This Old Man  will try to publish a new blog. This darn computer keeps doing things different than I had figured out but at least it hasn't shouted at me to go away yet.
     I broke my left leg below the hip joint the 20th of August, 2012 and the steel plate repair job still doesn't like to go good yet so I get around with a cane or walker somewhat as the right leg isn't all that good. So much for that part  of the fun.
     We are in an extreme drought and had hardly any dryland rowcrop in the fall of 2012 and now have next to nothing for a 2013 dryland wheat crop.  At least we have not had a tornado or fire yet. The Oklahoma tornado and the Colorado fires are unbelievably terrible.
     Lois had a bad spell this summer with maybe arthritis and medications she was given and seems to getting better but is very disgusted that she has no strength or energy to do much. I keep telling her she is doing more than she thinks she is.
     Enough hunt and peck fun for this time. Love to All.








this old

Update Go-around

Hi everybody. Lois's hip is doing fine and she is back to running the household again, such as it is. She is doing the cooking and Earl is complaining about getting fatter again.
We have been having some rain this fall but the rowcrop harvest is finished and the wheat is up to a good start except for the Lane county farming and the rains did not help there.
For you people that do not take the Leoti Standard, The 75 years ago column had this paragraph in it. Enterprise school had only 3 absences during the two months past. Those who had perfect spelling lessons for both monthes were, Zelda Smith, Lesta Rishel, Alta Mae Wood and Earl Wiles. The pupils who received 100 in arithmetic for the month of October were, Earl Wiles, Alta Mae Wood, Vera Wood and Lee Harden. Earl was very proud to see that news item. He would have been in the 8th grade at that time.
Our Great Granddaughter Paige got 3rd in Cross Country at State. We are very proud of her.
Love to all. Earl & Lois

Our catch up news

A lot of you already know that Lois had her left hip joint replaced May 17, 2011. After getting to thin a blood count evened out and thinking things were going good at about 6 weeks it came out of joint. An ambulance trip to Garden City where they gave her lite anathesia and put it back in and sent her home after a night in the hospital and being fitted for a brace to wear which was very uncomfortable. Sometime in July it came out for the second time. Another ambulance ride to Garden City and a stand in doctor put it back in place as the doctor that did the surgery wasn't available. We came home that same afternoon. It came out for number 3 times in less than a week. That time her doctor put it back in for overnight and admitted her to the hospital for surgery the morning of the 24th of August. He put in a different ball and socket with an extra ring on the socket down over the ball more to lock it in place and says it can't come out now. He says it will limit her motion some, which doesn't worry us. We went back for a 10 day checkup. They took the staples out and said everything was doing fine. After the results of a blood test they took they called us after we got home saying it was way too thin and for us to go to the ER room in Leoti and they gave her a shot of Vitamin K and now we are keeping a check on it to try and get it where it belongs.

We want to thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes and to thank Ann, Larry & Galena, Dick & Joann, Charlotte & Dave and Darla for their nice anniversary cards for our 27th year together. Earl has became a pretty good cook through all this and says he has about killed himself off keeping things like Lois always kept it.

Lois does think she is on the mend now and feeling real good, but is not trying to move much in any direction.

Thanks

This is dad, stepdad, grandpa and great-grandpa and uncle and husband wanting to give a great big Thank You for all the wonderful cards and happy birthday wishes on facebook. We are having a nice day (if you can call another dry day nice) that I have waited 87 years to have. Lois is taking me out to Charlie's tonight so we can get a free birthday sundae.
I had a doctors checkup appointment this morning and it turned out good. I'm thankful for that.
Ann gave me a pansize (fake) trout which is cute to set around or hang and a fishing Happy Birthday plaque the size of a deck of cards.
A great birthday for this old guy and thanks to all.
Love to all.

Mere Musings!

It is 102 outside this afternoon so a good incentive to stay in with the air conditioner. Therefore, we will bore you people that happen to read this blog with some of our doings.
Back in July we spent a bunch of labor cleaning up after some swallows that had nested on the front porch sensor light. After the babies could fly out they just kept coming back like that was going to be their home. It took a lot of various spray to convince them to go somewhere else, but we finally won out.
Earl had a bunch of skin cancer spots burned off his face and they all turned out fine.
Lane came by and wanted Grandpa to go to a tool sale with him so we took that in, and enjoyed it as a sight seeing time.
We spread grub preventer on part of the lawn that showed activity.
Dick and Joann came and we went to Rainbow Lake and met Larry & Galena there and had a good time with Lois catching the biggest fish, and we had a good fish fry with all we caught. Everybody caught one or more.
Dick & Joann, Greg & Kim and Nathanael, Larry & Galena, Gary, Dorie, Julie and Rita all came out for the fair and all went to the free barbeque. Larry drove his Model T that he had restored in the parade with Earl riding along. It was the truck that Larry's grandpa, Arthur Wiles bought new in 1924, definitely a family heirloom! Great job of restoring by Larry!
Had a good rain saturday night to stop the carnival at 6 O'clock.
The next weekend we went to Grinnell for Bonnie & Bernie's 60th wedding anniversary. (Bonnie was a Fischer cousin.)
Pat Miller died and her funeral was Tues. Aug 10 and Joann came out to go to it with us.
We spent the rest of August with some very hot days. Most of the afternoon time over 100
degrees.
Sept. 1 was our 26th wedding anniversary. We went to a land sale at Marienthal for a bit in the morning and then on to Garden City to the Golden Corral for dinner and enjoyed the day very much together. Thanks for all the nice cards and good wishes.
Now we are praying for a good rain as the hot winds have taken the moisture out.
Earl has been working some of the summerfallow, much to his delight.
Our love from Grandpa Earl & Grandma Lois

Here we go again!

June 15th was Ann's birthday and we took her to Charlies to supper.
Lois fertilized the lawn and re-painted our name rock and palomino pony.
The museum is restoring an old house in Leoti (built in the 1800's). They had a pot luck supper for a family that had lived in it at one time. The family came from Minnesota or Michigan to celebrate with us.
Father's Day Lois fixed Earl a nice lunch at home which suited him fine. Jason, Gwen and Paige came by. Earl mowed the lawn .
Earl went to Lane County with Jason to check cattle and it was very enjoyable.
Lane came over Wed. evening to visit us awhile. We like for him to come see us.
Earl got to go over the summerfallow while Jason and crew were cutting wheat. It was fun to get to do some farming.
Lane and Jackson came over to visit us one evening. It was very good to have them.
Earl's All School Reunion at Scott City was the 3rd and 4th of July. We got back to Leoti in the evening of the 4th in time to see Leoti's Fire Department Fireworks, which is very good. We always have a ringside seat from our backyard. Jason, Lane and Gwen came over to watch with us. Lane had some 10 ball Roman Candles which he also enjoyed lighting and holding.
Mike and Dana , the John Deere something or other is a corn sheller if Larry hasn't already told you. The ear corn is put in in what is the back part of the picture and the shelled corn goes into a bucket out the bottom of the machine, and the cobs come out the opening that you see in the front of the picture. I can't see any handle to turn it manually so it might have been belted to an engine to run it. It looks like the tub may have cobs in it.
We got 1.40 of rain last night at the farm and 1.10 here in town. Still have a couple of days of wheat cutting yet. The yield has been good if we could just get the price up where it ought to be.
Love to everybody, Dad and Lois

Back Again

Hi everybody for some of what we have been doing. May 29 we went to Aunt Dorothy's 90th birthday party in Sharon Springs. June 1 Lois had eyes checked and needed new lenses. Picked up flowers at various cemetaries.
June 3, Lois weed eated and Earl mowed lawn and we packed up to go to New Mexico. Left at 7 A. M. Friday and got to Corrales about 3 pm. Visited and ate supper at the Wayne Scully's home, where the Fischer reunion was. Went up to Rio Rancho to Karen & Ronneys to stay all night (about 20 miles). Visited and had a good time and ate breakfast. It was very nice of them to let us stay there over night! Went back to Scully's in mid-morning and had a catered meal at noon. There were about 35 people there. It was so hot that the planned outside get together was moved in the house for the noon meal. We enjoyed the meal and visiting and much picture taking and homemade ice-cream. We left about 3 pm to go to Rylee's dance recital in which she did very good. We all ate supper together at a restaurant in Corrales and then went with Larry and Galena to their home. We enjoyed seeing all the updates to their home. Very nice.
Sunday we got to drive the old Model T truck that Larry restored to original condition and he did a professional job. Earl really enjoyed getting to drive it.
Monday they took us a guided tour for lots of mountain scenery. And Earl took us all to lunch at Abuqui Restaurant, by a lake of the same name. We ended our drive by seeing where Galena taught before coming to Cuba. Very enjoyable drive.
We left to come home the next morning and let Samantha (GPS) lead us through a scenic route by the Chama area which turned out viewing lots of nice scenery and got home about 6 pm.
Lois got a permanent Wednesday morning, which was why we had to be home by that day. Ann called that evening to let us know she got home from Poland and we appreciated her letting us know.
Thursday Earl got to run the tractor on a bit of summerfallow and he sure liked that. 100 degree weather on Thursday and Friday and then it got cloudy and cool on Saturday for Lane's swim meet at Leoti and everybody got cold, cold, cold.
Love to Everybody, Earl and Lois

Back Again!!!!

Hello everybody, after a stretch of silence. Our weather yesterday was extremely hot like 96 or 97. Today was much better like in the low 80's. The forecast is some more hot days. The wheat is not ready for heat blasts like that yet.
We are planning to leave here early Friday morning and hope to arrive at Corrales, New Mexico, (which is a suburb of Albuquerque) by mid-afternoon for the start of a Fischer family reunion at the Wayne Scully home. (A cousin of Lois through marriage) They expect 35 or 40 people there. Hope it materializes. We plan to go to Karen and Ronneys at their Rio Rancho home for the night. Sure nice of them to let us stay there. Then back to the Scullys for a big noon meal and serious visiting. Then we want to go to Rylee's Ballerina performance in the evening, and after that go to Larry and Galena's home for the night and a couple of days visit and come home on Tuesday.
Sounds like big plans for Lois and Earl but we hope to make it fine.
Love to all of you from Earl and Lois

Another Catch-up Blog

Hi everybody and good evening to all. We were glad to see your blog, Larry and here about some of your plans for the summer and about your weather. Our weather here has been reasonably good except some days of terrible wind. We did get .80 of rain here in Leoti and some parts of the county didn't get much. I think it was a fair rain at the farm as they had .40 in a night rain and then some more the next afternoon but I don't know exactly how much.

We saw a lot of the Wiles family at Marjorie Harmons fumeral. We went to Emporia and Joann and Dick took us to Winfield to the funeral. It was good to see all of Larry's daughters and families. The great-grandkids are sure growing up to be big boys and girls. Ann and Jennifer also made it to the funeral, which was good.

Lois and I went to an auction sale this afternoon and she let me buy a couple of things I didn't need. One was a 2 ft. by 2 1/2 ft. scenery picture of a sod house with a typical old time yard around it with the regulation outhouse and windmill and woodchopping place with the ax showing. We don't know how it was made but the sod house stands out like the sod has been added to the picture that is framed in barnwood. Also we got a pheasant hunting bear that is about 2 feet tall with 2 rooster pheasants that he has bagged and he has on a hunting vest with a cartridge holder that is holding 3 spent shotgun shells and his gun tied to his shoulder and a cap on his head.

We are both doing reasonably well as Lois has to watch carefully what she eats to keep allergies from showing up. Earl has to keep things interesting by having a big lump show up, and the doctors say it is a hernia that is an emergency waiting to happen, so he has an appointment to have surgery to correct it Wednesday morning April 21 and we are hoping it will turn out ok. It is suppose to be a 1 day out patient surgery, but we'll see how that goes. Your prayers would be appreciated. It doesn't hurt as of now, but we'll see how much hurt the surgery causes.

We are waiting patiently (maybe impatiently) for Kim to have her baby boy, Nathanial.

Larry, the pickup I have now with the 5.4 engine has a 6 speed transmission and runs at extremely low RPM, like 1800 at 70 and maybe 1500 at 60 which probably means it doesn't have any torque. The transmission is suppose to be computer controlled for the engine to be at it's best working speed and gas mileage. Driving around town gets terrible gas mileage, but highway mileage can be 18, 19 or 20 some of the time. I have never pulled a fertilized tank or trailer, but suppose that could be terrible gas mileage.

Love to all of you from Earl and Lois

New Transportation to us

We got a picture posted of the pickup on the blog and then it wouldn't let us write on the same blog so we are posting another blog. We gained 4 years and got down to 15,000 miles. Many people seem to think that the pearl white color is a pretty color, but maybe they just tell us that to make us feel good. To Earl it looks like cream white or off white. To Lois it looks like Pearl White. It has hands free cell phone talking which isn't new to most of you. It would help if we could figure out how to make it work. Ha Ha. It also has a camera picture showing what is behind you when you back up.
We are both feeling OK. The weather is sure cold and windy, however the wind wasn't as bad as it was forecasted to be and we didn't get any snow flurries that were forecasted, and we're thankful for all that.
We had a nice quiet Valentines day. Lois made some heart shaped cookies which we both enjoyed. We also had a red salad in a heart shaped bowl, with red jello with cherry pie filling and cool whip. Paige invited us over for a delicous cheesecake for her birthday in the evening, even though her birthday isn't until Tuesday when she plays basketball that evening at Satanta. She is doing very good at her basketball playing for a freshman.
Love from Dad and Lois

New Transportation

One of Earl's computer Goof-ups.

The blog I published this morning showed O.K. and the next time I looked it was gone and again when I looked later it was there but it still shows 4 weeks ago that it was published and shoulds show 3 or 4 hours ago. Whatever I did wrong would be simple to you whizz's but is a mystery to me. I'll see if this shows up any different.
Grandpa

Fast year already

January just flew by without telling me to hurry up and wait. Hey, Carrie, yes married couples are supposed to share and hope Drew's cold has gone away. Lois had a cold and shared it with me and she was kind of over it so I shared it back to her but we are both kind of O.K. now.
We had about five inches of snow here Friday and got by without any wind and it was a fluffy snow but was sure happy to get by without wind. The north side of our county didn't get as much and the next county north did not get any.
We are busy struggling with paperwork of forms and reports to fill out in triplicate of everything we did in 2009 and some things we didn't do. I can do lots of griping because I really hate paperwork and forms.
Keep us posted of your activities and our Love to all of you.
Dad, Grandpa and Lois.

Christmas 2009

Hi, everybody for a 2009 ending with lots of cold weather and snow flurries staying with us. We left Leoti about 9:15 Thursday the 24th to go to Amarillo to Debbie Jo's house for a Stephenson family Christmas with all of Dave and Charlotte's kids there and April and Josh with their twins and baby Abby for her first Christmas. A great day of fun and togetherness and Dave and Charlotte took us out to show us their country home and their work to make it their retirement place.
We came back to our home Saturday and Larry and Galena arrived about 4 p.m. Dick and Joann got here about 9 p.m. as they had to wait until about 4 p.m. for a county snow plow to open the road so they could get to highway 50. Gwen and family hosted us at their house for a Wiles family gift exchange and evening meal with Ann and Jerry and Jennifer and their family and Larry and Galena and Dick and Joann. Thanks to Gwen and Jason and Paige and Lane for having us at their house. Sunday morning Earl & Lois, Dick & Joann, and Larry and Galena went to Ann's church with her. Sunday afternoon Jason took Earl, Larry, and Dick to Lane County ranch to check cows and put out four bales of feed. Monday morning Larry and Joann and Dick and Earl went to the FSA office and signed farm program papers. Who knows what the fine print said! After lunch we went to the Farm Bureau office for crop insurance sign-up. Then we all went to Ann's at the farm for the afternoon.
Dick put up a new shower head and helped Lois with the computer and worked on a bedroom door in the basement and Larry put up a new indoor-outdoor temperature reader. Thank you, guys. We appreciate all the fixings.
All of our company left Tuesday and got to their homes safely. Larry and Galena had a foot of snow at their place and Dick and Joann got to their home o.k.
Larry and Galena had Christmas with the three girls and their families at Sandy's at Inlow. Hey, Dana I noticed in some of your Facebook entries you used the word sheesh. I thought I was the only one that used that word so maybe you inherited it from this Grandpa. Ha! Ha!
Hope this rambling on Blog doesn't bore somebody to the brink.
We wish everyone a happy New Year and a safe 2010 and our Love to All.

I guess some of you maybe think we just disappeared as it has been awhile since we bothered you"all with our blog but we are still around.
Lois had eyebrow lifting surgery the last of June and it has turned out very good as you can see all of her eyes flashing when I do something wrong. Do some of you guys know what I mean?
We had our Wiles Rainbow Lake gathering the first of the last week of July with a fish fry to prove what we were doing there. We really missed having Larry and Galena with us due to his detached retina surgery.
Lois and I felt greatly honored to be co-Grand Marshall with another couple at the Wichita County fair parade and getting to ride in a horse drawn chariot.
Dave and Charlotte Stephenson brought the great-granddaughter Sprock twins up to see us and go to the carnival rides.
Next on our agenda was Lois's Larson family reunion at Sharon Springs. All of Lois's brothers and sisters were there except one brother and one sister which were not able. There were about 75 people in all and a real fun time. Earl and Lois led the Sunday morning church service. (agh)
Earl had eyelid surgery Aug. 10 and did have coon eyes for awhile. Had the stitches out Aug. 20 and the black and blue went away.
The price of wheat, corn and milo has gone way down and the cost of production is still high, and I guess that is part of the fun of being farmers.
We had a nice 25th anniversary time and spent part of it in Emporia with Dick and Joann and Dick's mother Ardell visiting and going to church with them, and eating out Sunday evening. Earl took Lois to Garden City to the Golden Corral, that she likes so much, and the tempting buffet makes it easy to eat too much, on the day of our anniversary for noon.
September is here and fall farm work is here with a bang. Bob asked Earl to work some summer-fallow, while he was busy spraying and packing ensilage and the hired man was working on feedlot fence. Earl really appreciated getting to run his tractor.
We sure enjoy hearing from each and everyone of you on your blogs.
Earl and Lois

Time to report again.

Time to crash the blog again to let all know my ankle is doing good and am walking good with the boot cast on and it is'nt that uncomfortable to wear except maybe a little warm on the 100 degree days.
A big hurrah that I got to run the tractor a couple of days working summer-fallow and run the grain cart tractor Saturday afternoon for awhile. Feels great to get to help again.
Wheat harvest is going good so far and hope to get a good week in without any rain and definitely no hail this coming week.
I will take Lois to Fry Eye Associates in the morning to get her sagging eyebrows lifted surgically. I guess that means I don't do anything to get her to raise her eyebrows at me. Ho, Ho. We expect it to turn out good. For those that don't know it is at Garden City.
From Earl

Time to report

Earl had a doctor report today and he was pleased with the X-Ray and said it was as he expected it to be and maybe a little better. He wants me to do away with the use of the walker gradually and said I could start putting more weight on the ankle foot. I still wear the brace boot all day but not at night now so that will be a relief during the night. I tried just using a cane after we got home this afternoon but that was'nt too smart as it caused some hurt so I will go back to the walker and will try getting by without using the electric scooter chair. It kind of spoils you for ease of getting from here to there and sort of makes you have to learn to walk again. The brace boot is to be part of me for another six weeks (yikes, that is a long time yet) and then I will see the doctor for another checkup.
Thanks for all your prayers and concern as I sure appreciated all the help it gave me.
Love from Grandpa and Dad.

Earl's ankle surgery report

Ten days after ankle surgery the doctor check up turned out good. They took off the mamoth cast and cotton wrapping and took out about half of the stitch clamps and took three X-Rays and the doctor was very pleased with that much but there was some oozing of blood in some places that he did't care for so said to come back next Thursday to take out the rest of the stitches. We are to clean wash it once a day and gauze wrap it. I can put no more than 10% of my body weight on it but that is really a big help over not to put any weight on it.
Therapy tells me to wear support hose and a boot type soft cast on it for 24 hours and I was hoping for more freedom at night. I do get to do my therapy at Leoti 3 times a week for 4 weeks. The therapy people here at Leoti know me very well from my past go-arounds. The head guy is restoring an old Ford pickup and usually had a question for me that I hardly ever had an answer for but was interesting to visit about.
I go to Goodland tomorrow for ear wax removal and hope that turns out good. I was there about a month ago and he removed a small cyst from deep in my right ear.
When he sucked out the wax with a machine Im sure that if I would have had any brains they would have came out also. You guys can sure think something is wrong with my thinking now.

TIME TO SHOUT

Hello to everybody!!! I guess I'm doing O.K. as far as I know after surgery the 20th of April to fuse my left ankle that has been sprain damaged for several times in the last 50 years and then arthritis takes over in the last few years. Thanks for everybodies prayers and concern and sure hope it makes a good recovery so I can walk good again. I go to the Doc next Thursday and hope I can put some weight on it to help me get around after that as he wants no weight on it now and I am not stout enough in my arms and shoulders to carry it so not easy to step anywhere.
Lois is wonderful to help me. Jason borrowed his Dad's electric scooter for me to use and it sure is a big help. I really appreciate getting to use it. I made a mistake of driving it up close to the kitchen sink and wiping the dishes once and now it is expected of me to do that every time. SHEESH! How do I get out of that now? (really a small contribution for as much as she does for me)
We had some very warm days Thursday and Friday and then Saturday had a high of 50 or about and today is back in the seventies so is very nice today.
Thanks again for all prayers for me as we know it takes God to watch over us and give his loving care to us.
We skipped Sunday School and went to church and Lois had good help from various guys to get me from the car to the wheel chair. We have one borrowed from the health center that folds up to go in the car.
OurLove To All from Earl and Lois. .

Plans! Plans!

We had a drizzle all afternoon here for 20 hundred'ths Which is appreciated and more is forecast for tomorrow so we will see what comes by.
The plans for the ankle surgery are still in the go mode as I apparently passed the pre-op tests as we never heard any different. Earl checks into the Garden City hospital at 4 p.m. Sunday and we still don.t know what time the surgery is Monday but were told it would be first on their schedule.
Joann is coming to be with us Sunday evening and said she would probably stay until I got to come home. That is really appreciated by her Dad as she is so knowledgeable about what should go on and what shouldn't be done
Lois and Joann will be staying at night with Brenda (Minor) Jones. Really nice of her to take them in. Thanks, Brenda.
Dr. Baughman's office was to call us with more instructions and the time of the surgery but haven't yet. Maybe tomorrow.
We have a ramp installed at the back door with Thanks to Jason and Paige Wells and Braxton Berning. We got a wheel chair today from the health center and Jason is going to bring a nice electric scooter for me to use that is his Dad's.
Our Love to all from Earl and Lois.