HEY EVERYBODY, ITS DONNA

First thing I want to do is thank everyone for their concern and best wishes while I have been ill. Makes you feel better just knowing there are so many caring people in blogland. The pneumonia bug really did hit me hard this time, but am now almost back to my old self and ready to take on the world. Some thought I was nuts to be in an e.r. at night and back to work the next day, but have found, especially with pneumonia, the worst thing I can do is lay around. The fluid builds up too much in my lungs.  Then to top if off, on Fridays if I have been good all week on watching my fat and cholesterol, I treat myself to fast food breakfast. Apparently this Friday I got some bad food and had a mild case of food poisoning.  I know my long hours are a concern to everyone, but its what I am used to, couldnt tell you the last decade I worked a 40 hour week, have always been a certified workaholic,but I come by it naturally, my Dad was also one.  For many years I was a manager of a large 24 hour facility and that is not a 40 hour job. The job I have now at the logistics company is a sit on your butt and crunch numbers all day. I love the restaurant, active, around interesting people, many who have become good friends.  Many of you in your pre-retirement worked, came home cut grass, ran the kids around etc, so I just look at it that way.  To paraphrase a country song 'if your going through hell dont slow down keep on going before the devil even knows you're there'. Well, I figure if I dont slow down my age wont catch up with me :-) Just in my nature to go.  Donna of Cave Dwellers thinks I ought to get a spoon and Crisco, which really cracked me up. It reminded me when I was young I could never dive under water, butt just wouldnt go down...my dad jokingly called me Crisco, meaning fat in the can. One day in the not too distant future I will retire from the 70 to 80 hour weeks, but my body would probably go into shock if I didnt do something, either work part time or volunteer somewhere.
Now I want to tell you about two very remarkable people. Paul and Helen of http://ptempesta.blogspot.com/
They treated me like a queen while we were at their home. They will always hold a special place in my heart. Helen is a natural born nurturer. The 3 birds we brought them as an unexpected gift got more care from her than their mother probably would have given them. She religiously every hour would stop whatever she was doing to feed them, make sure they had a clean 'nest' and in general fussed over them.  They both do such much for so many people and animals they wear me out just thinking about what they do. They travel hundreds of miles to make sure a rescue dog is going to a good home before they will relinquish them, they travel to meet up with other rescuers to get dogs to their final destination, they foster pregnant dogs and care for them and their pups until they are old enough to be adopted.  They are constantly helping anyone that needs a hand or just someone that needs a kind listening ear.  They treated Sam, Riggins and myself so wonderfully, I cant thank them enough
Well, guess I have rambled on long enough...but do want you to know how much I appreciate everyones concerns, but hey I'm Irish (fiery) German (stubborn as they come) and Scottish (squeeze a nickel) so I'm going to be okay, now if I can only get Sam to stop worrying, he's got enough gray already.

Sunday Notes/Monday Meanderings.

After a busy day of being house mother/ nurse/ and chief cook and bottle washer I decide not to post yesterday and just sit and drink a couple of Millers and chill last night for awhile.

Donna spent most of Saturday and Sunday napping and relaxing and her medicine seems to be working she kept her meals down both days and is even beginning to look a little better, she went to the truck company this morning and so far so good. I will see what she looks like when she gets home.

Adam went home Saturday, his Mom came and picked him up Saturday night and said they were having a function with her sisters Sunday. He had a good weekend while he was here with his buddy and the xbox thing.

Got an e-mail saying my instrument cluster for the truck has been rebuilt and they are shipping it back UPS today, should be here by the end of the week. Then I will have a whole truck again.

We had an all day rain here again, I just don’t think they want me to get my grass cut until I have a field of hay.

Hop everyone is having a good week, we are here at the Ranch. be safe out there . Sam & Donna…….

Saturday Mumblings.

