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Post by mourningamerica on Feb 10, 2014 17:05:39 GMT -6
Outstanding!
* Sure, start bargain price on Amazon * Over time, expand * If needed, get financially creative - Self employed authors can deduct from Gross Income all costs of "doing business"--any bookkeeper can help turn home and family expenses into DEDUCTIONS! -Put up a gift list on Amazon--let a grateful audience make personal, non income trinket gifts that aren't taxable - You will have an admiring audience as long as you can write
* I know you will never forget your priorities: God, family, yourself, your nation--which includes your readers.
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 10, 2014 20:08:04 GMT -6
If you've seen the weather forecasts for the northern half of Georgia, you know it won't be pleasant this week (the forecasts keep changing, usually for the worse). I was in Lowes around 3PM today and they had hand-lettered signs at the doors:
NO HEATERS KEROSENE ICE MELT
Power in our subdivision is underground, but the cable is aerial most of the couple of miles back to the substation. I expect to have the power out for at least a day or so, possibly longer - predictions of 3/4 to 1 inch of ice on limbs and power lines are usually death knells to power. I do have pre-mixed gas and 2 cycle oil for the chainsaw along with a fairly new bar and chain, but probably need to get bar oil while I'm out on other (previously scheduled) errands tomorrow. I expect there'll be some limbs to clear out of the yard :-(
I do have alternatives: gas for intermittent runs of a small generator (furnace for an hour; fridge for an hour, freezer for an hour [all as needed], don't remember if the over-the-range microwave is wired to the transfer switch); gas stove, Coleman stove and gas grill (with extra propane tank) for cooking, gas logs in the fireplace and kerosene for the kero heater (to stay warm if I choose not to run the generator - if power was out 3 or 4 days, I'd likely have neighbors begging to plug in an extension cord). I found a gas station 10 miles out from the closest town that still sells kerosene at the pump. There were two other vehicles in line ahead of me - guess I'm not the only one to do my homework and find kerosene reasonably close by and at half the $$ they ask at Lowes or HD. The station is 2+ miles from the nearest 4 lane road, up a twisty little two lane. I filled all the empty containers - almost 15 gallons: we should be OK for a week or more. There's about 12 gallons of gas for the generator, plus I can get another 20 gallons out of the vehicles.
My wife went to the grocery today to pick up some things for a red velvet cake (Valentine's Day is Friday ;-) and she said the store was busy like a Saturday, not a Monday. If there's a serious need to go out in the mess later this week, I have tire chains and still remember how to install them - gotta love having a garage instead of doing that in the snow....
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 11, 2014 13:20:45 GMT -6
Stopped by HD for some bar/chain oil and they still have kerosene (perhaps 30 of the 5 gallon packs) but they have NO generators- even the display models are gone. I wasn't the only one thinking a little further ahead - there was a guy looking for the right chain for his chain saw.
My scheduled meetings for today have been postponed and rescheduled for two weeks out. Time to check the chainsaw, generators, etc and fill a couple of the oil lamps. Maybe a surge protector and/or UPS on the new plasma TV? Need to see what's currently available in the basement....
So far, we only have about a half inch of rain and the temperature is about 35, so we're OK. 20 miles north of us they have freezing stuff on the pavement. Current forecast for us has freezing rain coming in around 3AM Wednesday and lasting 12-14 hours, to be followed by 6-8 hours of snow. Wonder why it's hard to drive in metro Atlanta in the snow? The snow sits on a base of ice, which only studded tires or tire chains can safely negotiate. That doesn't keep people from trying - especially those who cut their teeth on New York or Pensylvania snows - they rapidly discover that their experience was in snow, not snow-over-ice and they become the next up-against-the-curb-and-waiting-for-a-tow vehicle.
There's about an hour of UPS time for the home network and this tablet is good for 5-6 hours, plus another 4 hours on an external battery pack. I can feed the network UPS via an extension cord from the generator, so it can be recharged when the gen is running. If needed, I can connect a small inverter (140 watts) to a group 24 (80AH) car battery and use it to recharge electronics (laptop, tablet, phone, the U-verse UPS). That means my network access will be something like an hour every 3 or 4 hours. There's a 10amp charger to bring the battery back up when the gen is running. I can deal with a little internet withdrawal - I have a half dozen books to read ;-) Reading by a kerosene light isn't great, but the Coleman dual-mantle lantern turns night into day - and heats the room ;-)
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Post by kaijafon on Feb 12, 2014 4:16:52 GMT -6
be safe!!
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Post by nancy1340 on Feb 12, 2014 19:42:25 GMT -6
I didn't know Harley Davidson sold bar and chain oil.
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 13, 2014 10:40:47 GMT -6
It seems our neighborhood dodged the bullet this time. We have enough ice on the trees to make pretty pictures, but so far only one small (maybe 5 feet long) broken limb from a dogwood tree in the front yard. A few miles north of us there are several inches of snow and some power outages. A few miles south of us there is serious ice and lots of power outages. Between Georgia Power and the local EMC's, the peak in the state was over 250,000 customers without power.
The temperature is now above freezing (34, headed for the mid-40's) and the sun is out, so portions of the roads are clearing - but there are still some drivers who think if any of the road is clear it must all be clear. That includes the "professional" drivers who should know better. Local TV news had pictures of a semi on its side after a long slide along the side of the road - the driver was unhurt, but only because the tractor was following the trailer: had the trailer been doing the pushing, the cab would have been under the 50,000lb load. He may have been two days behind schedule because of the weather when he started out this morning, but it'll be longer than that to get the cargo transferred to another trailer and his truck checked/repaired.
One of the truck drivers interviewed at a rest area said he was from Cleveland, OH, and used to snow but you could tell from his voice that he was in awe of the 3/4" of ice on his truck. At least he made the connection of that much ice on the truck meaning there is also that much ice on the road.
Considering the state of some of the venues at Sochi, we needed to swap weather with them yesterday - they needed a high of 35 and we needed a high in the 50's ;-)
There's no pressing reason for us to be out today, so we'll wait for things to melt.
Stay warm and dry.
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 15, 2014 17:03:08 GMT -6
Already running low on inspiration with my muse apparently on vacation away from the ice and snow, it may be a while before I get back to the story. I learned today that our younger daughter's Baptist minister father-in-law had surgery for a brain tumor this week- he had just retired last year after many years of service both in churches and in the state association. They're still waiting to hear from the pathologist as to whether the tumor was benign or not.
Some days you're made painfully aware of how little you can do for other people...
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Post by papaof2 on Feb 19, 2014 22:54:40 GMT -6
Update on our daughter's father-in-law.
The brain tumor is a glioblastoma, the most aggressive kind. Radiation and chemo start in the next week or so.
Typical survival rate is less than 50% after 3 years, even with the best treatment.
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Post by papaof2 on Mar 1, 2014 12:19:51 GMT -6
Chapter 59 - Wednesday noon
"Hello the house!"
"Hello, Alice. Come on in and one of the kids will take care of your horse."
"I'll do it, Grandpa. I love being with the horses! C'mon, Mike, Terry, Lexi. We need to do water and food and..."
~~~
"Kate, all the dresses are ready for the final fitting. Mom said today or tomorrow would be good. Ed and George said they would be finished with the plumbing tomorrow and that all the other work on your house will be finished either today or tomorrow. Mom also said she'd have the strawberry-filled cake for Abby ready on Saturday if you want to have her party then. Considering how Abby bartered with a strawberry-filled cake at Trade Day it was pretty obvious that she didn't want to let it go, regardless of how good the trade was."
"Thanks, Alice. And tell your Mom thanks for the other cake. I'll let the kids think the one they're making is to be a shared cake until the last minute. Jack, you OK with having the wedding Sunday afternoon? It seems everything at the new house is ready."
