The Walkie Talkie from Heck.

T. and I were talking while he was trying to decide if he should take the tractor down the fire trail.  He hasn't driven the Ford-built machine in a while and has been saying he wanted to drive it to the back of the property across the road and just see how things look over there.  I figured he couldn't get too far off the track since there is a fence across the back property line and the fire trails mark the boundaries on each of the long sides. 

The only thing he was concerned about was the heat of the day and how he would communicate if he broke down.  He asked me if I had a cell phone he could take with him.  I quickly thought of putting minutes on one of the two phones we have stashed away - one was an old one of mine.  Red.   I had put time on it and given it to T. while he was still driving.  He couldn't figure how to turn it on.  Or off.  And, finally he couldn't recall where he  saw it last.  We looked in the car and in  the bedroom but the phone was lost. 

I bought another phone,  Silver.  He couldn't recall how to turn it on.  Or off.  And then he lost that phone.  When I finally ran across both phones stored in our bedroom under a pillow on the dresser - I just left them there.

It's not like I really needed another lesson.  When he asked for my cell phone I just said, "NO!"

He threw a little attitude over it - but then I recalled the walkie talkies.  I had bought them a couple of years ago for him for Christmas and things were getting apparent that electronics weren't his strongest skill. Going through the phone fiasco  had caused me to rethink the whole gift thing and put the walkie talkies into storage in the hall closet. 

I mentioned we could try using the set to see if he could contact me if the tractor stopped running.  He liked that idea and went rummaging in the hall closet until he found both units.  They were still in their plastic cases- never opened.  We cut the cases and dug out the batteries, read the instruction books and put the AAA batteries into the compartments.  We tried the On switches and my walkie talkie chirped and came on.  T's just sat there.  We checked the  battery installation and reversed the positive poles on one side.  We closed that case and T. asked how to turn it on again. 

Once he found the power switch and held it down, his walkie talkie came on.  It didn't make a chirping noise but it did start getting warm.    Okay, now we're getting somewhere.  We checked the battery positions again and they were installed correctly but the unit was still warm.  I had mine in my hand and was able to change channels and then raise and lower the volume levels.  T. was still trying to get his to do something. 

I  looked at it and he had turned it off again.  It was sort of warm in my hand.  I turned his walkie talkie on again then set the channel to match mine and told him to just push the center button to talk to me.  I told him to push where it said TALK.  He did so and his voice came through the little speaker on the walkie talkie in my hand.  Hurrah!

He tried it again.  Nothing happened.  He pushed and pushed.  Nothing! 

I put out my hand and T. put the walkie talkie into my palm.  The switch was back on off. 

Long story short, we aren't going to be using the walkie talkie set.  It's probably flawed.  Or broken from the two years it spent in the closet.  Later on I may see if Radio Shack has any of the T4300 models and just buy one of them.  Then I can give them to someone who would like a walkie talkie set with a two mile range and 15 channels.  They will come with instruction books and neither of them will get really really warm when you turn it on.

Ramblings

This is a rare traffic jam in our small town.  It started right at the end of the driveway where I come out of work.  You can tell I hadn't completed the turn into the roadway before cars had stopped.   I hate when this happens.


 

This is an un-traffic jam in our small town.  I would rather drive in this kind of traffic any day.



These flowers were planted from bulbs given us by a cousin.  They come up year after year and I enjoy  seeing them, like old friends in the early Summertime.  They remind me of Charles Vining whenever I see them waving in the breeze.

This is a group collecting donations from passers-by at the local big box store.  The group advertises as an animal rescue and requests donations both here and on the radio.  I have heard some pretty ratty rumors about how they treat their animals and the condition of their facility.  I wonder how they can afford to advertise over the airwaves.   I would much rather see flowers waving in  the breeze than see some child waving a bucket and a sign outside a place where I buy groceries.

Further Deponent Sayeth Not. 

Happy Day, Mothers!

May you have the kind of memories today that make you smile - recalling your children being raised by their loving mother and recalling your loving mother raising you.

I'm remembering the child who offered a snack to siblings from the birdseed can..... when Mom wasn't around.  The  spankee who shoved a spelling book down the back of his jeans when told he was getting a spanking.  What was he thinking would happen when the spanker made that distinctive discovery!

I recall sisters playing outside and being called to come in for dinner.  When only one child appeared and was asked about her little sister, she explained with a straight face that Lil' Sis was tied up and couldn't come right then.  Literally tied up, as we found out years later! 

And the Lil' Sis who mentioned a visit by her Big Sis and they were in an establishment.  Apparently  Big Sis didn't make such a favorable impression on a store clerk.  Said clerk made a comment about Big Sis - and Lil' Sis had one foot over the counter when a friend grabbed her and pulled her back from wreaking vengeance on said store clerk.  That's the kind of loyalty a mother hopes to instill in her children.  The kind of closeness that makes a parent proud to know her children would go to the ends of the earth to protect each other.  Or, at least over a service counter - if that's what was required! 

Our mother instilled it in us.  The greatest gift we can give our children is the memories and feelings and love they have for each other. 

Pass it along.

One, two, three - - blast off?

No, I'm not talking about the delayed launch of the space shuttle.  Although it has been put back until the end of the week due to a switch  box in the engine compartment.  It needs replacing - so the launch is not happening tomorrow (Monday) and I am glad to see that NASA is still concentrating on safety in the fleet.  It's down to two, now. 

My Blast Off refers to the other night when I was supposed to be sleeping soundly.  My sleep was broken by my two eyes popping open at about 3AM.  Now,  I don't brag about having an alarm clock in my head that wakens me for a preset event.  Apparently, I do have one.  Who knew! 

Tommy's mother used to be able to pull off that handy little trick.  She would think about what time she wanted to wake up and then she would just be awake at that time.  No alarm clock needed.

My own sister has the talent. 

But I have never thought I had such a useful ability.  I had been thinking about the Royal Wedding for most of the afternoon on Thursday and when I got home, I checked the TV Cable menu and found the schedule had coverage starting at 4:00 A. M. Friday morning.  So, I set the tuner to switch to Fox Channel for that time. 

I had meant to set my alarm for then, as well but I somehow fell asleep on the couch in the living room before I could manage to wend my way to the bedroom.  The TV will not come on when I schedule an event.  The tuner will switch to the show I want to watch but nothing else will happen.  I slept peacefully away.  After midnight, I was still  on the couch.  One in the morning - still sleeping...two o'clock, still sleeping. 

Three in the morning, my eyes popped open.  Wha - what am I doing in here;  And why am I awake?  And if it is early in the morning, what will I find if I turn on the telly?  Ah-hah!  The pre-wedding stuff was already on Fox.  Soooo..... we just sat on the couch and watched the wedding unfold until after the vows were said.  That would be the Royal We.  T. was still asleep in the bedroom.

I wasn't alone, however.  The paper today said that twenty-three million people watched the wedding  all over the world.  (I guess that doesn't include the crowds lining the sidewalks in London.) 

I wonder how many of us felt like we had sand in our eyes at some point later in the day?

Easter Wishes

Happy Easter Sunday 2011

Signs of the times...

I have lately had a penchant for reading some of the church signs posted in our little community.  The one on the New Life church sign states, " An Closed Mouth Gathers No Foot "  They just changed it.  I smile every time I ride past.

The Church of God posted this little gem:  " The Church Is God's Gift To Man.....Assembly Required "

It stayed in my mind half the way home -- think about it.

Is there a book for these collected sayings?  A website where one can go and find a suitable post?  I should probably start carrying my camera along so I can snap a shot as I drive by.  Would that make a neat vacation?  Post a church sign a day, as we drive sedately through the countryside.    I'd need a pretty big camper.  Maybe a navigator?  Oh, here's the deal breaker - I'd need enough money to pay for gas.

I guess I'll content myself with the drive to work and home.  If I see any more signs that cause a smile, I'll bring them to you, here.

Warm Fuzzies

I follow several blogs - some that I have found from Ranger's list - others that I have visited on my own and been charmed by the content or touched by the writer's ability to create word pictures.  Some of my favorites are photographer's sites and they have lots of pictures along with a view of events in the life of the writer.  I have added another favorite to my growing list.  Pioneer Woman, whom I follow as do  lots of others I know, just closed out a photography contest where the subject was Horses.  Oh, my!  Can I just say that the subject matter was great and the contestants were so talented - I couldn't stay away and found myself checking back over and over.  I recall Ranger sketching horses when we were younger and I admired her ability to create the animal she so loved, on a flat sheet of paper.  I was always a bit intimidated by the real life thing.  Horses are so big.  I was so small.  How does one control such power. 

In 1961, when Mother took us on a trip out west with friends, we wound up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  We went horseback riding while there.  My horse was a paint mare named Dinah.  I was terrified of Dinah.  I suppose Dinah had walked the trail a thousand times and her only interest in going out with a rider on her back was to finish the trail and return to  the barn for her hay and  oats.  My only interest was to  finish the  trail ride in one piece and on the top side of the horse.  To that end, I spoke to Dinah almost the entire ride.  I whispered in her ears, telling her that - if she  wouldn't throw me  off her back and would just get me back to the barn in  good time, I wouldn't tell anyone how she terrified me.  She must have believed me.  We got back to the barn and I was able to dismount without my knees giving way.  Dinah was led away to her stall.  I was never so glad to see the back end of a horse as that day and haven't been on a horse since then.  I admire those who ride without fear.  I love to look at the beautiful beasts and have come so far as to pet and praise the two paint mares who reside in the field across from our house.  These girls belong to my child, Elder Daughter.  She, like Ranger has always had a love affair with horses.

To return to topic - sorry for the wandering mind - Pioneer Woman announced the winners of the contest and the prize went to Jennifer Warthan - of The Cotton Wife weblog and photographer of the most lovely shot of horses taken in the snow, in front of a great red barn.  One horse was standing at the fence and the other coming along around the barn.  I kept coming back to that picture and recommend you to take a look at it at PW's contest site. 

Jennifer also sells linen-stock cards featuring her photographic art on her website:  http://warthanfarmsphotography.zenfolio.com/fineart

I may just have to buy that shot that so won my heart and the Pioneer Woman's contest.