Was up at 06:00AM had my coffee, Donna was up most of the night sick to her stomach after coming home from the truck company, she ate very little and didn’t keep it down. I think it might be the antibiotic she is taking, that upset her stomach. No coffee for her this morning, I made her an egg sandwich for breakfast and she managed to keep it down. and then sipped water all day.  We will try something light for supper tonight. She had already called last night and told Jerry at the restaurant she would not be able to make it in tonight either making it a full week she hasn’t worked the the restaurant. I know she got a couple naps today so maybe the rest is helping.
Adam was out the door about 09:00AM to play with his buddies he came back for lunch and then went back out until about 02:00PM when they had to go somewhere with there parents, so he decided to xbox for awhile.
I went down to change the rear disc brake pads on Samantha’s Saturn, when I got the wheels off I looked at the calipers and never saw a mounting system like it before. I went up on the laptop and printed out the service manual page on replacing them and in big letters were the words, special tool GM number such and such required for removal of these calipers and hand brake assembly.
I decided right then that this job would have to be done at a garage that had already bought the special tools, since it isn’t my car I am done buying $50 dollar wrenches that you use twice in a lifetime. My son will have to do what I do when I run into those things in life and take it in and have it done.
He is having a week of it , the battery went out in his jeep and now the brakes are grinding on Samantha’s car. They can make it with one car for awhile so he will be buying a battery first.
I was going to go to the RV place to see about what I will have to do to get a replacement window for the fiver, but I decided since my budget took a $225 hit to have my speedometer cluster repaired this week I will wait until I have a few more dollars set aside and then replace it. the patch doesn’t leak and Like Rick said, I can’t see it from inside the bedroom with the shade down.
Weather was sunny and in the middle 80”s again but the ground is still soaked, it will take quite a few days like today to dry the water that standing 4 inches deep in the low spots.
That’s about it for today, hope the weekend is going great for everyone out in blogland. Be safe out there, Sam & Donna.

T.G.I.F.

Up at 0;30AM with my bride for coffee,then she was off to the truck company,she is taking another night off tonight from the restaurant.

It rained pretty hard here today so we are set back again with our plans to dry and mow grass.there is water standing everywhere, the ground is saturated.

I will be leaving in a little while to drive to Warrenton Mo. to pick Adam up he texted me yesterday and asked if he could spend the weekend.

Not much going on, Donna seems to be looking and feeling brighter, and she is sleeping better, so maybe the rest is doing her good.

Have a couple of jobs to get done here when it stops raining. Samantha’s car needs brakes on the rear and my son is getting a battery for his car when he gets paid today.

Other than that no news on the Weeb Ranch front today. Hope everyone is going have a great weekend. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

Thursday Happenings.

