Getting That Fall, Low Humidity Feeling

Wow, the last few days have been nice and crisp here. It has been down in the mid 30s at night and days in the upper 70s with bright sunshine. I made the mistake of putting some corn too close to the house and now the deer are trying every night to get to it. But Booger hears them with the corn this close. Every night, sometimes twice a night, Booger runs off into the woods barking. Each time, I have to go outside and call him back and give him a Scooby snack so he will leave them alone. I think I will move that corn tomorrow. Funny thing is, the squirrels usually get the corn this close, but they haven't touched it. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen many this fall. Which doesn't make much sense, as our acorn crop is very "thick" this year.

Last week, Mom and Dad's new backdoor came in. I installed it last Saturday and enjoyed getting something accomplished besides worrying about work. It was so nice outside, Dad came out and sat on the patio and talked while I worked. The door and frame fit perfect without shims, as I built the utility room it hangs from 17 years ago. I did have to cut out a little of the header, but the sides fit like a glove and had to be nudged in. I was able to get the knob and deadbolt to work smooth enough so Mom can lock and unlock them. It is hard for her to turn the knob with all of her arthritis. Sunday morning, I met my friend, Angel, at her Church. The preaching was good, but I was raised in a Baptist Church where the pastor pounds his fist on the podium from time to time. I don't remember if he was just keeping your attention or just really getting into his sermon. Anyway, I am still looking for a Church home.



I got some good advice this week. I was told to take my problem with work to an attorney. I found a medical disability/labor law attorney and got an appointment this last Tuesday morning. Her advice was to file two grievances with the Union for what the company is doing. Which was good, as I just had until Tuesday midnight to file them. Since then it seems everything is flying. Phone calls left and right from Union Reps I have never heard of. This is all good, as this is getting faster responses from management. We have a meeting next week, so I should know more then. I also found out I had a choice next year of working in the hangar on the aircraft that are scheduled for heavy maintenance like engine and gear changes, with Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights off or at the terminal on the aircraft parked at the gates over night with Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights off. I picked the hangar crew. At the terminal I would not get to work sheet metal, which is my speciality.
Yesterday I went back to Mom and Dad's to blow the leaves off of their roof and clean out the chimney for the wood stove. Today I loaded up the Big Red Beast on the trailer and took her to get air in the tires. Then I went back to Mom & Dad's house to load the wood from the tree I dug up months ago. I also brought Dad's log splitter back home so I can split wood for them at my leisure. I wanted to bring the stump home to burn it also, but it is still to heavy to load. We will have to have more fires around it at Dad's. The 6520 pushes it all around Dad's yard, but just can not lift it to load on my trailer. When enough gets burnt off of it and more dirt falls off, it will come home to my burn pile. So I need to get back over there and pick up all the fallen limbs I can and start another fire. It's a challenge to me now. It is the first thing the Big Red Beast has not picked up. I even chained it aft of the loader pivot point.
5 more days to Halloween. Luke has Blockbuster movie home mail service. Since October 1st, we have been watching scary movies every night. He is saving my all-time favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus for Halloween night. But maybe I will be back at work by then. One can wish! I have added some photos. Take a look at them and stop back later to see how life is treating us.
hugs, Brandi

Paying Full Price

Okay, my root canal is almost history. Tomorrow I get a permanent plug installed in the hole in my crown. The root canal was painless. I wish he did my dental work instead of my dentist. I almost went to sleep. Since I had two crowns already this year, my insurance only paid 1/2 the price of the root canal. Now tomorrow, I pay full price to get the plug. I am glad the next crown can wait to January.

I got the permanent filling for the root canal this morning. $118 dollars for 9 minutes work! I got a call from my union representative last night asking me why I did not bid in the annual bid for crews and days off in 2008. I got the dates mixed up and thought it was in two weeks. Now, instead of working in the hangar on semi clean aircraft with weekends off, I will get to work on the planes that sit all night at the terminal gates out in the weather. I'm too old for that. Oh yeah, my days off will be in the middle of the week. But that could all change between now and then and I can get awarded another bid that will get me back in the hangar on another crew or even on my old crew. I can pray for it anyway! On the bright side, it will open the door up to unlimited overtime. If I want it.

