Baymule
Herd Master
What wonderful memories of good times with your grandmother and in-laws! And what useful things you learned! What a blessing.
Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along
- Thread starter Ridgetop
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #2,982
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Another spate of illness has hit Ridgetop Farm!
We have foot and mouth disease!
Luckily, we don't have to destroy the infected individuals and burn them or bury them in lime to control the disease. Their survival and complete recovery will take about 10 days. DGS5, Robert, and DS1 have come down with Hand, Foot, and Mouth. Robert was the first to succumb with a slight fever, and white rash in his mouth. First, we thought it might be Thrush until he showed the red rash on his hands and feet. Second was DS1 who had a high fever which cleared up after 2 days. He thought he had a series of small insect bites on his hands until he showed them to me. When he admitted to having what he thought were cold sores in his mouth I was able to diagnose Hand, Foot, and Mouth. Since we all have been exposed by now (the exposure period can last weeks) no quarantine is necessary. Even Annabel probably will come down with it since she was here during the incubation period and had a slight fever Monday. There is no "cure" it just runs its course in about a week. Robert does not want to eat since his mouth hurts, and he is cranky. Nicholas is also cranky so may be coming down with it. Maysie is supposed to come over this morning and has probably been exposed by Annabel.
I was tempted to hang a bell around Robert's neck and give one to DS1 telling him to ring it and call out "Unclean" as he came through the house like lepers in the Middle Ages. However, I abandoned that plan after vociferous complaint by the family on the grounds that the ringing interrupted their ability to hear their TV programs. LOL
Fence posts for the fence have arrived at the Co-Op now. NE Texas co-co just called and let me know. I will call Levi to pick up and have to be available to give my credit card number to the Co-Op. They won't let me pay NOW, I can only pay when they are picked up. Probably something to do with their bookkeeping system. I asked of the power was back on and she told me Sulphur Springs never lost power. Then in a surprising coincidence she told me the tip about the penny in a container of water!!! I asked if she was on BYH but she said no. LOL Maybe this is a Texas basic survival thing for power outages in Texas summers.
We have foot and mouth disease!
Luckily, we don't have to destroy the infected individuals and burn them or bury them in lime to control the disease. Their survival and complete recovery will take about 10 days. DGS5, Robert, and DS1 have come down with Hand, Foot, and Mouth. Robert was the first to succumb with a slight fever, and white rash in his mouth. First, we thought it might be Thrush until he showed the red rash on his hands and feet. Second was DS1 who had a high fever which cleared up after 2 days. He thought he had a series of small insect bites on his hands until he showed them to me. When he admitted to having what he thought were cold sores in his mouth I was able to diagnose Hand, Foot, and Mouth. Since we all have been exposed by now (the exposure period can last weeks) no quarantine is necessary. Even Annabel probably will come down with it since she was here during the incubation period and had a slight fever Monday. There is no "cure" it just runs its course in about a week. Robert does not want to eat since his mouth hurts, and he is cranky. Nicholas is also cranky so may be coming down with it. Maysie is supposed to come over this morning and has probably been exposed by Annabel.
I was tempted to hang a bell around Robert's neck and give one to DS1 telling him to ring it and call out "Unclean" as he came through the house like lepers in the Middle Ages. However, I abandoned that plan after vociferous complaint by the family on the grounds that the ringing interrupted their ability to hear their TV programs. LOL
Fence posts for the fence have arrived at the Co-Op now. NE Texas co-co just called and let me know. I will call Levi to pick up and have to be available to give my credit card number to the Co-Op. They won't let me pay NOW, I can only pay when they are picked up. Probably something to do with their bookkeeping system. I asked of the power was back on and she told me Sulphur Springs never lost power. Then in a surprising coincidence she told me the tip about the penny in a container of water!!! I asked if she was on BYH but she said no. LOL Maybe this is a Texas basic survival thing for power outages in Texas summers.
Margali
Herd Master
Midwest / tornado alley thing, probably. The severe storms and tornado alerts here are similar to were I grew up near St. Louis, Missouri.
Also, if the sky ever turns peachy gold or purple be worried (other than sunset). That is usually tornado or severe weather inbound.
Baymule
Herd Master
I’m laughing at the penny in a container of water. But I’m really sorry that the family has come down with foot, hand and mouth disease. It’s hard on little children who don’t understand, poor babies.
SageHill
Herd Master
Or green. That was a Midwest "run to the basement NOW" warning for tornadoes when I was a kid.
- Thread starter
- #2,986
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Still haven't put the coat of varnish on the desks. Got sidetracked by a LOOOOONG shipping trip to Ross. 20 minutes driving there, shopping for 2 hours finding everything I needed for Yantis, and OVER 1 HOUR IN LINE! Traffic on the freeway coming home so got off at next exit and came home on surface streets, no traffic. Stopped at Goodwill but quick in and out since nothing there so just came home. Total trip 4 hours. Packed everything I bought into a plastic container for Yantis. Got 3 large wire baskets for potatoes and onions (they don't spoil in wire baskets), pair of bathmats, and scored on three 5 lb. OXO cannisters marked down to $9. There were others that held an extra few ounces, but they were $14. I keep all the dry foodstuffs in airtight cannisters to avoid weevils. Got a large bamboo cutting board, stepped cabinet shelf racks for spices, 2 lazy Susan turntables (for cooking oils, vinegar, etc.), kitchen tools (spatulas, spoons, tongs, etc.), box of 24 Rubbermaid containers for $6, and silverware drawer insert - all on closeout from prices that are half of Walmart prices. 
Good haul! I still need a good set of knives and saw several sets, but although I liked some, I decided to wait. Would like some large drawer dividers for kitchen tools, but might bring my old pickle crock from home and keep them on counter. I may go back next week to see if they have any more stuff cheap that I need. Still, spent $150 which is a fraction of what I spent at Walmart in Yantis last time, and got a lot more stuff. I can get by now and set up the upper cabinets. I will measure the lower cabinets for the sliding shelves which I will make when we return. And also measure the blind cabinets for the sliding shelves. I will order those if they will fit in the cupboard. They fit differently for cabinets with face frames and for those without. I have already abandoned the shelves that pull out and slide to the side allowing the rear shelves to pull out. Too many reviews said they wouldn't clear an adjacent appliance. I will have to go with the kidney shaped ones that spin out. Those blind cabinet pullouts don't utilize all the space but will be easier for a woman in her Prime to get the stuff out. I can kneel on my knee replacement but it is often painful to do. Let alone getting back up! 
We need to find the closest Smart N Final or Food 4 Less which caters to bulk purchases, and will need to join Sam's Club and plan monthly visits to Tyler. DS1 wants to check out the local grocery store rather than shopping at Walmart. We shop there when in Yantis because we can get everything in one stop, so it is convenient. Once we are living there, we can look for other stores. We will be going to Martindale's for feed and the grocery store is across from them so an easy stop.
Good haul! I still need a good set of knives and saw several sets, but although I liked some, I decided to wait. Would like some large drawer dividers for kitchen tools, but might bring my old pickle crock from home and keep them on counter. I may go back next week to see if they have any more stuff cheap that I need. Still, spent $150 which is a fraction of what I spent at Walmart in Yantis last time, and got a lot more stuff. I can get by now and set up the upper cabinets. I will measure the lower cabinets for the sliding shelves which I will make when we return. And also measure the blind cabinets for the sliding shelves. I will order those if they will fit in the cupboard. They fit differently for cabinets with face frames and for those without. I have already abandoned the shelves that pull out and slide to the side allowing the rear shelves to pull out. Too many reviews said they wouldn't clear an adjacent appliance. I will have to go with the kidney shaped ones that spin out. Those blind cabinet pullouts don't utilize all the space but will be easier for a woman in her Prime to get the stuff out. I can kneel on my knee replacement but it is often painful to do. Let alone getting back up! We need to find the closest Smart N Final or Food 4 Less which caters to bulk purchases, and will need to join Sam's Club and plan monthly visits to Tyler. DS1 wants to check out the local grocery store rather than shopping at Walmart. We shop there when in Yantis because we can get everything in one stop, so it is convenient. Once we are living there, we can look for other stores. We will be going to Martindale's for feed and the grocery store is across from them so an easy stop.
- Thread starter
- #2,987
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Went to Lowes on way home from bridge. No oil modified varnish. All varnish type products are water based. 
I did buy a couple new brushes since all of my boxes of painting stuff went to Texas in March. Also, some sandpaper in different grits. Stopped at the Dollar Store (now the $1.25 store) for a container to wash out the brushes, and wire whisks to stir the polyurethane with.
