Posted By FarmerJ on September 7, 2011

Would someone please pull the emergency brake?!  This year is whizzing by faster and faster each day.  We are already through the first week of September.  Wasn’t the Fourth of July, like, yesterday?  We’ve nearly reached the last quarter of the year already.  How is that even possible?

It’s been nearly a month since I’ve last posted, so I thought I would give you a quick update on some of the things we’ve been doing around here.  That is, if I can even remember that long ago.  Sheesh!

1.  Storm Watchin’ ~ Most, if not all, of the monster storms have passed now and we’ve entered into our favorite time of year in Nebraska.  September is absolutely amazing here on the prairie.  The days have cooled, the nights are chilled, the humidity has subsided, and the mosquitoes are gone.  The photos I’m sharing in this post are of one of the last storms that rolled through.  I’ve not done anything to alter the images ~ the changes in the colors is all God’s work.

2.  Goin’ Broke ~ Both boys are college bound now.  If that doesn’t make you feel old, I don’t know what will.  I still envision those two boys ages five and six, the Baby Geniuses, solving all the world’s problems from the back seat of the truck.  I’ve learned there are few things that can set me off on a rant like the price of college textbooks can.  It’s a racket, I tell ya.  Someone needs to be placed before the firing squad for charging $194.00 for a math book.  Oh, pardon me.  A math ‘package.’  Yes siree, we are going to take this math book that could be purchased on Amazon for $14.00 and bundle it with this three-page ‘organizer’ and call it a ‘package’ that can only be purchased at the campus bookstore.  For $194.00!  Oops!  I’m ranting again.  Do that times two boys, times four classes each, though, and it gets painful very quickly!

3.  Hangin’ Drywall ~ We’re still working on getting the guest room completed on the lower level of the house.  Darling Husbie and I were able to make huge progress over a weekend.  We finished getting the ‘lid’ on.  (My Uncle Dudley taught me that construction lingo.  It means ‘ceiling.’  See how smart I are now?)  After that, the walls seemed easy.  We worked until we ran out of light ~ and until the Beef Stew was finished.  Little Big Brother came over on one of his days off that week and helped me get the drywall on the north wall up.  We made quite the Mother/Son crew, and Husbie was very pleased.  Squeeeeeeee!  Little Big Brother even taught me how to do a plunge cut.  Imagine that.  Where did he learn that?  Probably on a YouTube video.  Anyway, we’re now three little pieces of drywall away from being ready to tape and mud.  We need more studs for nailers.

4.  Dealing With Loss ~ Most of you probably heard about the CH-47 Chinook shot down in Afghanistan on 06 August, killing all 38 soldiers on board.  If any of you are wondering if that crash affected us, yes, it did.  SSG Patrick Hamburger was one of five crew members aboard; he worked for Darling Husbie full time at the flight facility before being deployed.  I attended SSG Hamburger’s funeral with Husbie on 20 August and witnessed some amazing things.  I find myself still pondering many of those things.  For now, I will just add that I pray my beloved husband does not have to experience those circumstances ever again while in command.

5.  I Got Sarah Palin Glasses ~ Ten years after Lasik surgery, I am wearing glasses again on a part-time basis.  The astigmatism is returning and, over time, I realized things are not as clear as they once were…especially at night.  I asked Darling Husbie to help me pick out some frames.  The timing couldn’t have been worse, as he was absolutely consumed with managing the fallout of the aforementioned crash, but he lovingly gave me a few minutes to accommodate my slight streak of vanity.  Faced with a wall of frames, he started pulling a few with a distinctive style and stated, “I’m going for a Sarah Palin look here.”  “Oh, really?”, said I with raised eyebrows.  So, after four or five frames, we decided on the ones right for me.  Now, we just refer to my glasses as my ‘Sarah Palins.’  “I’ve got my Sarah Palins on!”  Strange, I know.  But, humor has been scarce around here lately.  We find it where ever we may!

6.  Mowin’ and Weed Whackin’ ~ Seriously.  There’s great danger in getting behind the curve when it comes to mowing around here.  Believe me.  Ideally, one should mow every four days if one doesn’t want windrows a foot wide and a foot deep every 46 inches throughout ones lawn.  I got behind the curve and didn’t mow for a couple of weeks.  The grass was so tall, Husbie had to use the 45hp tractor and the brush hog to whack it down enough for me to follow with Kitty, the Cub Cadet.  You should see the size of my windrows.  They’re really quite impressive.

7.  Turnin’ Wrenches ~ Darling Husbie and Little Big Brother have had more opportunity to turn wrenches than either one of them would prefer lately.  Turn the way-back dial to when Little Big Brother blew his engine up in the T2rd, aka the Neon, ‘testing the turbo.’  Remember way back then?  Well, that saga still continues.  Short version is: engine blew up; lots of money was spent; engine was rebuilt; engine blew up; again.  That’s all I’m going to say about that right now.  Then, there’s the new brake pads, brake line hoses and calipers on the Tuna, aka the Daytona.  And, there’s the water pump and serpentine belt on Strongbad, aka the Ram 3500.  We can’t forget the battery cables on the Little Red Truck, aka the Ram 1500.  Just in case there’s any down time on the wrenches, Husbie informed me today he got a new thermostat and front brake pads for Strongbad and some new front rotors for the Tuna.  My Dinky Doo is doo-in’ just fine, though.

8.  Pickin’ Our Harvest ~ As meager as it is this year.  There has yet to be enough of anything to preserve this year, but we have finally been getting a few things I can actually prepare as a decent side dish.  Our most abundant item this year has been cucumbers.  Thanks to the squash vine borers, we only got a few dinky yellow squash.  We never did get a single zucchini.  We’ve enjoyed a half dozen tomatoes, some okra, some peppers and a whopping seven ears of sweet corn.  It’s a good thing I still have some ears from last summer in the freezer!  Oh, and we finally picked our first green beans on Labor Day.  They’re either a really late spring harvest or a really early fall harvest ~ they’re from the May planting.

9.  Learnin’ To Be a Boy Scout ~ My beloved Husbie taught me how to back up a trailer and how to tie a square knot.  I think I need to practice each of those things a little more.  Maybe a lot, even.

10.  Readin’ ~ Both Darling Husbie and I have been reading more than usual lately.  He has become engrossed in The Aubrey/Maturin Series by Patrick O’Brian.  There is a total of 20 complete and one unfinished novels in this series.  Husbie is currently reading the fourth novel ~ he’s been reading this series for a little over two weeks now.  I am reading The Gentle Ways of the Beautiful Woman by Anne Ortlund.  There are three books included in this one volume.  I am currently reading the second book ~ I’ve been reading this volume for a little over two months now.  Obviously, Husbie is a much more established reader than I am.  He reads so quickly, I feel like I should blow the dust off of Little Big Brother’s collection of Dr. Seuss books.  Perhaps if I read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish or Fox in Socks, I will be able to turn the pages as quickly as Lovie.  Seriously, though.  It’s been nice to take some time to read once again.  I’ve greatly missed one of my favorite pastimes.

So, there you have it in a nutshell.  That’s just a few of the things we’ve been occupying ourselves with around here.  Each day brings a new adventure, and along with it, many blessings.  Amidst it all, our Lord continues to bless us richly, and for that, we are enormously grateful.

Oh yeah, speaking of enormous…I started a diet today.  ♥

Categories: Plainly Ponderings
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