What to Do with Your Older Brother When He Comes for a Visit

Wednesday October 29- Saturday November 1, 2014
Greenfield Mountain Farm

 

 

 

This is an instructive post on what to do with your older brother when he comes for a visit.  The short answer, work him to death.

David’s brother Roger came for a visit and David put him right to work.   They worked on Winnona’s TV together.  They picked it out and did the plans for the framing, the installation and the woodwork trim to cover up the gaps.

 

This is the before picture.

 

 

David removed the “housing” before Roger arrived.  I actually think it looks a lot better this way but it’s still too heavy.

 

 

If you recall from a previous post, this is what it looked like once Crutchfield took out the TV and recycled it.

 

 

 

Before Roger arrived,  David had to use his sawzall with a steal cutting blade to cut off the old frame where it was mounted to one of ceiling bows. 

 

Here’s the dynamic duo working on the framing after they picked out  the 32” 1080P smart TV.
Why we need this given the almost zero amount of television watching we do I didn’t even ask.

 

 

Tools everywhere for days.

 

 

 

Gotta deal with all that wiring.

 

Trying the new TV out.  Will it fit?

 

Guess so!

 

Darn I forgot to take the picture showing that it actually works!

Roger left before all the trim was completed so I didn’t get a picture of the two of them with the finished product.   So here’s David with their handiwork.    Looks great!  I tried every angle to get a good close shot of the trim work but nothing worked so you’ll have to take my word for it.  Winnona shed in excess of 50 pounds here.  She’s very happy.  That’s some weight loss over less than 3 days. 

I wasn’t able to find any posts for David showing how to do this upgrade and unfortunately we’re perpetuating that situation.   I apologize for the lack of the wonderful detailed “how to do it” pictures and text that some very kind bloggers put up to show others how to make various upgrades.   I know nothing and David said he didn’t have the time to do this post and that he didn’t take the necessary detailed pictures because the project was “taking long enough as it was”.  I get the feeling he’s glad this one is finished.

 

 

 

He wanted to move right along.  So if the TV replacement wasn’t enough, they then moved on to replacing a section of the fence around the yard which once upon a time kept horses and burros in the field and out of the yard.  Doesn’t do much for deer or groundhogs unfortunately.   Happily for the guys, a trip to the building supply store is in order.  This is like a toy store for men. 

 

 

Mostly I think Roger got to help rip out the old fencing and dig post holes.   Doubt he liked that as well as the supply store trip.  But he’s a really good sport.   Of course he’s also the man who drives from his home in Maryland to Texas and cleans out and organizes his daughters’ garages.

 

 

 

They did get the first 6 out of 10 posts in the ground before Roger left on Saturday.   That was a big help to David.

 

 

 

David finished the fencing doing the last 4 posts, putting up all the boards and facings and cutting the tops off all the posts.

 

 

 

And look at it now.  Wish I had a “before” picture to show the dramatic change.   Thanks for your help Roger!!

 

 

 

 

 

Also during this time we got the results back from David’s first round of new treatment.  It wasn’t what we’d hoped for.  The new drug only moved his M-Spike down by less than a quarter of a point.  His last infusions in 2012, before the stem cell transplant, cut the number in half every 3 weeks from 4.2 down to .3.  

BUT the bright side is the M-spike didn’t go up and that’s a good thing.  The treatment will continue to see whether the myeloma will continue to go down or reorganize and come roaring back up.  Thanks to the Florida Cancer Center network of clinics, we will be able to go to Florida where David can get his infusions at many offices around the state.  The longest drive to reach one of the centers from the park we will be in is the first one at 100 miles one way.  

We won’t know for months whether he will be able to travel anywhere else other than Florida and Virginia.  It will all depend on whether this treatment will lower the number enough so that he can be moved off of infusions to oral medications.  Florida is the only state I know of with a network that will allow you to get infusions in multiple places.

And so, it is moving toward time for David to get back on the road and away from all this work although he protests that he really enjoys doing it.

Work is not all he does when he’s back at the farm and the next two posts will show some of his other fun.