Yahoo! Went to the Dixie Stampede!

The Fox week:

The downstairs kitchen is moving toward completion. Tom finished dry walling, and we got 2 coats of paint on most of it. There is just the pillar in the family room to paint and one corner. Tom steel wooled the cabinets and we got the first coat of stain on. They look good. We hope to get the other two coats on and at least get the upper cabinets in by next weekend.

The asparagus is producing (and are most delicious!), the onions are growing and some lettuce is nearly ready to pick. However, the spinach never did sprout nor did the beets. And the carrots are lazy, too. I hope to get beans and summer veggies in this week.

We’ve devoted time to the 201 S. House. Put in an offer, they countered, we accepted. Then had a buyer who wanted to buy it unfixed, but for only $10,000 more than we paid for it. It will take $20,000 to fix it. Had inspections by plumber and heat and air on Friday. Both need replacing. I don’t know. Do we take cash and run or fix it and have equity of about $30,000. Decisions, decisions. We found the septic tank. That was good, and the soil there is VERY good. Very unusual for our area.

I have been working on making roman blinds. They are tricky little beasties! I have one nearly done. It will be interesting to see if it works as it should. I have the rings sewn on. Need to do strings and the top wood support. One nearly down, 4 more to go!

Tom’s been diligent in cutting and burning in the back 40. He’s really done a Herculean job out there. The neighbor has cut up and hauled off several trees, too. Again, we had a foil dinner in the coals one night. http://www.chuckwagondiner.com/ I think has great foil meals. Google “foil wrap meals” and it will come up.

I’ve been doing raindrop technique on several people this week. They LOVE it! More energy, better sleep, tranquility, enthusiasm and reduced pain are common results. I did learn that a 350 lb man is better off on a chair vs. the massage table.

Sandy is on the phone, so Tom has taken over the letter writing:
Saturday morning we drove to Branson to attend the time share holder’s annual meeting. Less than 35 people present, but they served a light breakfast and a lunch, so at least I was happy. We breezed through the new business and it was gratifying to know that they are taking steps to spend wisely as they upgrade or replace aging equipment. There was some hostility in the questions the share holders raised, most in reference to increasing annual maintenance fees and the negative comments of the sales representatives as they attempt to talk owners into converting their ‘weeks’ and into ‘points’. We had no real complaints; in fact after listening to some of the people there, we felt most fortunate! At least we have been able to get the dates we want.

Following this meeting, we headed directly to Silver Dollar City to take advantage of our annual passes. They have done some parking construction and road changes, so now we need to relearn the best place to park. As we approached the park, it was obvious from the number of buses and cars that the park was crowded. That fact was quickly confirmed as we entered the park and saw the mass of humanity. The park is celebrating its International Feast, and has performing groups from around the world. We had no desire to stand in line for 90 plus minutes to see the Chinese acrobats (saw them last year), but we did wait 45 minutes to see the Irish singing and dancing performers that were spectacular! We also dropped in on the Trinidad drummers and an Irish guitar singer, and the Russian Academy Band which played classic jazz. We left about 5:30 to find dinner and our lodging.

Sandy had received a phone call from a time share in Branson (not the one we own) a few weeks ago giving a sales pitch to come and check out their resort, receive a sales presentation and in return get some free dinners/shows. She did a great job of squeezing four days, three nights lodging plus 2 show tickets or $60 in dinners from them for a minimal fee. That time happened to coincide with the share holders meeting we attended so we were able to get a lot of things done in this one trip. When we checked into the Welcome Center, the representative was amazed at the benefits we were getting: “Don’t often see this!” was his comment (that’s my wife!). He asked where we wanted to eat, or what show we wanted to see. Can we do both was Sandy’s question. Sure can. So we opted for the “Dixie Stampede”; you get not only a meal, but you get to watch a live horse show, normally a $90 plus value. We go Monday night. The downside is that we need to listen to their sales pitch on Tuesday morning before returning to Mountain Home. We are practicing how to politely and gracefully listen to and then decline their offer.

