Just living my life

There are not many notable happenings around here, but here's a milestone:  Gabe has finally figured out that if he barks at the door, someone will let him in the house a lot faster than if he just sits there.  Now I'm wishing he'd learn that barking to go OUT would work, as well.  So the first time Gabe wanted out after Cliff went to the shop this morning, he went into a sit position right at the crack of the door, which has always been his way of saying "I want out".  Today I noticed him quietly sitting in position to be let out, so I thought I'd show him a better way.  "Watch this," I said to him.  And I gave a sharp "bark" and opened the inside door, then closed it.  "See?  When I bark, the door is opened.  Now, you try it."

He wagged his stubby tail and stood up; he just didn't get it.  He was probably thinking, "Do you call that barking?"  Maybe sometime in the future he'll figure it out.

We went to the state fair as planned yesterday, but my knees weren't in the mood to let me walk as much as I did last week in Omaha.  So we didn't do much except eat the bargain-priced food we really shouldn't have been eating:  We had corn dogs (2 for $4), a large slice of pizza that was surprisingly good (2 for $4, I think), Dippin' Dots, $2 each, and some ice cream for $2 off the regular price.  There's not much to do at the fair, compared to the old days; as farmers dwindle, so does the fair.  Oh, we did stop by the tent where the Budweiser Clydesdales were put up:  Each one was 18 to 18.2 hands tall, browsing at perfect, green alfalfa hay as though they weren't really all that hungry.  We were heading from there toward the exit when a lovely young lady driving a golf cart slowed down as she approached us and asked, "Do you need a ride?  May I take you someplace?"

"You betcha, young lady!"  I told her I didn't see any wings on her, but that she looked like an angel.  She said, "I'm in disguise today, that's why you can't see my wings."  Great comeback.  She told us there were three other people driving around in golf carts, and that we should flag any of them down if we needed a ride.  

It really was a good day for walking around the fairgrounds, for those who could comfortably walk.  The temperatures didn't get out of the 80's, and for the first couple hours the sky was cloudy, keeping it nice and cool.

On the way home Cliff needed to get something at his brother's south of Higginsville, but said he figured I wanted to get home to my dog.  I told him Gabe would be fine, and Phil's house was on our way anyhow.  I went in the house to visit with Faye while the guys brutalized an old, out-of-service mower to retrieve a tail-wheel Cliff was going to add to his own mower.  

This is what he and Phil removed from the the mower

The wheel they took from the old mower will go in the middle, between these two wheels.  Cliff will have some fabricating to do, since Phil's wheel isn't at all the same as these.  He hopes adding a wheel will make for smoother mowing on uneven ground.

Here you can see the new skid-plate Cliff actually bought from the John Deere dealer.  The mower had been used improperly, tipped forward, Cliff says.  Anyhow, when Cliff brought it home from the auction and tried it out, it was tearing up (scalping) pieces of sod as it mowed.  He hopes to get that all fixed, but I don't think he's certain how he'll do it yet.  Odd jobs like this require a lot of moseying around the object to be fixed, and sometimes Cliff even resorts to pulling up a chair, sitting down, and staring at whatever he's working on for an hour or so as country music plays behind him... then somehow he'll figure things out and get the job done.  

That's his story, and he's sticking to it.  I just thought he was tired and wanted to sit down, but apparently it's simply part of the process.

What should I run into in Phil's house but a brand-new, two-week-old great-grandbaby!  They have several great-grandkids of various sizes, but I had the good fortune to get hold of an infant!  Her 18-month-old sister was there too, but she was far too independent to waste time on some old lady she didn't know.  I often forget how good it feels just to sit in a rocking chair holding a sleeping infant.  That baby's head fit perfectly on my arm, and she was snoozing in my lap for perhaps twenty minutes; it was better therapy than an hour on the beach, so very relaxing.  

I guess this entry just reminds me that you can have a good time at the fair even if you're only there for a couple of hours and run into an angel.  You can go into a two-story country house expecting to visit with a sister-in-law and ended up holding a tiny baby, singing to her and enjoying every minute of it.  

I do believe I had a great day yesterday.  Don't you?

Sincerely,
Donna