Where has the time gone? No good asking me because I don't remember! It is a beautiful Sunday morning in the Ozarks (again). In the last 24 hours Mountain Home received 3.95 inches of rain; 9.23 in the past seven days. The ground is very soggy, the pond is overflowing around the edges (this might be the 5th time this has happened in the past 20 years), but the garden is sprouting and growing!

Monday the chimney sweep people showed up to clean out the firebox and flue. Usually I have this performed annually, but for some good reasons it has been three years since the last cleaning.

Tuesday was a good day to relearn the lesson that proper prior planning reaps rewards (sorry, no five 'P's this time). Katie and I left early in the morning to drive to Hollister, MO (90 minute drive) to buy some decking at Menards. When we had the steps replaced last summer, that is the lumber supplier that had the composite decking we wanted; no one locally carries the same materials. We had previously loaded the 35 feet of old deck railing and on our way out of town delivered it to the family that wants to build a dog fence.

So what lesson did I need to relearn:  do the research and calculate the materials you need to finish the job before you leave to purchase materials! I failed to realize that the hand rail requires two rails, at the top and the bottom for the ballisters to attach to; I only purchased one. So I could not finish the handrail; I am 11 feet short. This will have to wait a few days before making another trip to Hollister.

I towed the 16 foot trailer to haul the lumber home and learned another lesson: proper loading and securing of materials prevents in-transient losses. I arrived home with one less 12 foot board than we loaded. Opps. No idea where it got lost; it rained most of the way home so visibility was restricted. Shortly after we returned from our shopping trip, Isabelle arrived, having driven over from MO. Nothing like two teenage girls in the house to keep things lively!

Tuesday evening, Aaron helped me cut and install three of the 4 x 4 posts evenly spaced at six feet. It wasn't until Wednesday when trying to figure out how to build the railings that I discovered the sections of the hand railings needed to be spaced a couple of inches less. So, I had to remove the three posts. Then it took some time to figure out the way the handrails were designed to be assembled; and then how to evenly space the ballisters. Fortunately when Chad did the stairs he left his 4 inch spaces for future use. Once I had the first section done, it was much easier to complete the remaining three. Of course I had help with those, so the work went much quicker.

The used bush hog we purchased about 18 years ago was in serious need of new blades. I located a dealer for that brand and spent 45 minutes in the shop as they looked for the right blades. The number on the old ones did not match what the catalog showed, so they called the distributor, got the right blade; but these were slightly thicker and required different bolts. While Dan was still here, we got the new ones installed, only to find out that the new bolts were too long and impact the underside of the bush hog. So off the blades came with a lot of huffing and puffing. Back to the dealer who did have a shorter bolt, but only one. Hopefully the second one will be in this week so I can get the tractor put back together. 

Wednesday evening we had a birthday zoom call celebration in honor of Sandy's 70th birthday. All the children were on line and most had baked a cheese cake (her favorite) to honor her. We have been blessed with an amazing family!

Thursday morning Miranda's family left early to meet their realtor to look at possible homes for their family. They found one, put in an offer, and it was accepted. This house is very close to Deborah, and closer for Andy and Jonathan's families as well - not to mention about one half the driving time for me.  Now time for inspections and paperwork. They returned to their OK home for a few days; Miranda and children will return early next week.

The remaining four grand children left here Friday afternoon to drive to Isabelle's. But while they were here, the girls made yummy banana nut bread and fixed some scrumptious meals. I almost didn't let them leave just because of their cooking abilities.

Saturday I started removing the old decking and cutting the new boards. The rain interrupted my work; but there is always next week. Don't want to procrastinate too long - it will start to get hot and humid all too soon.

Happy Mother's Day

It has been an exciting and adventurous week having family staying with me. And I get to tell Miranda's house selling story. After working laboriously for several weeks, they were able to sign a contract and place their OK home on the market last Monday. By evening they had two offers, while reasonable offers, neither were to Miranda's liking. By morning, there were two more interested parties. The real estate lady (last name is Fox) leveraged the previous night's offers and one of the Tuesday potential buyers offered more than the asking price and cash. Obvious blessing from Heavenly Father that they were able to sell their house so quickly! Now the fun of finding a new home in the right area.

