Up and Down the Gravel:
















1. G'ma Opal had a leak in her kitchen sink yesterday.
Hattie was down there while Dad was trying to work
on it. I don't know if it got fixed or not. I do
know that there was some problem with finding a bucket
or container that could fit under the leak to collect
the drips.

2. Speaking of leaks, our pipe outside of the well house
froze this week and the pipe inside of it sprang a leak.
Kent spent Monday morning replacing those. We have it
(the well house) insulated inside and out, and we have
a light hanging inside to keep it from freezing, but
the cold was just too much I guess. Anyway, the cows
have water again and are fat and happy.

3. Jim is busy burning leaves. Jim is ALWAYS busy burning
leaves. As Hattie says, "He burns leaves 24/7." Well,
I guess he works in a few other things as well, like, say,
looking after G'ma Opal.

4. Billy is back in The Big City for school. It is harder for
him to come home weekends this semester. His schedule and
his work load both are in the way.

5. Mom finished her second treatment of chemo in The Big City.
She came home with a new wig. She is good at collecting
wigs. This one is grey, but I've not seen it on her yet.
She is in the midst of her "bad" days, mostly due to the
white blood count shot they give her the day after her
chemo treatment.

6. While Mom and Dad were in The Big City, Tandy came over for
dinner. The first night I made Hungarian Goulash. This is
made with round steak and onion and green pepper in a think
sauce with sour cream and lots of paprika. I could be buried
in Hungarian Goulash. Tandy, (at whom I am poking very gentle fun said, "Thanks for dinner, it was
okay, but I like chicken and dumplings better."

Oh, if we could all be so very honest like that. On the other
hand, maybe it is better that we are not.

7. The Kid goat continues to thrive. He looks just like his
papa.

8. My Missouri Conservation calendar reminds me this morning that
watercress is green this time of year. We must grab the next
warm day and load up G'ma Opal and go and gather some from
Cave Springs. The Irish would add watercress to their potato
soup. I tried that once; it tasted fine, but the kids had a
hard time eating green potato soup.

9. The Psalmist reminded me this morning in Psalm 124:8
"Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth."