God Loves Me!

     Sunday night at work I checked the schedule to see what nights I would be off this week.. Sometimes I have Monday & Tuesday, others I have Tuesday & Wednesday. It seems that I looked at last week's instead of this week's so Monday night I went in, worked about an hour and heard my supervisor saying how happy he was that I was at work. Now, he dont give kudos often at all so I went and checked the schedule. When I saw I was supposed to be off I went and told him I can stay or go, no difference to me. Long story short, he wanted me to stay so I did.

     Tonight, Wednesday night when I actually was scheduled to work we had some rough weather. I woke to the sound of a weather alert on my cell phone, a tornado warning headed my way. When I let the kids out to pee and poop I heard the sirens so I tuned into the weather on TV. Things were looking bleak what with thunder storms, possible flash flooding, hail and tornadoes. I gathered my flashlights and such and got ready to ride out the storm. It did rain as my Dad used to say "like a cow pissing on a flat rock" but that was all we got here.

     So how does God love me? He let me read the wrong schedule so I went to work Monday instead of Wednesday night. Monday night was clear as a bell, Wednesday was raining like Hell! We had a tornado warning (not a mere watch) practically in my back yard and the wind didn't even blow the blossoms off my apple and pear trees. By the way, the fruit trees are looking beautiful for the most part. The olive and Meyer lemon I still have concerns about.  Hail? Not at my house! I did move my car closer to the house as I don't have any covered parking as of yet.Some wind and rain is good for this old boy as it knocks down the pollen catkins from the trees making me happy, Happy, HAPPY!

Vape

     Well kids, I been smoking for over 40 years now and it hasn't killed me yet. Perhaps the alcohol in my beer that keeps my lungs preserved. Anyway, I decided to try a vape. A friend of mine vapes and hasn't had a cigarette in over 5 years.
     Anyway I went to the local vape store and got me a machine a bottle of juice for right at $75.00.
According to what  I hear the 6 mg/ml is close to an ultra light cigarette as far as nicotine goes. It is also next to lowest (just above 3) one can vape and still get any nicotine.
     Hey, I see (and hear) people sucking on these things, sounding like Darth Vader and blowing billows of steam like the Chattanooga Choo- Choo.   I can't take it like that! I'm sucking on mine like a little girl... baby puffs!I do believe the next bottle of juice I purchase will be the mere 3 mg/ml strength and if I keep sucking this thing instead of cigarettes I may be able to kick nicotine altogether.

     My only concern is they make the juice in all kinds of flavors. If they make bacon flavor, the only time I'll take my vape out of my grocery hole will  be to actually eat bacon!

New car Battery

     Today was interesting to say the very least. It began as any other day but soon took several turns, none of which turned actually bad... just interesting. 

     The first turn was my car. I hopped in ready to go run some errands but, Lo and behold the battery was dead. No problem, I thought. I fetched up my charger and cord then began searching the vehicle for the hood unlatch knob. Mind you, I have only looked in the engine compartment once and that was at the dealer. There I saw a sideways mounted engine and said to myself, "I ain't gonna be messing around with this thing!"  It took me near a half hour to find the latch but I finally did. After about 15 minutes on the charger I was on my way to the dealer's repair shop. Another half hour or so later and $141.19 out of pocket I was back on the road. Somehow I was able not to get my blood pressure up over the dead batter nor time taken looking for the latch. I used my waiting time well by reading my Bible figuring God had helped me not get pissed off.

     The head of the sales department pulled up a Carfax report on my car whilst I was there when he saw it was just over 4 years old and just over 17,000 miles. He SO wanted to put me into a 2017 model with 5,000 miles for only a bit over $200 a month. I politely let him give his sales pitch, saying the trade in value of my car would plummet after it reached 5 years of age. but I thought and still think this way... My driving a mere average of 4250 miles annually will take me over 23.5 years to reach 100,000 miles which is nothing for a Honda car. In 23.5 years will be slightly past 82 years of age. If I need another vehicle at age 82 in 23.5 years I don't see a 2017 over a 2014 model or 12,000 miles making a difference worth $200 a month for 3 years for a total of over $7200. 

     I could go into all kinds or "reasons" old boy gave me that I should "upgrade" but the crux of the biscuit is he know he can sell my car at  a mighty profit (for himself) and make an extra $7200 off me should I trade in. I told him I'd take his (B.S.) propaganda sheet and think about it. I did but I won't. Hey. seeing as how I figure he'll make enough off my car to make a profit I'll make him a counter off offer should he call me. If he gives me $141.19 for the new battery, I'll trade him even for the 2017 model and even let him keep the camo seat covers and floor mats!

Spring Has Sprung

     Yesterday was the first day of Spring. A bit cooler than normal for these parts but a lovely day altogether. I'll be starting seed trays soon and looking forward to home grown tomatoes and possibly putting up some salsa.

     I went to follow up visit to the Vision Correction Center. Got there on time (8:30 AM) and had to sit on my butt until a little after 9 to get checked out. Other than the wait, all went swimmingly. The eyesight in my right eye is stronger than it has been in over 40 years and all is healing according to plan. The best part was I didn't need any more pressure relieved off my eye so, not another lancet into my orb. I'd already passed the test of taking one so I was fully prepared albeit not welcoming another.
Anyway, I got my appointment for left eye surgery set up for Monday, April 23 @ 1 PM and one day later follow up for Tuesday, the 24th @ 8:30 AM.

     When I paid $929.80 out of pocket for the right eye, I rather expected the same fee for my left. God gave me a break there and it'll only be $789.80. I haven't studied the separate invoices but I'm guessing perhaps I've passed my deductible for my insurance. All told it'll be about $1700 and the best $1700 I've spent in quite some time.

     When I got in the car to return home the radio was playing one of those songs that makes you think "It is just for me"...  Mandisa was singing "Unfinished". I'm no singer by any means but as soon as I got over my laughing fit I was singing (out of tune as Hell) right along with her. It was a cloudy day so the drops to dilate my left eye didn't have me all squinty. Some may have wanted a blue bird Sun shiny day bot God had His hand on my shoulder once again!

     My back yard has become a slough with all the rain so far this year so as soon as things dry out some I'll be ordering a truck load of dirt to fill in the holes, front and back. I've seen where the water flows like a river through the back yard. I'm  thinking of attempting to dig a trough to divert the flow somewhat. It is an ongoing fight against the water so I'll just keep trying different things until I hit the right solution or combination of solutions.

$942 Man

     I was talking to my friend, Gail the other day and she made a joke about me having a bionic eye like the $6 Million Man. I know a lot of you aren't old enough to remember that old show on TV . It was about a test pilot who crashed and was rebuilt with an  artificial leg, arm and eye so he had superhuman powers.
     Anyway, she was making a joke about my new, plastic eyeball lens. It is almost like having super vision after seeing the world as I have.

     Getting my right eye fixed cost me out of pocket $942 and change so I told her after second repair I'll be the the $1884 Man.

     I had no fear going in or surgery on my worst cataract. I had no fear when the Doctor jabbed the lancet into my eye to relieve pressure. Do I have any worries going into surgery for my other eye? Hell no!

     Crazy Mike at work tells me his daughter, Emily just has bad eyes and may need Lasik or other to fix her eyes. I tell y'all what. If she has any fears or such about eye surgery, I'll step up and promise her and Crazy Mike that I'll be there for them. I'll hold her hand as long as they let me before she goes in and I'll be holding her hand when she wakes up.

Seeds, Bushes & Trees

     I've recently received a couple of shipments of seeds, bushes and trees to hopefully improve my edible landscaping.
     My front yard is some grass with a lot of wild onions. As far as I know, wild onions are not edible, they just smell like onions when mowed down, hence their name.
     My back yard is almost no grass but an assortment of what I call for lack of a better name, weeds. I'll be mowing then shaving them both with my mower set to the lowest setting then seeding with clover. I've 5 pounds of white and 2 of crimson seed. I've seen a few honey bees already this year collecting pollen and nectar from dandelion and such. The clover hopefully will make my yard easier to mow (as well as needing less often) and attract honey bees to my yard. Perhaps in the future I can set up a hive and grow my own honey. I don't use much processed sugar in my cooking or anything for that matter as I much prefer honey. If I can grow my own, that would be too sweet... No pun intended!

     Anyway, I red that to raise blueberries and pawpaws, I need at least 2 different varieties for successful pollination. I've no idea why but I went with what I read. Yesterday I received 3 blueberry bushes: Austin, Brightwell & Climax. Two pawpaws: Collins Select & Eastern Seedling. One Reliable mayhaw and one American persimmon.

     I'm still being a bit dainty on myself so I don't blow out my right eyeball after cataract surgery so rather than plant them into the dirt, I merely put them all n pots for the time being. I reckon by the time they are ready to be put in their permanent places I should be ready to dig some holes for them.

     The one plant that I ordered that didn't arrive yet is a palm tree. It is also the only one that I wanted just for decoration. My across the street neighbor, Miss Virginia has the most beautiful palms in her yard Whenever she gets hers trimmed by her landscape guys  always go gather the seed pods, fronds, cuttings, roots, etc... anything I can find to try to start some of my own. So far I've had a 100% failure rate but I'll keep trying until I finally have a palm tree or two or three in my yard.

Cataract Surgery Update (Not For The Squeamish)

     Monday, March 12 I had my right cataract encrusted lens removed and replaced with a brand spanking new plastic lens in my eyeball. The 10 to 15 minute procedure actually took about 2 hours from check in to check out but I must say I feel it was time well spent. The cloudiness and glare in my right eye are completely gone and my vision is so much better. Anyone contemplating the procedure I must suggest, "Do it!"

     Tuesday, Mom took me back for my follow up exam. I did much better on the visual acuity exam than before. The nurse told me that I was still dilated from the pre-op drops so my vision should only get better in the days to come. Then they gave me more drops to dilate my eye even more to get a good gander at the innards. Between doses of the drops I was looking at a wall poster about cataract surgery. The 2nd time she came back I said "I just wanted to see what the Hell y'all did to me yesterday".
     It seems the replacement has little things like arms or tentacles that open up after the replacement lens unfolds. They latch onto the the fluid sacs in front of and behind the lens to hold it in place. I couldn't see the posters well enough to study them so I had no idea about that.
     The Doctor did some chicken foot voodoo measurements and deemed I had some pressure build up that needed to be relieved.  Anyone who knows anything about me knows I have beyond a phobia of needles. Well, the good Doctor opened up a little packet and there was a wee item there. It was just a little handle to be held between the thumb and forefinger... with an about 1" needle on the end. I think the proper name for the device is a "lancet".  I stared directly into the light as told, said to myself the Bible verse "I am the LORD who heals you" and quite calmly (for me) let him insert the needle into my eyeball. I didn't even have any problems wiping the eyeball fluid off of my cheek,  but it was only a couple or three drops.

     I go back for another "how's it healing?" check Tuesday, the 20th and get set an appointment for left eye surgery. They did the eye I wanted first so it was right and the other one is left? I know, bad joke... right, left?

     Anyway, I hope I didn't give anyone second thoughts about cataract or any surgery. If I can sit still and take a lancet that I can see coming into my eyeball, I can take anything. And so can you! Put yourself in His hands. There's a Christian singer who has a song called "Fear Is A Liar". And old U.S. president F.D.R. said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself". So man up, boys and woman up, girls. Be fearless and kick ass!

     Last note: When the anesthesia guy said, "I'm gonna give you something to relax you", I started saying to myself Psalm 23. I remember, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me lay down...." That was as far as I got.

     May God give you His peace.

Vacation Week Begins

     As of 6:30 this morning, I am on vacation! It'll actually be more of a "staycation" as I have no travel plans beyond the Mississippi Vision Correction Center... Monday at 1 PM I go in for cataract surgery on my right eye and back again at 9 AM Tuesday for my follow up check and hopefully get a quick return appointment for my other (left) eye surgery. Young Jacob at work is still saying I have more balls than he does for getting this procedure done. I told him last night it takes more balls for me to drive with cataracts than getting them fixed.
      I have my DVR set to record a couple of preachers on TV. One is a Messianic rabbi and when I sat down to watch his show the other day he was talking about the Covenant Names of God. This particular message was  "I Am The LORD, Your Healer". Do I worry about anything involving this operation? Hell no! How can I?
     The pre op instructions say after 6 AM I can have clear liquids and dry toast. I'll pass on dry toast, thank you very much! Does beer count as a clear liquid?

     Anyway, as I've said my Mom will drive me to and from the eyeball fix it place. I'll be taking my Bible with me. The first face I want to see is Mom's and after hugging her the next thing I want in my hands is the Good Book. She'll also be holding the cross I usually wear around my neck when I go in for the slicing and dicing. As if anybody would really want to steal a $25.00 cross from around my neck, but the pre-op instructions state "No jewelry".   Hey, with my beard, the cross is seldom seen anyway. Perhaps if they don't ask, I won't tell!

