A farm boy's perception of things in life

A friend of mine shared this with me via e-mail so I just had to share.

                                               

Only a Farm Kid... When you're from the country, your perception is a little different.......   A   Missouri farmer in his pickup, drove to a neighbor's, and knocked at the door. A boy, about 9, opened the door "Is your Dad home?" "No sir, he isn't; he went to town." "Well, is your Mother here?" "No sir, she went to town with Dad." "How about your brother, Howard? Is he here?" "No sir, He went with Mom and Dad." The rancher stood there for a few minutes, shifting from one foot to the other, and mumbling to himself. "Is there anything I can do for you? I know where all the tools are, if you want to borrow one, or I can give dad a message." "Well," said the rancher uncomfortably, "I really wanted to talk to your Dad. It's about your brother Howard getting my daughter, Suzie, pregnant."'  The boy thought for a moment. "You would have to talk to Dad about that. I know he charges $500 for the bull and $50 for the hog, but I don't know how much he charges for Howard."                                                                           Yes sir. It is all about how you are raised and look at things in life.

Planting Daffodil Bulbs

Since we moved into our new house, my wife has bought three big bags of flower bulbs.  She had asked me to dig holes for the bulbs a couple of weeks ago but the ground was hard as concrete.  

This week she asked me again about getting the bulbs in the ground but the ground is still like concrete.  Then it dawned on me how to get them into the ground.  We have the bulb planter that digs the holes to the correct depth but getting it in the ground is a problem.

So I had a better idea.

The posthole digger that I had bought at auction last spring would dig the holes.  I used the pilot hole auger and it was perfect.  We planted thirty-five bulbs in less than an hour.  Success is sooo sweet.

2013 Potato Dig

The end of September arrived and it was time to dig potatoes that were planted in mid-April.  The youth from the church came to gather and bag the potatoes for the local Daily Bread soup kitchen.

The morning of September 28, the youth arrived, and after having donuts and milk prior to working we headed to the garden.

It would be a shot in the dark this year as to how many bushels that would be collected.  Once the potatoes were planted, with all the rain it was difficult to get in the garden to weed and hill the spuds.  We were placing our faith in the good Lord to yield a bountiful harvest.  

We found a good crop even without the tilling that should be required.  This is one rather large potato discovered.  

Lugging the tote to the wagon for bagging.

After about ninety minutes the potatoes were bagged.  This year eleven bushels were taken and given to the food bank.  After their hard work the youth celebrated with pizza.  

Now to rest and start the process all over again in April.

Almost move in ready

We have scheduled moving day for September 13.  Yes that is Friday the 13th but that seems to be our good number as both our daughters were born on the 13th.  It is just the little last minute finishing details that drive you nuts.  Touch up painting, install the range, spread gravel on driveway, etc.

Grass seed and straw spread on lawn

Long porch with railing installed

Garage view  on west side of house

Den with bamboo floors.  

Front Door entrance

Black and White kitchen

I had wanted to be the contractor and sub this project out but in the end I am much happier that we had a contractor do the job.

The Chicken Bus

Just a mile or so from where we are living, a portable chicken cooker started showing up in the parking lot of a local strip mall in April.   The bus is called the CHICKEN Bus, because the man cooks chicken halves and sells them to anyone stopping by.

The story gets better.   This man was hurt on the job four years ago and couldn't work.  He said six months without a pay check and five kids to feed so he had to come up with something.  He came up with the idea of buying an old school bus and retrofitting it to cook chickens.

He took the old bus, cut the back section out and installed a cooker.  The front part is still enclosed and contains the refrigeration for the food.  His ten year old son helps him and together the two sell one thousand pounds of chicken each week from the bus.  For $8 you get a half of pit cooked chicken, coleslaw, and a slab of sour dough bread.  I can tell you this, it is goooood!!

Moving Day Getting Closer

The contractor has projected the end of August that the house should be complete.  Now comes the task of repacking things back into boxes and finding a moving company to move everything.

 The kitchen cabinets bases were just installed.  It looks sterile as the walls and cabinets are white.  The dark counter tops are to be installed and then it should not be so sterile looking.

 This is the view from of the house that is visible from the road.

 This is the other side of the house which is actually the front of the house.  There are a few items to be completed outside but things are moving fast. 

This is the view from the porch.  This is what we will see each morning, minus the hay bales.

Kendall Virelai

Such an early arrival.  Kendall came into this world three weeks early.  Since she arrived I have become a bachelor.  My wife, her grandmother, took the train to Northern Virginia one day after her birth to her our daughter and son-in-law get use to this little bundle of joy.

 I guess she has worn out her parents.  Here her dad is taking a nap with her.

Mom taking care of sleeping baby.

 Such a peacefull sleep.  I wish I could have a peaceful rest like this.

Yep, she knows how to sleep peacefully.  Enjoy the resting while you can.  I will get to see you on Friday, almost a month later.

