Did it finally happen?????

Holy Moses, I can't believe my ears or my eyes.

Did I hear correctly that the Temperature yesterday morning as 28 degrees in Daytona Beach, Fla. Birthplace of Speed and home of blue hairs???????????

I know temp on my back porch yesterday was 30............

SO IT FINALLY HAPPENED........

IT WAS COLDER IN FLORIDA THAN IN MISSOURI......

Glad the Barngoddess1 and I put off our Florida vacation to April instead of this week.

Hey Long Roof and Jeep

I have carharts bibbers for sale.. cheap too,...... only $200 a pair........

LOL

Finally catching up

Well I am finally catching up on my writings, but first a big big birthday celebration to the #1 son of Robert G and Mary L Lee.
Robert G. Lee, Jr.

or BBB as the Longroof and Jeep refer to him.

Happy Birthday you old coot, have another one from the Tiki Bar and take a dip in the pool.

So while my older brother gets older, I will fill you in on some of the doings around here lately.

You remember the post about the maiden voyage? well that tractor is back in the Ford Garage getting another overhaul. Yep, my able daughter, my noble assistant and Derrick have been transferring features from our old tractor to the new tractor - little things that make it easier to drive.

So here are a couple pics of the goings on


this one shows Derrick under the new tractor putting the hydraulic filter cover back in. This is the replacement so the loader hydraulics can be connected.



Steph and I are preparing the new tractor to receive the new battery box-dash which replaces the rusted out old battery box.

So progress on Tuesday evening came to a screeching halt when this old Horsefarmer did something wrong, not sure what, but my back gave out again, and I couldn't lift the wires to hook to the battery. So for the past three days, it's ice, heat, ice and just laying around resting.

Went to the Doc today, x-rays, prodding, pushing, tapping, punching, stretching, = you know all that stuff the Docs do to see if it hurts and where it hurts.
Heck just sitting here it hurts.....
anyway somehow I sprained my lower back again.

Needless to say, no traveling to look at a bunch of 60's mopar vehicles at auction, no working on the tractors, no nothing.........
lay around with ice, heat, ice for the weekend.

Danged if it ain't hard getting old.

So hopefully, Monday I'll be able to move about without a lot of painkillers in my system.

So enjoy your weekend.

At least I can still enjoy the company of the Barngoddess1 and our kids and grandkids.

So in that I proudly Celebrate Life.

Maiden Voyage

So it is Saturday, December 4, 2010, and at 1:20 it is still warm here in the Ozarks, temp hovering around 40 degrees since 7 am this morning.

Have been working on the new tractor, and finally got it ready for the maiden voyage.

Yep, with My noble assistant's hard working help, and a little input from her mom, we got the tractor ready.

Out of the garage, and moved a hay bale to the horse's field and put the new tractor back in the garage to finish a couple other projects on it.

So here is a pic of the new tractor out back before we put the bale spike on it.



photo credit to "HavenJay"

and sitting here in the kitchen with a bowl of Campbell's vegetable soup with crackers and we'll be back in the Ford's garage working on the other tractor.

that's all for now.

www.upexcursion.com

Okay Papa and I saw this post on www.news-leader.com. It tells about how to vote for a steam engine to come through Springfield, Mo. So Papa decided, "hey lets vote for it." Everyone vote!!!
It's real easy just go to www.upexcursion.com enter Springfield as your hometown then choose springfield, Mo. Enter your email address and follow the remainder of the directions. Easy! Go vote!
Celebrate life,
Little Princess

It's been a long week

So here I am, totally wasted from a speed trip all around Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri.......

And someone wants my picture taken to put on the Thanksgiving Card........

So there I stand, "Deer in the headlight look"

and danged if the camera doesn't flash.........



So here is a photo of the Audiology Department Staff where I work.........





now remember we are high level government employees, and we appreciate your tax dollars paying our salary. So keep paying them taxes.

tom

WE'RE TIRED

Ok we are tired, both of us...........

51 hours

1,125 miles

79.6 gallons of diesel ($3.25 gallon average)

We're tired.

Now have a new tractor............
will pick up Thursday (another 300 miles or more)

Now have a new generator...........
tractor driven, so portables are for sale
look for a posting soon

Now have a new dining room set.........
bet we don't medically treat a newborn foal on this dining room table......
no sireee... Carol and Mary would have my goat if I did that.......

But we are home safe and sound.

Had a GREAT AND I MEAN GREAT visit with my little sister Mary and her husband Don...
long time since I've had a one on one with a sister.
Thanks Mary. I REALLY enjoyed our visit. And finally got to meet Don......... what a way to Celebrate Life.

So now on to day to day routines again.

Now when I made the comment about 1,125 miles in 51 hours, my granddaughter made the acute observation that Viola and I averaged 22 miles per hour.............

WHAT????????? WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course she is a math wizard, and only she could come up with that figure......
But I guess I'm getting old when I only average 22 miles per hour................