     The weather here (and all across America & possibly the world) is always an issue I track. As of now we're having plenty of rain. Last night my friend would have said "Biblical proportions". Now the predictions are for Sunshine to return but also cold, perhaps even a night of freezing cold.
     I fetched home some more cardboard from work to lay on my raised bed gardens to mulch down and weaken if not kill off the weeds. If not today, at least in the coming few days I can lay that out
with one good eye. One good is better than I have now!

     I'm still sorting through my veggie seeds and laying out where I want what... And planning for a full fledged garden in the future, at least where I had the ducks & geese before the po-po made me get rid of them. I'm talking about a North to South strip some 15' x 50 and an East-West of approximate same dimensions. And I am also still thinking about raising quail. They're small (relatively) quiet birdsso perhaps I can sneak a few breeding pairs into one of my out buildings Rabbits are always also an option for home grown meat. I'm just getting a bit leery about store bought meat. You know, growth hormones and all that other crap the mass producers feed them.

     I've a few more ideas still in the germination phase right now. I'm just hoping the Good Lord will prod me in the right direction & tell me if I should or should not.

Getting Ready For Eye Surgery & Etc

     Today is March 9 so I am only a few days away from cataract surgery on my right eye. I am so looking forward to getting this done and getting an appointment for my left eye. I start a week of "vacation" time Sunday. Hopefully after my surgery on Monday and follow up visit on Tuesday I can get a quick return visit for getting the other eyeball fixed.

     As those of you who have visited my blog as of late know, I have become a huge fan of reading the Bible. I look forward to my time reading the "Good Book" before work and on my lunch break as much as I do quitting time. Due to my bad eyesight (soon to be corrected) I ordered online and recently received yet another Bible... It is a King James Version Giant Print Reference Bible. It has all kinds of cool stuff to make studying the Bible easier for dummies like myself. There are end of verse references wherein at the end of a verse, it tells other verses  that refer to that verse. Each book has a little bit about the book, including what's included there as well as the name in Hebrew and Greek...
just all kinds of cool stuff.
     I must say, if you have never read the Bible, I highly suggest you do so. It has everything one could ask for in a book; murder, sex, spies & intrigue, betrayal, above all it has HOPE and the one thing it has none of is fiction.

     Meanwhile, I am trying to get my garden beds and my seeds prepped for planting. We've had some cold and wet as of late. We're still in a chilly spell but having Sunshine to at least dry things out a bit. I'm hoping to get some seed started in cups  I have to be careful lifting heavy stuff so I don't blow the innards out of my eyeball and have to be careful not to get any crud in there but I think this is gonna be a good year gardening wise.
     I'm gonna concentrate mainly on good old redneck staples like okra, maters and peppers, the latter pair for salsa. As previously mentioned, I'll try to start a ginseng patch but that will take a few years to produce evn a wee root worth harvesting.
     I'm seeing some potato greens in one of my compost bins. I reckon I'll let them do their thing and see if I get any spuds out of them.

Planting a garden is believing in tomorrow!

March Madness

     Where to begin?  Perhaps I'll start where I intended to start :The countdown on my eye surgery. Today is the 1st of March and I'll be getting my surgery on the right eye on the 12th of this month.  So many of the guys I work with are seemingly more afraid of the procedure than I am. Jacob was telling Robert that I am his (Robert's) best friend. Robert said, "Hell no! Anybody whop is told we're gonna slice your eyeball open and suck out the shit. And you say 'that sounds like a good idea' is no friend of mine!"  Young Jacob keeps telling me I have more balls than he does as he wouldn't get it done unless he was blind. All I can tell his is "Son, I damn near am!"

     We're expected to be mostly cloudy today with off & on rain. Well, the dogs and I were just out back and in just a matter of moments were caught in a torrential downpour. It has stopped for the moment but we're ready for more with no notice.

     Upon returning inside I came into my office to write this post. Lo and behold there is a larger than golf ball size hole in the wall where a cable TV cable was run through gnawed out by them damned detestable field mice. I'll dump the other half box of moth balls down the hole and place a variety of catching and/or killing solutions around the area. One way and/or another, I'll rid my household of them sons of bitches. So they have changed their tactics? It is up to me to Adapt, Attack Seek, Search and Destroy! I'll promise any and all, I shall leave no rodent unkilled in this house! Back in the day, there was a professional wrestler by the name of Skandar Akbar whose nickname was "The Tenacious One".Well, I'm gonna add a new level to his tenacity! The war is on and there can be only one victor.... ME!