Still hanging in there

I am still hanging in there, even though I still feel rotten.  I had gone to the doctor and received two shots plus some oral medications and felt good for a while but this week has been horrible.


I guess I should have asked Marcie to make me well.  I told her I had four days to get better before I announced a truck and tractor pull in Sulphur Springs on the 18th.


While I made it through the show, my drainage and cough have come back with a vengeance.


On the 15th I took Makai back to Dr. Crofford for her check up and she got an excellent report.  She I now off her walker and cane and he told her she could do what she feels like doing,  I saw and x-ray and the joint looked good.


Two days later I made the drive back to the metroplex.  I had planned  a weekend getaway, but plans changed.  I arrived at my hotel on Friday just before five.  Moved into my room for the weekend and sat down to do some pre- show homework, plus I cleaned my briefcase out.  By the time I was through I didn't want to get back out so I ate ritz crackers and Robertsons summer sausage for supper. 


I was in bed by 9 and slept until two minutes until ten Saturday morning.


After preparations were complete, I left just after noon headed to Sulphur Springs.  Worked the show and then drove back to the metroplex.


I have done this long enough to know It takes me a while to wind down after a show, and the drive back was just about right.  I was ready to shower and go to bed when I got to the room.


Sunday morning I woke, got around slowly, re-packed and just after noon checked out and headed west.


The following Friday, I drove to San Angelo to supervise an overnight visit for Noble with Merrit.  It had been a long time since I had gone to a slumber party.  We played, drew, colored, and even watched Nemo.


Noble finally got to sleep in his bed that Georgiana gave him a year ago.  He said it slept good and he had the hair to prove it.


Even though Merrit had asked for the day off several weeks in advance, her bosses scheduled an early Saturday meeting that was mandatory for all employees, so I woke at seven to be sure she got there and I stayed with little man.  I kept hearing some rustling sounds and then some munching.  I had about decided Merrit had mice when I discovered a big RAT named Noble!  He had found some of the peanut brittle his Dandy had taken down there and was eating it in bed!


When Noble got up, we began talking about where we wanted to eat.  Nothing I suggested suited him.  Finally he told me, "Dandy, let's go to our Roscoe house and let Frances cook our breakfast!"


That boy loves Friday breakfast that Frances cooks with frijoles and papas.


It was a fun sleep over.


I drove home and stopped by the pharmacy and grocery store.


I had been scheduled to sing on the praise team Sunday at church but I had called Shannon and told her my singing wouldn't be very good and I asked her to get me a replacement..


I have been taking over the counter meds this week but now I am waking up in the night for three or four hours.  Yuk!


I spent about half the day with insurance adjusters yesterday, looking at the crop.  We received an appraisal on the hail damaged home place of 32 pounds.  That is about what it would cost us to strip it so we accepted that appraisal.  The other farms went way to high, 128-158 pounds, so we will strip those places.  Oh well, it doesn't cost anything to ask.


We are still working on the horse pens.  The new barn is almost finished.  We have been mouldboarding the different paddocks.  (They haven't been plowed since 1990.  You talk about hard).  We are thinking about planting some oats or wheat when we get through plowing today.


I cooked out last evening, so Memama ate good.  Baked potato, baked beans, steak, sausage, and stuffed jalapenos.  I even cooked some hamburger patties for later in the week.


Keep Rian in your thoughts and prayers, as he is dealing with issues on several fronts.  I believe when the truth is know Erica will be at the center of ALL his issues.  I had someone tell me the other day that Erica will get what is coming to her, because what goes around comes around.


I cant wait to see that day!


Oh FATHER.  I am so tired of feeling sick.  I ask for YOUR gifts of healing.  FATHER, I lift Rian for YOUR gifts of patience and perseverance, and that he will keep in mind that YOU are in control and YOU are working YOUR plan.  I lift up the boys and ask that YOU protect them from their mother.

I hate summer colds.