Up at 04:30AM with my pretty bride, we had our coffee and then Donna headed for the truck company, She has decided to take another night off from the Restaurant. for which I am really pleased last night she was so exhausted after taking her medicine she fell asleep watching TV about 07:00PM.She needs several nights like that.
I wanted to let you all know what happened here, While we were in Florida Donna had a persistent cough that appeared to get worse as the week went on. She never complained and said she really enjoyed her vacation stay, but after sleeping like a log the first two nights, the cough would keep waking her up and I know she was wearing down.
On the drive back Sat,Sun & Monday she coughed even worse and started coughing up blood, she was also tired, and only drove about 3 hours on Monday before wanting a nap.
Tuesday she went to the Med First and they sent her to the E. R. at St Joseph’s Hospital in Lake St Louis. There they diagnosed the pneumonia and put her on an antibiotic I.V. and put a bunch of fluid into her. When they sent her home they also gave her an antibiotic , pain killer prescription.
Happily the bleeding has stopped and she is feeling much better, Donna has had recurring episode’s of pneumonia in the last five years, one of the reason’s why I want her to retire and us to head south at the first sign of cold weather. I am hoping and praying that we can do this and she can retire in January like she says, Thank you all for your concern, I live in constant fear that something will happen to her, and I won’t have a partner for our travels.
Enough of the doom and gloom, I just wanted everyone to know she is doing better and what happened.
Now to the good news I got a text message from Adam and he wants to spend the weekend with Grandpa, so I will be picking him up at the bus stop tomorrow.
Today I put a new sewer hose in the fiver, the old one sprung a pinhole leak while I was dumping it at the campground on the way home. I also took the white lithium grease spray and sprayed the screw gear on my back leveler jacks, now they shoot up and down real easy like.
Other than restocking a few groceries and putting new clothes in the fiver is ready for our next adventure. I will probably take Adam & Nicole camping as soon as they are out of school for the summer. I will wait until the pools are open at the campgrounds which is usually Memorial Weekend.
Went to the service station and topped the truck off with diesel since the fuel gauge is in the cluster that is away being repaired I didn’t know how much fuel I had left, now that it is full I can watch the miles on the GPS and know when I get close to 500 to refill, hopefully by that time my cluster will be back. Also filled the can with gas for John Deere, I got John out and we started on the front yard as I worked my way back I got stuck in a water/mud hole that I didn’t notice and had to pull John out with my truck. no pulling him by hand, way to much weight and in mud he was plain stuck. My aching back tells me how dumb it was to try.
It was sunny and in the middle 80’s again ,but boy there is still a lot of water lying out there, I guess it must have rained a ton while we were gone. Might be another week before it dries out.
Well that’s about it here in Dardenne Prairie, we sure hope everyone s having a great time this week and the weather is as nice as it is here. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

Wednesday Musings.

Slept in until 05:45AM this morning Donna had left for the truck company, she wasn’t feeling well since Sunday so she stopped at the Med-First on the way home last night , they sent her to the E.R. at St Joseph’s Hospital in Lake St Louis. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, they gave her a couple od prescriptions to have filled and told her to try to get some rest. She went in to the truck company, but got someone to cover her shift at the restaurant tonight.

I went to Walgreens and filled the prescriptions, and then went grocery shopping.

Still to wet in the low areas to cut, maybe tomorrow,other than that is was a nice sunny day in the low 80’s and windy, maybe that will help dry things out.

Just another slow and peaceful day here in Dardenne Prairie, not much going on.

Waiting now for Donna to come home and see what to make for supper. 

Hope everyone is having a fine week. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

Tuesday Thoughts.

Was up at 04:30AM and had coffee with my bride, then she was off to the truck company.I then got caught up on a week of missed train pictures,

Then later in the morning I removed the instrument cluster from my truck and packed it, and then took it to the UPS Store to be shipped to US Speedometer to be rebuilt. The last several months it would all of a sudden go to the max speed indication while you were driving, and then stay there for a couple days before coming back down and working normal for a few days, then it would go back up again. The Chevy dealer wanted between $400 and $450 to remove the cluster and then they would send it somewhere and when it returned reinstall it. Us Speedometer is in Virginia and the guarantee  there work and the cost for a complete rebuild is $225 and they pay UPS shipping both ways. They said there are stepping motors inside the cluster that go bad, but as long as they have it apart all new bulbs and other parts are replaced.

Supposed to be returned in a weeks time. I can still use the truck and the trucks computer will store the odometer reading and it will read right when I reinstall the cluster. I will just use my GPS to know how fast I am going.

Nicole just came home and Rigg’s was waiting for her to get his kisses and licks in. I love hearing her squeals and laughter.

Sadie spent most of the day by her Grandpa I guess she is making up for the time lost last week.

The ever vigilant Sadie & Rigg’s on guard at the back door.

Got this from Karen & Steveo, at Little House Big Back Yard, looks like Rigg’s.

Rained yesterday was, sunny this morning but still way to wet to cut the grass, wow it looks overgrown, my son didn’t get to it while we were gone. Now it’s raining again. Told Nicole it was gonna rain pitchfork and hammer handles, so be careful not to get hit in the head.

That’s about it for today, Everyone be safe out there. Sam & Donna……