Mom, Janice and I were busy today making home-made apple sauce.
Stirring the Caldron
Ready for Fall
WOW – FRONTIER EXPECTED TODAY ** Update 1 **
September 29, 2010Tueaday/Wednesday
Sonny
Yesterday at noon I got a voice confirmation from someone at Frontier that they would be out on Tuesday to today to complete my installation. I even got a automated phone call last night that required me to confirm receipt of the notification by pressing #1 reminding me that someone will need to be there between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Well it is nearly 3:00 p.m and no one has showed up yet. For anyone interested in reading about my nightmare dealing with the phone company check this out. First Contact and more on the story here at More to Come.
Well they never showed up. So on Wednesday morning I called Frontier again. They tell me the technician couldn’t find my house. What a joke. Up to this point, 2 Frontier engeneers, a Frontier install guy with a ditch witch and a back-hoe have found it. I asked if the ticket includes the details that I had provided about directions due to the last time one of their boneheads used that excuse. Nothing.. I asked them why they even bother asking me for the details if it is not included? Chirp…Chirp…Chirp. They are going to try again tomorrow.
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Posted by Sonny
BAD CUT
September 26, 2010Sunday
Sonny
Below is why I was disqualified from the Axe Men TV series. It took a wild turn and went backwards then made a right turn straight into the crook of another tree. No need to even mention it is crossing the stream. It may be there for years.
Not what I expected
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Posted by Sonny
CLASH OF THE SEASONS
September 22, 2010Wednesday
Linda
WHEW DOGGY it’s been hot today. Ninety degrees! Summer and Autumn are in a brutal battle over the Throne of Seasons.
Summer keeps trying to hang on Autumn’s tail by a craggy claw. It blows it’s firey dragon breath on us once in a while to keep us aware that it hasn’t given up yet. We are under a sever thunderstorm watch so I imagine we may be caught in the middle of an engagement. The sun is shining at this moment, but I see angry black clouds marching in this direction.
Coming Soon
Soon the armies of Summer and Autumn will be assembled and the lightening effects will begin as they clash, followed by loud canon booms. We may even see some hail arrows fall upon us. Who will the victor for this week? Better take cover.
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Posted by lkjobe
THE PAINT JOB
September 20, 2010Monday
Linda
I would like to know whose bright idea it was to buy unfinished cabinets for the kitchen. Oh…that would be me. Can I just smack myself? It seemed a good idea at the time and they will look very nice when they are finished, but what a job. I have been looking at these plain cabinets hanging on the walls of my kitchen for over a year and have wanted to put a paint brush to them. I went back and forth between stain or paint and decided I would paint them plain white. It will brighten the kitchen and in later years when things begin to look drab a new coat will make things fresh again. I just despise applying the base coat of primer on the raw wood. It never seems to go on smoothly and the wood quickly sucks it up. I decided to tackle the bottom cabinets first. That way the job isn’t so overwhelming. The camera captured the blue in the tarp but the doors are actually white.
Little Helper
I did have a little helper today. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and came back every time I shooed him away. I wouldn’t be surprised if little paw prints show up on the cabinet doors. Apparently, Moby has decided I am his best friend and knows I can’t stay mad at him when he puts on his kitten charm. I believe he has added a few more white stripes to his coat today. Bad kitty!
NEEDED RAIN
September 19, 2010Sunday
Linda
The weather here has been so dry that the creeks barely have a sip of water left in them. We have had a few thunderstorms in the past weeks, but the clouds hardly let out a spit of rain and it wasn’t enough to wet the dust down. Most of the rain from the storms bypassed us, veering either North or South of us by a few mere miles. Friday night was a different story. We knew rain was in the forecast but not the storm we got. John and Carol were over visiting and at about 8:30 it started to rain with some rumbles and lightening in the distance. Shortly after they left our weather alert radio went off warning that severe thunderstorms and possible high winds of seventy miles an hour were headed toward our county.
We got a little worried about John and Carol. Large limbs or trees could fall across the roads. It happens all the time. Thank goodness they made it home without any mishaps. Sonny and I quickly put up the porch chairs and a few things that could go flying in a heavy wind. We stood on the porch as the rain came down in sheets and then the roar of the wind came up the backside of the mountain. It blew across the tops of the trees and swirled down into the meadow. Lightening flashed across the sky and thunder boomed. I think we must have been on the edge of the higher winds. As quickly as the storm came in it moved on, but the rain stayed behind and gave us a good dousing. The ground and plants greedily soaked it up and by the next afternoon the creeks had subsided. Today, our creek is completely dry again. The wind blew down a few limbs but nothing major and the yard is littered with dry leaves. The PV array even held up to the high winds. The summer has been so dry that the leaves will not sport the firey colors of Autumn this year. Maybe next year.