"I'm good with that, Kate, and it would be nice to be sharing a room with you instead of Gene and Mike. How much warning do we give the girls?"
"We can tell them when we go to Mrs. Black's to try on the dresses. There aren't that many people they could tell between now and then."
"Who's doing the flowers, Kate?"
"Guess we'll just get a few things from the flowers around the house, Sara."
"No, you won't. Flowers were once my business and your wedding is my next project. Tell me about the dresses..."
"Flowers and dresses? What's going on, Aunt Kate?"
"Sit down for a minute, girls. All the work on the new house will be finished this week, so Jack and I will be married Sunday afternoon. Mrs. Wiseman wants to see the dresses so she can make up appropriate flowers for each of us."
" Do we have to walk down the aisle with a boy?"
"Abby and Terry do, Lexi, but the flower girl leads the way by herself."
"OK. Then Mike with Abby and Bobby with Terry?"
"I haven't asked either girl who they might want and then we'll have to ask the boys."
"I'm fine with Abby!"
"Is Mike OK with you, Abby?"
"Always!"
"Terry?"
"Bobby Trotter is fine with me, but how do we ask him?"
"Isaac and I can go by there as we go home. We can ask Alex and we'll get the answer back to you by one of the other people who's coming for lessons this week."
"Thank you, Mrs. Wiseman."
"You're welcome, Terry. It's a pleasure being with children who have such good manners."
~~~
"Abby, your birthday is Sunday the ninth. Would it be OK to have your birthday party on Saturday afternoon so it doesn't get lost in the wedding on Sunday?"
"Any day is fine, Aunt Kate. I don't remember ever having a party with cake and other kids."
"Stop boo-hooing and come here for a hug. Do you remember telling me that you helped your Grandma Betty make a birthday cake for Terry?"
"Un huh."
"If she did parties for Terry and even had you help, don't you think she would have had parties for you as well?"
"But why don't I remember them?"
"Most people don't remember much from the years before they started school. Before the fever, there were probably pictures of all your birthday parties, but things like that got lost when you were shuffled off to stay with Crystal - I don't think she would have considered pictures of you important. I think you're old enough to remember this birthday without having any pictures to look at. Since you're a good writer - I saw the story you left on the table when you went out to milk the goats yesterday - you can write a description of the party with all the people, what they wore, the games you played - but not spin-the-bottle."
"Thank you, Aunt Kate. Mrs. Wiseman, can you tell Kyle and Bobby that the party is Saturday afternoon? Kyle and me share the same birthday and we planned to have a party together this year."
"I'll be glad to tell them, Abby. How will they get here?"
"Cousin Alice said they would be driving a wagon to school if the one room school gets going. I guess they can do that for the party. We need to ask Aunt Mabel if she has dressy clothes for Mike and Bobby."
"Kate, if you could bring the girls and Mike over today or tomorrow Mom can do the final fitting for the dresses and find something for Mike. Bobby could come to the house after the party Saturday and we'll find something for him. Mom and I can make any needed alterations and we can take the clothes to church with us Sunday morning."
"Thank you, Cousin Alice."
"You're welcome, Abby. Could you get my horse for me?"
"C'mon, Mike."
~~~
"What's up with those two, Kate? They seem to be about the right age to be saying 'Yuck, a boy! or 'Yuck, a girl!' but they seem like very close friends."
"They didn't hit it off very well initially. Mike's comment about 'What are girls doing with guns?' almost got him in serious trouble. Then he learned that Abby could outshoot him, as well as do 'girly' things like cook. They've been friends ever since. More important, Mike being with Abby at the church last Sunday probably saved her life, as well as perhaps others. Once they've worked out how they feel about that, they may be more like typical kids. On the other hand, they've both been through some difficult times and are much more mature in some areas than we would have expected of kids that age a year ago."
"Saved her life? I didn't hear about that."
"You won't hear the details from me, either. Abby's having a hard time with her feelings about all the events last Sunday, so that's another thing that she'll have to choose to share."
"My curiosity is killing me, but I understand. Every girl needs an aunt and best friend like you."
~~~
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Post by crf78112 on Mar 1, 2014 16:13:48 GMT -6
Thank you, been missing the boys and girls.
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Post by kaijafon on Mar 1, 2014 22:35:32 GMT -6
Thank you for the chapter. I hope your Daughter's FIL is doing ok.
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Post by ydderf on Mar 2, 2014 15:08:07 GMT -6
Thank you, I hope your muse is over it's dry spell, All my best to your daughter's FIL.
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Post by biggkidd on Mar 2, 2014 20:59:40 GMT -6
Great just great needed a good pick me up story just now thank you. Hope everyone is well. Larry
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Post by papaof2 on Mar 4, 2014 21:17:52 GMT -6
Chapter 60 - Wednesday afternoon
"I know lunch is late today, but we had a busy morning with all the students who were here."
"And some of them didn't listen about the oven map so they left the chocolate cake that cooked up funny."
"Cake only after you finish your sandwich, Mike. You can have more milk to go with the cake if you want it. We have four kinds of bread today: wheat, rye, pumpernickel and Italian herb. Remember that the first of the cheese we made is in the springhouse and I made chicken salad from some of the lesson payments: a chicken yesterday, plus celery, tomatoes, and some other things from someone's greenhouse today."
"Can I have peanut butter on pumpernickel?"
"Not four days in a row, Abby. Pick something else today."
"If I hafta. I'll take chicken salad."
"Which bread?"
"Rye."
"Terry?"
"Cheese on rye."
"Lexi?"
"Peanut butter and grape jelly on wheat."
"This is your third day in a row for PB&J, so something different tomorrow. Mike?"
"Chicken salad and cheese on Italian."
"You're being brave today."
"No, my Granny made those for me. They're yummy."
"Then I need you and Abby to get the cheese and chicken salad from the springhouse."
"On our way."
~~~
"Abby, what would you like to do at the party?"
"There's more than cake and ice cream?"
"Sorry, without power, ice cream is a winter-only treat because we can't make ice. You can have whipped cream on the cake - we have plenty of milk. I was asking what games you might want to play. You could do word games, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey - there's a book about party games for kids in the same bookcase as the encyclopedia. Whoa! All of you sit back down - you can see the book after you eat and wash your hands. I don't want chocolate bookmarks all through the book."
"What about games like Monopoly?"
"Mike, Monopoly requires the players to read and do arithmetic. That limits who can play it and it can take a long time to finish a game. Think about things that many kids can do quickly."
"Who will be here?"
"Me and you and Terry and Lexi and Kyle and Bobby. Grandpa, can I invite the kids that Uncle Carl and Aunt Mabel took in? They probably don't get to do much fun stuff."
"Yes, sweet girl, you may invite them. But that does complicate the choice of games - there's a wide range of ages. Josh is 14, Patricia is 13, Allen is 12, Stewart is 11, Amanda is 6, Sherry is 3."
"What games can everybody do?"
"Abby, have you ever done the picture-behind-a-door matching game?"
"My second grade teacher called it 'concentration'."
"That's the game I'm thinking of. Even Sherry can match pictures. I think it would be more interesting if you had teams of two people, but they can't live in the same place, so everyone gets to know at least one new person, and their ages have to add up to at least 13 but not more than 20."
"How do we do that?"
"Mike, you can start by writing down everyone's name and their age..."
"My age on my birthday or on Saturday?"
"Your Saturday age, Abby - same for Kyle."
"Tell us the names and ages again..."
~~~
" Did we get it right, Grandpa?"
Josh 14 with Lexi 5 Patricia 13 with Terry 7 Allen 12 with Abby 8 Stewart 11 with Mike 9 Kyle 11 with Sherry 3 Bobby 10 with Amanda 6
"The group did a good job, Abby. Is there another arrangement that will also meet the conditions?"
"Kyle with Amanda and Bobby with Sherry?"
"Very good, smart girl. I think your Aunt Kate has another game as well."
"Instead of pin the tail on the donkey, what if we use this poster from a rodeo and pin the tail on Max?"
"That's so cool! Playing the game with a picture of a horse we know."
"Glad you like it, Mike. What do you think, Abby? After all, it is your party."
"I know it's my party, but we need something that's fun for everyone - and someone trying to do something blindfolded almost always does something funny."
"One change from the usual game - you be using the tacky blue stuff instead of pins - I don't want holes all over the poster of Max."
~~~
" Dad, I remember you working math into all sorts of things at home when I was in school, but I think the team selection might be the sneakiest way I've ever seen you work a math problem into daily life."
"They haven't been in school for months, Kate, so every little bit helps. Was it sneakier than having you figure the charges for shipping the saddle you wanted for your tenth birthday?"
"That was different; it was something special for me so it was fun."
"Getting a word problem with several conditions about something fun will make doing word problems for school much easier when school does get started again - as you just said: it's not work, it's fun."
~~~
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Post by biggkidd on Mar 5, 2014 8:54:26 GMT -6
Nice to see the kids are still at it. still a great story Larry
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Post by kaijafon on Mar 9, 2014 21:51:44 GMT -6
thank you!
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Post by Suburban Gardener on Mar 28, 2014 17:27:13 GMT -6
60 Chapters in 4 days! Now I'll have to wait for each chapter as they come out. Great story papaof2!
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Post by papaof2 on Apr 10, 2014 15:29:14 GMT -6
Chapter 61 - Wednesday evening
"Grandpa, why are all of you going to so much trouble to give me a birthday party? We're not real family."
"You saved my life - I think that makes you about as real as it gets."
"But you took care of us before then..."
"Maybe we kinda like you?"
"Why didn't Crystal like us?"
"Maybe she was never loved as a child so she never learned to care about others?"
"If that's what it was, I guess I don't hate her so much. I kinda feel sorry for her."
~~~
"Supper's ready."
"Thank you, Kate and kids."
"Can we go practice with my new pistol tomorrow?"
"Not tomorrow, Abby. Remember that your Uncle Jack and I will be going on the warehouse recon trip."
"But what if something happens to you there?"
"Lexi, have any of you girls had a bad dream about me this week?"
"No."
"Me too."
"Me three."
" Doesn't at least one of you always seem to know when something bad might happen?"
"Yes."
"Then your Daddy and I should be OK tomorrow?"
"I guess, but I'll be watching the road the whole time 'til you're back."
"Me too."
"Me three."
"The three of you will be too busy with other things to spend the day watching the road - more students will be here tomorrow."
" Do we hafta, Aunt Kate?"
"What does family do, Abby?"
"We help where we can."
"I think these girls might need a hug."
"Hold me tight, Grandpa."
"Me too."
"Me three."
"Crowd in for a group hug."
~~~
"Bedtime, kids. That means get in your pajamas and go brush and floss."
"Can we get two chapters tonight?"
"Anyone else agree with Mike?"
"Me."
"Me too."
"Me three."
~~~
"End of your second chapter tonight. All of you to bed."
"Tuck me in and kiss me goodnight?"
"Me too."
"Me three."
"You three are getting in a rut with your answers."
~~~
"Mr. Mason, do you have any ideas about the warehouse we're going to?"
"Since we're only a couple of days from being family, Jack, call me 'Bill'."
"I'll try to remember that."
"The only warehouse I can think of in that area was part of the patio furniture manufacturing company - but it went broke more than 20 years ago."
"Patio furniture? In the middle of nowhere?"
"Yes, Kate. Alan Sims' family made a fortune with sales of military equipment during the 40's and 50's. He retired early to that little town because he wanted a simpler life - one grocery store, one diner, and one gas station fit 'simple'. What he found after a while was that most of the people in the county were barely surviving. He had built his own patio furniture when he lived in San Diego and had many people ask where they could get similar pieces. He took that interest and invested a million or so dollars in building a manufacturing plant for what was a high-end line of goods. But the business was seasonal and the people there needed year-round employment. So he built a warehouse and kept all the employees working year-round. The production during the winter was stored in the warehouse and shipped out by rail at the start of the selling season."
"It sounds as though he had everything in place to stay in business. What happened?"
"Alan had a heart attack and responsibility for the plant fell on one of his nephews. Fresh out of Harvard with ideas of using 'modern' processes to cut costs and raise profits so they would be competitive with the cheap products from off-shore manufacturers. However, none of the suppliers could provide the quantities of materials that would be needed to keep up with a typical year's orders in real time on such short notice and the nephew threw a fit and cancelled all their standing orders. When Alan had recovered enough to check on things, it was too late to save the company. The suppliers had found other outlets for their goods and couldn't provide any to Alan for the rest of the season. Neither were there enough people in the area to cover three shifts running seven days a week to make up for lost production time. The normally solvent company had money problems, caused by some ill-advised 'investing' the nephew had done, which meant that Alan couldn't fund salaries for the people while they waited months for the parts so they could begin production. He sold what was in the warehouse and gave each employee a month's severance pay. Many of them went to the city to look for work and the town began to shrink."
"The nephew was certain that he knew more than the old man because he had a fresh MBA?
"Yes, Jack. I hope someone along the way taught him the most important sentence every MBA should know."
"What sentence would that be?"
"You want fries with that?"
~~~
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Post by kaijafon on Apr 12, 2014 2:59:40 GMT -6
Thanks! On my way to work, I pass two "warehouse businesses" out in the middle of "nowhere"... there are just fields of cotton/rice/corn out there. And they cause traffic jams during the "coming in of shifts" and the "leaving of shifts". lol!
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Post by papaof2 on Apr 13, 2014 18:33:54 GMT -6
Chapter 62 - Thursday morning
"Aunt Kate, can you help me button my jeans?"
"If you need my help, Abby, but you've been doing fine dressing yourself and helping Terry before today."
"I can't do Terry's either. Are we getting fat?"
"I want you to think back to the first day you were here and what Doc Wilson said about you."
"When Terry said she saw two of him, he said he wouldn't have given her as much medicine if he had seen her ribs first."
"Why could he see her ribs?"
"I guess we were really skinny 'cause we didn't get much to eat."
" Did he say anything about your hair?"
"That it looked like we hadn't been eating very good."
"How does your hair look now?"
"It's shiny and pretty when you brush it for us."
"Then maybe you're eating better food than you were before?"
"And more of it!"
"Then your body has the food it needs to grow?"
"Well, duh! Grandpa told us when he measured us for the dress patterns that we'd be growing every day."
"Very good, smart girl. It's just that the tiny bit you grow each day isn't that obvious until all those tiny bits make a difference in something you do - such as button your jeans. Did your Grandpa only have you put one size of clothes in the chest and the closet?"
"No. He had us do the clothes that fit and the next size bigger - he knew we'd need bigger clothes!"
"Yes, he knows how quickly kids grow when they have a proper diet. I bet he even showed you how to make some fun foods to ensure you ate a variety of things."
"Un huh. Like the 'Ants on a Log' and some other stuff."
"After the cooking students leave today, I'll help the two of you sort through the clothes in the chest to see what should go in the 'too little for Terry' box and what should be in the 'too little for Abby but Terry is next' box."
"You're as silly as Grandpa!"
"Abby, their being silly is just another way they say 'I love you'."
"I know, Terry. We're in the best family ever."
~~~
"Student number 3 really knows her cakes."
"You're right, Mike. Mrs. Watkins' business was baking wedding cakes and other big or fancy cakes. She did her baking in electric ovens, so now she just needs to learn about the differences in cooking with wood."
"Won't her baking cut into your baking business?"
"Not much, Abby. She lives on the far side of the valley and people there also need a baker. And I don't plan to bake really fancy things like wedding cakes. I think there'll be enough business in the valley for both of us. She might even be a customer for some of your Grandpa's wheat so she can mill flour for baking."
~~~
"Now that the others have left, Kate, tell me what kind of wedding cake you want and what time Sunday?"
"How did you know?"
"Sara Wiseman told me. You can't keep good news off the grapevine. I brought my book of designs. Look through it and pick what you want."
"Let me get the kids started on clean up first."
~~~
"Mrs. Watkins, I like this one. Can you have it at the Methodist Church on Sunday afternoon?"
"Certainly. How many people do you expect at the reception?"
"I have no idea."
"I'll double the number of people who were at church last Sunday and make enough layers to handle at least that many people. I expect everyone in the valley who is physically able will be there."
"How will they know?"
"You can't keep good news off the grapevine."
~~~
"I see the kids are making signs. Do you need that many baking pans and of that many types, Kate?"
"No. Sara Wiseman wants to do some Kosher baking for Isaac's small Jewish congregation."
"What does she have to trade?"
"Isaac's leather goods, some fresh foods from their garden and greenhouse, maybe chickens and eggs."
"I need to talk with Sara. Calvin should be here to pick me up soon. We'll stop by the Wiseman place on our way home. I really wish the phones were working so I could tell Calvin to bring some baking pans with him."
"The phones are one of Dad's projects when/if they can get the hydro plant running."
"We might have electricity again?"
"Maybe, but only for a few hours a day. With few people to run the plant and no way to get parts for repair or replacement, the hydro plant would be running at reduced capacity and providing power on a rotating basis to various sections of the valley during the day."
"If I can have power for a couple of hours a day, the fridge and freezer will again be usable. I'm guessing that the scheduled power-on times probably won't be to the minute, so any baking in my electric ovens would have to be limited to less than the proposed power-on times. That would still be better than splitting wood. Tell us if there's anything we can do to help."
"They'll be checking out the lake, the dam and the generators in the next few weeks. They'll make announcements at church and Trade Day so people will know when they need help with the wiring to the houses and what needs to be done."
"I'm so glad we have Bill Mason to keep us safe and guide us through these difficult times."
~~~
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Post by papaof2 on Apr 15, 2014 14:06:47 GMT -6
Chapter 63 - Thursday noon "Jack, take half the group with you and ride on over to County Road 303, although it may have a 'Sims Street' marker since it turns to go in front of the Sims factory and warehouse after it crosses the railroad tracks. We'll give you 10 minutes, then start through the woods to the back side of the buildings. Originally, there was a chain link fence around the property, but I suspect we'll find openings because of its age. Hal will give the bird call signal when we're in place."
"OK, Bill, We'll be listening for you."
~~~
"Bill, the gates out front were closed, but the chain was just wrapped, not locked. Guess no one had a key for the rusty old lock so they just used bolt cutters."
"Same on the back gate and the gate across the siding track, Jack. There are no recent tracks in the dust, other than some small animals. Either there are no more people in the area, any still alive are afraid to come here or there's nothing left. I hope it's the first choice. Let's get the doors to the warehouse open."
"There's nothing here but trailers!"
"George, the other halves of these 18 wheelers are parked at the other end on the warehouse."
"Are the trailers locked?"
"No, Sam. Looks like they were all either cut or pried open - except for the trailer load of building materials which is a flat bed."
"Bill, the fork lift on the back of that trailer is LP and the tank sounds full. Think we can get it started?"
"A question for you, Carl. Are the keys in it?"
"Yes."
"Give it a try, but the battery may not have enough charge to..."
"YES!"
"That answers our concern for a way move the items we find here. Let it run until the charge indicator moves into the green to ensure it will start the next time. Meanwhile, we can explore these unmarked trailers to see if there are things we need. If you don't remember what's been asked for, there are several copies of the list. We also need to note things that are here but weren't asked for."
"The tanks on the trucks here are empty. No driver would choose this as a place to run out of fuel."
"Ed, there are 10 trailers but only 8 trucks and there are no fifth wheel dollies to make a tandem rig. The license plates on the trucks are from just a few states - all south of here along the interstate. Maybe these drivers parked their loads in what they thought would be a safe place and put all their fuel into the two trucks with the biggest sleepers so there'd be room for all of them to travel? With five drivers per vehicle, they could travel continuously and get everyone home in one day."
"That sounds reasonable to me, Bill. But how do we get any of this stuff back to the valley with no diesel for the trucks? It would take forever with horse-drawn wagons."
"On the train, Carl. We have plenty of wood. There's a siding on the back side of the building so we can load there. There's a siding in Sam Green's south 40 that his grandfather used in the days they raised beef. We can unload the train there, then move things either in horse-drawn wagons or Sam's wood gas truck. I think Sims did some shipping on trailer-trains and there might still be some of the flatcars that had a fifth wheel to secure a trailer - back in the days before containerized freight and Conex boxes. One of those cars would be ideal for the trailer of building materials - there's no point in unloading and reloading that."
" Do we take the fork lift with us on the train?"
"Yes, Jack. Otherwise we'll be trying to move all these big loads with pallet jacks and human muscle. We'll use the forklift as long as the fuel lasts. Do we have a list of what's here?"
"We can only get a few feet back into most of the trailers, Bill. Think it would be OK to unload them here?"
"I'll use the forklift to move everything on pallets to the loading dock. After I clear the rearmost row of pallets in each trailer, someone will have to move the rest of them to the back of the trailer with a pallet jack - at least the trailers are on a level surface so you won't be trying to move them uphill or downhill. Any movement on the dock can also be done with the pallet jacks. As much as possible, I'd like to save the forklift for unloading at the other end."
~~~
"Here's the overview of the lists, Bill. For example, the 'automotive stuff' includes oil, various filters, spark plugs and wiper blades and 'yard goods' includes cloth, patterns, needles and thread. Not a counted inventory, just a survey of what we see. A detailed count will require breaking down the pallets."
boxed and canned food
mostly men's clothes
shoes/boots for adults & kids
automotive stuff
tools
yard goods
"Thanks, Alex. That's a good start. All those things are needed. We won't break the pallets here because it would make loading and unloading the train much harder. We need to get back so Jack can get the train ready for the trip here."
"There are about a dozen of the trailer-train cars on the siding, Bill. Someone that knows more about them than I do will have to decide if they're usable. That might be Arnold - he did much of the restoration on the rail laying car. Having things sorted to trailers would give us organized storage that's mostly protected from the weather."
"I like your logic, Jack. We can check with Arnold tomorrow."
"How do we move those trailers with no diesel for the trucks?"
"Carl, I have a fifth wheel dolly and there's a pintle hitch on my truck. The wood gas generator doesn't provide enough fuel to do highway speeds with that kind of load, but it'll be OK to move the trailers around here and to get them out of the pasture and to a more central location when we get them back to the valley."
"Thanks, Sam."
~~~
Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using proboards
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Post by kaijafon on Apr 16, 2014 12:21:38 GMT -6
Thank you!
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Post by fightheat on Apr 18, 2014 8:39:43 GMT -6
I have caught up and am LOVING this story! Thank you for the great work.
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Post by millwright on Apr 22, 2014 18:29:32 GMT -6
Good Read I just got caught up....mebbe I can go to work tomorrow.
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Post by biggkidd on Apr 27, 2014 20:47:13 GMT -6
Good deal.
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