Today we attended church at the afternoon ward in Branson; happened to be their ward conference. We were well edified since the Stake Presidency shared comments with us. One thing that stuck out: He commented that a person said, "I didn’t have time to do my home teaching." Oh? You only have 22 hours a day, and I have 26? No. We each have the same hours. You have time, you just choose to use it another way. So don’t say, “I don’t have time,” rather say “I choose to use my time differently.” And he talked about making wise choices with our time.

Speaking of wise choices, we have invested in some Rich Dad coaching, following Robert Kiyosaki thinking about how to gain wealth. It’s causing some mind set changes—some of which are painful. And it has required dedication of time. I believe when we are done, we will have a much better idea what investments will give us a good return on investment, and how to gain a passive stream of income, where our money works for us, vs. us working for money. We are enjoying playing Cashflow 101.

We congratulate the White family on their 10th anniversary this Friday!!

I can’t say exciting things are happening to us. It’s more of the same old, same old.

Checking out the house on 201 south sucked up more of my time. Had two contractors out. Got some good estimates and will put in an offer on Monday. After lamenting last week about various “expert’s” advices, we decided to enroll in coaching with Rich Dad. We’ll let you know how it works out, but we already have homework to do.

Wednesday Tom taught Institute while I became a rabble rouser and went to the TEA party. We had good speakers talking about the concern of over government, over spending, over control, and the concern that the government was not listening to the people. Our event was organized by a 19 year old. We had about 10% of our town turn out—retirees, young moms, lawyers, doctors, politicians, blue collar—really a wide range of people. I was surprised to hear the next day that: 1. We were dupes of the rich and this wasn’t a grass roots movement, but Astroturf (Pelosi.); and 2. We were all racists angry that a black man was in the white house, and our brains didn’t function well so we really didn’t know what we were doing (some “expert” on CNN). I am astonished at how people compartmentalize and then dismiss people of different view points, so there is no need to respond or justify one’s actions. I worry that we no longer discuss points of view, but vilify any opposition.

I went to the health fair at the fairgrounds on Thursday, more to network than to find better health. I had fun talking to people and got some good contacts. Earlier that day I’d talked to Vicky from church who had worked at the wound center and learned more about how that worked. I also did some raindrop techniques and enrolled a new distributor.

Tom finished ‘mudding’ the downstairs drywall and together we got the new walls primed and then painted. Tom washed the floor and moved the furniture back into place. Hurray! Okay, so the work isn’t yet finished, but it sure looks a lot better. The cabinets we ordered finally arrived and Tom picked them up on Friday. He called to ask if they were supposed to be finished – yes they were. Unfortunately, while we paid to have them finished, the receipt showed unfinished. Bad news: they are now in the garage awaiting two or three coats of poly urethane; good news: we saved over 25% of the cost of the cabinets and two more months of waiting.

Tom power washed our Roller Ct. rental house and fixed a few things preparatory for a new tenant. The old ones left the place in very good condition. He also helped others with wood cutting and then made a big dent in our east pasture downed limbs. We have cut up wood all over. When we were burning on Saturday, we came across a stack of old… OLD firewood with fungus growing off of it. Hmm. Guess we’d better collect and stack this firewood or it, too will get lost in the woods. Saturday the Young Women were to come over and stack and haul brush in the afternoon. Something more important came up, and Tom and I were left to labor alone. We got two piles burning and added brush and more tree limbs to each of them. It had been sprinkling off and on and we allowed the leaves around the fire to burn for a while (in controlled sections) and then they got too wet to burn. We were out there for several hours and I remembered a friend talking about making foil meals when they burned. So I tossed some onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic and chicken into double wrapped foil, and we stuck them into the coals. Mmm. Pretty good. We had a tailgate picnic in the field while we watched the fires burn down. Yummy dinner.

