This, that, and the other

11/27/09 Friday
It’s almost 11:00 now. I’m frustrated, as I often am. It’s not just the headache and the fact that I’m slow that frustrates me. There is so much to do and I’m having difficulty doing it because the tractor again refuses to go into reverse. It used to be I could coax it to do so but now it gets to the point where it won’t back up at all. I did manage to plow some furrows before it warmed up to the level reverse stops working. I can’t hook on to the disc if I can’t back up to it and that’s a tool I need to use. There’s no way I can drag it to the tractor. Maybe later I can drag the device I made by bolting tires together and chaining them to a three point hitch up to the tractor so I can use it but that is doubtful. Perhaps after the tractor cools off reverse will work again. I don’t know but will find out. We may get rain or snow this weekend so I really want to plant the six hundred pounds of rye seed that are sitting in the garage, but that will require using the tire drag to cover the seeds over. I was considering hooking the broadcast spreader to the tractor behind the disc and spreading seed but now I think I must pull it by hand like I did last year. That took days to do and then weeks to rake it all under by hand.

I so hope to buy a better tractor when I go to Ohio. The flight is scheduled to leave Wednesday morning. There is lots I need to do before I go. I must bring in firewood so Cherie will be able to keep warm while I’m gone. I’m pretty nervous about being away that long. And I’m uncertain if I can find the deals I hope for. When I looked at the vehicle list for the auction there was only one 2003 truck and a few 2002’s but the rest were older and all of them are fleet trucks that are being gotten rid of by companies. That means that most have been used pretty hard but we’ll see. There are probably some good buys there but I don’t want to buy a problem. I have higher hopes when it comes to getting a tractor and farm equipment. This is where I have to trust in God. It’s hard to be all positive when it’s all a big unknown to me. We don’t have much money and need to be careful. As I worked outside this morning I thought on all the things we need to do and could use, then added things up in my head. It didn’t take long to see that the inheritance won’t last long and needs to be spent wisely. So while I’d like a 2006 truck it might not be reasonable. Ultimately we want to create a working farm that will produce an income so the money will be spent to achieve that goal.

I wish this headache would go away. Cherie was up and out at 5:30 this morning to go shopping. I’m happy not to go, not a real shopper. I want to tell of what happened Wednesday. I met Cherie in Odessa as we both had to be there for different reasons. We met at the GLC bookstore and then decided to find someplace to eat out. After getting directions from someone at the store we headed out with Cherie following me. I got lost not being able to read the signs due to the sun setting in my eyes so just pulled into the first place I found. Walking in there was no one to seat you and I could see everyone was in the lounge, which was a smoking area. I walked through the dining room but saw no one so we were about to leave when a patron came out of the bar and said he’d find someone to help us. Ok, so we’d stay then.

The waitress encouraged us to sit in the lounge saying there was full service for meals as well as drinks so I explained that both nicotine and alcohol can trigger seizures because of my brain injury. When she learned of that she told us about her niece, who had sustained a traumatic brain injury last year. I remember hearing about it on the news, she had hit a tree while riding a four wheel ATV. She wasn’t expected to live and is in a facility that helps TBI and stroke survivors learn how to function. We told the waitress about the multiple brain injuries I survived and how they had tore us apart and then brought us back together twenty years later. It brought tears to her eyes, as telling our story so often does. I gave her the blog address and encouraged her to have the niece and her family read it and get in touch with me. It always amazes me how many people we run into who know someone who is a TBI survivor. She told of the hardships her niece is overcoming and about how well she is doing. I think seeing and talking to us encouraged her, at least I hope so.

Yesterday we were invited to John and Cindy’s for thanksgiving. They are good friends from our Sunday school class. We were happy to be invited and Cherie cooked a green bean casserole to contribute. There were others there as well, John and Cindy’s daughter, husband, and three granddaughters in addition to Ed and his wife and another woman who’s name I can’t remember. The food was wonderful of course and lots of it. But we enjoyed the conversation and fellowship the most. It’s nice to be around people and also interesting to experience a different culture from what I’m familiar with. The granddaughters were adorable little girls and one played some hymns on the piano, another recited some poems, and the third one, the youngest, was encouraged to sing a song. She was pretty shy and had to be coaxed. Then we all sang some songs and Ed read a psalm that required group participation. It was all very different from what we have experienced and refreshing too.