I forgot about the annual bid because I was worried about taking a 2nd Fit for Duty test, as I was told Tuesday morning I did not score well enough on the first one. Southwest Airlines says I didn't score well enough on the first one. If I don't do better on this test, I will have to take a transfer to another department and not be a mechanic. Most likely with a huge cut in pay. I have been an aircraft mechanic for 29 years. I don't know if I would like a transfer out of maintenance. My daughter, Rebecca, says take my retirement money and run. So I tested the job market waters by dropping my resume off at a company just 10 minutes from work. Just 18 hours after dropping off the resume, I got a call for an interview. I am not sure which direction to go. So I have to keep an open mind.



I did get out yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours and get some seat time on my Big Red Beast, the 6520. I had some stacked, unsplit firewood that rotted. So I finally decided to get rid of the bad wood and dumped it on my burn pile. I wanted to do more work out there, but the ground is still too wet from the other day's rain. Stop back later to see what is going on with Brandi, Booger, and the Big Red Beast. Also, check out the pics I've put up. And please, don't mention the Arizona Diamondbacks to me. Sadness prevails.

hugs, Brandi

Fall, Playoffs, and Toothaches

Okay, I am still waiting to hear from my manager about when I can return to work. More time off, but with more stress. Last week I acquired a toothache and thought it was an already filled tooth that was waiting for a crown. It got to hurting so much I could touch it and it would hurt. That is when I got a flashlight and looked. It wasn't the tooth with the filling, but the crown beside it. My dentist stated I needed a root canal. Great, here I am waiting to return to work and now this. What will go wrong next? I get to wait the long Columbus Day weekend before I can get the root canal. Talk about a long wait.

I should say what will happen next. Not what will go wrong next. We finally got rain, over 2 & 1/2 inches of it the other day. My Bermuda grass seed was just poking out of the soil when it hit. I have no idea how much got washed away. However, the drainage in that area worked great. I only had a few standing puddles after the rain stopped. Also, I was able to get out there after the rain stopped and see exactly how much water was flowing through the area. That will help a lot when I select the final site for the pond. Booger was there with me and he was excited about playing in the water. It has been so dry here I was almost to the point of giving him a bath! I didn't get a chance to disc the Bermuda grass seed under. I had spread it out over freshly graded and leveled ground, so I was hoping it would germinate from the surface, which it did. I have access to a disc, but didn't feel like driving about 40 miles with my toothache only to return it that same 40 miles the next day. I did try to make a drag out of the roll of concrete reinforcing wire that will be used in the barn center floor, chained to my Mahindra's loader bucket. It didn't work as I envisioned and I just let the seed grow as it laid.

Now that fall is creeping our way, the deer have been out at night eating the corn I put out. With the Harvest moon they came out every morning around 1 A.M. I know the time because Booger loves to just stay on the porch and bark into the darkness until I open the door and give him a "Scooby snack". My squirrel and bird feeder is falling apart, so it is time to build another one. My Flickers have not been seen. I first mistook these Flickers as Woodpeckers. My friend, Sara, straightened me out on this. Some Flickers fly south for the winter. So I need to find out what type of Flickers are coming up to my bird feeder. Getting a good photo of a Flicker has been fleeting. I have one, but is fuzzy as it was through the kitchen window and screen.
Wow, I had my root canal this morning. I am feeling a lot better and ready to get back outside and work! My Endodontist, Dr. Brad Mize, performed the rootcanal with less trauma then my dentist does just filling a cavity. He is awesome. So tomorrow is a new day with a temporary plug in my crown! Now I'm counting down 10 days to a permanent plug.
With me being off work and having a toothache, I did get to watch the Cubs make the playoffs. The Houston Astros didn't go anywhere this year, so I could root for the Chicago Cubs. I couldn't believe the Cubs lost three straight games to the Diamondbacks. That was sad, as next to the Astros, the Cubs are my favorite team. I don't watch much baseball throughout the season, but love to watch the playoffs and the World Series. So the Cubs are out. Who to root for now? The Diamondbacks? The Rockies? Stop back soon, and check out the pics I've put up.

hugs, Brandi