Reznjun

was out again today. what got us off the rez was shopping for a new bed. we went to a coupla places. we liked the second place. the mattress was firm but not too firm. not trying to be papa bear. there was a remote on the mattress. i asked what it was. the salesman was happy to show us.

we were laying down on the mattress and that dude raised the head part. he said say stop when it gets to about where we watch tv. we did. it felt good. i thought i wouldnt need a two pillows to watch tv. they make my neck sore. then he raised the  foot part. i liked that too. i was about to get up when he said wait. he lowered both and said see how this feels. i could feel my back stretching out. it felt good. i was sold. we ordered that setup.

the salesman said it would take 4 to 6 weeks for it to be delivered and set up.  he added it would most likely be sooner. thats okay. we liked the set up so much we are willing to wait. by then i may find a head board for the bed. he said its best to attach the head board direct to the wall with two sided tape. there wouldnt be a space for the pillow to fall in between. the head board would only be for looks. most likely will get an oak head board.

our floor is done thats why we were shopping for a bed. our daughter and son said they would help pay the cost of a new bed. we found the bed. our old bed will be in our guest bedroom. the grand sons will sleep in it when they come for weekends.

yesterday we went to lawrence to watch andrew play flag football. he had two games. we sat in our lawn chairs or do we call them pow wow chairs now. it was a nice day to sit outside and get fresh air. andrews team lost both games. the other teams had more players that looked like they played before. our kids looked like they were just starting out. he had fun and liked that we came out to support him..

i picked more indian beans. they are in the corn field. i got more mattwaoshe and rabbit beans. some were about to pop open. when that happens the beans fall to the ground and you are out of luck. i picked them in time to save them. next year i will plant more. maybe have some growing on the trellis by my chicken house.

it is decided we are gonna butcher the hybrid chickens. they are called hy-line browns. they are developed for ‘superior’ egg laying. not these ones. i have 11 hens. the most we get in one day is 4 eggs. some days only one or two.

some one wondered why i prefer rhode island reds. my last batch of 14 reds laid anywhere from 6 to a dozen eggs a day. every day. i would have surplus eggs i would sell and use that to buy feed. these hybrids are sure pok ttit. they cant roost and just learned to lay eggs in the egg boxes. i had to build a ramp for them to get to the egg boxes. i will fatten them up for soup this winter.

gotta finish reading my new book.

i went to an auction today. it was a two hour drive out to salina. mary rode with me to keep me company. we drove across the rez to the delia road. we headed south to rossville then hit I-70.  we went past farm land for a peaceful drive.

we got to salina in time to inspect the items before the auction started. i seen a brass kettle but it had a hole in it. i didnt bother bidding on it. i seen other ‘indian’ items like kachina dolls and beadwork that i passed on also. they werent in great shape. thats why i like to see what condition the items are in.

i scored a few items. probably spent more than i wanted but i got what i wanted. i copped a woody crumbo print titled ‘flute dancer’.  for the few who are wondering who the hell is woody crumbo. goggle him. no, just kidding. he is a potawatomi artist who passed away bout 30 years ago. i had to get this framed and matted print when i seen it.

i also got a  3 foot long birch bark canoe. it reminds me of our people when we lived on the lakes and rivers. canoes and walking were our modes of transportation.  i am talking early history. later we got horses. this canoe is a fine piece of artwork.

i got a matted and framed print by an artist named carol griggs. it is called ‘bringing hejira home’. it measures bout 6 feet by 2 and a half feet.  i copped it for $20.  it would cost more to mat or frame any picture. hell yeah thats why i go to auctions.

i aint saying the crumbo or the griggs is an original. there is a show called antiques roadshow. on it some buy an item real cheap and it ends up worth mucho dinero. that dont happen to me. i am just saying i got some nice art to hang on the walls of my humble home.

i waited for them to put a buffalo hide up. that is why i went to this auction. i hung around another hour until it finally came up. i inspected it a coupla times. i seen it had a big hole in it. it was tattered in another spot. it also had a stain. i thought good. i knew it wouldnt go high like what some hides are selling for. most start at bout $850 and go up from there.

me and this other dude were the only ones that were bidding on it. i didnt hesitate when it was my bid. the other dude did at $100. then i knew i had it. i ended up with the hide for $120.

some one might wonder why the hell this indian wants an old hide with a hole in it.  i will patch the hole with an old hide i bought for my sweat lodge. pack rats tore it up. after i fix this one up i will use it as a door for my sweat lodge. my bros behind the walls wanted a buffalo hide for their  lodge door and i couldnt score them one. i did help them get a buffalo skull.  i will think of them whenever i use this hide.

