Almost the end of another year

This morning's sunrise

12/30/10 Thursday
We’re almost at the end of another year. It’s been an interesting year for sure but I’ll have to go back through this journal in order to remember all that happened. There’s been good and there’s been bad. Some of the bad came through people we trusted and thought were our friends, but proved otherwise when their greed and disdain for who we were became obvious. We’ve seen hypocrisy and watched sadly as some made decisions to go down paths that we know will end in grief but refuse to accept any advice from us. Financially it’s been tough, but ultimately God has met our needs so we’ve never gone hungry. I am grateful for life and all the blessings we have, but sometimes I must remind myself of them, especially when things look bad on the outside.

I got the sink in the bathroom hooked up. It’s not perfect and needs some adjusting but we now have water in the bathroom. I had to make three trips to Lowe’s in order to get the right parts and advice on how to do things. At forty miles a trip that’s 120 miles worth of driving for a total of maybe ten dollars worth of parts. Next I might get ambitious enough to try and hook up the bathtub/shower. Ran into a friend at Tractor Supply and while talking about the bathroom mess he reminded me of something I already knew, but forgot. One of our concerns is tying the tub into the sewage drain as there is no easy access to the pipes and part of that is old cast iron plumbing. He said that we don’t need to do that, all the drainage from the tub is what is called “Grey water”, which can be recycled for use in the garden and farm. While we were still in Toledo, before we had officially inherited this farm, I had done extensive planning and research that included a grey water system. Of course I forgot all about that, as I am still prone to do. Basically, all I have to do is run the bathwater out a pipe to a basin of some type outside to catch it. Then I have to figure out a way to pump the water out of the catch basin so as to use it elsewhere. At some point we’d like to set up a rainwater catchment system with a cistern to capture all the rainwater that comes off the roofs. All that takes money we don’t yet have, but God will provide.
Here you can see what I suppose is the front line of the cold front that's heading in. This line went clear across the sky and my little kodac camera can't get it all in. I love the wonders of the sky here in West Texas.

It’s going to be a warm windy day. The wind blew pretty strong yesterday too. Tomorrow the cold comes again so I want to take advantage of the warm weather as much as I can today. That means no more time to write. Got work to do.
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3:12 - I am frustrated. It seems that lately my issues with the brain injury are returning. I’m having more slowdowns, am having one now, and an old problem with getting overwhelmed with input in places like a store has resurfaced. Used to be that when I looked at a shelf full of products my ability to absorb all the potential choices and make a decision was overwhelmed. I am having a hard time even finding words to write this right now. Went to HEB the other day to buy two frozen dinners Cherie asked me to get and it triggered a slowdown. Soon all the sounds, people, choices to make, trying to remember what I was supposed to do, just pounded me and my brain froze up. That hasn’t happened in years. It’s recurred at Lowe’s when I was trying to understand and figure out what I needed for the plumbing several times. I need to return to making lists of what I need to do in order for anything to happen. This is all very troubling. I’ve been steadily healing but now seem to be taking steps backwards. I suspect my ability to communicate is affected based on some of the responses I’ve gotten. The widow called and asked if she had done something wrong based on what I said when we prayed together. Once again things are coming out not quite the way I intended, the wrong words for what I’m trying to say. Kind of a bad flavor, sounding judgmental when I’m trying to compliment kind of thing. This is an old problem that has caused many unintentional rifts with people we know in the past. I’m worried about it. Hope it’s not an indication of brain deterioration, a known issue with TBI survivors as they age.