New Life Old Farmers

Agnes was due to calve in 4 days. She was showing no signs of imminent calving Wednesday evening. Imagine our surprise to see a newly born calf as the sun was coming up Thanksgiving morning.

My Loving Spouse and I got dressed and went for a closer look at our herd. We were hoping for a heifer calve, but when I reached under the little one for a manual inspection, I could definitely feel a few little balls. (A move you can only get away with when they are still very little and stunned by the birthing process).

K21 will definitely not be named Kaden, Kayden or Kaiden. In our school there seems to be at least 2 of these in every classroom along with all the Aiden, Brayden, Caiden, Drayden, Hayden, Jaden, Layden, Wayden and Zaydens.

K21 will be Kirk.

Thanksgiving day was exactly 3 months since the day I broke my back. My regular ‘life’ is returning to me slowly. As I was able to carry small armloads of wood into the house, I was thinking how very much I have to be Thankful for.

Friday’s to do list:

Tag Kirk’s ear, give him his shot and band his balls. I can do the first two by myself, but the last one takes a few more willing participants.

Meet my BFF in town for shopping local dressed in plaid, because in Ellensburg it is Plaid Friday. Wear plaid and get a discount.

…and we are blessed.

My main contribution to life on the farm theses days is practicing patience. I’d say I’m getting better at it, but it could be all in my head.

Regardless of my ‘reality’, there has been small steps forward on finishing the Master Bath make over.

The wall paper was going to be a piece of cake. Actually, it was incredibly annoying and there was much muttering of the Bad British word.

Tiling the shower floor took 2 days. Actually, it took 2 different weekend days for an hour or so, because My Loving Spouse cannot kneel. Check out this photo.

Yep, that’s me kneeling. I was fairly impressed with myself. I can kneel, but I can’t stretch, so I could only tile for a short while. I do this while waiting for My Loving Spouse to cut the next pieces of tile.

We are a great team, even though most of our body “parts” are either broken or replaced. (Insert eye roll)

Just a random picture of a Pork Wellington My Loving Spouse made. Yes, it was delicious and no, Gunner did not get any of it.

The shower floor is done. Step one, not grouted but down.

The view of the bathroom from our bedroom is improving in small steps.

I think the paint can is a nice touch.

We love how it is all coming out, as we practice more patience.

Blessings this fall to you all.

I’ve enjoyed the fall colors more than ever this year.

Home from work I collapse into a chair and enjoy the view out the window. Cranking up the heating pad I got My Loving Spouse for Christmas last year. Congratulating myself on what an excellent purchase it has turned out to be, insert eye roll.

I fell in love with these burning bushes the first Fall we lived here. I’ve planted a few and love seeing them in all their glory.

We have a new (second hand) rooster. We’ve renamed him “Lucky”, as he had two options either Cluckingham Palace or the pot.

Lucky is meant to keep the hens in line. As he is hanging out with poor old Stuart (the most picked on hen in the house), it would seem he’ll be up to the job.

We’ve had more little visitors to the farm this fall, much to our delight. They’ve left us imprinted with joy. Which kids want to throw the ball for Gunner and which kids want to do so, but without getting their hands dirty. Each as been such fun and all are invited back for sledding into the pond when the snow comes.

The sun comes up as I leave for work, (it’s a PNW thing.)

Back to school/work full time for quite awhile now since the accident. I’ll be honest, I come home pooped and sore.

With a new library to settle into and books that need to be moved to ‘just the right spot’, it is easy to over do it. Today, I did my best to sit more and move less. Mostly because I was hurting and partially because I’d managed to wear 2 different shoes to work. (Seriously) I noticed when I walked in because I had a bit of a limp.

I love Fall, My Loving Spouse and those who make this time in my life better…

and I am blessed.

The light changes in fall and the skies are beautiful. There are no pictures of the glorious sunrises, as I enjoy them from the upstairs shower window as I get ready for the day.

Farm fresh eggs from our hens who look exactly the same. The eggs are rarely this oddly different, but don’t you wish you were a fly on the wall in the hen house when the discussion turns to how hard it is to lay an egg? (Although most flies in the hen house end up caught in a spider web, so I don’t advise it.)

My brother and his wife sent us a carton of deluxe nuts, (always nice to be thought of). I’m just wondering if they were thinking, “Well, you are what you eat.”

My summer ‘job’ is splitting wood. This pile measures about 3 cords. I’d left it out for the wind to blow through it and help it dry out. Moving the wood after I got hurt was a worry. Number Four Son has been asking, “Do you need help?” and I finally said, ‘Yes”.

Number Four with some help from his sweet wife had the 3 cords, (which by the way is hundreds of pieces of wood) stored in the woodshed within the week. I am so grateful for their willing help.

A few little friends came by the farm.

They came for the pumpkins, but they were much more interested in the poop. Yes, I said poop.

The little ones watched my buddy Beau poop in the field, much to their delight. Especially interested was the youngest who is learning what to do with his poop. I then pointed out the cow poop to the kids who thought it was the funniest thing they’d ever seen. This encouragement was all I needed. We quickly went on a farm poop hunt. I pointed out all the different poop we found.

Chicken poop, duck poop and all of the rest. The 3 & 4 year old were delighted and honestly so was I. I don’t last long on my feet right now and I can’t tell you how much fun I had.

My largest and my weirdest pumpkins are set for THE Grands in Spokane.

Life in this healing phase, emotionally takes a toll, but clearly I am blessed.

Since the accident, progress in all things comes. It just comes ever so slowly.

My Loving Spouse hired a teen to help him install the heavy cement board in the new shower.

How to build the shower wall without piercing the redi-tile in any way was his challenge.

My part becomes finalizing design and ordering/obtaining hard to get pieces via my perch.

Emotionally our reserves are low. His by how much (everything) there is to do at home. Me by how much I can not do (everything). The joy I find in the work here on hold. I’ve been told that there are stress relieving chemicals in tears, so I should be stress-free? I can still go out and count my pumpkins, which I do daily. Current count 54…

…and then John Boy got out.

My Loving Spouse was at work and no one else was around. Broken back or not when the cows get out, you have to get up. My cow wrangling skills were decidedly challenged. Making the situation for me and for him not worse was my main objective. The only place I could get him corralled was the dog yard.

I had to trick him in, but it worked. I may not be bigger, stronger or faster than a steer, but at least I am still smarter.

I am ‘getting’ to ‘practice‘ patience. I don’t really like it.

In between my ‘practicing’ I’ll keep counting the pumpkins and the blessings. Those ‘blessings’ from my ‘family’ who remind me, that I matter and that am not alone.

Gifts of humor…

Family and friends reaching out with calls, texts and messages.

Thoughtful hopes for healing…

My sister the nurse offers advice about bodily functions.

My Loving Spouse takes on all the jobs.

My brother (a pilot) offers thoughtful perspective in caring for My Loving Spouse.

I move a bit better each day, but pain comes very quickly.

Number Two Son stops by to check up on us.

Having people we care about come alongside us in this time of recovery makes all the difference.

Having My Girl & Number Six drive 3 hours to surprise us, and bring lunch….Priceless.

For each and every one of you who reach out with your care and love…

you bless us so.

The sky was blue and the wind was not blowing. We had our day planned out. My Loving Spouse was going to go flying in his Powered Parachute and then we would finish the bathroom floor and install the toilet and sink.

The beautiful new floor was going in fairly well. We’d selected the floor the easy way by copying our friends. In fact we went to the store, had them look up my BGF’s account and ordered the exact thing.

At the last moment, My Loving Spouse said, ‘Would you like to go flying with me?’

“You know, I think I would.” I was excited to finally get a chance to fly over our countryside seeing everything from above.

‘Okay, I will have to pick you up in the big stubble field as it is long enough to take off with two people there. I will fly over and pick you up.’

I drove to the stubble wheat field and waited.

He landed in it and then we turned the plane around.

Our runway is nice and long.

The pilot goes over the pre-flight instructions, where to keep my hands and to make sure my tray table is ‘latched and in the upright position.’

We take off down the field. The parachute fills out over us, but takes some time to lift us off. Unfortunately, a gust of wind comes up and catches the parachute, turning us off course toward the incline of an irrigation ditch. There was not enough space to stop the plane, so My Loving Spouse increased his efforts to lift off. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time. We went up the incline, but then the nose of the plane dug into the other side of the ditch flipping the plane over and slamming us down on our side. It was scary, quick and violent all at once and then painful.

I could see a broken bar on the plane and hear My Loving Spouse. He wanted me to get up as gasoline was dripping on me. My back hurt. At his urging, I crawled out of the plane and lay in the field. I wasn’t quiet, the pain in my back was too intense and I think I was in shock realizing that we’d crashed. As I lay in the field I could see parts of what was left of the propeller and hunks of grass caught in one of the wheels above my head.

My Loving Spouse was gratefully much more stable and went to fetch the car.

The ER was mercifully swift, delivering my pain medication (that could possibly be the eighth wonder of the world.) I still wasn’t moving or going anywhere, but at least I stopped being ‘that creepy old lady in room 8 who was moaning loudly’.

The Nurse asked how high I could fly in a Powered Parachute and I said, “Apparently, not higher than the ditch.”

The CAT Scan showed a fractured vertebrate, which accounted for the pain. Lots of good news. No surgery, no internal problems and everything still worked. We just needed time and patience.

Once we are all safely home, My Loving Spouse gets the toilet hooked up in our bathroom again, as my ability to run through the house to the second bathroom is no more.

Running through my mind is Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always…”

We have much to be grateful for and we know it…

and we are blessed.

The bathroom remodel week 2, in the middle of the road where exhaustion, sore muscles and progress all meet.

We’ve racked our brains for years to think of someone skinny enough and dumb enough (I mean someone who loved us enough) to crawl around under the house and deal with the plumbing. This very old house has lots of abandoned pipes that gets in the way, to say nothing of the fact that the cold damp ground has very little clearance in places under the house.

Plumbing issues were our first big concern, as My Loving Spouse was not sure he’d be able to get around under there. With the floor gone, My Loving Spouse cuts out as many abandoned pipes as possible giving him more room to install the new pipes he needs to connect.

He spends a lot of time down there rerouting pipes and I spend a lot of time fetching what he needs.

The house has sagged so I drag in a cement pier, lumber and a jack to hoist the house back to level, (at least in this one spot.)

My Loving Spouse takes one for the team working on the drain/sewer/stinky line “up close and personal.”

I tackle removing the wall paper. My ‘intel’ tells me that I need hot water or steam. I give my steam iron a go, which works fairly well.

We screw the new floor down and one of us learns that a hot screw can really burn. (I have the Phillips head scar to prove it.)

With the plumbing ‘done’, we tackle the shower pan. Building the shower pan was our second biggest challenge. My Loving Spouse thought we ‘could’ build the cement shower pan ourselves….dreamer. We watched the YouTube instructions together while I mutter…”we can’t do that…”

We order a Tile Redi shower pan.

We also learn that My Loving Spouse will be returning to work 2 weeks earlier than we expected. Our time line gets a hard squeeze. (Reminder, this is ‘our’ bathroom, as in without it there are two old people running around in the middle of the night who need a ‘lou’.)

The Tile Redi pan arrives. It is weird. It feels odd and is very light. The bottom of the pan is ribbed for the mortar to go into.

We watch 4 different YouTube installation videos and read the instructions multiple times. We then cut the hole for the drain line…and let me tell you, we measure about 5 times before cutting. We cannot get this part wrong.

One of us mixes the mortar and one of us spreads the mortar. The one with bendable knees spreads the mortar using a trowel for the first time. I’d say that I’ve learned a lot watching DIY shows and my trowel work seems pretty darn good.

We drop the pan into place and jiggle it as the instructions indicate. Although we are still a tad nervous, it seems as if we’ve done ‘it’.

We are exhausted, but rejoicing as we’ve overcome our two biggest hurdles to this remodel.

We might be sore, we might be tired, but we are a great team and we are blessed.

There’s a toilet on our porch. Until a few hours ago, there was a bathtub out there as well. We’re at the point of no return in our mini-me master bathroom take down.

The bead board pulls off fairly easily. We’re delighted as we’ve plans on reinstalling it in the new configuration. To keep it safe, we store it out…on the porch.

I begin taking apart the dreaded ‘plastic’ shower.

We each have our jobs. My Loving Spouse whacks away, quickly demolishing the plaster board. I pick up the pieces and throw them out the window.

My Loving Spouse makes his first of many trips ‘down the hole’. He cuts the drain line so we can rip up the rest of that shower. This ugly bathroom actually gets worse before it gets better.

The floor under the shower is nasty. There is more plumbing to remove before we can take it out. Luckily, Gunner, is on hand to help.

The high points are two more trips to the dump AND, when we get to stuff a rag into the end of the sewage pipe.

We’ve planned well. There are bathroom items everywhere around the house (and the porch). We don’t know where very much is, except the bandages and the Advil. (This is not our first rodeo). The floor is gone and there’s a mad gleam in our eyes. We keep repeating that this is ‘Our last big job’.

…and even if we’re wrong, we are blessed.