Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[Ridgetop]

PT this morning.
Got up and did dishes from last night. While repairman was looking at oven the boyd turned off the circuits which turned off the DW in mid cycle. (Repairman obviously not a lineman who would just take a chance on leaving an active circuit. LOL) Discovered problem when went to put dirty, greasy dishes away before loading dinner dishes ldt night. Had a full sink load of dishes, pots and pans from feeding 8 people so left them on sink after rinsing. This am made coffee, then unloaded DW and reloaded. Robert was up with mama. She was sleeping on couch. He was watching cartoons. How well I remember those last weeks of pregnancy when you fell asleep everywhere and could barely get out of deep chairs. Thank you God for menopause! Gave him a sippy cup of milk and a snack bowl of Cheerios. He tried to push one into his sleeping mother's mouth and she gagged and woke up. Thanks Robert - so generous.

Next played a little bridge online. Terrible partner. Took me to 6 Diamonds after I passed on it's (robot) 3 No Trump bid, signaling I wanted to stay at game in NT. Naturally we went down. Playing online is unsatisfactory since you can't ask your partner "What were you thinking?!" I ask anyway and answer myself for the computer - "Well, I wasn't thinking, duh."

Need to clean barn jugs for new set of lambing ewes. IF they lamb. For some reason, in spite of being marked enthusiastically by ram none of them seem ready to lamb. A couple of the older ewes are definitely pregnant, but
no udders yet and several due dates are October 30. The rest are due mid-November. Only 3 of the 11 are first timers so I think we should throw a ram in with them again and see f the summer heat caused anyone to resorb the pregnancy. Breeding now will give us lambs in March/June. Ugh. Although not the hottest months it gets pretty hot in May. If we are lucky June Gloom will cool down June. California weather patterns are odd. Grandsons said maybe they will come to work in barn on weekend IF they are not busy. Right. Moving to Texas and being without family round "to help us" won't be much of a hardship. And we will have a tractor.

Got to take my shower and get ready for PT.

 

[Ridgetop]

Repair company called and want $341.00 to order part and install - it would be $431 but the $90 we already paid for service call is put against the total. The repair person said that there was a 70% chance that would fix the problem but there were 2 other control board that might be broken. If so, they would have to order more arts and another charge to install them. DS and DH were not happy when I told them the repair company said we had to give them our credit card # before they would order the part. ????

DS ordered the part online for $184 which includes shipping and will install it himself. If it doesn't fix the problem, he will order more control board parts. Discussing this at the dinner table DH suggested we just buy a new one! WHAT?!The 30" double oven cost $2900 6 years ago plus installation charge. Appliances have increased in price like everything else and the same oven now is $4000. Both DS1 and I vetoed his suggestion loudly. When we told him what new ovens would cost he was shocked. DS1 reminded him that we just had to replace the microwave while in Texas and it was $300+ which was $100 more than the last one we bought. Prices are ridiculous! The farm has a stove and oven combo which is much cheaper than buying a stovetop and wall oven. The apartment building was high end when it was built - with all electric appliances, countertop stove and wall oven. We gutted the kitchens and replaced the wall oven and stovetop with a kitchen range with self-cleaning oven. If we had replaced the countertop stove and wall oven, the appliances would have cost twice what the stove alone cost. I wanted a double oven at the time we did this kitchen since I was doing a lot of cooking, entertaining, and all the holidays for the entire family. I am really glad to have just a stove in the new place. It has a self-cleaning oven too.

DH told me to go to Michael's today since they were having a big 30% off yarn sale. Big mistake on his part. I buy knit when we drive to and from Texas. It is very calming. I have started knitting faster now and often run out of yarn and insist on buying yarn when we go to Walmart for groceries. I have started making small blankets, the size toddlers will be able to carry around with them. I need to learn to crochet an edging around them and then will donate them to the abused women's and children's shelter. Many times, those poor women have to leave their homes in the middle of the night and can't take anything with them because their men will track them down. Being able to have a soft little blanket for a baby or toddler when they come into the shelter would be nice for them, I think. My grandchildren love the ones I knitted for them, but they can only use so many. LOL I do have to knit one for DS2's and DDIL2's new baby coming in early December. Poor Robert will have a hard time of it having to share his mama. He is very attached and a bit spoiled.

