Changes...

It's well past 0 dark thirty and I still have two chapters in a book to finish reading, laundry to fold and put away, one more checkup that Dad is tucked in for the night and the house is secure.

I've made some of the changes to this blog.  Let me know what you think... good, bad, ugly... bring it.

Looking Back, Moving On...

Looking Back...

Since it is a Thursday, here is my Throw Back Thursday, a post from five years ago. 

"In the beginning there was a young rancher.  He married a country girl. They raised two great children, a lot of cattle, a bunch of dogs, a cat or two, a little hell, and assorted other things.  Life was an adventure with much to learn along the way. Years passed, the kids had kids, the rancher and the country girl grew older. Life was still an adventure but not in ways the country girl could understand. After a time she left the rancher.  It was difficult, they had grown up together the rancher and the country girl, over forty three years of marriage.  They parted as friends she wanted to think, but who really knows.
The rancher passed away last Sunday. He left a brief note about the disposition of his ashes, and chaos behind him.  There remains a daughter shaking with sorrow, a son taking charge of a thousand things, bewildered grandkids, and a country girl caught between madness and sadness."
 

Moving On...

I'm going to make some minor changes to the blog, it is time. 
I like Brig better than Brighid, so the name is going to change slightly. 
I don't live on a ranch or have horses, like before.  So, the header picture of ol' Clabber will change to something else. 

Other than those things it will probably remain the same confusing assortment of tales from a life. 

the Wrong Dope...

I'm telling you if things get much more exciting around here...

Yesterday, as I was doing some late afternoon jungle pruning between rain storms, I heard water running. Went for a look see around the house and there in front was a busted pipe. Well that's interesting, I'll just turn the shut off valve to off, and repair it. Except that didn't turn off the water, it seems the leak was above the valve. Hmm, off to find the main shut off. I went to where I thought it was, and there one was. Turned it to the off position, tried the faucet beside it, no water. Yeah!  Walked back around the house to find water still pouring out. Hmmm. 

Went in the house to ask Dad where the Main water shut off was.  Well he had to look at the problem before he could answer that. After some discussion it was decided that it had to be the other shut off by the other shut off... Finally the main water main was found and shut off.  

Then Dad decides he will supervise the repair from the seat of his walker. As I head to the shop for parts & tools he is telling me to get the very things I'm in the process of getting. Pipe wrench, hacksaw, couplings, emery cloth, pipe dope, and a trowel.  Following his explicit instructions I dig out the buried part of the pipe. Then, using the ancient hack saw with the first blade ever made, I saw nearly through the pipe below the shut off valve, remove the saw and run the emery cloth around the cut. Finish cutting the pipe, jockey it to the side, and remove the shut off above the cut.  

Here I can see that the wrong pipe dope was used. The seal between the pipe and the valve had failed. I'm not saying much about this out loud, because I'm fairly sure that Dad installed this section when the house was built. Run the emery cloth over all the parts that will be put together. Cleaned and dried all the fittings. Put the correct pipe dope on the top of the valve, shoved it on, waited a few minutes, and did the same with the coupling where I had sawed the pipe apart. 

Dad said to give it fifteen minutes or better to setup and then test the line, he had a ball game to watch.  Put all the tools back, waited, turned on the main and tested the line. No leaks.  Went in to tell Dad it was not leaking anymore.  

Dad said, "Good job, Sis, you learned something today." 

LOL, I did, I learned that I better pray that's the only connection he used the wrong dope on...

Cowcamp news...

 I'm feeling much better, thank you very much! Finally getting my energy back, and can smell the gardenias on the patio.

 

 
Back to Yoga class, so I made a T shirt to wear... only to learn my instructor is on a yoga/message trip to Bali. A girl friend and I will be on our own for a while it seems.

On another note... 
 Gunny mentor T is back from a month in Africa (completing his Spiral Horn Grand Slam and para gliding over Victoria Falls).

 He said it was an amazing trip for him and his sons. Though I have no desire to go there it was very interesting to see his photos and read his comments on Africa. 

I now have a much coveted membership in The shoot'n range here. It has only taken T and two years to get it. I can hardly wait to go and take Dad. Haven't shot the trap & skeet parts of the range yet, and my shotguns are needing some action. Dad is looking forward to going, and instructing from the seat of his walker. 

Meanwhile Hank (the pickup), and I have been on a few missions for parts...

  
  

normal shenanigans...

I have nothing of import or value to write about, no stories of daring do, no wise words, no nada...

Being very sick with a bad cold is not my finest form. I'm seldom sick, I don't normally take any medications, and I have no patience for my being under the weather.  So there I was on the road to a simple little cold when I decided to take the recommendation of a friend. He said this holistic herbal stuff would lessen the effects of a cold and speed up the recovery time. "You can order it from amazon and have it by tomorrow," he said. "Just take a capsule every 12 hours as directed." 

I have Dad to care for and cannot afford down time, so it sounded like a simple solution.  Everything went well for the first dose, and twelve hours later the second dose, and I was feeling a wee bit better. Then after the third capsule my body said... "Oh Hell No!" No sooner had I swallowed the capsule than it came back up, eyes watered, nose ran, fever shot up, airways constricted, all with a throbbing headache. Not exactly the result I was looking for.   It had to be an allergic reaction to the holistic herbal because nothing else had changed in my environment. 

I'm on the mend now with only a residual cough, and should be back to normal shenanigans soon... 

PS: I'm a fanatical cleaner and hand washer, so Dad has not gotten this bug. TG