Good morning! Are you up yet? What's your plans for today?

[Madd Hatter]

Just finished getting my eyes checked and now I'm sitting at the VA to get some new glasses. YAAH!

Found out I have Mackler degeneration. It's only a very small dot in the middle of the back of my right eye.

[Sqrl Klr]

He was very secretive though and always had a spare woman 

Did not learn much from him ‘cuz of his silent nature.

Some teach us what to do, others teach us what not to do. Best to learn from others bad choices so we skip that pain ourselves.

[Rabbit\Squirrel Killer]

He was very secretive though and always had a spare woman 

Did not learn much from him ‘cuz of his silent nature.

Some teach us what to do, others teach us what not to do. Best to learn from others bad choices so we skip that pain ourselves.

I was able to skip a lot of pain growing up because my older brother was very good at showing me what not to do, and I was a quick learner. I also observed how he got caught and that came in handy too. LOL 

[Sqrl Klr]

Sometimes it's best to not be the 1st born Dan.

Did he turn out ok though?

[Sfttailrdr46]

Most bad boys end up figuring out just how fat to push the limits without getting in too much serious trouble.  In my younger years, I was not always politically correct and definitely quick to enter into a dispute. Now I would rather debate verbally and forgo the black eyes and fat lips. A bruised ego heals much much faster. 

[Rabbit\Squirrel Killer]

Sometimes it's best to not be the 1st born Dan.

Did he turn out ok though?

He is three years older than I am and I feel that it was a huge blessing to have him clear my path, so to speak. He did try to get me to do things sometimes but I was pretty good at figuring out if it would turn out good most of the time. We did share some mischief though. Like five whole rolls of Caps in grandpas Vice in the basement.... KABOOOMMM! THAT WAS LOUD!! WHAT DID YOU SAY!!!  The vice is stripped out, OH OH!

Grandpa was a machinist and he had a lathe 10' away so he fixed it.   

Yes! The biggest problems/fights between our mom and dad were about disciplining him. A few years ago he told our mom "If you wouldn't have stuck up for me when I was wrong, I would have learned a lot quicker and been punished less in the long run."

Here is a before he got straighten out and during his getting fixed by the USAF

[Sfttailrdr46]

I am 5 years older than my brother and although I did some dumb stuff as a youngster I survived mostly intact. One of the dumbest was collecting a huge quantity of July 4 fireworks stripping out the gunpowder into a small paper bag and using a length of model rocket fuse then dug a shallow hole in the vacant lot next to our house.  Needless to say, several windows were broken and my slightly older coconspirator Billy were grounded and separated for the balance of the summer. I was about 10 at the time.

My brother seemed to never get caught when he strayed from the path and did dumb stuff 

[Lt. Dan]

Good morning GTA!! Up at 0300 CDT. Yesterday was spent, taking my deck out from under my Bad Boy ZT 60" zero turn mower.  I  knew I had a bearing going bad in one of the spindles and I was hoping it would wait till winter.  It didn't, so yesterday I took the spindle hub out and of course the hub was ruined.  So, trip to town to buy a spindle assembly.

The other two seemed tight but it wasn't until I felt how smooth the new one was that I realized how those bearings felt. I decided to change the 4 ball bearings on the other two spindles.

So I called four different NAPA stores and ended up having the closest one to me order 4 of them.

I'm amazed the mower cut so well with a bearing this far gone.

[Jshooter71]

 Good morning GTA! Happy Saturday, I think! Up at 0700 CT. We’ve been in the hospital with Ayrabella since 1000 hrs yesterday morning. This is not how I intended to spend my vacation, but I’m glad we are getting somewhere with the doctors for my little shooting partner, my Baby Girl. The short version is she’s all backed up through the entirety of her intestines. This has been a problem for years that we’ve been dealing with, but has come to a head. I was pretty much up with her until 0100 when my wife took back over. We’re expecting to be in the hospital until at least Monday or Tuesday when the gastrointestinal doctor comes.

 Yowza, Dan! First thing I noticed, of course, are all those lights you’ve got on that Bad Boy! One of these days I have got to get some lights on mine. My wife said I should come home to take care of the dogs and get my mowing done & shower before I went back to the hospital, but now it’s threatening to rain & storm, it might have to wait until tomorrow or Monday, like my original plan. So I’m having a coffee with the dogs and I’m going back to the hospital. We’re at Children’s Hospital, the staff and resources have been first rate. So, I’m expecting my Baby Girl to be 1000% better than what she’s been going through. For all you fellas that pray, thank you all in advance. I’m not sure how often I’ll poke back into GTA, my phones have been on silent, but blowing up with family wanting to know what’s going on too.

[Sfttailrdr46]

Prayers for your family and especially for your baby girl

[Hoosier Daddy]

Plans today are to reduce this to firewood

[Sfttailrdr46]

But it is so "The Nightmare Before Christmas" just hang colored lights  much easier than turning it into firewood 

[Lt. Dan]

John I am so sorry to hear about Arabella and her problem. You can bet Pam and I will be on our knees tonight in prayer for her.

[Rabbit\Squirrel Killer]

Prayers for Arabella and for the doctors knowledge, wisdom and skill.

[Rabbit\Squirrel Killer]

John you have my prayers for Arabella and for the doctors knowledge, wisdom and skill.

[Sqrl Klr]

Dan did you see any grease boiling out of it onto the belt? My uncle's was doing that but it's not now so it's just a matter of when it ceases. I already have the spindles/pulleys but I just need to find the time to install them. It mows but it's very loud. Btw I just use my headlamp as it's very bright so no lights needed for me. Says it lasts up to 3hrs but I haven't tried it.

John God already saw that before she was even born. The great orchestrator has this managed. Rest in Him and don't let Satan bring you fear or steal your joy which is all he can do since he can't steal your soul.

[Lt. Dan]

No grease boiling out, just started out roaring and getting louder.  Mower is back in service. 

[avator]

Plans today are to reduce this to firewood

I might be tempted to light that one up and watch it burn standing.

[Lt. Dan]

Plans today are to reduce this to firewood

I might be tempted to light that one up and watch it burn standing.

I have on like that below the pond dam,  I'm gonna cut down and pull the whole thing up to the north corner of out 20 acres.

[Jshooter71]

Good morning/afternoon GTA! Day 3 at Children’s Hospital. We’re hanging in there, Ayrabella is very weak and it’s now looking like we may be here for several more days, perhaps through this whole coming week, maybe. I went home & mowed & trimmed the backyard & let the dogs run around. I took Mahayla to lunch. I’m back at the hospital and my wife suggests I go home & stay with Mahayla & the dogs & sleep in my own bed tonight. Tomorrow we’ll switch & my wife will stay home for the night. If we do that, I’ll mow & trim what’s left as soon as the sun comes up. It was blazing hot & humid today & I was only on the mower about a half hour. Ayrabella is actually right on track for what the doctors & nurses told us to expect, it’s just a pretty rough going. She’s ornery and cranky, but still has a slight bit of a sense of humor. It’s all going to be alright, it’s just testing all of our patience is all. Thanks again for everyone’s prayers.