Belmont Farm Two!

House on the left was my mothers brother, center brick house was her parents, brick house on right was ours. Yes my grandparents were next door, easy to spoil us rotten! Now it is Mary's and my turn to do the spoiling.

The Caldwell House, 1577 Fruitville Pike for over 50 years!

Seems small to me now!

Farm property looking toward town from 283 bypass!

Between the Mansion and barn!

Property looking toward town from Red Rose Commons!

Smaller shed behind the barn!

WHY??

I don't know why I am so apprehensive about getting knocked out and going under the knife again. Mary said I was never afraid of anything since she knew me. I  just  got a bad feeling about this. Half the times I was put under and cut, I was out of it before they started. I don't know why this time is different. I will go thru with the surgery, I cannot stand the pain in my knee anymore. The LORD is not ready for me, and the devil is afraid I will try to take over. I know the LORD will watch over me. It just does not feel right. When it is over, I will kick myself for worrying. The shrink was right, I have a weird sense of humor!!   

I put off the whole knee replacement last fall because of my suicide driveway.

This is the reason I have suffered all winter with my knee. Mary retired December 31, but still works two nights a week. I must clean the driveway so she can get in and out of the garage. Neighbors on either side of us, Kevin, Sandy his wife and Jim helped me with the driveway. It is great to have such helpful neighbors.

  

I will go under the knife April 9 TH. I will write about it, I will be back. My big mouth will not be silenced. I have too much to RAVE about YET!!

I take Mary to work these cold and treacherous nights. I am concerned of the other drivers in bad weather! Also with Mary's bad arthritis I do not want her getting into a car when it is 2 degrees outside and having to clean it off. I have arthritis bad too, and the cold weather makes it worse. Mary's is about three times worse than mine, for now!! When it snows, I clean the other cars off so the ladies have it a little easier. I am a sucker for damsels in distress!!

Lost, Found, LOST!!

1972 Corvette found after 42 years, but court will not award to original owner. So SAD! Click image for the full story.

Electricity not just for your house!

Yes, the current in the electric wire travels at the speed of light. When you turn it on, it seems to be there instantly. It does take time. Take the microwaves that are beamed up to the satellites orbiting in a fixed earth orbit. It takes time to travel out the wires to the satellite dish. It takes time for the microwaved picture and audio to travel out to the satellite, and back. That is why there is a pause when someone is transmitting live from the other side of the earth. They are asked a question, and they have a pause till they receive the question, and can answer it. Yes when you flip the light switch, it takes time for the current to reach the light bulb.  BUT if you think the current will not get there to the end of the wire you are working with, you are in for a big surprise. Remember the ELECTRIC chair is used to end the life of convicted criminals. A defibrillator is used to stop your heart when it is beating at the wrong time, and hopefully when it starts again it will beat in rhythm.

A small computer is inserted under the skin with wires leading to your heart to shock it to beat in rhythm. Has been for a number of years.  Think pacemakers! My veins in my legs were bulging, hurt and looked awful. A technician made a small incision in my groan, stuck  wire in and put it into my bad vein. When they had it where it belongs, they sent a radio wave down the wire, killing the bad vein. The Doc said a new vein would form and take over. They do not scrape the veins anymore. In years to come will body parts be replaced by electrical ones?? At night we just plug in to recharge?? You can buy a small tens unit to put on your sore muscles so a battery can send electrical stimulation to  soothe them!

There is electrical stimulation to nerves, and to your brain for medical help. Your body functions with electricity. Your nerves act as wires. When the insulation breaks down and short circuits the wires it is called multiple sclerosis. Muscles are activated by electrical impulses from the brain. Your muscles store what you do over and over. The muscles act without impulse from your brain. Muscle memory. Your heart is given stimulation for every beat. We measure this by EKG. Your brain stores memories by electrical charges. They put an electronic bypass in your spine where the nerves(wires) are broken and allow the nerves to carry messages to your arms and legs again. How long before we have a computer for a brain like in the Disney movie?? How soon will we have the six million dollar man and woman?? Sooner than you think!!

Your microwave oven sends out radio waves, they excite the water molecules in the food. The vibrating molecules create heat. And your frozen dinner is defrosted and cooked in minutes. How microwave cooking was discovered was by a technician working on radar during the second world way. They were looking for a way to see airplanes by bouncing radio waves off the metal plane and the signal coming back to the dish that sent it out. Microwave cooking started because the technician working on the radar dish had the chocolate bar in his pocket melt. That is why the first units were called radar ranges.

You can buy electrical heating and cooling units that use electrical energy instead of chemicals (freon) for the heat transfer. I have a 12 volt heat and cool unit that I can put a six pack of soft drinks in. You plug it into the cigarette lighter socket in your car. Someday our refrigeration and air conditioning systems will be electrical instead of freon which is bad for the atmosphere.

I am telling you this, so you can understand the electricity circuits in your house. Learn how electricity works, and you can understand the miracles of the human body too. All around us is electricity. Think lightning! And the static charge you get from your carpet!!

Amish History!

My mother's relatives came over from Switzerland. The Hess's first lived in the house that is across the street from the Lititz sewer plant. A relative Hess owned the house the last I checked. Yes, I was a wild biker when young, with Mennonite roots!

My father's relatives came over from Scotland and Ireland.  The Caldwell's came over here in the early 1800's because of the potato blight in the United Kingdom. My mother told me I got my wildness and bullheadedness from the Caldwell's. Gee I wonder if she was biased??  Two very different families, my varied background!!

No, not my ancestors coming to America!!

Belmont Farms

The barn is being taken down piece by piece to be reassembled in Elizabethtown, about 20 miles away. It is to be used for receptions and weddings. The barn is well over 100 years old. It is great it will be preserved! We are waiting to hear about the mansion??

This is the owner's mansion. The room on the roof was for his sickly daughter (TB) so she could look and see the lime quarry across the street.That is where her father made most of his money! I understand the mansion is the only structure to remain? The farm was several hundred acres.

This is a shot from across the street. This is where I grew up. At 1577 Fruitville Pike. heading north out of Lancaster City. We were about three quarters of a mile  south from Route 283 overpass. 

My dad's father was killed in a car accident, not his fault, and the driver paid no restitution. The Caldwell family were hired hands on the farm. When grandpa died they had to get out of the house. My mother saw an ad for a farm hand, grandpa Hess was looking for a new job, and they moved in this hired hands house. Daddy stayed on as the hired hand. Mom and he lived in the house. One thing led to another, and they were married! Yes the current owner of the farm was named Hess too. But anyone with our same last name that had money was not related to us. Hess, or Caldwell

I grew up in the third house, the brick one. Right across from the mansion.

This is the second house south from ours. This lane is a township road. It leads back to the quarry.

This is the alley behind the houses. My parents planted all the trees here and back at the quarry. My dad planted here so we had a place to ride our bikes, like roads.

The barn was a chicken house as long as I remember. Pennfield Farms contracted the barn to raise frying chickens. On all four floors, 72,000 chickens grew up there every 12 weeks. The first job I had at 12 years old was cleaning the wood shavings out when the chickens were collected for slaughter. Of course the shavings were their toilet too. When we cleaned the shavings, the ammonia from their waste products mixed with the sweat in our shoes and burned our feet. The next year I was sweeping backwards and got too close to one of the 6 by 6 trapdoors to push the sawdust down to the ground floor. I went from the fourth floor to the second floor. I suffer back pain yet today. It was the first of many traumas I would suffer in this life

http://topics.pennlive.com/tag/Belmont%20Farm/index.html  read about Belmont Farms here!

Pennfield filed for bankruptcy. Was bought by Wellsource Nutrition, a division of Cargill. This happened in 2012.

You are probably eating their chicken now!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I asked Mary what she wants me to get her for Valentine's Day. She did not hesitate! She said "Days of Sunshine and 70 degrees"  A very SMART and GORGEOUS LADY! After all she did pick me to spend her life with!!

I Gave Mary A Black Eye!!!!

Yes I did it. No I did not change my view on men hitting women and kids. Check my page, "Real Men DON'T"

Mary is a lot shorter than I am. She has arthritis all over her body, and I must be very careful when I hug her. I started the hug, trying to be careful not to hurt her! My shoulder hit the corner of her glasses, and pushed then into her face. She yelled, and I pulled away. Too late, the damage was already done.

Living with a maniac for 43 years, is starting to rub off on her. She said she is going to tell everyone it was me that gave her the black eye! I guess being sarcastic does rub off on your mate!

Next week she is going to leave me! NO, she is going up to her older sister for three days again. Since Donald, Shirley's husband of over 55 years died last January, Mary goes up about every 6 weeks to have a good time with Shirley and her daughter Donna.

I am alone, and unsupervised for three days. I tell everyone, prepare for the big PPPPARTY!!  Yes I am afraid of being unsupervised too. Marcy made me this poster!! She knows how I am!!

Why Men are Happier!

What do you expect from such simple creatures?

Your last name stays put.

The garage is all yours.

Wedding plans take care of themselves.

Chocolate is just another snack...

You can never be pregnant.

You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.

You can wear NO shirt to a water park.

Car mechanics tell you the truth.

The world is your urinal.

You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.

You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.

Same work, more pay.

Wrinkles add character.

Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100.

People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.

New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.

One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.

You know stuff about tanks.

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.

You can open all your own jars.

If someone forgets to invite you,

He or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.

Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.

Everything on your face stays its original color.

The same hairstyle lasts for years, even decades.

You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life.

One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons.

You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.

You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.

You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives

On December 24 in 25 minutes.

___________________________________

Men Are Just Happier People

NICKNAMES

If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah. If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Bubba and Wildman.

EATING OUT

When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators...YEP!!!

MONEY

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS

A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.

The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

MARRIAGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP

A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL

Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING

Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

SO, send this to the women who have a sense of humor and who can handle it ....

and to the men who will enjoy reading it

 And by now you can tell I am from the Male side of our species!

Please do not tell Mary I posted this, I want to sleep in the house this week!!

                          Thank you BOB!

HELP at your beck and call!!

U.S. Help Lines!

US Suicide Hotline	800-784-2433
NDMDA Depression Hotline – Support Group	800-826-3632
Suicide Prevention Services Crisis Hotline	800-784-2433
Suicide Prevention Services Depression Hotline	630-482-9696
AAA Crisis Pregnancy Center	800-560-0717
Child Abuse Hotline – Support & Information	800-792-5200
Crisis Help Line – For Any Kind of Crisis	800-233-4357
Domestic & Teen Dating Violence (English & Spanish)	800-992-2600
Parental Stress Hotline – Help for Parents	800-632-8188
Runaway Hotline (All Calls are Confidential)	800-231-6946
Sexual Assault Hotline (24/7, English & Spanish)	800-223-5001
Suicide & Depression Hotline – Covenant House	800-999-9999
National Child Abuse Hotline	800-422-4453
National Domestic Violence Hotline	800-799-SAFE
National Domestic Violence Hotline (TDD)	800-787-3224
National Youth Crisis Hotline	800-448-4663