So after a long and tiring weekend...... we still managed to

CELEBRATE LIFE TO THE FULLEST..........

I wish it was snowing!

Well here it is early Sunday afternoon.

Had a great week, got to attend a Veteran's Day concert by the Springfield MO Army National Guard Band with my granddaughter. Great show held at the Marionville school. Kids had a grand time, especially the songs that had a strong beat to them = ie: marching song and the Service Songs. I sang along with "Anchors Aweigh". Last time I heard that song was on 9/30/1989 at my retirement ceremony.

Then on to working on the tractor and travel trailer.

Even better news from my two sisters who live way out east in the mountains of NC somewhere.
Seems my grandmother's dining room set won't fit in either of their new homes, so it is offered to any family member wanting it.
I piped in and volunteered to take it. "To keep it in the family" as with all the other heirlooms. Granny bought the set in the 30s if I am not mistaken, and it is well taken care of.

So after a wonderful visit on the phone with Mary and Carol, and a couple revisions along the way, this coming weekend Viola and I will be heading east to meet Mary and her Don to pick up a UHaul trailer full of the set. The girls are having "two men and a truck" load the dining set in a trailer for us. What a wonderfull gift, as I know the furniture will survive the trip from NC to MO.

On the sad note, the big bad 1 ton of mine, used to towing our mobile house, wouldn't start that morning, so jumper cables and it started. Later in the day, it would again NOT start. I hooked the cables up, got turned around on the second set of cables and "yeah" I hooked them up backasswards. by the time I got in the truck to start it, we had a major smoke scene going on, and by the time this old man got out of the truck and up to the front the cables were fried. Fried hell, they were toast. The dually now won't start. So after checking all the fuses, finding one blown (duh wonder why?), trip to my local parts shop "Hey tom what's up" and back home again, truck still won't start.

So looking at the battery cables... yep, rust and corrosion to the max.

So I have this 2001 Ford F350 crew cab super duty truck with a 7.3 deisel that needs negative battery cables replaced. Yep two batteries = two negative cables corroded. So back to my parts shop, "Hey tom what's up" and find out that one of the cables is listed at $109.99. NOT OUCH, NOT WHAT, NOT HOLY COW.... came from my mouth, just a simple "oh shit, you gotta be kidding me". 3 days to get it also.

So after talking with the Manager and deciding to use the local machine shop, off I went. $75.00, and 45 minutes later I was out the door with the two cables needed to replace my corroded ones. Now note, for once in my life I did things in proper sequence, yep the proper sequence. Before heading to the parts shop, Viola helped me remove the two cables from the F350 so I could take them with me to get exact duplicates.

So this morning I am ready to head out and put in the new cables. WRONG!!

MAN ALIVE, IT IS COLD OUT THERE. Temp o meter is below 40. If it was snowing I would have an excuse to stay inside and watch football and nascar. But it ain't snowing, so I guess it's get bundled up and head back out to get the job done.

Forget it, the truck can wait till this afternoon when it warms up some.

And in the middle of all that yesterday, Viola (aka Barngoddess1) tells me I need to put a couple round bales out for the horses and cows. So that is the easy part, just hook the bales mover to the three point hitch and easy..........

Tractor won't start! So on one of the trips to town bought deisel (off road deisel is now $3.03 a gallon). Hook jumper cables to tractor from My little mule, and it won't start. Finally got the daughter to pull me with the F250 and we got it running. Quickly delivered the two bales and headed for the Ford Garage.
More bad news. Fuel tank is leaking again at one or two previously welded joints. And to top it off the fuel injector pump is now leaking. ARGH>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So set up and drain the fuel tank again.

So it's been a fun weekend so far.

Really great thing is that Derek (daughters friend) borrowed my 243 to go deer hunting. Haven't heard from him yet. But can tell him where for the past two days I have dodged a doe and her baby on the highway. Maybe next time hit them and bring them home to put in the freezer.

Even better, oldest daughter, Michele, popped in on Sat morning for a couple days to just visit with the wife and girls. Always great to have her here for a visit.

So it's now time to decide to buy another tractor, or invest more money in this one. Glad the deal to buy the property next door fell through.

So hunting for tractors like I have now, in any kind of shape is rough. Found one in Tallahassee Florida, motor is froze up, but the parts might work; maybe I could get the Jeep and Long roof to buy it for me and deliver it........... nah, long roof went and got a job, so now he is tied up 6 to whatever every day. In fact he told me he gets up a 4:30 in am...... hell that time doesn't come unless you have been up all night.

Oh well. keep looking for parts. Fuel tank runs from 470 to 700, fuel injection pump is 1400 with 300 core deposit.

So the saga of the Haven Lee Farm continues.

Have a happy day and remember as you go about the trials and tribulations of the day, it took the Long Roof about 700 and some days to find a job, but he perserved and something finally came through.

Remember to Celebrate Life and enjoy.

tom