Blue Board installed, plastering started

Returned home from a short weekend in California and found the blue board had been installed in the house. Blue board is used when plaster is applied.  It has a different coating than wall board and allows the plaster to stick better to the board.

Vaulted ceiling in great room

Looking from great room into kitchen

Upstairs storage area.  Room measures 14x46

One guest bedroom plastered

Looking into the dining room now plastered

East West East

It sure was a whirlwind weekend.  First, I left from Roanoke on Friday morning and flew to Los Angles for a wedding of a cousin.  Arriving at the hotel at about 5 p.m. and then meeting family and wedding party for dinner.  Needless to say, I did turn in at 9:30 PDT but was awake at 5 a.m. PDT.  Just could not get off of eastern time.

On Saturday morning, I meet up with Dr. Sanjay.  His son is married to my cousin's daughter.  We spent the better part of the day touring the Reagan Presidential Library.  I did not know until the next day that he is a fan of DUCK DYNASTY.  Who would have thought a doctor from India is a fan of that show.  It is like we are brothers from different mothers.

Sanjay with Air Force 1 in the background

View from the library grounds directly across from Reagan' s Grave

That afternoon was the wedding.  It was an outdoor wedding in a perfect setting and also perfect weather

Wedding Party 

Eric, Emily, and Melissa (mother of the bride)

It was a GREAT ending to a GREAT day!  I met a bunch of my cousin's friends and acquaintances.

Sunday was spent visiting with family at their home and then traveling to LAX to fly home on the 6 p.m. REDEYE. Arrived at the house about 11:30 a.m., eyes blurred but feeling good.  It was fun while it lasted but all attention must be now focused on the house and garden.  

House Update

Things have been rolling along, so to speak, with the construction of the house.  This has been a very productive week.  What was suppose to be a downsized house has turned out to be only slightly smaller in livable space.  The storage area has to be fully wired as it has heating and air ducts in that space.  According to building codes it would have to all the electrical outlets because of the heating and cooling.  Maybe a massive man cave in the near future.

 The view from the front after they graded to change the slope so any water runs away from the house.

 Another view from the front with the upper part of the driveway graded.  The wife standing in front of the porch.

The siding is now going on the west side of the house.  I was wondering how the color would look like out of the box.  It is show hard to judge the color from a small sample.

This is south side of the house.  You can see the south porch to the right of the picture starting to take shape.

This is what happens when a drill holesaw meets a moist piece of lumber used in the construction.  When the drill jerks from your hand the little finger takes a beating.

More to come in the next week.

I just got FLASHED!

Several weeks ago on a Sunday I was working when a person came up to the pharmacy window asking to get their medicine filled at our store instead of another sister store they had been using.  The person had a bald head and the medication they were taking indicated they had cancer.  

After filling the medication I called the person to the register for checkout.  I did not pay attention to the sex of the person during the filling of the prescription and the name did not indicate a male or female.  After finishing the checkout procedure the person told me they had had a double mastectomy.  At this point I realized that the person was female.

She stepped back from the register and pulled up her tee shirt and showed me her chest with two massive scars.  I was somewhat shocked and did not know what to say.  

I told my technician what has just happened and she says, " I guess you got a half flash".  To be honest, I could have done without the flash.  

All in a day of working a retail pharmacy.

Almost Dried In

The house roof framing was finally completed this week.  Felt paper was added to the sheeting to help keep any rain out until the shingling is complete.

 This is the front door area facing north.

 South facing side with porch area and attic space

This gives a better view of the porch area on the south side.  Framing for the porches should be started this next week.  Rough in for electrical should be started along with plumbing.  Looking better each week.

Trusses Up

The crew got the trusses on the house Friday.  Just in time for more rain to hit the area.

 This is actually the back of the house but is what you see from the road.  This side faces the view to the south.

Of course this is the garage side and front of the house.  The room above the garage side is our attic or upstairs storage.

Another view looking to the northeast.  The upper part of the trusses have to be added to give the house it's peak.

Now if the rain will stay away and allow the crew to add the sheeting to the trusses.

More to come as they make progress.

House now has WALLS!

After several days of rain the house now has walls.  

This is the view during the rain over the weekend.  

 More walls were added Monday

Garage area framed

Looking from the Great Room out to the front door.

Now the garage is framed the roof trusses should be installed.  More to come next week.

Drain Field in and APPROVED!!

The septic drain field excavation was started and finished in less than two days.  There have been major advances in septic drain fields over the past number of years.  I was used to the old trench with a bottom layer of gravel, a plastic drain tile pipe, and then another layer of gravel.

In our drain field the excavator used an infiltration system.  The trench is still dug but they insert what looks like a fifty-five gallon drum cut in half long ways.

 The infiltration sections are about three to four feet long and hook together in the trench.  Both the entry end and the termination end have a capped off section.  The pipe coming out of the distribution box is connected to the entry end and then the fluid then infiltrates through the length and distributes out into the soil.

 No gravel need in the trench  means it saves time to install and the overall cost is cheaper.

Prior to being totally covered.