Saturday morning I drove to Branson for an Institute in-service meeting. It was good as usual. Just a pretty long drive there and back. The lady I planned to drive with forgot and slept in, so after a short wait, I just drove on in myself.

Sunday we sang in choir and it sounded good. We got Home Taught after church, then went to two home teaching appointments ourselves, then had the single young adults over for an activity. We discussed our favorite conference talks, then munched on goodies and played Taboo.

Rabble Rousing

This is probably the first time I have been a public activist. I often call or write my congress people, but Wednesday I went to the TEA Party. The TEA party here in Mountain Home was organized by a 19 year old and many young people participated... also middle aged, old, and babies and kid. It was held at the court house.

All that is needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.

We get the government we deserve. If we accept dishonesty and shoddy politics, we have earned it. If we insist on honesty and accountability, we can get that too. We hold the power.

I wonder if we are like the parents who have given up and let their children run roughshod over them. We can take back power. End of Rant for the day.

Easter, Chicks, Temples, and Conference

Happy Easter Sunday to all! Early in the week they predicted frosts. We prayed, but didn’t cover plants. It didn’t get as cold as they predicted and all our flowers and garden are fine.

Tuesday I went to look at a farm house on 201 south. I’m debating taking grandchildren’s money from mutual funds… which aren’t doing that well now, and putting them into a house which would need some remodeling, but would have a chance to earn them some rent money and some appreciation. Boy, you listen to the financial pundits and each has his own answer and predicts dire consequences for every other investment: Keep it in stocks, they’ll rebound. Don’t buy stocks, this is a sucker up tick, and they will tank again. Buy a house in a down market. No, don’t buy houses, they’ll continue to depreciate. Buy gold and silver. Yeah, only buy them if you want your $$ to stagnate. We’re looking at inflation. We’re looking at deflation. We see stag-flation ahead. Aack. I’m looking for good investments for when the wrath of the Lord is poured out all over the face of the earth. Oh, that’s now. Well, I looked at this Fannie Mae repo. Might be good if the price is right and if Tom’s willing once again to paint, lay tile and laminate flooring, decking, redo window sills, etc.

Wednesday, Tom and Lee Powell went to Mitchell’s Farms to pull off the plastic that covered Eldon’s strawberries from the frost. Lee also brought his 20” chain saw and spent several hours sawing trees into firewood. Tom got 3 loads taken to the chipper. The strong winds and rain have brought down a few more limbs that were snagged in our poor broken trees. This was the day I was determined the chicks had to go outside. Cedar shavings could no longer cover the smell, and it was finally past the freeze. Tom and I installed a window and a screen. We were clever! The window slides open. The screen is nailed to the inside. And we figured out a way to open and close their door to the run with some string. They seem to have taken to their coop. I still have a heat lamp inside and, because it’s been windy and chilly, I haven’t yet let them out into the run.

Thursday I went to my Advocates for the Elderly meeting. We had a police officer talking about identity thief. Some points: 1. If someone calls you, you don’t know they are who they say. Always be the initiator of the call before giving sensitive information. 2. Mailbox theft—you let them know you have things in your box by putting up the flag. They drive by like your mail carrier and swipe the mail, and put down the flag. If you have a check, they now have your account # and signature. If you’re paying a credit card bill, they may have that number, too. Drop bills you’re paying in a locked mail box. 3. Thieves target easy prey. Make it more difficult by locking your car. They swipe your car and drive it. They click “Home” on your GPS and it guides them right to your house. The garage door opener is in the car, and most people don’t lock the door between garage and house. So now they have your car and your household stuff! (The suggestion was made to put a local landmark or neighbor’s house into the GPS. It would still guide you home from long trips.)

This week I made several contacts with people who want to use the oils or try NingXia Red. Two ordered. Did a Vitaflex and a raindrop. My goal is at least 2 per week. The hardest thing is you have to have your nails stinking short! Now I have a hard time picking things up.