We will put Lewis in with the ewes this weekend to see if he marks any of the ones that don't look pregnant. After 2 weeks we will move any that don't mark (pregnant) out of the pen and move in the yearling ewes. Lewis is 6 years old and I want to get as many ewe lambs out of him as possible before he gets too old. Moyboy is 4, and Smalley is 3. I have a young 6-month-old ram lamb out of Lewis coming along. Snowflake has 2 lovely month-old ram lambs out of Moyboy which I am keeping to see how they grow. So far Lewis and Moyboy have produced the nicest lambs on appraisal. Moyboy has produced more ewe lambs (5-5s, 1-4). Lewis produced more ram lambs in the first couple years, but the ewes he has sired are all really good (2-5s, 2-4s). Axtell has been sold (1-5, 3-4s). We weren't as happy with his lambs and they don't shed as well. Smalley's lambs have to grow a bit to be appraised but his first crop are looking good and the appraiser liked them.

Our numbers currently stand at 3 breeding rams, 3 ramlings, 22 breeding ewes, 5 maiden yearling ewes coming into the breeding flock, 5 six-month-old ewelings, and 4 two-month-old ewelings. We will be adding more ewelings before the end of the year. We should have a good-sized registered flock when we move to Texas.
Better order some hay next year for the flock. Maybe we can bring some grass hay back on our return trips from taking panels and equipment to Texas.

 

[Baymule]

A tractor will do the work of THREE DS’s. Just saying……. AND it starts and goes to work whenever you want it to.

Tractor works-you ride!

 

[Ridgetop]

The oven part came, DS1 installed it, and the oven works fine.

I cleaned out 2 lower kitchen cabinets. Some of the items will be packed to go to Teas. Some I will offer to my children. There is a Kitchenaid popcorn popper with extra parts. Since I made popcorn for 6 people for movie nights, they ate everything before I could get any. I had ordered extra parts to be able to make 2 batches immediately. I might offer that to my kids. I also have an almost new pressure cooker bught right before I got my first Instapot. Now I just use the Instapot pressure cooker feature. I have a Kitchenaid ice cream maker. It doesn't make much, but also doesn't need ice and salt. I might take that to Texas. I have a larger electric one that does use salt and ice in the Conex and that one can go to one of the kids. I also sorted out a lot of nice, attractive baking dishes that I rarely use except on Christmas - the kids can have those. Once the 2 bottom cabinets were sorted and cleaned, all the baby bottles, sippee cups, snack cups, etc. that DDIL2 kept in a large plastic bin on the sink fit in one cupboard. the other cupboard had room for their small Instapot that had been living on the counter for a year. My Instapot is larger and lives in the top of the small pantry cupboard. DDIL'2 s small and they use it as a rice cooker.

I cleaned out the upper shelves in the dish cupboard and sorted out a lot of coffee mugs to go to Texas. That made room for Robert's sippee cups to go on the shelves which emptied out one of the bins that was holding them in the lower cupboard I had emptied. More space for DDIL to put her stuff on the counter away. Next I will go through the Tupperware stuff and sort out what I don't use much. Some will remain here for DS2 and DDIL2. I will buy some new stuff for Texas.

Tomorrow I need to box up the stuff I plan to bring to Texas. Then I can start going through the other closets and cupboards to sort out what I plan to bring to Texas. Most of that we will bring back in April/March when we come for the wedding. I will be able to store it in the house or the shed. That reminds me that I have to make reservations at Best Western for the wedding for 2 nights. Or make reservations at a trailer park in Athens. If we are goig to make a quick trip we can brig a trailer with stuff in it, If we plan to stay a while, we will bring the 5th wheel trailer and can fit quite a lot of boxes and items inside it.

DS1 moved Lewis down to the front breeding pen today. He marked P-9 immediately. She already was possibly marked 6/25 but it had a ? after the date so who knows. Like DS1 said he may just have been excited to see the girls. We will see over the next couple weeks if more ewes mark. It is possible that some of the ewes that don't look pregnant either reabsorbed the pregnancy, or just did not cycle in the extreme heat. Any that did not settle, will be bred to Lewis. The temps for the next week are supposed to be in the low 70's. We are also supposed to be getting the remnants of a hurricane that is supposed to come up from Mexico. We can use the rain, and the lower temps will insure fertility in Lewis.

Tonight I cooked the last 2 winter squash Teresa gave me. (I cooked one in Texas in the trailer.) I just cut off the hard outer shell, took out the seeds, and cut the squash into large chunks. I boiled the chunks until they were tender. Robert loved it! When I made it in Texas I added cinnamon, butter, and brown sugar. I didn't do that tonight. I will have to plant some of those squash in my garden. I could probably can the squash and use it like pumpkin for pies.

More kitchen cabinets, cupboards, and closets will be cleaned out and contents downsized over the coming months. I also have a very nice wooden portacrib with a new mattress and bedding that I have to either sell, give away, or store. It is sitting in my living room, completely wrapped in plastic ready to be put in the shed loft. Used it for Annabel and haven't needed it for about 5 months or more.

One of Erick's bitches has bred and hopefully is pregnant. We are getting a puppy. Maybe we will be able to pick it up when we are back there for the wedding.

 

[Baymule]

The joys of packing, sorting, this stays-this goes, give this away, trash this……. I don’t envy you that part. Then the “nesting” will begin. Our early knuckle dragging ancestors sure had it much easier. Just kill a bear and take his cave! Build a fire and call it home. No moving boxes, no decorating, maybe paint animals on the walls to capture their spirit juju for a successful hunt, but that was about all. Look at us now! Look at all the baggage we haul around!

I like painting, prep work, taping off, covering things with plastic, etc. I can get Chris to feed for me and come help. My house isn’t finished, still need to put up 10 or 20 miles of trim, but I think I did a pretty good job so far, of transforming tacky mobile home walls to something I can live with. You have admired my work at Layne’s house. So I think I could do a good job at your house too. Plus I work for Bluebell Ice Cream.

 

[Ridgetop]

Luckily by the time I get around to dealing with the interior of the Yantis place your leg will be fine! There will be lots to do there.

So got the name and phone number of the landscaping company that the tenant is using to mow lawn etc. at Yantis. I plan to keep him on when the tenants move out in 6 months since we will have so much ranch and reno work to do that we won't have time to mow the front and back lawns. I don't want to buy a regular lawnmower for our small area of lawn and DH hates mowing the lawn.

I called Jeremy and asked if he would be able to plant my fruit trees for me this winter since I wouldn't be back until the end of February which will be past time to plant bare root trees. He said he would be able to do that and that he had a nursery source in Lindale who was a real expert on varieties that would grow well in the Yantis area. He said that this friend has some older trees also that would bear sooner. Turns out he lives a mile up the road. Not only does he have a lawncare/gardening business, but he is a pastor at Seymour Bible Fellowship Church also just up the road, so a neighbor. Today I sent him a plan of the property and told him the fruit trees I want. He will check with his friend and let me know the recommendations for varieties. I want semi dwarf since they will bear plenty and won't get too tall for me to be able to prune properly. So happy to have found him since I have been wanting to get fruit trees in for the past year and was afraid I would not be able to get them in this year either. He will be able to water them when needed while we are not there as well. He will help me decide the best area to out the "mini orchard" and let me know how much $$ he will charge me. If necessary I can install driplines to the trees in the sprung when we come back for the wedding, but he might need to put some panels around the trees to protect them from Cody's cattle.

He has 4 children, the eldest is 14 and DH had me ask if the boy would be available to get to know the dogs in order to feed for us if DH, DS1, and I want to go away together. They homeschool and have a "mini farm" with a couple dairy cows, some pigs, chickens, etc.

Next thing I did was email the fence person with a copy of the plat map for the property. I had asked hm if he did fence row clearance and he said yes. I decided to do the fence in sections with him clearing the fence line except for the large trees (I want them for shade) and put the fence on the property line or just inside. Decided that allowing a 20' alley around the property line would cost more in gates and not be worth it. I will probably have the front fence along the highway installed inside the current cattle fence and leave the thick trees and bushes for privacy and to cut the noise. The long side of the property just got a new barbed wire 5 strand fence last year courtesy of the next-door property tenant and my cattle tenant. That side will be the last to be done and I might just put my tall fence right against it on my side. Nathaniel will get me a quote soon. By doing it section by section I the cost will be less painful. Since Nathaniel works a regular job, he and his relatives will probably do it on the weekends so this might be easier for the too. His BIL also does welded pipe fencing and since we have 3 sides of a 30' x 50' area done with welded pipe, I will have him do the 4th side. Unfortunately, that side is 50' along the neighbor's driveway so I will have to have gates cut in and installed in the south 50' side for me to get into the garden plot from the house, and in the west side (near the barnyard) to access the plot with a tractor to rototill and dump manure. Then we will put wire on the welded pipe to keep pests out of the garden, and also to keep in feeder pigs to clear the weeds and brush.

Did a bit more office work and it took me almost the entire day. This evening was DGS1's 15th birthday party for family. The boys (both large and small) played some role-play games. Anyone remember Dungeons and Dragons? He also got a rabbit for his birthday, a gift from DD2. DS1 and DH were unsure if DD1 and DSIL1 knew about this gift of a live creature, and we all agreed that if DD1 refused to keep it that we would not keep it either. I told DS1 and DH of they refused to keep it we would eat it but it is a rather small English Spot so not much meat. They were apparently rather squeamish about that since they had been petting it so I told them that I would do the deed and just stew it. DGD1 was holding the rabbit at the time and was horrified that her dear grandmother would be so cruel. As it turned out dd1 and DSIL1 had okayed it. DD1 is hopeful that they will be ok living with it since she and DSIL1 are allergic to cats, which means they are also allergic to rabbits. (Cat hair and rabbit hair is almost identical.) DD1 was already getting stuffed up as we left so I told her I would give her some of my allergy stuff tomorrow. If she takes it on the way home from work every day she might be ok. Otherwise, it will be relegated to the backyard.

Tomorrow I will start packing the stuff I plan to bring to Texas that are currently sitting in the dining room table. DD1 took 2 of the pretty baking dishes I was giving away. She didn't want the Kitchenaid popcorn maker but maybe DDIL2 will like it for her boys. There is always Goodwill.

I also have to stain the oven cabinet. When we replaced our double oven several years ago we discovered that the new and better heat insulation and shielding has made them smaller. We had to rebuild the interior of the cabinet for the oven and it left an open 8" space underneath. DS1 cut a piece of oak to fit but it never got stained. Every so often DH would mention that I had to do that but I never seemed to have the time. I finally got some filler and puttied up the seams before we went to Texas. Returning from Texas I kept saying that I had to sand it down and stain it but . . . . DS2 has been making a storage cabinet and was sanding it so I asked him if he could jut sand off the kitchen cabinet. He did and now I have to hurry to stain and varnish it before something spills on the bare wood. Or the heat, steam, and grease in the kitchen messes up the raw wood over the next few years. It has been 2 days already so tomorrow I better get it stained. The stain has to dry 24 hours and then I will put on the Varathane. Staining it is the important part. I need to mix the stain to match the color of the oak cabinets. They were original a light honey color but over the years they have darkened. I need to get some scrap oak and try the different mixes of stain color to get it right.

Next the bathroom door is sagging in its hinges (we think) since it now grabs at the bottom and has removed the stain from the oak. I suggested that I just remove the hinge and put a piece of cardboard under the hinge before replacing it. That is a quick cure for sagging doors but DS1 wants to sand off the offending door area. Whatever makes him happy. The door is hanging up so badly now that it screeches when anyone closes it and opens it back up. Another easy, but time consuming, repair job. DS1 will sand it off but wants me to stain and varnish it.

DH said that we will be coming back for the wedding on March 3 and staying in a motel for several days since he wants to bring a load of corral fencing and panels back using DS2's flatbed trailer. We will drop the trailer at the ranch and then drive down to Athens and stay for several days in a motel for the wedding. If the tenants are out of the house we can stay there (inflatable mattress time). I will bring back some housewares, lamps, towels, folding chairs, etc. to camp out in the house. If not, I will check on renting one of the small cabins that are available for rent at Lake Fork (or Fork lake - whichever). We can put up the corral panels around the fruit trees while we are there. If the tenants are out, I can also measure all the rooms to draw up a floor plan of the house with electrical outlets, fixtures, etc. If the tenants have not been able to move into their new place yet, I will still bring back boxes of stuff in the bed of the truck and store them in the shed. I will tarp the load good to keep it dry. DS2 has replaced his TVs with larger ones several times and we have a couple in the storage sheds so can bring back one and have the cable hooked up. I will have the water and electricity left on when they move out. With the house empty we will have somewhere to stay while we do work on the place or we can bring the trailer back and leave it in the barn to use when we come back and forth with trailer loads of fencing, panels, etc. That way we can bring back large flatbed or cargo trailer loads of our belongings and equipment. Really want to get on with moving.

 

[Baymule]

Let the fun begin. And somewhere in there your DH needs his other knee replaced? And then the following PT. Better map it out on the schedule and get it done.

On the new barb wire fence, don’t roll wire over it. The barbs will hang the sheep and goat wire, making it harder to stretch, the barbs will snag you and it will be unsightly. Take down the barbed wire, then roll out the sheep and goat wire.

 

[farmerjan]

Is the barbed wire on the inside or outside of the posts? If the outside, roll the sheep wire on the inside of the posts, and then it won't catch when stretching. Otherwise it would be better to take it down. OR you could use electric netting offset a foot inside of it if you are going to use this for rotational grazing.

 

[Ridgetop]

This is the south side of the property, farthest from the barn and house (see the order in which I put those - shows the importance in which I hold them). 1,729' of fencing there. Also lots of mature trees on that side. Cody and neighbor removed the brush and piled it on the property waiting for a burn day. I figure that side and the front along Hwy 154 will be the last areas to do. Since Cody and the neighbor refenced that side (or most of it) I am not sure whether to remove the barbed wire or just fence in front of it. I will have to talk to Cody about this when we get to that side.

On another note, the Dorper sheep breeder in Sulphur Springs told me not to bother fencing off the large pond. According to him the only dangerous pond (liver fluke) would be the small one that is pretty muddy and trampled. I want to have that one re-dug eventually. I guess I should start looking for someone to tell me how much that would cost. Also have to find a glazer for the tub and shower. I emailed several companies, but they want to tear out the bathroom and rebuild it. I can do that myself. I want the tub and shower reglazed like I had done in the apartment. Cheaper and easier than having the bathrooms torn out. I need to have it done before we move in since you can't stay in the house during the process since the odor can be toxic. It is a 3-4 day process per bathroom.

Hurray! Found someone in Longview who will come out to Yantis! I will still have to add a shower in the tub (built in 1972 when they were not adding showers to all tubs) but that will be very easy to do since access to the water pipes is right in back of linen closet. Refinisher says better to tile the tub (current surround is Formica and only goes up about 18") before doing the refinishing so it doesn't get scratched. I will get a plumber to do the new shower plumbing. Will need to get new tub faucet and controls. Reglazing will cost between $1,500 to $2,000, depending on the size of the shower stall and the difficulty in glazing around the handicap bars. I think I will remove the glass shower door and have the installation holes filled and covered. Using a shower curtain is easier than a glass shower door particularly for people like DH and I who sometimes lose our balance. Easier and cheaper to replace a shower rod and curtain than it is to replace a glass door after you fall through it! Not to mention, the trip to the emergency room for stitches. Those glass shower doors are very expensive and hard to install.
Things are coming together! All I need now is to rob a bank to get the money!

Couldn't sleep last night so got up at 4 am and packed up the coffee mugs that are going to Texas, then crocheted more of the edging border around one of the blankets. I found a U-Tube tutorial and have used it to learn a crocheted edging stitch. Very easy and pretty. Have edged 2 of the knitted blankets already with contrasting yarn. This stitch is easy to do and would make a pretty blanket so I may start crocheting as well. Harder to keep the crochet hook attached to the piece though when you have to stop. Heaven knows after attending the yarn sales at Michaels and Hobby Lobby I have enough yarn to last for the rest of the year. Went back to bed at 5:30 and finally fell asleep. Probably should have just stayed up and done more closet cleaning. Unfortunately, the closets I wanted to clean were in my bedroom which would have woken DH so . . . .

DS2 and DDIL2 have taken Robert to a Pumpkin Patch so this would be the perfect time to stain the oven cabinet in the kitchen. Better go do that now.

 

[Margali]

Harder to keep the crochet hook attached to the piece though when you have to stop. Heaven knows after attending the yarn sales at Michaels and Hobby Lobby I have enough yarn to last for the rest of the year.

Use a wide stitch marker loop or safety pin with a bit of string wound on it. It will leave you a loop you can resize to put the crotchet hook thru.