Sept 12th - Back in MO

We drove back to Missouri last Friday, Sept 5th. Sure had a good time in Tennessee.

We had gotten some rain while we were gone and our lawn needed mowing. It takes me about 3 hours to mow when I mow all the little "patches" of lawn. We don't have such a huge amount to mow, but it seems that you are always turning to mow around something, or turning because the space is so irregular.

I met with a guy from church Wed morning. We both are interested in being better Christian men and we think our getting together often (weekly?) is one way we can help hold one another accountable. Most of the accountability centers around asking each other if we have been spending time in daily prayer and Bible reading. We also feel the need for more social interaction between church members. We are called to be a "body" and to be "of one mind". If Sunday morning is the only time we see one another we can hardly be the cohesive, caring group that Christ calls us to be. Far to often we forget that we are all sinners (I John 1:8-9). The difference is that those of us who have accepted Christ as our personal savior had/have our sins forgiven (Romans 6:23), also, we are supposed to be "in the light" and we have no excuse to keep on sinning, even though we all do. Those who have not accepted God's free gift of salvation have the excuse that they are still "in the dark". Enough sermonizing <grin>

Yesterday was my 4th trip to the YMCA, to exercise, since I have been going again. I hope I can keep it up because I need to be in better physical shape. I've done 50 minutes on the treadmill each time, walking 2.75-3.0 miles each time. I also spend an hour on different weight machines. I'm a little stiff and sore this morning, but I'm sure it will pay off in the long run. My goal is to go 2-3 days a week.

I cut up some logs, from a dead tree I had cut down earlier, and did some wood splitting. When the splitter quit, I hope because it was out of gas, I was already "out of gas" and was glad to stop.

We are finally getting some cooler weather, so cool that I fired up the wood boiler yesterday afternoon. I don't think it ever got up to 70 yesterday, and the overnight low was 53. We didn't need any heat last night, it is 69 in the house right now. We will want some starting today or tonight. Today's high/low is forecast to be 66/39 and tomorrows is 66/43. I much prefer these temperatures to highs in the high 80's.

(10:45 AM Update: When I finally turned up the wood boiler thermostat (one thermostat controls the gas furnace and AC while another one controls the wood boiler) to get some heat I got nothing. I called the HVAC guys who have been out twice trying to repair the gas furnace & AC (they were supposed to get back to me with prices for a new "board" for the furnace after the last trip). The guy told me they had left the wood boiler thermostat disconnected while trying to figure out why we were having problems. I asked him if he could tell me what wires to connect he told me he would come out. After he connected the wires all seems to be well. But still no price on the new board. I guess it is good to know that local business is so overloaded with work that it takes them weeks to get a price for "board." In reality they forgot about it.)

Kathy had the downstairs carpets cleaned yesterday and is pleased with the way they cleaned up. I'm pleased because she was thinking that we needed to replace some of the carpet.

Lydia was here Wed, for the day. She and Grammy had tea and an Aunt Cindy's cookie for dessert, after lunch.

We had chili and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. You can see a little of the chili on her face, left of the cup. She LIKED the chili.

She was here a couple of hours last evening. Long enough for us to feed the fish and for her to monitor my firing up the wood boiler. We had Grandma Ruthie's potato soup for supper. She, and her Dad, really like it. Kathy sent some home with Kelsey, for Andy's supper.

If you ask Lydia where we all are going she will tell you Kansas City and on an airplane. We drive to Kansas City Monday afternoon, stay overnight and then fly to Cancun Tuesday. We will be staying at the Reef Playa, in Playa del Carmen http://www.thereefplayacar.com/
We fly back to Kansas City on Monday, Sept 22nd. I think both Kelsey & Andy and Doug & Anthony are having their cell phone service upgraded to "worldwide" service while we are down there.

A thought - the President and Secretary of State tell us that we are not at war, we are just punishing terrorists who have killed a couple of Americans. If this is so, if a couple of Americans are killed by a gang in London will they send in the jets to bomb the gang's headquarters? We do need to provide air power to support Iraqi and Kurdish ground troops but to say we are not at war is the same lie we heard when we were told that we weren't at war in Vietnam, or in the previous Iraq & Afghanistan wars.

May God bless you and yours.

Sept 1st - Still in TN

Kathy and I are still enjoying our time in Tennessee. We went to church at Cumberland Fellowship Sunday. We normally we go there when we are here. It seems to be a GREAT place to go to church. The Pastor delivered a good message, as usual. One of his statements that stuck in my mind was that most Christians are "educated far above their level of obedience". I think that is true for me. I know a lot more about being a Christian than I put into action.

Kathy has been cooking, cleaning and helping to get Wendy's double wide ready for viewing by prospective buyers. I've been cutting brush and wood.

Last time I was here I cut down a tree that I was afraid might fall on the motor home during a storm. While I was gone the top broke out of one of the other trees in the "clump". I cut it, and another tree in the "clump" down.

One of the trees was tall enough that we had to move the motor home over into the yard. I had cleaned up the top of the tree and we had moved the motor home back onto the driveway in the photo below.

I hauled the wood down to Tom's and split it in the afternoon.

About 3-4 hours is all the "work" I can handle in this warm weather. On the other hand it occurred to me today that I should be so thankful that I am healthy enough to be able to work 3-4 hours in the heat. All to often I am not nearly thankful enough for all my many blessings.

This afternoon we made reservations for a month long stay at the Alabama campground were we stayed last year. It is near Gulf Shores. We are supposed to "check in" on Dec 8th. After our stay there the plan is to "wander" down the Gulf coast to the near Surfside Beach, Texas. It is on the Gulf, almost due south of Houston. "Good Lord willing, and the creek don't rise" we  plan on being there for Marissa & Ryan's wedding Feb 21, 2015.

May God bless you and yours.

Aug 29th - Update from Tennessee

We, Kathy & I, drove back to TN on Wednesday. The only significant event during the drive was that we stopped at the Demo's restaurant in Lebanon, TN for supper. I had the 2nd best steak I've ever eaten. Demo's steaks are always good but the rib eye I had was outstanding. Kathy enjoyed her meal also. She especially likes the Thousand Island dressing at Demo's, she even got a 2nd side salad because she enjoys them so much.

Kathy has been helping Mary Lou some and I've been working on clearing the drive back to Tom & Mary Lou's so that when they sell Wendy's old double wide, someone can get it out. Tom & Dennis, a friend of his from church, had started the project earlier. There is plenty of work to go around. It will take a lot of clearing to get two 14'x70' units back up through the woods to the road.

The weather has been gorgeous! We have run the AC during the day but turn it off in the evening. Overnight lows are in the mid to high 60's. Daytime highs are in the mid 80's. I'd be happy if it were 5-10 degrees cooler, but it ain't bad.

This afternoon we went to the Cumberland County fair, in Crossville. One of my favorite movies is "Doc Hollywood". It is about a young doctor, played by Michael J. Fox, who gets lost and stranded in the rural, southern, small town of Grady. Grady is the ideal small town. I know that Crossville has its problems, you can't read the paper and not know so, but this evening, at the fair, I thought I might be in Grady. It was just a wonderful atmosphere.

I don't know how much work I'm going to do on our cabin this trip. The top fell out of one of our trees, at the edge of our lawn. It fell into the woods. There were 4 trees growing out of the same root system. I cut one of them down the last time I was here. One of the remaining ones leans over the lawn. If it falls it will fall on the motor home. I need to move the motor home and cut it down while I am here. Work on that plus more work on T&ML's drive will probably keep me plenty busy until we head back to MO on the 4th or 5th.

May God bless you and yours.

August 16th - Update

I haven't posted for a long time so I thought maybe an update was in order. I didn't do much in TN except enjoy myself. I did do a little more work on the kitchen and bought windows for the east wall. Next trip I want to install the windows, finish the kitchen area drywall and have someone tape and mud the ceiling and kitchen drywall.

I temporarily set the kitchen cabinets to get an idea of how they would fit. I unfinished sections of the cabinet exteriors will be covered with panels finished to match the cabinets.

Lydia has no problem with eating. She is really going at this taco.

 

 

And it looks like she really likes this ice cream treat.

Kelsey, Andy, Lydia, Kathy and I went to the Missouri State Fair, in Sedalia earlier this week. It was about the size of the county fairs we used to attend in MI & OH. The weather was beautiful and we had a good time. Lydia had to ride the dragon and her Daddy went with her. Andy is holding her at the entry gate. (Later she and her Mom road the carousel.) Lydia also had a good time at the kids petting zoo and later petting the big pigs in their pens.

One thing that was surprising was that kids who aren't at least 36" tall can't ride any rides, even with an adult. The people operating the dragon and carousel just ignored her height. They have to lose a LOT of money because of this restriction. No doubt it is some type of "help" from the government.

Kathy has been busy canning tomatoes.

 

Todays batch is in the photo below.

I think she now has canned a total of 85 quarts of tomato juice and hooch, plus another 5 quarts of spaghetti sauce.

Grammy needed help with the sauce.

I didn't do much the first few days I was back here. Lately I have been clearing brush and scrub saplings from below the dam. I found enough good wood to fire the boiler for a few days this winter but most of what I cleared I burned in several brush piles. One benefit of the clearing is that I "found" some really nice size oak trees. Once I get more of the brush/saplings cleared away they will be visible from the house. With the "hills" on our property they just didn't stand out before I started clearing around them. I hope that by getting rid of some of the "junk timber" the nice trees will have more access to water and nutrients in the soil.

It has been really dry here. I mowed the lawn yesterday for the first time in about 4 weeks. Recently we have had some rain but when it came it was heavy and a lot of it ran off, rather than soaking in.

Current plan is to head back to TN after Kathy's birthday, on the 22nd.  Sept 15th we spend the night in Kansas City before flying to Cancun, Mexico for a family vacation. Sadly it looks like Drew won't be able to make it. Everyone else plans on being there. Most of us are coming back on the 21st but Doug & Anthony are staying another day or so.

Consider yourselves updated. May God bless you and yours.

