Lydia was not smiling. There aren't many. Kathy took this one when Lydia was mad because I went outside without her. Even had real tears.

This is from the week when Doug came out, and brought my Mom. All the siding lying on the ground had been taken off the house when Doug, Andy & Kelsey did the kitchen remodeling last year. We were finally getting it back on. Lydia is going to see what my Mom is doing at the back of the yard.
 
Always the helper. She is helping Kelsey spread mulch around some new shrubs.

A long time ago Kathy had asked me to remove a shrub from along the flagstone walk. A few days ago Lydia noticed the red berries on the shrub as we walked by it. We didn't think she should eat them so I figured maybe it was time to get rid of the shrub. I started walking out to get the tractor and Lydia was right behind me all the way. She isn't happy if the tractor moves without her on it <grin>. We got the tractor, hooked a chain around the shrub, pulled it out and drug it over to one of the brush burn piles. She was on the tractor every time it moved. This is her helping me fill in the hole from the shrub.
 
 I keep the fish food pellets in a large (it holds 50# of pellets) plastic bin. I use a dry roasted peanut jar to dip out the amount I feed the fish. Kelsey & Andy said that when Lydia saw a jar of peanuts that Andy had brought home with him, she kept pointing at it and saying "Fish". Below she is helping me feed them. She is good at getting her hand into the jar to get pellets, but not so good at the throwing. I don't know if you can see it but their dog if at my feet, eating the pellets Lydia "threw". 


We had another couple from church over for supper one night last week, the fourth couple so far. We are slowly making headway getting to know the folks. Last Sunday there was a potluck/pitch-in dinner after church. It was another good opportunity to get to know folks better. Friday and Saturday is a "campout" at one of the folks farms. We plan on going over for Clarence's "cowboy stew" Friday evening but don't plan on spending the night. We, or at least I, may go back Saturday morning for breakfast. I'm interested to see how he cooks bacon and eggs over a campfire. Clarence, Romona and Ryan (their son) have 4 horses and regularly take the horses and go trail riding. The way Clarence described it their "horse trailer", which can haul 4 horses, has some pretty nice accommodations in the front of it. I think he told me that the overall length of their truck and the 5th wheel trailer is 53'.

Yesterday was my annual eye appointment, eyes were fine. Since I had my hearing test a couple of months ago I've done some research on the Bi-Cross hearing aids the Doctor told me about. Since both Doctors (eye & ear) are in the same complex I went by and made a mid-Oct appointment to follow up on getting more information. The Bi-Cross system is for people who are deaf in one ear. You wear what looks like a hearing aid in both ears. The one in the bad ear is actually a wireless transmitter. The one in the "good" ear is both a receiver and a hearing aid. Only a few people get back any "directionality" (the ability to tell the direction a sound comes from) but the system is supposed to dramatically improve your ability to hear in places like restaurants (or in the car when your good ear is against the window and your wife is trying to help  you drive <GRIN>).

I mowed the lawn yesterday. Some of the area out back didn't need mowing so it only took me a couple of hours. We don't have that much lawn but with all the small patches there just aren't many places you ever go straight. I am always mowing along, or around, something.

Sunday Kathy & I moved a BIG, heavy desk (particle board construction) out of the downstairs bedroom that I was using as an office (I didn't use it much) and a BIG old TV that was down there. (Both were left here, with our OK, when we bought the house) I put them on the patio out back to temporarily get them out of the way. Today I need to get them moved out to the shed to reduce the "redneck" atmosphere. The TV needs to go to a recycle place. The desk will probably get scrapped.

Tomorrow the DishTV guy comes to add a receiver in the lower level, for Kelsey & Andy's TV.

One of these days I need to quit procrastinating and get to work on my log splitter. I haven't tried to start it since Steve brought it back, but I think it would run. I want to put a different gas tank on it, rather than the current cob job plastic tank that has been on it, and do some other odds and ends work on it (improve the way the choke cable works, fix the loose exhaust, etc.). One of the seals on the hydraulic pump is leaking a little worse that it was last year. Right now I don't think it is worth the effort to take the pump off to have it fixed. I'll find out how bad it leaks when I start using it. Last spring Carl, they guy we bought the house, and the splitter, from, brought me over a couple of 5 gallon buckets partially full of hydraulic fluid. It was left over from what he used in the splitter and in his skid steer; so I have several "free" gallons of it.

I hope you all have a great day. May God bless you and yours.

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