26 April 2020

Monday I mowed the yard.  I do like a zero turn mower. I also made another attempt at stopping a roof leak at one of our rentals. I had installed a deck over a porch roof and somehow water was leaking into the downstairs. I had to remove several decking boards and then used rolled roofing to cover the potential leaking area. It has rained since without any leak.

Tuesday I received a call:  is my trailer available? Turns out a good friend was given a 14 foot fiberglass boat and trailer (neither are licensed) and he needed a way to get it home. I offered to go along and assist. Another local friend picked me and the trailer up about noon and then drove to Yellville (25 miles away) to pick up the friend receiving the trailer. Then we drove into the boondocks, another 25 miles away. The original boat owner is a diabetic amputee and had no use for a boat. We got it loaded and then drove to its new home and then we came home and parked the trailer. What I thought would be an easy task turned into a four hour interesting expedition. 

I spent the remained of the day working in the garden and got several vegetables planted. I hope they do as well as the weeds. I also packed for my next great adventure.

Wednesday morning I headed west. The plan was to stop in Springdale to visit Deborah's family and then drive to Tulsa. Miranda and family are prepping their house to put on the market and there were some tasks that needed doing. 

One of those tasks involved roof water intrusion. They have a covered porch off the back sliding door that is almost a flat roof; when it was last shingled they used the same architectural shingles as installed on the rest of the roof. Because of the relative flatness of the roof, it allowed water to pool near the end, which eventually rotted a section of the roof about three feet by 10 feet. While Dan worked from home on Thursday, I ripped off the shingles and the damaged sheathing and went to Home Depot to obtain the necessary supplies. I was able to brace the roof, install new sheathing, shingles, facia and soffit. Dan finished his work by 4 pm and came out to tackle removing the siding on the chimney and replacing it. They had some left over siding from my last trip when we replaced a good portion of one exterior wall. He hauled the saw horses up on the roof and cut the pieces there while I finished my roof job. Then we worked together. Because rain was forecasted that night, we felt pressure to finish the job. It started to get dark and Miranda brought out a bright light so we could finish. Dan was the brave one contorting his body to reach the out of the way area on a steep roof. We didn't come in until 945 pm, and then it didn't really rain at all. Dan did go back and caulk where needed the next day. 

The next two days were spent helping with a variety of small jobs. And we discovered that the local Salvation Army was still excepting donations even though the store was closed. We took a van load of stuff for drop off. Most importantly, we went to Andy's Frozen Custard for my traditional hot fudge sundae. I also got to Sprouts Market. But instead of scooping my own peanut clusters and such into bags, they were already prebagged.  

Friday night Camden was baptized. The bishop officiated and family and friends zoomed in for the occasion. Even his school teacher 'attended'. Some of the participants in the program were located elsewhere which added to the uniqueness of the event.

We did take time to have some fun and relax. The children are rather energetic! 

Observations:  In driving around a large city, I noticed that many businesses are closed. Eating places that have a drive through window are doing a great business. Pizza places are too; if you are picking up an order, they request you wait in your car and will bring your order out. Except for those wearing protective gear, it was business as usual at Home Depot. I wonder if people are now tackling all those jobs they put off doing until they had the time.

Today was home church. The local ward actually had a zoom meeting; about 50 people were logged in. One family recently had two sons return from the missions and both spoke; the one to Mexico came home after 21 months; the younger one had been out 14 months in the Philippines and plans to finish his time when he is able. It was nice to have more than one participate in the sacrament. And then Miranda did a fun Primary activity that involved identifying Primary songs and singing them.

19 April 2020

This was a week filled with new and probably not so exciting adventures. I don't think this quarantine thing impacts me as much as others; other than church meetings and activities my life is still basically the same. A weekly trip to the market, minor repairs as needed at rent homes - which usually requires a trip to Home Depot.

Monday I hauled in 8-9 boxes of things we stored back in late 2017 in anticipation of serving a mission. In sorting them over the next several days, Salvation Army got three boxes of books, a few items found their way to the trash and some will be offered up to family members. Then I brought in 4 tubs from the storage shed that have been there, basically untouched by human hands for several years. One tub contained several dolls that Sandy probably played with as a young child and a few more that she had made (cabbage patch type). And I found the doll case she had as a child, complete with lots of doll clothes. What does one do with these types of items that brought such joy to Sandy as a child, but now have little significance to her posterity? I can't see just throwing them away - that is like throwing a part of her away.

Tuesday I met with the realtor at the duplex I had hoped to put on the market last month. He offered some helpful suggestions to improve the curb appeal, such as painting the trim and the doors that face the road. I hope to get those done quickly and get it on the market. 

Wednesday we had a retired couple move into the area from Kentucky (or maybe Tennessee) and the Elder's Quorum showed up (about 8 of us) to help unload their 26 foot van. We were done in two hours. What a challenge to move into a new to you area during a time when you are restricted from going and meeting new people and get to know your new community.

Thursday I left home early and drove the hour to Harrison to purchase a metal shed for one of my rentals. The old one was, well, old. The door did not function and it was an eye sore. The local Home Depot did not have one in stock and while they could have one shipped to me, it would cost $55 for shipping. And no, they could not have one of the three in Harrison sent to Mountain Home. Hence my drive to Harrison. Besides buying gas for $1.38 a gallon, I saved over $100 by buying it there,since it was cheaper than here.

Friday I spent a couple of hours replacing rotted trim boards at the rental I hope to put on the market. I returned on Saturday to hopefully repair a roof leak there as well. The downstairs has a small entry way that sticks our 10 feet and has an A-frame roof. There is a deck for the second story entry built over that roof and that is where the leak is. This job required removing several of the 12 foot deck boards to access the roof; I then tarred and overlaid rolled roofing over that area. It rains frequently enough that I should know in the next couple of weeks if I was successful.

I also mowed the lawn Saturday. As I look out the window now, everything is so lush and green and beautiful. The dog wood is still bright and pretty; the peaches that were up to 1/2 inch diameter are even bigger now - inspite of two nights freezing temperatures.

Today was church. While not ideal, I can still partake of the sacrament. And no one objects to my comments during the Come Follow Me lessons; I am also able to just pause and reflect on the moment without being rushed on to the next comment.

My scanning progress for the week:  I finished scanning 799 pages of letters Sandy wrote to me from April 1975-Jan 1976. This continues to be an enlightening and positive experience to me as I view from this perspective 45 years later, the growth and maturity that this separation gave us. Now I am tackling letters I wrote to Sandy starting in 1967. I can't believe I was such a jerk to her back then! Glad she saw past all that!

Interesting things learned this week:

1.  During my monthly adjustment with the chiropractor, he shared that the virus pandemic had reduced his business to 40% for the first two weeks; he was now up to 50%. 

2.  At Home Depot, one of the workers was telling another associate that he worked 65 hours last week. He explained that some of the employees were choosing to remain at home, so corporate had authorized employees to work up to 80 hours a week. When asked why he was working so many hours:  'I need the money'. 

3.  A worker at Baxter Lab (they make medical products) said that for a week or so Baxter was paying an additional $50 a day for those who came to work; evidently money will motivate people to put aside their health concerns and come to work.

4.  All of my tenants paid their rent in full for the month of April!

5.  While the local county has had 4 confirmed cases of the virus identified, none of them are at the local hospital.

He Is Risen!

What a great Easter Day! With the church's daily Come Unto Christ messages and videos culminating in today's Sunday School Come Follow Me lesson on the Savior's resurrection it truly is a time of rejoicing. And then to watch/listen to the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square performance of Handel's Messiah was a special treat; that music really invites the Spirit.

Now back to the mundane trials of life. The garden is now 80% weed free; one more day of weeding and it will be ready for planting. The yard got mowed and looks lush and green, except in the brown spots. I bush hogged the two east pastures and even drove across the street to bush hog the front of the neighbor's area.