Despite all that we were able to get some more wood stacked into the woodshed. We took the chain saw and cut up some of the trees that had previously blown across the road. The state or local nieghbors usually just cut them enough to clear the roadway and they lay along the side. It’s good seasoned wood so we thought we would take advantage of it. We have a lot of trees on our own property that need to come down but that wood will not be seasoned enough for use in the wood stove this year.
Hopefully we will soon get the wood stove installed. Sonny called a local company two weeks ago to to come out and give us an estimate on putting in the triple wall pipe for the wood stove chimney. Of course no one showed up the first and second appointments that were set up. Sonny set up a third appointment for last Monday and someone actually showed up. The guy took the measurements and told me he would call with the estimate that night. He also said he could come out this Monday and do the job. Sonny has called the company numerous times this past week to see what happened with our estimate. I’ll let him explain that little frustration. C’est la vie.
On another note. I got these plates at the local Flea market Saturday for .50 cents a piece. I thought they were really pretty.
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Posted by lkjobe
FAREWELL TO A GOOD PAIR OF SHOES
September 13, 2010Monday
Sonny
Well their time has come. My favorite pair of shoes have went from cradle to grave. These babies have about a zillion miles on them and although they are nearly shot they are still the most comfortable shoes in my closet.
This is just another of my many “Lucks” that I have had over the years. Every 5 years or so I start getting nagged by Linda that she won’t go out with me if I insist on wearing those “wore-out pieces of leather”. I had always talked of somehow putting a piece of car tire on the bottom like a re-cap to get a bit more life out of them. I think I may get them bronzed or something and hang them on my car mirror. Fair-Well, your Watch has been Relieved.
"Looking Good"
Well today Linda must have had enough. I got a email from her telling me she found a long lost “Child of Lucks” just sitting at a Thrift Store waiting to be adopted. This pair of youngsters will like all the others, never be untied and will always just be slipped on. I’ll crush the heel until it knows to get out of the way because my foot it coming in.
You have a lot to learn - Rookie
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Posted by Sonny
EARLY WINTER PREPARATIONS
September 12, 2010Sunday
Sonny
Wow, this weekend seemed to just fly by. We headed out Friday morning with plans to knock out several tasks. We wanted to pick-up the lawn mower first, it was at the John Deere tractor dealer getting some warranty work done along with a new set of blades.
Look Mom "RAMPS"
Next it was off to Lowe’s to pick up another roll of R-19 insulation to go between the floor joists of the house. That was one of the things we didn’t have time to finish last year in the rush to get the place ready for winter. After last winter it was certainly going to happen before the next first snow.
We also have found out the price if insulation goes up as the temperature starts going down. The price has went up over $10.00 per roll in the last month. Yesterday we crawled under the house and put up 3 rolls and determined that we needed another 6 rolls to get the job done. I think next payday we will pick up another 3 rolls and go at it again.
Still a long way to go
Saturday afternoon we got started moving the split firewood into the wood shed. I think we have enough to fill it about 1/4 of the way. We have 40-50 seasoned log butts in one of our fields that we plan to attack with the chainsaw around October or as soon as it gets cold enough that the snakes get out of the nooks and crannies. Linda and I have identified some of the trees that we will drop for next year. They are also the ones that block the winter sun. If you don’t know what I mean here it is: In the winter the sun not only is up for less hours per day it also rides lower in the sky. Your tree line can have an impact on shading your PV panels that you may not have anticipated when you installed your system in the summer. Yep, that’s what I did.
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Posted by Sonny
SCARED KITTY
September 8, 2010Wednesday
Linda
Minnie Pearl has finally excepted Moby as a friend. They play together and Minnie Pearl has coaxed him out of the barn and into the wild and exciting world of the woods. They don’t travel far, they tend to stay in the brush and woods closest to the barn. I imagine as they mature they will wander further out to hunt.
The Dynamic Duo
Shiner has discovered their hiding place and the other day I caught him rooting around in the brush. I called him away and since he was a bad boy he was promptly put back into the house with a sharp reprimand. I went back out to check on the kittens and as I got closer I could here one of them crying. I called them as the terrified mews continued. Minnie Pearl cautiously made her way out of the brush constantly on guard, sniffing and watching for the brindle bully dog. I could here Moby, but I couldn’t tell where he was. Was he hurt or caught in the brush somewhere?
I was starting to get worried. The cries were so faint. Then I looked up. There he was near the top of a tall walnut tree. The top of the tree swayed back and forth as a strong breeze blew through it. A large limb stuck out where Moby sat. I called to him and he started to crawl out on the limb. That would be a catastrophe. I knew I would have to go to the base of the tree, but to do that I would have to go around to the path that heads up the hill and then get down into the ditch. I wasn’t going to attempt that wearing clogs. There could be slithery, creepy crawlies down in that brush and I needed some traction as well.
As I ran back to the house to get my wellys I was trying to figure out what to do if I couldn’t get him down. Now everyone likes to say that a cat will find their way down a tree when they get hungry enough. That is an old wives tale. More than one cat has been caught up in a tree for days and Moby was definitely too small to know exactly how to maneuver down not to mention he was terrified. There is no way I could leave him up there. If I couldn’t get him I decided I would get a ladder from cousin. I wasn’t going to let him stay up there all night.
With my wellys on I carefully stepped down into the brush. There were piles of broken branches twisted up with tall grass and weeds. It was hard to tell how deep it was. I can tell you I got hung up more than once. Moby came to my side of the tree and I kept telling he him he could do it. Sounds stupid I know, but he seemed to respond to it. The poor little thing had no clue how to get down. He started by climbing down head first, then sideways and backwards franticly meowing the whole time. I continued to cheer him on. About halfway down he got stuck on a bent limb. He was confused on how to get straightened out. I don’t know if he lost his grip, was a dare devil and jumped or was just too tired to hang on, but down he came ending in a thump. My heart jumped into my throat. I hoped the brush had broken his fall and prayed he wasn’t hurt.
After a second to recover from the shock he came out to me. I picked him up and held him close, soothing and stroking his fur. He was soon purring after his heart rate leveled out. I gave both cats equal attention and checked them over for any injuries. A handful of kitty food thrown into their bowls and they were back to normal. I’m not really sure who was more of a wreck after all was said and done. Me or the cats. I’m sure you all can figure out where which one to lay that bet on!
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Posted by Sonny
UNDERTONES OF FALL
September 7, 2010Tuesday
Linda
This mornings weather was cool and Carol and I took a brisk walk before leaving for our usual girls day out. Today we did a little window shopping and ran a few errands before enjoying a nice lunch at a local restaurant called Parquets. It was almost two o’clock before I arrived back home and I was excited to find a new Country Living Magazine waiting for me in the mailbox. You know, the mailbox that is a mile from my house because the post office says the road is too dangerous for the postman to drive on… Yea Right?
Anyway, I knew then exactly what I was going to do when I got home. There would be no work done today. I had a date with the porch swing. It just seemed like a lazy kind of afternoon. Even the dogs didn’t want to run around the yard. With my new magazine tucked under my arm, I carried a snack and a cup of coffee (hoping that it would perk me up) out to the porch swing. The coffee did nothing to ease my laziness. I guess there was no use in fighting the day, so I didn’t. The dogs had already given in and were stretched out on the porch floor snoozing.
Although the afternoon was fairly warm, a nice breeze was blowing and it was music to my ears as it rustled through the leaves of the tree tops. All else was quiet except for the chirping chorus of crickets.
Walnut Tree
The leaves of the walnut trees are already beginning to turn brown and I watched as the wind plucked them off the limbs and scattered them across the yard. I could feel the undertones of Autumn all around me. All the signs are there. One day soon we’ll wake up to find that summer has gone on a long vacation and left Autumn in charge. Until it is time for Winter to take over. The sky has been clear blue with cotton ball clouds. I leaned back in the swing and watched like a child as the wind made shapes out of them.
A Red Tailed Hawk glided in circles on the currents high in the sky. He knows. He knows that Autumn is right around the corner. So do the birds. Their patterns have changed. I don’t hear many happy morning songs. They are off eating the dried seeds of the meadow plants preparing themselves for the long flight south. Oh yea, the tunes of Autumn are marching closer.
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Posted by lkjobe
Off-Grid in West Virginia 