Repairs & Projects

We finally got our well pump replaced so now we have water for the yard. The well is about 200 feet deep so we had to get a larger pump than we thought. 

That pipe they pulled out seemed  to go on forever. It wrapped from the back yard all the way to the street in the front yard !
 

There is a good flow of water so we hope to have a nice yard with St. Augustine grass under all these trees. Now we need to figure out the leaks in the sprinkler system and replace any broken parts.

Another thing we need to figure out is how to get rid of the whole family, ( and extended family?) of moles tearing up our yard. Any ideas, anyone?? Please! ! !

Next projects include putting the fence back up since we now have the building moved to  the back yard, putting up a patio cover and a pad of some sort, probably gravel, to park our 5th wheel on beside the house, when we move it from our old place. We still need to measure it to make sure it will fit there.

Our schedule will stay full but will take a short break while HD has a cataract removed. It came up really fast after he had a vitrectomy to remove a large unmovable floater – vitreous detachment diagnosis. The doctor told him sometimes that surgery will speed up the development of cataracts and it sure did!

We have three celebrations in the next week:  son & daughter-in-law, Mike & Lili's one year wedding anniversary; our grandson, Todd's birthday and our granddaughter, Emma's birthday! Congratulations to them all.

Sophie and Dora

We are dog sitting this weekend for our daughter & son-in-law.

Sophie's just a PUPPY ! ! !

She is a beautiful German Shepherd. This “puppy” is already a big dog and getting bigger but is pretty well behaved and being well trained.

 She is a lot of dog compared to our little dachshund, Dora. They have been checking each other out.

Sophie want to play with Dora.

Where There's a Will, There's a Way OR How to Move a Portable Building in 500 easy steps !!

Moving A Portable Building

Mother nature finally told us it was a good time to move our 12 x 24 foot portable building from our old home to the new one.  No rain, no wind – a perfect day!
 

We had to take out a tree that was in the way (but it was dying anyway) to have room. There wasn't a lot of clearance  to move the building out of the backyard but taking it out at an angle worked great.

We were very pleased with our mover and highly recommend him. He is very professional and knows what he is doing. He made it look very easy, but said the right tools makes it that way.  His business is TJP Portable Building Moving and his name is Toby Poore at  817-980-2965.

 

 

 Leaving Cross Plains. . .

 Since there are many trees in both our front and back yard here, we  had to move it in at angle  in the front as well with even less clearance. It was a VERY tight fit between two trees but Toby made it, giving directions to HD at the wheel with only 1\2 to 1 inch clearance from the tree on each side.

 
 
He set it down on plywood close as he could to where we wanted it.

The next day we took it from there and had to manhandle it because it was another tight fit between a tree and the house and took more time to accomplish. Moving it into the back yard was quite a challenge.

We moved it with varying clearances of ½ to 1 inch between the tree and the house (flower bed at ground level and overhang and gutter at the top) a little at a time using straps and comealongs.

With the plywood underneath  to slide it on, we started with some schedule 40 pvc, to roll it, but it didn't hold up well. We moved it very slowly, just a little at a time, balancing the distance between tree and house.

A neighbor loaned us some pipe and by using one in the front and one in the back, it rolled so easily, we hooked a chain to the truck to keep if from moving more than we wanted it to.  There was a drop off with landscape timbers between the yards. We needed to keep it jacked up and fairly level so I suggested we use concrete blocks in the dropoff area under the plywood. It worked well.

  
 By the time we cleared the tree, we were about 8 inches from this neighbor's garage.

 

Then we started turning it so we could head it straight into the back yard. We were so concerned about the trees in front, we didn't notice the one hanging over the fence from the neighbor but we had enough room to move it over enough to clear it.

We were very grateful for all the help with this. It went much better and faster than we thought.

 
It was quite a project and I am sure those watching were saying “They will never get that building in the back yard.  “Where there's a will, there's a way!!”

Emma's UNO game

Imaginary UNO card game

I don't play UNO very often and am not good at imaginary games.  Without a deck of cards though, what can you do. I guess I was not being very nice to my granddaughter, Emma when we started this game, but I think she made up for it.

Since she said the “oldest” goes first, I put my imaginary DRAW 4 card down for her. She tilted her head a bit and said it was my turn again. I played a SKIP card then. I am not sure how she managed to do it with all the cards I had her draw but she popped up with UNO!!! Then called out red for the color and laid down a WILD card. And she looks SOOOOO innocent!

Sure was glad to see her Mom buy an actual UNO card deck for travel so we will always have one to use.

Faith

My Sister Quilts in Heaven now. . .

We will miss her terribly but are so glad she is now wrapped in the arms of God and free from the pain and sickness that cancer brought to her.

We pray for the family she left behind, especially her husband Fred, who has been with her night and day throughout. It will be a very difficult time for him.
I am so very grateful for my large family and the way we all come together to care for each other.
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When tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
All filled with tears for me;

I wish so much you wouldn't cry
The way you did today,
While thinking of the many things,
We didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;

But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name,
And took me by the hand.

And said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye
For all my life, I'd always thought,
I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for,
So much left to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays,
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
And all the fun we had.

It I could relive yesterday,
Just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and kiss you
And maybe see you smile

But then I fully realized,
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
Would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
My heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me,
From His great golden throne.

He said, “This is eternity,
And all I've promised you.”
Today your life on earth is past,
But here life starts anew.

I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last,
And since each day's the same way
There's no longing for the past.

You have been so faithful,
So trusting and so true.
Though there were times you did things
You knew you shouldn't do.

But you have been forgiven
And now at last you're free.
So won't you come and take my hand
And share my life with me?

So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here, in your heart.

Mom

Mom

What can I say! She is a special lady. She's 86 and tough - raised 11 kids (did a darn good job), while Dad was gone a lot earning a living for all of us as a truck driver.

We conspired behind her back for her 77th birthday. We threw her a surprise birthday party. She had mentioned one day while talking about birthday parties, she had never had one. Emails flew back and forth for several months planning the event.

My HD and I took her shopping and out for lunch while the house was being decorated and the caterer set up. Everyone parked on the side street so she would not see all the cars. When she opened the door and the house was full of people yelling "Surprise", she was shocked and asked "Where did you all come from?". One of my sisters told her "Most of us from you!". We had a great time with her surprise. At that time there were sixty-six in the family.

Now she has five sons-in-law, three daughters-in-law, nineteen grandchildren,  twenty-seven ?? ( I lost count) great grandchildren and three great great grandchildren.

 She took care of Dad until we lost him to cancer, she went  through back surgery, breast cancer and is dealing with glacoma and diabetes and doing great. I told you, she's TOUGH!

I remember the story of how she met Dad. She was doing housework for one of Dad's aunts and was bent over using a vacuum cleaner, while he sat in a chair. He showed her she didn't have to bend over to use it. Dad was 29 and she was 17 when they married.

Both Mom and Dad had large families of 10 children. Mom was from the city and Dad from the country. After they married and Dad was in the service, Mom went to live on the ranch with Dad's family.

Another story she tells is about  the shopping list. The ranch was 60 miles from town, so a monthly list was prepared by all, then Grandpa decided what was really needed. Mom always put fresh fruit on the list and he always marked it off, saying they didn't need that.

Wish I could get her to put down on paper many of the memories from then and her early years in St. Louis. They would make a great gift for all of us kids to read and treasure.

I love you, Mom.

Happy Mothers Day to Mom, Sheri, Rosario and Lili (the new Mom) and all the Moms out there !