Just walked in the door when DD2 called in a panic asking us to pick DGD2 up from art class since DGD3 just woke up with 104 degree fever. She was heading to emergency room with Annabel. DH drove me over since we were not sure about parking which was lucky since there was none. I ran in for Maysie while he waited in the car. DD2 is still in emergency waiting room with Annabel who still has a high fever. We will keep Maysie and feed her supper. If she has to spend night no problem. We can give her one if DH's T-shirts to sleep in and I will wash her outfit. No school tomorrow. DD2 said they just had Annabel at the doctor and he said she was fine, low fever was from teething. I told DD2 to demand a culture in ER. DD2 said Maysie had hand and mouth when she was 2 years old. Not sure about Annabel. Hopefully will get another update from ER.
When we got home we found that DS1 had brought in the play kitchen that DSIL2 brought over for Robert. Neither Maysie nor Annabel play with it so they are passing it along to their cousins. Robert has some kitchen stuff and is already excited about the kitchen. He was trying to wash his hands under the faucet. LOL
Got my Livestock Weekly today (Texas paper). Lamb prices are down again. Goats all over. Cattle holding, feeders up a bit.
Glad I got mine off to the sale two weeks ago when prices were up. Still two more ram lambs to send off. And still haven't got the ram out with the ewes.
I did buy a couple new brushes since all of my boxes of painting stuff went to Texas in March. Also, some sandpaper in different grits. Stopped at the Dollar Store (now the $1.25 store) for a container to wash out the brushes, and wire whisks to stir the polyurethane with. Just walked in the door when DD2 called in a panic asking us to pick DGD2 up from art class since DGD3 just woke up with 104 degree fever. She was heading to emergency room with Annabel. DH drove me over since we were not sure about parking which was lucky since there was none. I ran in for Maysie while he waited in the car. DD2 is still in emergency waiting room with Annabel who still has a high fever. We will keep Maysie and feed her supper. If she has to spend night no problem. We can give her one if DH's T-shirts to sleep in and I will wash her outfit. No school tomorrow. DD2 said they just had Annabel at the doctor and he said she was fine, low fever was from teething. I told DD2 to demand a culture in ER. DD2 said Maysie had hand and mouth when she was 2 years old. Not sure about Annabel. Hopefully will get another update from ER.
When we got home we found that DS1 had brought in the play kitchen that DSIL2 brought over for Robert. Neither Maysie nor Annabel play with it so they are passing it along to their cousins. Robert has some kitchen stuff and is already excited about the kitchen. He was trying to wash his hands under the faucet. LOL
Got my Livestock Weekly today (Texas paper). Lamb prices are down again. Goats all over. Cattle holding, feeders up a bit.
Glad I got mine off to the sale two weeks ago when prices were up. Still two more ram lambs to send off. And still haven't got the ram out with the ewes.
- Thread starter
- #2,988
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Shopping
Maisie spent the night. At 10 pm DD2 called to say that the hospital couldn't find anything wrong with a 2-year-old that has been running a fever for a week and came in with 104 degrees. While in the hospital they gave her Tylenol and the fever would go down then after 3 hours go up again. Sent her with a diagnosis of "teething". 104 degrees? Really? That is the best the medical profession can come up with?
DD2 has an appointment with the pediatrician tomorrow. At this point I am wondering if she is getting the same hand and mouth that Robert and DS1 have. Robert had a temp of about 104 and went limp at which point they called the paramedics. Annabel did the same going limp and unresponsive thing with 104 temp and DD2 rushed to the ER. DS1 had a very high fever for several days before he developed mouth sores and broke out into the rash. I told DD2 that might be what was happening here - that the high fevers were the beginning of the disease. Told her to watch for the mouth sores, and rash on hands/feet.
This morning we heard they found the debris from the submersible. I did not think there would be a happy outcome. Who is crazy enough to go to see a dead ship when they have to sign a lot of pages of Release of Responsibility where the main danger is DEATH! And these passengers were supposed to be smart men that had made fortunes for themselves! What a shame for their families. Not even any bodies to recover from that depth.
Today I finally got the polyurethane on the desk parts. I decided to scrub the areas that I had not sanded with TSP before varnishing. This time the poly went on fine. I changed the wooden stirrer for a wire whisk to stir the polyurethane and it worked great - no chunks left, completely blended. First coat on this morning. Then off to nail appointment. Got back and made spaghetti sauce for dinner. While it simmered, I did the light wet sanding with 320 grit and applied another coat. Will do the third and last coat tomorrow and desk will be finished. Ready for its trip to Yantis. I will post a picture. Next project will be side table in family room, the top of that is really thrashed. Then dining room tabletop. I have to send a photo of the recliner to the upholsterer for a quote.
SageHill
Herd Master
There’s a hospital down here that never seems to get things right. Horrendous waits in the er, some walk in and are seen right away while others in obvious major pain are made to sit and wait hours. A lot use it as their “I don’t feel good” place to go instead of a doc
. They get so much wrong that none of us go there because people die because of this. A friend lost her husband - heart attack - he was doing ok, called friends while he was there to say goodbye - 5 hr WAIT in the er before they got a doc to him. Point of this is they should find another hospital - there is no margin for error.
- Thread starter
- #2,990
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Two different hospitals that couldn't diagnose whatever the kids had. I think now that Annabel had the same thing Robert had since the symptoms were similar. So annoying when Grandmother has to tell the kids what to ask the doctors to test for!!! Too specialized these days?
Robert is feeling better this morning. Was able to eat his rice pudding without pain. Annabel's fever went down yesterday and didn't come back yet.
Now we wait to see if she throws out the rash. I was feeling guilty for sending her home with a small fever but now I feel vindicated.
Got a call for another couple ewes from Rafael. He is my hay guy and bought a ram and several ewes last year. I will go through the list and see who I will sell. Have some older ones and some youngers ones to choose from. Also need to have him deliver another 200 bales of alfalfa before we leave for Texas. We will pick pp another load on the way back through Arizona.
Selling anther couple sheep will decrease the flock and get some $$. I will need that $$ for fencing, transport, etc. Or more likely save toward a propane Generac for the house. This terrible heat in Texas is now expected to last through the beginning of July. The cold can be dealt with - we have a fireplace and propane stove in the trailer. But the heat? The trailer AC can only cool so much before shorting the circuits. And no pool. The house is surrounded by big trees (assuming the last storm didn't take them down) so it helps with the heat, but you still need AC. Fans and ice blocks like the old days only do so much and with humid heat even that won't work. The electric grid is being stretched to the max, and the utilities have asked people to conserve power. We won't be living there until this winter, but will need it in case of another bad winter or summer. Installing it will also increase the value of the property so it's not a loss. And it will mean that we can eat Blue Bell when the temperature is 115 degrees.
I am going to sort through my large hall pantry for spices, oils flavorings, that I buy in bulk and pack some of them for Texas. No sense buying new when I have a lot here. Also going to bring back the powered milk I bought during covid to store for emergencies, and some of the boxes of canned goods. They will need to be used next year anyway and can sit in a Texas closet as well as in a California closet.
Robert is feeling better this morning. Was able to eat his rice pudding without pain. Annabel's fever went down yesterday and didn't come back yet.
Now we wait to see if she throws out the rash. I was feeling guilty for sending her home with a small fever but now I feel vindicated.Got a call for another couple ewes from Rafael. He is my hay guy and bought a ram and several ewes last year. I will go through the list and see who I will sell. Have some older ones and some youngers ones to choose from. Also need to have him deliver another 200 bales of alfalfa before we leave for Texas. We will pick pp another load on the way back through Arizona.
Selling anther couple sheep will decrease the flock and get some $$. I will need that $$ for fencing, transport, etc. Or more likely save toward a propane Generac for the house. This terrible heat in Texas is now expected to last through the beginning of July. The cold can be dealt with - we have a fireplace and propane stove in the trailer. But the heat? The trailer AC can only cool so much before shorting the circuits. And no pool. The house is surrounded by big trees (assuming the last storm didn't take them down) so it helps with the heat, but you still need AC. Fans and ice blocks like the old days only do so much and with humid heat even that won't work. The electric grid is being stretched to the max, and the utilities have asked people to conserve power. We won't be living there until this winter, but will need it in case of another bad winter or summer. Installing it will also increase the value of the property so it's not a loss. And it will mean that we can eat Blue Bell when the temperature is 115 degrees.
I am going to sort through my large hall pantry for spices, oils flavorings, that I buy in bulk and pack some of them for Texas. No sense buying new when I have a lot here. Also going to bring back the powered milk I bought during covid to store for emergencies, and some of the boxes of canned goods. They will need to be used next year anyway and can sit in a Texas closet as well as in a California closet.