Monday should have been the day I would go to the temple as an ordinance worker; but , alas, that will have to wait another month...or two. There is hope that the temples will open soon; President Nelson seemed pretty emphatic in his latest video that they serve a vital purpose in these latter days.

Monday was change the oil in the van day. Tuesday Katie drove up with Aaron and Matthew. The three of them have been most helpful. Katie immediately bush hogged the larger pasture. Aaron indicated an interest in learning how to drive the tractor, so I showed him how and let him mow the other two smaller pastures - and he is still alive!

 He also mowed the lawn, a chore well appreciated by me and my allergies. I had previously replaced the blades on the mower, not an easy feat. I am not sure how to detach the deck, so I just used the tractor the raise the deck so I could crawl under it (yes I braced it in case anything unfortunate should occur) and used my herculean strength to loosen the bolts. I had to borrow the sockets from a friend since I don't have any over the size of 1 1/8 inch. Matthew has been great playing with the three boys; they do a lot of running, yelling and playing outside. I noticed that they are sleeping in later now than they did before Matthew was here.

Wednesday I had new tires installed on the van and an alignment done. Then I took the three Foxes with me to a rent house to perform some maintenance. This house is 16 feet wide and about 50 feet long. There is a carport attached to one side and is about 35 feet long. The old rain gutter was in sections and dipped; some of the facia was rotted. So we removed the old and visited with the tenant. She is very nice and rides a Harley. She mentioned in passing that her refrigerator only kept things cool, not cold, but that it was okay. Well, I like my milk cold! So I contacted the local service guy who was able to check it out by week's end and get a part ordered.

Katie, Aaron and I returned the next day to replace the facia and do a couple other minor items at this house. Katie even got an offer to go riding on the Harley sometime. The guttering company will hopefully come out next week to provide an estimate.

Thursday morning I signed a contract placing the Midway duplex on the market. It will be interesting
to see how long this process may take and if I can keep the two tenants happy. This is the type of house that probably only an investor will be interested in.

Friday the chimney sweep guys came to do their cleaning; it has been three years since they last came and no comment was made about it being excessively dirty, so maybe it doesn't require yearly cleaning. Sandy and I had talked about replacing the antiquated insert but never did anything about it. Maybe this year...

Thursday Miranda packed up her family and drove to Northwest Arkansas to meet Dan and a realtor so they can look for houses. Now that their OK home has an offer, they need to find a new one, Deborah watched some of the children on Thursday and then joined them on Friday as they continued their search. They narrowed the search to three and finalized their top priority by Friday night. But, a better offer was presented, so now they are back to square one. This is challenging, since they have already looked at all the houses in the area that meet their criteria.

Saturday I enlisted several family members to help me unbolt, cut and remove the 35 feet of banister that has been on the deck for 20 years. We were able to keep it intact.

Next week I will purchase new material to replace this one. Then I will work on replacing the deck. The old wood is showing its age. This is one of the projects Sandy and I had discussed doing, but we only got the steps done before her passing. Later that evening, I painted some of the upright posts and had some help.

I also got Katie to lift the bush hog with the tractor so I could remove the blades and Dan used his herculean powers to remove the nuts.

One evening this week, a single retired sister called; she felt impress to call me, so when she indicated she was having water pressure issues, I felt obligated to assist. I took Aaron with me. She is on a well and was experiencing lower pressure and sporadic water volume. The house was built around 1980 and the pressure tank, switch and gage were all under the house. So I crawled under to check things out. The pump was cycling off and on every few seconds and the pressure gage did not seem to work. We have a retired plumber in the ward and he suspected that the pressure tank was too full of water. So I took all three Foxes with me the next day; I added air to the pressure tank and bleed off several gallons of water, but to no avail.  There was a decal for a local pump service and she gave him a call. His schedule was open and before the day was over, he had replaced the pump, pressure tank, switch and gage. One of the problems was probably caused by the pressure tank being horizontal instead of upright. The constant cycling of the pump likely caused its demise.

Ethan had purchased a conuer, a pretty and colorful bird; and I might add, a very load one on occasion.