I hate summer colds, but apparently, I contracted one while we were in Fort Worth getting Makai bionic-ized.  About the time I thought I was over it, it returned with a vengeance,  I have been taking antibiotics, and drinking Dayquil or nyquil, taking meds for fever.  But  I am going to wake about 3 in the morning with thick drainage and a whistle on the end of each breath.  I think the drainage could be dealt with but the little whistle wakes me up immediately, then I realize it is me.


I drove around Memama's cotton crop yesterday, It is hard to make out what it is going to do.  Quite a few bolls, but do they have time to mature.  I am not even considering putting any sort of prep or defoliant on any of it.  We are however, still spraying a little roundup on hot spots.  I figure if the weeds have another month to grow they will be a couple of feet tall by frost.


A very tumultuous weekend with Merrit, it just seems like she cycles through every once and a while and her meds get off or she runs out of them.  Lately she had had shingles and has not been able to work.  Luckily, she has Aflac but had forgotten about it.  However, the added stress of not working and that effect of money didn't help her shingles or her mental state.


Hopefully we are past that right now.


I'm not sure how much more I could have taken.


At the barn we are getting fire wood ready to ship, and we are getting the cotton stripper ready.  We have already re-worked the header, and right now are going over the saws in the extractor.


You know sometimes there are freak happenstances that occur.  Five years ago, Rian bought his house in Shallowater from a guy named Kirby Lewis.


Two years ago  We bought Memama's cotton stripper, used from Hurst Farm Supply in Snyder.  Hurst has five or six locations, including Abernathy, Lubbock and the home store in Lorenzo.  Last year we were going through the stripper manual and a letter fell out that was addressed to Lewis Kirby.  Reading the letter revealed that the letter was addressed last name first.  The stripper had belonged to the same man Rian purchased his house from.


Recently Rian and this gentleman were having a conversation about Kirby's crop around Shallowater.  It seems this years crop is exceptional with dryland that will yield two bales and irrigated that will yield four bales.  Kirby expressed concerns about being able to get the crop out timely and Rian told him, "If you don't mind your old machine coming back, I could get you some help pretty quick.


Wouldn't that be a hoot, to take his old machine back home and strip cotton.  We could probably run two or three weeks before ours is ready.


Sometimes, it is indeed a small world.


I don't know that it will happen but it is fun to think about.


Took Memama to the  doctor yesterday.  I am afraid she is catching my cold.  Got her a flu shot and also had blood drawn for lab work.  She has gained about 8 pounds since she went to the doctor last.  When we were at the cardiologists, Thursday past, when they weighed her I stepped on the scales from behind and she weighed 182.


Betsy, Memama's youngest sister was supposed to have a basil cell tumor removed from her head Monday, but when the doctor came in he feared it had attached to the skull.  The ordered more scans and yesterday the reports came back that it is not attached, and there is no other cancer on her body.  Surgery is being rescheduled and a plastic surgeon will be on hand to assist after her regular surgeon removes the tumor.


I am not an electrician by any means.  I like it when I flip a switch and a light comes on, but I hate working on it.  I know enough about it to be scared of it.  We have been chasing a short in the old ostrich pens (we have rented them out as horse paddocks), but there is a short in the buried cable somewhere.  Pepa is gone so I can't ask him how it was done.  I believe Richard did the wiring and he is gone, so I can't ask him.  It is not really very correct in its design because there is no way to isolate individual circuits or buildings.  It is all on one breaker.


After considerable time, I have decided the best solution is to abandon the old wiring and just put in new wiring and boxes.  Slats and I visited with an electrical supply guy and he had several really good ideas that will save us money.  It will cut the wire cost in half or even more.


So if you re-visit this site and my typing is kind of ssshhhhaaakkkkyyyy you will know I got a bite from the new wiring.


Have a day!


FATHER, thank YOU so much for getting me through the last few days, I could really stand for things to calm down.  FATHER we lift Betsy for YOUR gifts of healing and care, and we lift Caleb, JR's brother, and place him in your care and comfort. YOU are in control.  Greater are YOU!

Wow! Long time no post!

Well, I am not sure exactly what has been going on with blogger, but is hasn't been cooperating.


I have a bunch of pictures to post when I can get blogger to agree.


It has been a long dry summer.  After the beginning of planting things looked very promising as rains put about an 18 day kink in our planting schedules.  We were timely getting the crop in before the insurance deadline.


Winds and unsettled weather made for a difficult time getting the crops going.  We had a wall of sand hit at Wastella, complete with rain and hail.  We were sand fighting when it hit and dirt and twigs and stalks were pressed to the windows, much like if you were buried in a glass box.  When  we left the field, we discovered the rear window of the farm truck had been knocked out by hail.


Later we discovered the landmark Wastella grain elevator had been blown over.  When I was in the FSA office certifying our crops I saw Scott Etheredge (who's family owned the old elevator, and Scott borders us on the North).  Scott said a weather recording station in the area recorded winds of 108 miles per hour during that storm.


Later, we had a rogue wind that blew right down the rows at the section, characteristically this farm does not blow but one neighbor began blowing on another and that one began blowing on us and then it was on, even though we were already on site running a sandfighter.


Bothe of those farms saw some replanting.  The first place was completely replanted while the second place was spot planted..


Even  replanting, we were finished before some people were for the first time.


Persistent winds and hot temperatures sucked the moisture from the ground.  We usually need a fourth of July rain to make a crop, and we didn't get it this year.  However we did get 9 tenths of an inch at the barn about the first of August.  Talk about strange, you could go a half mile down the road and throw up dust, but water was standing inn the middles south of the barn.


I flat planted the majority of cotton this year, although I did bed plant some on the section.  I am thinking that in 2015, GOD willing, we will bed plant it all.


In September we finally got good rains, in places nearing 6 inches total.


Makai had hip replacement in September.  Her left hip had bone that had died due to lack of blood flow.  They don't know why.


As soon as we heard about hip replacement, we called Colby, one of the family authorities on joint replacement.  He was lots of help, referring Makai to a doctor who uses a newer less invasive procedure.  Makai sent Colby a CD of her s-rays and MRI and Colby got them to the doctor and ran interference.  Colby was good to answer any questions for Makai, and reassure here when she was wavering.


September 18 they did the surgery.  They resurfaced the cup and then installed a metal bearing quality cup, then they resurfaced the ball and put a bearing quality ball cover on it.  Then the doctor drove the ball back into the cup.  Two hours after the surgery, Physical Therapy had Makai walking in the hall.


I took Makai and Scott down there, and stayed until she was released from the hospital.  Two days after the surgery, we were headed to West Texas.  Outside of some nausea from the pain pills, Makai did very well. She is doing home therapy with a PT and later this week she may get her bandage off and may graduate to a cane.


Oh, by the way, Makai's prosthetics are Smith and Nephew parts!


I have had Noble twice since my last full blog.  He is quite the little farm boy.  The first night he was here, he surprised Dandy by peeing all over both of us,  the second night he only had a minor accident and by the third night he was totally dry.


Noble and I worked in the horse pens the first day, then at the barn the second, and on the third day we went to the zoo!


We ate at Szhewuan (Me, Georgiana, Merrit, and Noble), and I wasn't quite sure how Noble would react.  He stole an egg roll and chowed down on it while we waited on our food.  When the food got there he got fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, sweet and sour pork and General Tsu's chicken.  As you can tell, he ate off all of our plates, we just had a setup for him.  He loves the rice and had two helpings, he liked all three meats, so I decided to give him some carrots, bell pepper and pineapple.  He scarfed down the carrots, and the bell pepper, then when he got to the pineapple he told me, "Dandy, that is fruit!"  He is a really good eater!


When he and I went to the grocery store, as we walked along, he would tell me, "I like broccoli, I like bananas, I like apples, I like squash, I like carrots, I like beans!"


I don't know if there is anything he doesn't like!


His favorite meal was Friday when Frances came to clean and she always cooks breakfast.  She cooked refried beans, and fried papas, and fixed him an egg to go with bacon and biscuits.  You could mix the egg and refried beans and stab a potato and he was a happy little guy.  Oh and he loves jelly!


Last week on Wednesday I drove to Abilene to pick a pickup up from the shop, after I let Slats out, I went to San Angelo for a CPS planning meeting for Merrit.  There is lots going on but CPS is now looking at placement of Noble with a family member instead of a parent.  Luckily, the CASA people and the attorney ad litem do not agree at this point.  Merrit has three month until the next meeting to show stability and responsibility.


After the meeting, I stopped by to check on Makai, then I returned to Roscoe.


On Thursday. I was in Lubbock before 8.  I was returning a wheel (But they wouldn't take it back, even though they said if it didn't work I could bring it back.  So don't do business with Southwest Wheel.  They are crooks), I was picking up some parts at Bozeman for a 4440 tractor we had in the barn, and I was dropping a Lincoln 225 gas welder at a repair shop to have a rear main seal replaced.


Then I ran to Shallowater and saw Rian, got a tour of the school additions, saw his house, met Jack (Our newest family member) and had lunch with Rian and a friend.


That was a very odd deal to see all three of my kids in two days.  Usually this just happens at Christmas.


Jack is Holt's show pig.  Of course when Holt got his pig, all the sudden Reid got interested and wanted a pig.  Last night Rian called me and said he bought Reid a pig out of Iowa, and the pig will be here Saturday.  I had suggested Rian call a friend of mine but there was $100-150 difference in price from when I talked to the friend and when Rian did.  Rian and one of the ag teachers (Rob) bought Reids pig from an online auction.  They say they got a whale of  pig at a good price.


I'm not sure what Reid's pig will show in.  I guess it will be imports.


Best thing to happen was the guy Rian bought it from is coming to Levelland Saturday and will deliver the pig.


So the boys have a Knight pig (cross) and an Iowa import (duroc).


Memama is doing pretty good.  She is resting her back, as we have a cold front coming in.  She has felt good enough to walk around the house two laps about three times a week.  We go to the cardiologist tomorrow.  She is his first patient of the day.  Cross your fingers we get in before she fires him.


FYI, when I was in fort Worth with Makai and Scott. Stevie and Jani came to Roscoe and stayed with Memama.  At that same time Pat was in Houston for a checkup.  So there were lots of moving pieces to cover all the bases.


Currently Pat and Hag are in Cortez, Colorado picking up Hag's Trans Am.  This is the first car he bought without his parents help back in 1976.  He sent it to Cortez to be completely restored about a year ago.  It is a frame up restoration, engine, overhauled, transmission overhauled, rearend reworked, new brakes, new paint new interior, new decals and everything has been re-chromed.  The pictures I've seen, it looks new.  They are doing a road trip before loading it and heading home.


Let's see, what else.  I announced the West Texas Fair Pull in early September and I am going to Sulphur Springs in a couple of weeks to do a show down there.


I have to take Makai to the doctor October 15th in Fort Worth, then we will come back and on the 17th Georgiana and I will go to the metroplex and stay before going on to Sulphur Springs.  We will return to the metroplex after the show.  Usually I am wired for a couple of hours after finishing an announcing job so the 80 or 90 miles back to the metroplex should fit my schedule.


I'm sure there is more.  I will try not to be derelict in my blogging.


Oh Father, I give YOU total control.  Work YOUR plan in me and for me.  I lift up Makai and ask you bless her with a complete and quick recovery.  I pray for safe travel for all of us on the roadways.
I lay my burdens down.