our tribe gives our hides away. once i was offered two hides that were in a plastic bag for several days when it was real hot. i said i didnt have time to work on them. they said if i didnt take them they would throw them away. so i took them. i soaked them in water one day. i tried scraping one and just tore big holes in the hide cuz it was too far gone. that was the only time i was offered any of our buffalo hides. they usually give them to other tribes.

we came back on hwy 24. we drove over bridges and box culverts i helped build. we even past by the old college that was on Potawatomi land that the jesuits scammed off us. we stopped to see the pay station museum but it was close. we got home and i put away my auction goods. it was a good day trip.

i just got my new book by bob woodward in the mail today. i also got my cuban cigar. a tourist straight off a cruise ship in cancun bought it for me. i havent smoked a cigar in a year or two but hey this is a cuban. i probably paid more than it is worth but it is worth every penny to me. cant score one from our rez smoke shop.

the best cuban cigar i ever smoked was in a cancun night club called coco bongo. one of the workers asked me if there was anything i wanted. i said yeah a cuban cigar. he said it would be $15. he disappeared for bout 15 minutes and showed up with a fine cigar. i tipped him $5. it was worth it. i smoked it for a few hours while enjoying the show.

its too bad i didnt put up the hammock i bought in belize.  i would be reading,  smoking  and drinking a cup of colombian supremo coffee while swinging in the shade of trees i planted. this indian aint rich but knows how to enjoy a simple life.

speaking of coffee i ordered another 5 pound bag of fresh roasted colombian supremo coffee beans. i order fresh beans every per cap. so for bout $200 a year i can have a pot of coffee made from fresh ground beans every morning. sometimes i can have two pots. that is less than a dollar a day. that is sure cheaper than starbucks and even mcdonalds. i wouldnt trade my coffee for any other.

our flooring was delivered today. i got a call from lowes saying they were on the way.  their gps took them to my nieces house over on the west forty.  not the first time gps has done that. i told the guy to come back up to the first house. i helped him unload. he said i didnt have to. i said keeping busy is what keeps me going.

the flooring people will be here tomorrow. they will get the job done in several hours.  actually they said a one day job but it wont take that long at all. they will also put on the base board. it has an oak look. we can move back into my big bedroom as soon as they pull out of the driveway. it will be like a new room to us.

tomorrow the tribe is gonna post a flu shot schedule. i get a flu shot every year. i will get one again this year. especially this year cuz of the covid. that doctor fauci that some dont wanna listen to said to make sure to get one this year. i will listen to him before i listen to some one who wouldnt hesitate to drink the kool aid. i will wait before taking that rushed vaccine they promising by election day. they gonna test it on indians. that ought to tell you something.

i was driving around last week end copping some road time. i seen a couple of places that were wineries. it make me wonder how kansas wine stacked up against—say french or italian wine. i dont know if anyone has ever said ‘if you going thru kansas, make sure you get me a bottle of that kansas wine’. or maybe they have. i dont know. havent drank wine in a coupla decades.

temperatures have cooled down. we turned off the central air and opened the doors. we like fresh air going thru the house. we are lucky to have that. folks out west are dealing with smoke.

i gotta get to reading. i bet i have that book done before the week end is over.

 

today my per cap hit the bank. i aint running to town to spend it. it is in the bank and will cover expenses as they occur. it is not the full amount we normally get. that is to be expected with the casino partially open because of the covid. i am glad i  got some thing. dont wanna sound like the ones that whine about every damn little thing. any extra cash a retired person gets is always welcomed.

speaking of extra cash, i had a check waiting for me. i dropped my roach off at the tribal office to be photographed. the photograph will be displayed during the construction going on at the casino. after i delivered the roach, i got my check for the licensing fee. hoolay. that plus the gift card my roach won for 1st place made me some righteous bucks.

still aint running to town. i am thinking bout buying a new nikon camera though. the nikon coolpix P500 i own is a simple point and shoot. i get fair enough pictures from it. maybe i will sell that used camera. it is safe to say photography is a hobby of mine. i have taken over 15,000 pictures. i know a better camera will take better pictures. good cameras do make a difference. if i find a good deal i am on it.

i had to feed my critters before i dropped off my roach. my grand daughters spend part of the week with us. one helps me feed my animals. she said ‘misho you got a lot of animals to feed– chickens, worms, a dog and a fish’. i agreed. i like it when my grand kids see the chores i do. it teaches responsibility to care for animals.

i havent bought any books lately. out of curiosity, i ordered the bob woodward book “rage”. i have heard excerpts from the book for some time now. the book will be delivered to my house this thursday. i probably will have it read in a few days.

i wont be shocked by anything in the book.  dont need to read the book to know he down played the corona virus. i figured that. nothing this president does or says surprises me. he reminds me of some of the indian politicians we had. the ones that lied to us all the time, or abused their power. this guy attacks every one else to build himself up. we had leaders like that. nothing new to us.

i got a call from the flooring people. the materials will be delivered by thursday. that will be the flooring and the new base board.  the flooring will be a one day job and be done on friday.   i am anxious to have it finished. i wanna move back into my room. it will be roomier since i tore out shelves and a closet. i will leave them out. i want the extra room.

the flooring lady asked if i was gonna do any painting. i said it was already done. we added new drapes to the room too. it will be like a new room to us. our tv will operate better too since our internet is working better.

i can t wait til all is done.

i was driving acoss the rez.  got to if i go anywhere from my house. i seen a few deer.  not unusual this time of year. a couple were just down the road from us. then i seen two young ones by the clinic. i didnt see any doe around. it was probably watching us.

thing is none of the deer seemed spooked by the car. i backed the car up so i could take a picture. we were just the other side of the fence from them. they just looked at us. they wont last long.

young guys used to bring me deer meat. it spoiled me and i quit hunting. that aint happened in years now.  once a guy stopped by and asked if i wanted one. temps were like 20 degrees. i didnt want to clean any while it was that cold. i said no thanks. that was the last time i was offered any. a friend that always brought me some passed away. and i wont shoot one by road hunting.

i found a country store out in the middle of nowhere. it had hides for sale. i seen some otter hides. i checked them out. one was for $100 and they had two for $95. that is a real good price. i didnt buy any because i still have one. i will think about that though. i might still go back and buy one. cant afford to pass on that price. i wont ever seen them priced like that again.

i checked my field garden out. i found a coupla pods of mattwaoshe beans. i saved them. more are still growing. i have to pick my indian beans whenever they are ready. if i dont, they will pop open and the seeds fall to the ground. i want to save them.

i did see i have a few crooked neck squash growing. they arent very big but it is still early. i didnt see any of my mexican kickapoo squash. it flowered earlier. i hope it makes it. i really like the taste of those squash. i want to dry squash if i get any.

my sisters said they havent found any crooked neck. a lady that one sister always got crooked necks from said she didnt get any this year. it may be one of those years. i know there are times i have hundreds of squash and years i have none.

i havent smoked in some time. i will break that soon. for one time anyway. i am waiting on a cuban cigar. when i get it i will snip the end off and slowly smoke that cigar. i think i once said i would only smoke if i had a cuban cigar. life is too short to smoke those black and milds i used to smoke.

i was talking to a coupla my nieces. i remarked bout how native women like to pluck their eyebrows. i joked that during this down time from the covid that indian women should let their eyebrows grow back. they both said they were doing that. i was only kidding but they werent.

i watched the ku football game last night. i was real optimistic about the season. my  hopes kinda faded watching that first half. i didnt watch second half. oh well i am still jayhawk fan.

we watched the kansas city chiefs play football last night. i took a picture in front of the tv and sent it to my grandsons. they took one too and sent it to me. we are for the chiefs.

we had buffalo wings for the game. we also had a crock pot full of pinto beans. i bought some avocados but didnt make any guacamole. we had plenty for our pregame meal.

watching the world champion chiefs play was a good diversion from the covid,  political ads, forest fires etc. i liked that the players stood in unity. it was a statement like the nba that they are against our police state shooting down black people (as well as other minorities).

i agree with them. cant be silent about the injustice. protests havent stopped that brutality yet. i know not all cops are bad. some even knelt down with protestors around the country. how many more have to die for the systematic racism to stop.  our government hasnt done anything except to diminish protests to acts of rioting and looting. that is not a true picture of what it is really about.

it was refreshing to see no one dressed up like indians at the game. and i didnt hear the tomahawk chop. that is so lame. world champs should act like champs. the game went on with out the stereotypes. the chiefs won. we were happy about that.

i am still getting produce from my garden. i froze  more habaneros and leeks. i have cucumbers to eat fresh. i imagine it wont be too much longer before the garden shuts down for the year. i asked our garden program if they would do any fall tilling. i was put on the  list. i hope they get to it. i will move my garden for next growing season.

we have been getting some rain. i am glad i mowed the yard. the grass would be out of control if i hadnt. i mowed the old garden spot too. that is in case they come to till. i know that grass that is too high is hard on the tilling. it is easier to till if the grass is short.

