Some of the things that went on this week were pretty routine…but others certainly were not. As the Self-Reliance festival approaches, I find myself taking audible, blowing exhales in an effort to calm my nerves. I certainly pray that I do a good job speaking at the festival. I will be surrounded by many wonderful speakers who are much more experienced than I am.
On Monday, I got the video, “Exploring Southern Kansas While My Birds Are Being Processed.” You can watch it here:
I tried to get some mowing done before heading off to Salina for another softball game, but only accomplished a little. I did get the perimeter of the pigs’ new paddock mowed and set up and tried to mow around the house, but the clutch fell off the mower and I had to quit.
On Tuesday evening, I participated in the Fireside Freedom podcast. I really enjoy it when I can be a part of the team of people who make up this podcast channel. Toolman Tim Cook was gracious enough to help me to set up the live stream on my channel. I was excited to actually have it show up on my own YouTube channel. You can see it here:
It’s a good thing that I had prepared the paddock for the pigs on Monday because Tom informed me on Wednesday morning that the girls had gotten out after I had gone to sleep and he put them in the new paddock. So, Wednesday before he went to work, Tom helped me drag the pig hut over to their new home and I finished setting them up.
I spent the day Thursday in Copan attending the conference softball tournament. They played South Coffeyville again. Usually, they beat our girls pretty bad, but Kinzie’s team held their own pretty good this time. The loss was not so lopsided and the girls were happy about that.
On Friday, I noticed that the apples on our trees down by the vineyard were definitely changing color and posted a picture on Instagram trying to determine if the apples were actually ripening or were suffering from the drought. The consensus was the drought as Tom ate one and said that the flavor was not so hot.
On the same note, I went out to the “garden” to water our green beans and something had eaten them to the ground. Maybe one day, I’ll make gardening a priority but I just don’t have it in me right now.
I’ve really been battling camera issues these past few weeks. The girls threw their softball gear in on top of my video camera and damaged the lens. It no longer focuses straight on but off to the side, and the stabilizer no longer works. I bought a new one and really tried to make it work but it was garbage so I’m back to my old “wall-eyed” camera until another new one arrives. I had even traveled the area in search of one locally and didn’t have any luck.
Saturday was an eventful and even stressful day. As I approached the church to work at the clothing ministry that morning, there were sheriff’s deputies all around our fellowship hall. It seems that a man on a drug binge smashed the glass door and roamed around the building, smashing everything electronic and even pulled ceiling tiles and insulation down.
Apparently, they had not found the man yet when I pulled up but his pickup was in the breezeway. I got permission to go ahead and open the clothing ministry as it was in a separate building and accessible without interfering with their duties. As I was on the phone with one of the other ladies to apprise them of the situation, the perp walked up on foot and I stood agape as they quickly subdued and arrested him. I’ll have a video next week describing the event in more detail.
To add to the emotion of the morning, I needed to find some pictures that I wanted to use for the talk I’m giving at the Self-Reliance Festival October 1-2. I had not seen many of these pictures in several years and it was a bittersweet trip down memory lane.
I’m really looking forward to giving my talk at the festival and hope to meet some of you there. If you can’t attend the festival in Camden, Tennessee but are interested in the activities there, check out this affiliate link to order online views.
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To top off the emotional roller coaster, I called my parents to check in and discovered that Mom had just gotten home from the hospital. Apparently, a hamburger she had eaten the day before had made her sick and she fell in the bathroom unconscious and unresponsive so Dad called an ambulance. The doctor determined that she had food poisoning and sent her home. She sounded good, so I’ll take it she really is okay.
I think I’ll take some time on Sunday to decompress. See you next week!