July 26th -- Back in Tennessee

I arrived back at our place in Tennessee around 6 PM. The trip was uneventful. I plan on staying at least a week this time.

Kathy is in Indianapolis. One of the girls from Teen Challenge is back in the Indy area for a few days and Kathy wanted to see her. She is staying with Doug & Anthony.

One thing that has been interesting during the trips back and forth has been the fuel mileage of my truck. Several trips ago I noted that the mileage seemed to be significantly better than it used to be. I did not check it but figured I was getting at least 1 mpg better than I got a year ago. I have 89,000 miles on the truck now and haven't done any maintenance, other than oil changes for quite some time.

Before coming here the last time I had a cover installed on the truck bed. I think it has had an additional impact on my fuel economy. I checked the fuel mileage during our trip home the last time and averaged over 18 mpg, 2-3 mpg better than I used to get. We drove an average 5 mph over the limit during the trip. Coming here this time I drove 2-3 mph over the limit and averaged 20.05 mpg.

May God bless you and yours.

July 22nd - Back IN Missouri

We arrived back in Centertown around 7 PM yesterday evening. Kathy, Kelsey, Lydia and I left for TN a week ago. Doug came down from Indy for the weekend, but Anthony had to stay home and work.

We had a good time while there. Lydia especially enjoyed her time with Uncle Tom, Aunt Mary Lou and cousins Dean & Wendy. It was cool & rainy most of the time we were there. I think she may have only went swimming once.

I added two more electrical outlets in the kitchen, did some plumbing to get water shut-off valves under the future kitchen sink, put up 3 sheets of dry wall on one of the kitchen walls and mowed the lawn. I probably should have done more while I was there, but I'm happy with the progress I've made so far.

Below is a photo of a produce stand a couple of miles from our place. It operates on the "honor system". You put your money in the black box on the table. It is in a field along side hwy 101.

Lydia is a good traveler. It takes us 11 hours to make the drive. Her little butt must be paralyzed from sitting in the car seat. Kelsey got her a chocolate covered ice cream cone at one of our stops. Note the ice cream on her upper lip and chocolate on her chin.

It rained most of the time we were in TN. It was a nice gentle rain. I don't think it had rained there since I left the previous trip. No rain here in Missouri, just heat. The heat index in forecast to be 105 this afternoon, actual high is forecast to be 95. There is only one other day in the next 10 days where the high is forecast to be above 90. I drove up to get the mail & paper, and to move my truck to a shady area, and that is the extent of my being outside today,

Kathy's tomato crop is being raided by rogue turtles! Who knew turtles ate tomatoes? Something is picking/eating any relatively ripe tomato that is within a foot of the ground. Other varmints may also be getting some of the higher ones.

Our "new" Whirlpool gas range (purchased from Sears when we moved in in June 2012) appears to be as big a piece of junk as the new Whirlpool refrigerator we purchased at the same time. The repair man was out this morning and said that the regulator on the stove is bad, $300 for a new one. $300 for a piece of junk that lasted just 2 years. I think the repair men have been out at least 4 times to work on the ice makers in the 2 new refrigerators (they gave up trying to fix the original new refrigerator and the ice maker in the replacement didn't work). One of the repair efforts resulted in a water leak, in the ice maker plumbing, that caused water to leak through the kitchen hardwood floor and damage the dry wall ceiling in our lower level.

I hope it is cooler wherever you are. May God bless you and yours.

July 5th - Dam Work

The past several days I've been doing more clearing on the back side of our small dam.

I had previously cut a LOT of bamboo off the backside of the dam. Below are photos of from July 3rd, my recent starting point.

 The top of the dam is on the right side of the photo.

 

 

This photo is taken further down the backside of the dam.

Below are the 5 8-9' long logs I cut from a dead tree located downstream of the dam. It was dead when we moved here 2 years ago. I was concerned that it might be rotten but it was solid. There are some branches still to be cut but they are all in an area still to be cleared before I can get close to them with the tractor.

 This was what it looked like yesterday.

 

 

And this is what it looked like this morning after Kathy and I spent over an hour the brush pile. (It burned for over 3 hours, but the first 1.5 hours was all that required close watching.

 

I left the green "brush" near the top of the dam. I've sprayed it with brush killer once and want to do it again before I actually cut it down. Hopefully Monday I can spend another couple of hours clearing and get the rest of the wood from the dead tree out. It is a little muddy down at the bottom, because of a leak in the dam. I have no idea where the water is entering the water side of the dam. All I can tell is that down near the bottom of the back side there appears to be water that has leaked through the dam.

 

The temperatures have been remarkably cool for mid-Missouri, but they are heating back up into the 90's at the beginning of the week. YUK!!

 

I was cutting Kelsey some tomato stakes with my old radial arm saw and blew a breaker. The breaker would not stay closed so I had to run an extension cord to finish cutting the stakes. The wiring out in my shed is absolutely horrible. I thought I had probably shorted out a wire somewhere in the wall. After taking the breaker out is appears that the breaker just went bad. Hopefully I can find another at the antique breaker store.

 

That's the news from MO. Hope all of you had a nice 4th.

 

May God bless you and yours.