Friday morning we actually got out of the house on time to go to the Temple. We made the 2 pm session and met Tanya and Scott Kelley there. Went out to dinner and back to the temple. We did another session while they were to do baptisms. But the group ahead took more time so at 9 pm, Scott’s group was just starting. Tom helped. I watched. We got back to the hotel about 10:30. The member of the temple presidency said they did 2000 baptisms that day. 200 is typical.

Saturday we went back to go through with Amy Murphy before she goes on her mission. Did another session, then went to the sealing of Eloise and her new husband—an internet romance. Went out to lunch with them and the O’Brian’s, then drove to Springfield, MO for the evening session of Stake conference. Lots of emphasis on preparedness and reaching out to others. “The gospel is the cure for spiritual cancer.” Got home about 11:30.

Today we went to choir practice, then the Sunday session of Stake Conference. It was a 61 stake broadcast with Pres. Monson presiding. Good session. Some thoughts stuck out to me. Serve others. Stay out of debt. Don’t just have faith, do. Sis. Lifforth: “The faith of the early saints and their hard work built faithful saints, not permanent structures… The Lord doesn’t make his work easier, he makes us stronger and more capable.” Elder Oaks: “The Gospel explains our journey in mortality and shows our destiny in eternity.” “The gift of revelation and peace is worth more than riches. But we have to pay the price. We have to get rid of the weaknesses, folly and sins stopping us.” “Stop spending money we don’t have, to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like.” Pres. Monson: Reach out to those who are isolated, despondent, lonely—the elderly, the widowed, the offended, the sick, those lost through fear, apathy, ignorance, and sin. We touch them with love, caring, genuine friendship, and helping them see eternal possibilities. One man “had the ability to see the face of Christ in every person and to act accordingly.”

We had baptisms of a dad and two children after Conference. By the time we were done, we were in the midst of a good, heavy rain. It lasted most of the rest of the day.

CARE, Chicks, and Dry Wall

This is Sandy's version of the week. I spent last weekend in Tulsa at the CARE Intensive- oils of the bible, vitaflex, raindrop technique, chemistry of essential Oils, and using oils for emotional healing were my classes. It was three days and 25 hours of training where we observed, practiced, and were practiced on. I learned a lot! And I became more comfortable with the oils and convinced of the healing they can assist in. The presenters came from a strong conviction that God is the healer, but the oils can assist. Here is part of our CARE group. (You can see the snow outside the window.) To continue in the training, I must now practice raindrop and vitaflex on 15 people each. So far, I have done two and have several more lined up. I also have a number of books to read and learn.

One of the most fun things on Saturday was when I left Miranda’s it was pouring snow! Big fat, wet flakes just pelting down! It continued to snow all morning and it was so fun to see it pile up. We opted to order lunch in so we didn’t have to face the snowy streets, and by the time I left about 6:30 the streets were just a little slushy. Sunday morning I had to clear ice off the windows and the doors were nearly frozen shut, but by afternoon it had warmed up to about 70 degrees!

I returned home on Monday. Tom had taken good care of the chickens. They are growing and fledging out. By today they are beginning to get feathers on their heads. I’m looking forward to more feathers. They are beginning to smell and I want them out of the house. Alas, it’s supposed to freeze Mon and Tues nights and I don’t want frozen chickens… so my goal is Wednesday they meet their new home. They are fluttering up and playing king of the mountain on the waterer and feeder. They now have official names. Ace is the black one. This one is Brighid (I got them near St. Patrick’s Day). Here is Charlotte . And Lucy (who has a more red beak) is a near twin to Brighid. This week Tom put wheels on the chicken tractor. I was amazed how easy it was to move as we pushed it into the back yard.

Tom continues to play lumberjack. He and Daryl, a neighbor, took out several trees in the west pasture this week. It actually rained and wasn’t too windy, so one day Tom burned some of the branches instead of hauling them off to the county chipper. He was also motivated to burn since a friend borrowed the trailer to move into a new house. When it rained, he just moved inside and worked on the downstairs kitchen. It’s wired, insulated, sheet rocked, and partly mudded in.Friday Tom had a luncheon honoring the tutors at the Literacy Center. We also went to the home show, and were fortunate not to find anything we couldn’t live without. It was fun to meet and visit with business friends we have gained over the years. Robert Reeves almost talked us into propane on demand water heater. We went to Lettie’s for dinner and then came home and watched a movie.