Church today was different. It was nice to have a teacher who could prepare and pass the sacrament, a priest to bless it, and a young man that can play the piano. It was a good experience.

More Travels with Tom

As you may recall (or not), this traveling reporter was in Broken Arrow last Sunday doing his 'dirty jobs' for Miranda's family so their house can go on the market. Monday morning saw him hitting the trail for Russellville where there were more 'dirty jobs' to be done. But his trip took him through Rogers. We loaded my van with things to go into a storage facility in that area; Dan had stuff in his car as well. Enroute, we stopped to pick up a mattress and bed frame and then unloaded things into their storage area. No, Ethan did not ride up there.

The church will move 19,000 pounds (but not food storage) and Dan is concerned he may be overweight - so we brought heavy things. Then he headed home and I stopped at Deborah's house for a short visit before continuing onto Andy's.

One of Kera's projects was to turn her dark and dreary living room and kitchen into bright spaces. I arrived in time to get oriented and then we headed off to Lowes to make some cam light purchases. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent identifying the overhead light locations, cutting holes and wiring the lights for the 17 foot x 17 foot living room. We sent Matthew up into the attic so he could contend with the 8 inches of blown insulation between the 24 inch on center ceiling joists. Using a drywall hole saw (well worth the expense), I cut the 10 holes for the living room, then poked wires up into the holes for Matthew to find them and then thread the end down into the next hole, where we poked a stick up for him to find. This procedure did interrupt his home schooling, but it isn't like he didn't have other diversions (like his two sisters, or reading book or a myriad of other interesting things to do besides school work). 

There were already two light switches to regulate the ceiling fan and light, and the goal was to install a new dimmer type switch for the cam lights and have a dual switch for the current fan/light. That required fishing a wire between the walls - but we did that on Wednesday. The light nearest the switch location was left dangling from the ceiling so we could attach a plug on the other end to plug into the wall outlet to ensure the lights all functioned properly. I have attached photos of before light and after; BIG difference. We finished about 8 pm. I say 'we' because Matthew's service in the attic was invaluable; Andy, who was working from home, came out occasionally for consultation; and Kera supervised.

Here is the before picture of the living room with only the one ceiling light:

This is the same room with 10 cam lights:

This is the same room with 10 cam lights:

 

Wednesday I installed three more lights in the kitchen (sorry no photos - but it did lighten things up significantly). Again we got Matthew to snake the wires for us, but I needed to climb into the attic to attach the wires to the existing light so they all work off the same switch. And while I could identify where to run the wire for the living room light switch, between Andy, Matthew and myself, we spent two hours before we were finally able to fish the line into the existing box. We did not want to cut a hole in the wall, or remove the existing electrical box so were were left trying to line up the wire with a small hole in the box. It was Matthew who finally suggested the successful combination. My work was done. I don't wire dimmer switches or two way switches; that is for the engineer in the house to do (think Andy). By nightfall, everything was complete! Hurray. But most important, Kera is happy! Celebration for this momentous occasion called for Katie making fudge.

The younger Fox children recently obtained three bunnies, and their pictures are attached.

Kera made delicious meals and we even made cinnamon rolls for breakfast one morning.

Thursday morning, I headed home. Arrived in time to take the mower to a rent house and mow the yard (it is now rented). Then I came home to mow my yard. In my absence, some of my tomato plants disappeared, so they were replaced. I was up early Friday morning replanting and weeding the garden. It is mostly finished.  Saturday was spent getting the house ready for house guests. In the process of going through boxes and totes, things took up new homes on all the flat surfaces. So some degree of consolidation was required. 

Miranda and her four children arrived by 9 pm and got settled. With their house going on the market (maybe next week), she did not want to live in the house with prospective buyers passing through. So Dan will remain there for a short time, getting the final things taken care of and the remainder of the family is residing with me indefinitely. They are in the process of house hunting and will make occasional excursions to the Rogers' area. They had several houses they planned to look at yesterday as they traveled here, but some of them already had contracts. Good houses don't last long.

Today we held home church; Alex did a good job conducting the meeting. After a short testimony meeting, we viewed the Book of Mormon video depicting Abinadi's discourse to King Noah and his priests. It has been storming while I have been writing this; I love thunderstorms!

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: