Tag Archives: ramblings

Sunday Afternoon Ramblings

July 11, 2010 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

Yesterday, my mom had an accident while shopping in town. She was trying to turn left across traffic and saw the first car coming but not the second. She got T-boned in the passenger side, and her car is pretty mangled. Not sure if the insurance company will total it, but they very well might. She was taken to the ER via ambulance, and one of the first responders was a friend of mine from childhood. He kept her calm and took pretty good care of her, so I owe him a big thanks.

All of her X-rays and scans looked normal, so she didn’t have to stay in the hospital, but she is pretty sore today. The biggest blow was to her ego. This was the first accident in her life, over forty-five years of driving, that was completely her fault. She recognizes that age played a role in it, too. A few months back, she got caught in town when it started snowing and was involved in a no-fault fender bender, but this one was just a matter of losing focus on the road, which she has never had a problem with before.

She’ll probably drive again, but maybe not. She’s pretty shaken by the experience. I know for me after my motorcycle accident, even though I rode for a full year afterwards, the erosion of confidence pretty well ended my riding days. So much of our day-to-day existence revolves around our own self-confidence that it’ll be interesting to see how she responds to this event.

In unrelated news, I plan to get back to work on book three tonight after a wonderful two-day break and some much needed R & R. That’s all for now.

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General Posts

4th of July Ramblings

July 4, 2010 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

My sister is bringing over her girls tonight, and we’re gonna have a picnic up here followed by fireworks. I haven’t really celebrated the 4th for a couple of years, so it’s a nice step forward for me. This day is special for a number of reasons, and it’s nice to feel in a celebratory mood again.

I went out this morning and picked up some extra fireworks because the neighbors (and I use that term loosely because they are not neighborly in the slightest) are British. They have treated my parents and my cousin like crap for the last few years, so today, they are gonna get to experience the booms and bangs and flashes of an old-fashioned, all-American, to-hell-with-the-British-Empire celebration. I hope, sincerely hope, that they have the audacity to call the sheriff’s office tonight and in their smug British tones complain about the noise.

That’s all for now. Happy Independence Day!

General Posts

Saturday Morning Ramblings

July 3, 2010 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

Slowly but surely, the land is transforming from an overgrown tangle of honeysuckle and thistles to a usable piece of property. I’m keeping as many trees as I can for the shade and the CO2 factor, but the honeysuckle I will try to get under control over the next couple of years.

I have a lot of plans for the property, and so far, my dad is on board with the things I want to do. For starters, the building where my parents had their ceramic business will be gutted, cleaned up, and converted into an indoor, hydroponic growing facility for organic vegetables. The building has sat dormant for probably twelve years because when my mom’s health gave out on her, they had to shut down the ceramic shop, so cleaning it up and getting it usable will take some time. I would like to try to get far enough along to buy one unit and do a test crop of tomatoes over the winter. If that goes well, then we’ll expand as we can until the building is to capacity. We’ve also talked about a few other crops on different parts of the land, but we haven’t decided on those yet.

Another aspect of my plan involves installing solar panels on the roof of the building to produce energy. Eventually, I would like to make the farm self-sufficient, but that will take time. For now, I just want to capitalize on the southern facing rooftop that gets about four to five hours of direct sunlight every day. Thinking long-term, the investment now could really pay dividends down the road as energy costs continue to climb. One cool thing I learned is that Sharp has a facility here in Tennessee that produces solar panels, so we’ll more than likely go with them.

I’m sure some of you are shocked to learn that I’m starting up a farm because all you’ve known of me is the English teacher and the writer, but I’ve always had a yearning to do this. Growing things is stamped on my DNA. My mom could grow rice in the desert, and up until my dad, who grew up in that period when America was transforming from an agricultural to an industrial nation, my family has farmed for generations. I fully expect to continue teaching and writing for several years, but I need to supplement my income with something that is long-term and sustainable. I’ve been mulling this over for several years, and I’ve finally decided that it is the most feasible course I can take.

That’s all for now. Time to get back outside.