Saturday and Sunday were general conference. What a treat to listen to the Prophet and the general authorities counsel. The theme I gathered was: Although times may be difficult, by building faith, trusting in the Lord, and being obedient to truths we know, we will overcome and find joy and peace. Sunday Tom had a grumbly tummy and a need to stay close to a bathroom. So we listened to the last session of Conference on the computer.

Keep on Chopping

Some people blog photos of kids. We blog what's near and dear to our hearts.... er our hurts... or maybe the sweat of our brows.

Tom has kept busy as a lumberjack again this week. Here is a view of some of the debris in our west pasture.

This is a tree that the neighbor took his chain saw to. Tom hauled off

the limbs, and Daryl just chopped up the tree. I took the picture standing on the stump. He came the next day with his tractor and hauled off the wood.

The wood pile keeps growning.

And growing. .

The pile is about 4 feet high and 60 feet long-- a little over 7 ricks of wood. And every now and then, Tom takes time off to relax.

Sunday Letter-- A little late

The assistant editor is at the keyboard today, completely unsupervised while Sandy is in Tulsa attending an oils seminar and visiting with Miranda and Dan.

Of notable calendar events making history this coming week, our award winning entry is for Adam Fox, who was baptized on April 1st; the year was 1990. While I have to think about the year, the day and month are still unforgettable; this event is remember able because of the Oreo cookies the sister missionaries shared with us just prior to the service. Those who partook of the ‘forbidden’ cookies will well remember their breath freshening flavor.

Sandy and I created a new game this past week, called “turn on all the lights and see which circuit breaker turns them off”. Okay, so we were just trying to isolate which circuits were on which breaker. And no, we weren’t bored. We needed to know which breakers powered the downstairs kitchen area, since we are doing some remodeling in that area. We were able to identify over 90% of the lights and circuits. This house originally had baseboard heat installed in most of the rooms; most of these were removed when the central heat/air was installed (before our time). The wires were still in the downstairs kitchen area and also in the breaker box (albeit disconnected and labeled), and we had hoped to make a separate circuit using that wire. Unfortunately, while there were wires at both ends, there was no continuity. We called in an electrician who confirmed our findings. Now what to do; we needed at least one more circuit running to that area – two if we wanted to bring it up to code. The electrician located wires in an exterior box that would provide two circuits; he was able to run an outside line to that part of the house and drill a hole through the cinder block right where we needed the lines. Problem solved without too much destruction, except to the checkbook. I was able to get all the firring strips attached to the wall and one inch foam insulation installed. This week, with Sandy’s help, we will get the drywall up. We might get this done before summer arrives!

Wednesday afternoon, four of the church young women and one of their dads showed up to help with the continuing limb removal program. We had two trucks and two trailers and in three hours were able to make five runs to the dump site and stack at least a rick of wood (4 x 8 foot). In return for the girls work, I donate money into their girl’s camp fund; it’s a win win situation.

Almost two weeks ago, three of my GED students from the rehab facility took their GED tests. The results came back this week for the two that completed the exam, and both had passed. There was much joy and rejoicing, as evidenced by the shouts and screams over the phone when they were notified of the results. The third one did not finish the test until this past Tuesday, so we should learn her scores by this week’s end; I am not worried about her, her practice test scores were excellent. In fact, her scores should arrive about the same time as her baby is induced.

I spent some time this week making a couple of minor repairs to one of Rebecca’s rent houses and cleaning up the limbs left by the tree trimming service that came and removed a couple of questionable limbs hanging over the car port. And Deborah’s rent house now has R-30 insulation in most of the attic. I need to return tomorrow and finish the job.