I noticed some chatter on Facebook about face masks and called one of the sisters at church about her making me one. She already had one made, so I picked it up the next day and promptly wore it to  the PO and to Walmart. First time I had been to our Walmart in several weeks and not since they are relocated a lot of their merchandise as they did their occasional 'let's move everything to confuse the customers so they will spent more time and money in our store'. I was surprised that only 2 of the 6 cashier I saw were wearing masks.

Thursday I drove the Model A 60 miles round trip to visit my friend Tom, who is restoring a 1931 Ford. The car hasn't seen than many miles in one day in probably 20 years. She was happy! The purpose of the trip was to finish installing the headlight wiring so they lights would function. I don't remember why 50 years ago when I installed the original headlights and wiring that I did it the way I did, but they worked (mostly) correctly for that long. But in the process of replacing some of the parts, we identified it wasn't original so I opted to please Henry Ford and do it right, even though no one would know it unless they dismantled the headlight. Unfortunately, in the process of installing new parts that need to match up with 50 year old ones, we discovered a problem. The female connector would not attach to the male end. Guess they don't make females the way they used to! So I came home and ordered more parts and hope to get this problem resolved soon.

The weather this week has bring warm and sunny. Made it pleasant to weed the garden. One of the peach trees has young fruit 1/2 inch in diameter. The dark green truck had a coating of pale green pollen on it, until it rained last night. My nose does not appreciate all the pollen though.

Earlier this week I was experiencing severe melancholy, which is interesting since I had previously been feeling really good (here comes that wave again). In that spirit, I reluctantly started scanning Sandy's letters after not doing so in over a week. Some of the first letters I read and then scanned had just the right message for me to lift my spirits. This only reinforced the recent 'Hear Him' campaign of the church. I can add 45 year old letters to my list of how the Savior speaks to me.

Today was church. Not much dialog, but the subject matter of the Resurrection is sufficient.

A week of Memories

This was a week of memories. Six month's anniversary of Sandy's passing; her funeral being held on the Saturday of the last General Conference of Church; 200th anniversary of the Restoration; a new Proclamation to the World on the Restoration; 8 new temples. And the list goes on...

Monday I drove to Jonathan and Kristy's for the night. There were some financial things that needed greater brain power than I have. It was interesting to see how this family has incorporated the mandate to stay at home and do home schooling. I particularly enjoyed their morning scripture study. One of the silver linings of this quarantine is the opportunity it provides us to spend more time with family. I drove home Tuesday afternoon and was excited to buy gas at $ 1.44 a gallon. However, I was deeply disappointed to learn that chocolate is not an essential item during this time; Harry and David's is closed!!  Aldi's was open so I could stock up on food for the arrival of Deborah's family later that evening.

Having more family here means I get to fix breakfasts that I would not normally prepare for just one. We had waffles with strawberries and whipped cream one day, biscuits on another and dutch baby the next. Deborah was the dinner fixer.

And it was interesting watching this family complete their at home school work. Deborah was great at orchestrating five children's assignments and conference calls. In a non structured school environment, there are many distractions, especially in my house! Thursday's incentive to complete their work quickly was to be able to watch 'Frozen II'.  One of Sarah's assignments was to bake something. She chose chocolate chip cookies and doubled the recipe; that provided sufficient for eating, freezing and taking home. Yum, Yum.

Samantha was a big helper with my breakfast fixings, so I invited her to help make one of my favorite pies, Chocolate Truffle Pie. We made two so they could take one home and I can give the other one away. No problem finding helpers to lick the bowl!

I did get out to the market this week to purchase needed items. Not as many people out and about.

This weekend I have been thoroughly overwhelmed with the counsel received in General Conference. It is like turning on the fire hydrant and opening my mouth - more than I can grasp in the moment.

Some backyard scenes of dogwood:

I love looking into the trees and seeing the white blossoms peeking out from the other greenery during this time of the year:

And then there is the brilliant red bud:

And I really enjoy the colorful flocks: