On the Go...

Things have been a little hectic at The Farm recently. As a little side note, The Farm is KMZU, my home away from home. You can also refer it as KMZU World Headquarters. Think big = be big so having world headquarters is a great place to start. Now if they could just build that airport, that would put us one step closer. Something to think about.
Back to what I mentioned, about things being a little hectic. A couple weeks ago I had a road trip to Grapevine, Texas for Commodity Classic. That's the annual convention for the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growers Association and the National Association of Wheat Growers. This year the National Sorghum Producers Association also joined the mix. I'm always amazed to see so many people with similar interests gathered together for an event like The Classic. I compare the feeling to the National FFA Convention during my high school years. Unlike the FFA convention, there's no sea of blue FFA jackets. Instead you spend your time scanning more than 4,000 name tags trying to learn where people are from. Some of those tags are nicely pinned to the coat. The tricky part is reading the tags that are on a lanyard dangling from someone's neck. Either way the writing is much smaller than the ol FFA Jacket, but you get used to it.
Something else that's a little different between the two events: no chaperon! You can stay out as late as you want! Not that I do would do that of course, but I could if I wanted to.
I failed to grab any pictures from the convention but I did grab a shot of the Golden Arch landmark when I was driving south. As a kid many a holiday hours were spent on the road to Texas to visit my mom's brother and family in Arlington or traveling further south to San Antonyah (as grandma would say) to see my grandparents. Needless to say, Christmas in Texas is a lot warmer than Missouri, so I always enjoyed the trip but dreaded the drive. One thing I remember most is I always wanted to stop here. It was the largest Golden Arches I'd ever seen and it was built over the Interstate. It was on the way but mom would never stop. On this trip, I was behind the wheel and operating on my own schedule… I still didn't stop. I suppose my priorities have changed and I wanted to get where I was going. Hindsight however, stopping would have been a good idea. Turns out the toll road dudes only take cash… Turns out they can be a little grumpy too…

Will They Melt in Your Mouth or in Your Hands?

So I've been trying to think of something interesting over the last few weeks. There have been a few things, including a trip to the Commodity Classic conference in Texas. However, when something comes to mind, I forget to blog until I'm away from the computer (a vicious cycle of "what was I going to do?") Yesterday I was sorting pictures on the cell phone and I came across a shot that made me smile and think of a story.
First, a little background: when I travel and have time to pick up gifts, I put a lot of energy in to one shopping point. I always try to find something from that area. Art is my favorite find, but not always available or affordable. When that fails then it needs to be something that will represent the region. An example: in Mexico I found a colorful clay tortilla warmer which I liked so much I got one for myself too.
Now, the photo I came across is of the gift I picked up in France for my nephew Caleb last year. France is well known for olive production. In fact we visited an olive farm where I purchased a couple bottles of olive oil for the family. Caleb likes olives but I didn't think he'd like his own bottle of olive oil. Finally, during the last day in France I came across a colorful candy store full of goodies. While scanning the aisles I found this package of chocolate covered olives! First thought…ewwwww disgusting. That however was quickly followed by an evil little chuckle and the second thought of, absolutely perfect!! Chocolate and olives!! He loves both of those, maybe not necessarily together but I couldn't resist! I couldn't do better and the look on his face would be priceless!!
Now fast forward to Christmas. There were several nice gifts in the mix, but it was this little package of chocolate covered olives that I was looking forward to the most. When he opened the gift the response was, gee… thanks Aunt Janet…. What is it? The label was in French so I explained what was inside the pretty green little package. Despite the concern, he was game to give it a try… With a little hesitation he opened it up pulled out one of the colorful olives and took a bite… as he slowly chewed the unusual treat, there was no ewww. In fact he gave me a curious look and said it tasted like almonds.
That's odd. He tossed me a green one and I took a bite.
After thousands of miles and months of waiting for the fun reaction, my ornery surprise was in fact chocolate covered almonds made to look like olives!
Guess I should have learned to read a little French while I was there. I wonder what the chocolate covered bacon really was?

Knock, Knock?...

When I realized I was locked out of the house that evening, I tried to come up with another option. After circling the house, I finally determined it was going to be harder than I'd hoped. With that I called it a night and crashed at a friend's house.
The following morning I admitted my latest dilemma to my loving coworkers. After laughing and poking fun at the predicament, my boss decided he could probably help.
When we made it to the house that afternoon I followed along as he pretty much did the same as I had the night before. Our final stop was the front door where he tried the door knob. I know you're thinking it was probably open all along, but you'd be wrong! At that point he admitted it was going to be more of a challenge than he thought too.
After the little Ring-around the house-Rosy, I made a couple more calls and a neighbor came to help. I just happen to know all the windows are locked tight with the exception of one which happens to be on the upper level of course.
Now, how do you reach a window on the second floor? The ladder was locked in the house along with tools and anything else that might be useful. Thank goodness for my neighbor who came to the rescue with a very tall ladder and a full toolbox. When we finally reached the window, I was able to climb through but my life was at risk. To move from the ladder through the window, I had to balance on the table under the window. At the same time I had to move lamps and stuff off the table so I could get safely away from the ladder and the window, not fall off the table or out of the window then place my feet on the floor. Thankfully, I made it. Nothing broken, including me, and I was standing in my house. I immediately unlocked the door then started searching for the spare key. Not only did I quickly locate the key, but I also found the garage door opener…. the one I thought I threw away.

I'm SURE it has happened to others...

In the last post I mentioned the fact that my garage door remote disappeared in October when I wrecked the Jeep. I possibly threw the thing away. It hadn't worked for two years, why keep the visor decoration for another two?
Another problem relating back to the wreck, I used a rental car for a couple weeks. Handy at the time, but when I returned the rental to Kansas City, I left my house key on the key ring (yes, absent minded move).
Shortly after the family visited, I left the house one morning through the garage. You know, the useful way of hitting the button and rushing out the door without getting knocked in the head while stepping over the laser thing at the bottom... After a long day at the office followed by a fun night of volleyball and a late night trip to the grocery store I finally realized, 15 hours earlier I made a mistake. I arrived home that evening without a door opener or a key…… I was locked out.
Man it's gonna be tough to put these groceries in the fridge.

A New Home for Me, kind of…

So while the family was here for Thanksgiving, they had to entertain themselves. What's a brother to do…. fix stuff, and fix things they did. David installed a new garbage disposal. After that he kind of wandered around the house looking for other things to fix.
My washing machine quit about the same time in 2006 that the dishwasher and garbage disposal went on strike. I had a part that I purchased to repair it, but wasn't quite sure how. Luckily, I was able to locate the part and he repaired the washing machine. The garage door opener worked for two weeks when I first moved into my house, but nothing since. Amy tinkered with it and got it up and running again. The downside, when I wrecked the Jeep a couple months ago I think I finally threw the remote control opener away (remember this point it will come up again next time).
I also have a gas grill that's attached to the house gas line. I never did get it to work, but David discovered the well hidden switch where the gas line turns on the grill…. Yheaaaaa!!
After the busy day, we decided to lay back and enjoy a movie. While watching the film Brody (who will be 2 soon) woke up from a nap in Amy's arms. He smiled, then got sick……. on the couch, on his mom, on the pillows and on a blanket. At this point I'll take a moment to testify having a washing machine back in operation ROCKS!! I'll also say that Resolve worked great for cleaning everything, the floor, the couch, the pillows….each is clean and now carpet cleaner fresh!
So how do you reward your family for all their helpful accomplishments? Apparently you watch the kids while they get sick. That's right. Brody was feeling better Saturday, but that evening, halfway through another movie, David and Amy both got sick. Thankfully the rest of us were ok, so we kept our distance and let mom and dad get the bug out of their systems. By Sunday morning they were a little better and ready to hit the road. Mom, who planned to stay for another day or two decided to head home too. This is a picture of a "calm between the storms" of sickness. L to R is Caleb, Brody and David enjoying one of the movies.
So the rundown from the weekend, a huge feast, a new way to cook vegetables, a couple movies, a sick baby, a sick mom and dad, a working garbage disposal / washing machine / grill / and dish washer!
I call that a weekend to remember. I wonder if they'll ever come back?

Holidays, Where Memories are Made…

What an eventful weekend Thanksgiving turned into. I had to work Friday so the family made the trip to Carrollton for the big day. I found it funny that within five minutes of each other both my mom and brother called to see if I had coffee. Not being a coffee drinker I don't keep the stuff on hand, but apparently it's visit or no visit to them.
Another call from David a few days before Thanksgiving. He wanted to make sure I had taken the turkey out of the freezer to thaw…… ha ha funny joke big brother. But on the other hand, I'm pretty sure it was a serious question on his part.
He knows I don't cook, at least not very often. What he fails to acknowledge is not that I can't cook, but the fact I choose not to. For one reason, this time of year when you get home it's already dark and I don't want to mess with it. The biggest reason is that the dishwasher and garbage disposal quit last year around the same time the washing machine went kaput. I don't like doing dishes so willingly making a stack of dirty dishes is just crazy talk.
So why have the family over for a big holiday feast when dishes will be everywhere? That's an easy answer, mom. She loves it. Why else would she have cleaned up after us all those year? She must enjoy it, she's a mom and besides that she does a spectacular job!
Well, that's not really true but I know she would expect me to say it so why let her down. The fact is I had an electrician out for an outlet problem recently. While he was there I asked him about the dishwasher.
Now I consider myself kind of handy. I can usually fix things, or at least rig'em up to work for the time being. In this instance however, maybe I'm not so handy. Apparently there's a trip switch located near the dishwasher that I missed, completely! I didn't even notice the button was there… above the counter… at eye level. All the electrician did was push the reset button… then holy cow, I have a dishwasher!!! Agghhh, It's been a year without one and that's all I had to do!!!!
Despite feeling like a fool, turns out having a dishwasher (that operates) is a bonus for Thanksgiving. Turkey, spiral honey ham, roasted vegetables, potato casserole, rolls and mom's pecan pie with chocolate chips… mmmmm…delicious, now toss the dishes in the washer.. and take a turkey induced nap, yeah!!!

It's Meeting Season...

So the mouse issue has not been the only thing going on. In late November we had our annual National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention in Kansas City. For the broadcasters I've had the chance to work with over the years, it's a great chance to catch up, visit and see what's taking place in farm shops around the country. This year I got the chance to take a more active step in the NAFB organization. For the next year I'll be serving as the Southern Region Vice President. Who knows what I may have just gotten myself into, but I'm looking forward to it.
Another part of the annual event is Trade Talk. It's a trade show with a mass confusion of company reps and broadcasters doing a million product interviews in a matter of 4 hours. I got several of those edited last night, then found another dozen to tackle tomorrow. I'm working with Scott to get those posted online so listeners can check out some of the new farm equipment and products available for the 2009 growing season.
The NAFB conference was in November. Since then we've already attended the Livestock Marketing Associations Regional Auctioneer Championship at the Kingsville Livestock Auction, the Missouri Farm Bureau Convention at Lake of the Ozarks and Missouri Cattlemen's Convention in Springfield. I love Meeting Season!!












As for other excitement, I guess I can share pictures of the Jeep, my poor, poor Jeep. Here's a shot of the damage from when we met a dark steer on a dark night in the middle of the road!