Regular Goof Offs.

 Regular Goof Offs. (forgot to post)

 

SO happy to get my mower going today! Stephen put a new battery on it. Now just have to start it up long enough to get the oil warm and change the oil. Yes, the directions have been read the second and third time. Hope to have this done this evening after it cools off a bit—or no later than in the morning. Tim put the feed in the bins for me. DANG! The price of that stuff is outta sight! But at least Stephen got freon put in the truck along with stop leak to keep things working well. Now it won’t be quite as hot on the rare occasions when the old woman has to drive it. Would like to use my weed eater to work around the flowers in front so that they will get a chance to do their thing. It is hard to expect the boys to mow around them. But weed eating is hard on the body. The boys got a different kind of weed eater according to their dad. This kind is supposed to have two handles a bit like a bicycle or something. Will just have to wait and see it.

 

The flies, skeeters, and danged chiggers are out in full force. Probably should have bought another sack of diatomaceous earth and some OFF or something. Maybe even get the spray-on OFF for the yard. Or not. Not sure if that stuff would hurt the hens.

 

Have TWO hens that are broody now. Silly critters. Will have to go put more feed in the isolation pen this afternoon. And probably more clean water. It seems there are always fifteen things that need to be done—OTHER than digging up khaki weeds! Those things are taking the hill! Gripe, moan, groan, and carry on!

 

As much as the two dogs seem to like their new beds here in the living room, Thompson still thinks that the recliner is better than his bed or the cool floor. Sylvia always wants right under my feet. But if the old woman lies back in the recliner, Sylvia thinks between my legs will work just fine for her. Rolling eyes here.

 

Lance is giving us updates on his wave riding. The waves are ten to fifteen feet wherever they are. Can think about that and feel a little green around the gills. Would have my teeth in a pocket to keep from losing those suckers! Or just stay entirely in my room with the patio door closed. Sea mist gets a bit salty, ya know. Think that is one reason sailors in the Navy get to do all that painting on those big ships. Can you EVEN imagine? Hanging off the side of the ship while it rolls in rough seas would be a bit much.

 

Mary R came by this afternoon to pick up a dozen eggs and promised to write down her recipe for whatever it is she calls her egg dish. Have tried to look it up by the name she calls it, but can’t quite figure it out. Guess some onions, peppers, and maybe a bit of cooked bacon with whipped eggs would do to eat. Reminds me of an omelet.

 

It was so nice and cool this morning with fog covering the entire lake and across the road so that the hospital was not even visible. It reminded me of fall days and riding my horse along the roads back home. Quiet and isolated from ugly. Sometimes fog is wonderful.

 

Still have not heard anything from Barbara Mathews, but it has only been a day since her surgery. Hate to call her and disturb her or her husband, but guess praying will do better than anything at this point. She said that she called me after my surgery, but Dear Hearts, this old person had no idea what was going on. It took a couple of weeks for me to feel able to walk without holding on to something.  Think my mind was not working much better than that as well.

 

Have been watching the king birds, scissortail flycatchers, and mocking birds. Can HEAR the cardinals, but they don’t seem to come to my yard unless they are thirsty. So many doves are going into the chicken pens that maybe they are the reason the other birds are not going in there. The water bowls for the hens have to be cleaned out at least once a day. Sterling says that the hens can drink it despite the dirt, but my dogs drink out of those bowls, too. However, if a bowl is dumped, the silly hens prefer to chase that water around on the ground and drink it that way. Crazy critters! Have a big livestock tub almost full to the brim for the little birds and even the hens to drink from if they want to. It is hard to keep it clean, but not as hard as the smaller bowls.

 

Here it is nearly 5:30 and the temperature is 94 degrees. Sunday it is supposed to get up to 107. It is Texas, but some of us could definitely appreciate cooler temps. Have heard that it is cooler up north, but that they have mosquitoes the size of a moose! And they don’t have air conditioners!

 

Wanna say something about the idea that if a woman is not working outside the home, she might not have as much say about money or other things than the woman who works and brings in a paycheck. MALE BOVINE EXCRETIA! My daughter works harder than her mother EVER did. She keeps house, cooks, works the accounts where her husband works, takes care of getting groceries, picks up prescriptions, takes kids to doctors (even though they are grown), takes dogs to be groomed (these are Huskies), picks up dogs and orders supplies for her place of work and goes to Sam’s to get them, works trying to keep her husband and children happy in whatever they want or think they need, takes orders to customers, goes to pick up special orders to bring back to work, arranges special occasion meals for work and family, entertains friends for her husband and children, does laundry, does more laundry, and cooks food to take to family dinners. And she still listens to her husband and boys when they need to talk. My life was SO much simpler, but Lewis never expected to be my “boss” person. We knew we had to work together to get along and love each other. WE tried. He did not expect me to work outside the home, but he did want me to be as economical as possible to make it work on one pay check. My pittance of a paycheck was not anything at all like his even though the old woman went back to school to get her master’s degree. Education is not a magic wand. Neither is a paycheck. If you love someone, learn to live with that person, but have a backbone and stand up for yourself. EACH of you needs to know that the other person has feelings and expectations. Ignore those feelings or expectations at your own risk. Learn to be giving. But don’t let someone take everything away from you!

 

Soapbox returned under desk. Sorry.

 

Please remember those who are still suffering from the stupid virus—won’t name it as FB has its own agenda on that topic. Pray for those who mourn, for those who are made to feel less, for those who feel terrorized. Pray for peace.

 

May God give you joy and rest. You are loved.