birds always land on the lawn after mowing. they feed on bugs. i seen a squirrel in my yard yesterday. i tried bagging the one i kept seeing last year. maybe i will have squirrel and mush soup with this one.

we dont have any girls today. misho and grammas school is closed. they will be back next week. the grandsons are coming this evening for the week end. i dont know what i would do if i didnt have any kids around. i had 11 brothers and sisters. they gave me about 50 nieces and nephews. now they are having kids. i have been around kids my entire life. it would be too quiet with out kids.

i am thinking about going for a short ride. nowhere very far. it is safe in the car. it is social distancing. we have been staying home. it is nice to get out once in awhile. i just had an oil change done. my car will be up for a good drive too.

i filled up my humming bird feeders. the next day i had humming birds every where. they know they got a long flight ahead of them in a little while. i tried to get a good picture of them. that is harder to do than you would think. at least for me. i took dozens of shot to get a few. some frames were blank. they fly off so fast.

the jalapenos i grew were hot. we grilled some on labor day. i didnt think they would be that hot. i scraped all the seeds out and tossed them on top of the compost pile. i went back out there and gathered some of the seeds to keep. these peppers have the right kick to them. i will grow them again next year.

i saved some of my cucumber seeds too. i am still picking some of them. i had a early and a late crop. i will plant them again next year. plants that adept to the environment produce better.   i will miss eating them sliced up. they just wont taste the same this winter.

i added composted manure to the grow box where my lettuce grew. i turned the soil over. i then added some potting soil to that. mid fall is the best time to plant garlic.  i got anxious and planted my garlic cloves in that box. i bought the garlic at the farmers market.  i want to have fresh garlic next summer. we use garlic in our cooking.

i only have a few things growing in my garden now. i have some anaheim, habanero, jalapeno and green peppers still on the plant. i picked a quart and a half of habaneros. i probably have  or 4 times that on the plants. they are still green. i will freeze some whole anaheims. we already roasted and diced some. we put them in food processor bags and froze them.

i recently planted sweet potatoes. i started the slips from sweet potatoes i grew last year. those came from slips the previous year. so this will be the third year i grew them. dont know if they will make it. maybe. i thought some almanac said it may be a mild winter. usually it dont get cold til october. or later.

i picked all my leeks i had left. i got about a dozen of them. i will dice them up and freeze them. i will add them as flavoring when we cook. they sure make turtle taste good. i only have one turtle in the freezer. i will add these leeks to the hand full i already put away.

i have been watching the nba play offs. i dont have a favorite team. i just like watching the best play. tomorrow i will watch the kansas city chiefs play. i sure wont miss the tomahawk chop. that was lame. world champs should show class and not come off as backward hicks.

i gots to run to town. i am taking the check to the flooring people. then the clock starts. i think they said it will be about a 30 day wait to get our flooring done. i can wait but i am sure wanting to move back into our bedroom i built. it is real roomy.

i might even get an oil change whilst in town. this indian aint been off the rez in some time. yeah i will wear a mask.

labor day is another reason to have a cook out. i can go along with that. my family will get together. my daughter wont make it home though. my sons and grand kids will be here.

we will grill hot dogs, steaks and spare ribs. we buy all our meat from the meat locker.  it has a better taste than from the grocery. there will be plenty of other food too. chips, baked beans etc. i have one watermelon that we grew. it is sweet.

i like grilled jalapeno peppers. i usually fix them but some one else grills them. i picked some last night. they didnt get real big but they will taste good. i scoop out the seeds and stuff them with cheese. i wrap some partly cooked bacon around that. i put a tooth pick thru it to hold it together. it is put on the grill to finish the bacon and melt the cheese.

i built a rack in front of my egg boxes. now the hybrid chickens lay eggs in the boxes. they can hop up the rack to the boxes. before they would only lay eggs on the ground. i still have the now 3 month old rhode island red and barred rock chicks separated from the older hens. i dont want the older ones to peck the hell out of the chicks.

later i will put bands on the red island red chicks i got this year. i dont want to confuse them with the hybrids. i usually dont mark my chickens but there were years when i didnt know which chickens were the old ones. now i will know which ones should be done laying.

i had to fill up my humming bird feeders. i doubt if i will have to do that again. i dont think they will be around much longer. they usually leave around the middle of september.  i want them to fill up and be ready for where ever they go from here.

i mowed the yard before the cook out starts. i wasnt sure about the mower. a retaining clip broke off early this summer. i got a similiar clip from my cousin who worked on my mower. it came off 3 times while i mowed last time. i didnt think it was the right clip so i ordered a replacement pin off the internet. it only cost $7.30 for two of them.

i put it on and mowed today. no problem. it held. probably because it is the right replacement pin for my mower. cant use one that is close enough. i found that didnt work. now my mower is running again. i am glad i dont have to put any more money into repairing it. i had to pay to get it rewired after a pack rat chewed the wires up. then i had to get another carb kit. gas leaked out but the kit fixed that.

now i glad i dont have any more repair problems. my repair bills are still cheaper than the cost of a new mower. i probably wont be mowing too many more times this year. it will be time to park the mower. i have an anti pest device under the hood of the mower. it beeps and sends out a strobe light. that is suppose to keep the critters from chewing my wires etc.

gotta get the  jalapenos ready for the cook out.

i always remember some thing a native brother told me when i was working behind the walls. i mentioned to him something another guy told me that may have been exaggerated. he answered “i find that in here, anyone can be anything they want to be”.

i kinda had to laugh at that. it reminded me of alot of people out here. some can make up a history and  pass it off as fact. they can be any thing they wanna be. its as simple as saying you are what ever it is you want people to believe. whether it is true or not.

i have heard some say they have lived on the rez their entire life. they forget the years they lived in town i guess. living on the modern rez with a casino, hotel, golf course, convenience store, tribal offices, police and  fire departments,  clinic and housing projects with paved roads is nothing like living on the rez in the old days.

i hear others talk bout how tradish they were their whole life. they say this to put themselves in a teachers’ or respected elders’ role. this is just a few years after finally discovering who and what they were. it is easy to talk a good game. it’s much harder to actually live the life.

i am hearing way too many political promises.  politicians  tell us how much they are going to help all of us.  i wonder why now when they were already  in a position to do so. we are so used to being lied to that we just accept we are going to be lied to. my great uncle said ‘dont tell people what you are going to do, show them what you are going to do’.

i find it a little ironic that in a country founded (after the indians were pushed away) on protest it is now almost illegal to protest. there have been hundreds of protests in cities thru out the country (and the rest of the world) during this administration. it isnt one issue. people are protesting the killing of blacks, school shootings, the caging of mexican children, religious and racial bigotry, opening public lands to oil interests, giving the rich tax breaks and more money,  etc.

most protests are peaceful. some may riot and loot but the majority dont. this gives the government the right to tear gas and rubber bullet the protesters. they tested this strategy on indians. more attention is paid to the damage done in protests. our government wont look at the reason why there are protests nor do they attempt to fix the problems.  i hope all the protesters and the ones that are being oppressed get out and vote. i know i will.

i was in town the other day. i seen a dude at a corner with a sign asking for help. i dont always give because i know i cant help everyone. but i gave a few bucks to this guy. he thanked me by saying ‘ God bless you brother’.  i said and you too. he just nodded his head.

some think every one with a sign is trying to scam. there are many in this country that do actually need help. millions are out of work and many homeless. how do we tell them they are living in the greatest country in the world.  i think it is good mojo to give to those that need help. i dont think i could stand for hours holding a sign.

4 day weekend. but im retired. every weekend is a 4 day weekend.

finally got my bid for new flooring after waiting two weeks. i called a coupla times. they didnt have the flooring i wanted so i had to choose another one. it is a durable vinyl flooring that is water proof.  i also got a bid for new base board.  they said it is best to replace the old and they will gladly sell it to me. the flooring and trim isnt real wood but it looks good. real wood cost too much.

i took the bid to our housing department. i told them the contractor wont start until they got their money in hand. housing said they would send the bid on to finance and will let me know when they cut the check. i hope that dont take too long.

i was told it could take up to a month to get my flooring done because of the covid. i gotta wait, aint got a choice in the matter. i was all anxious to get back to the big bedroom i added onto the house years ago. i gave it two coats of paint. i also hung up the new drapes mary bought. now we have more time to shop for the new bed my daughter will buy us.

i am moving back to my old bedroom we had before i built the new one.  it was called the master bedroom. the one i added is larger though.  it will be ready for the boys when i do move after my floor is done. the small guest bedroom i am staying in now is too small. it is 10 feet by 8 and a half feet.  gotta have more room than that.

i sent off an application for a care package thing bout 3 weeks ago. a group was doing that for boarding school survivors. it was for the first thousand that sent it in. i sent it on the first day. they said they would contact me if they had any questions. i havent heard anything so i probably aint getting a package. oh well. wont be the first time i didnt get something.

i also got in my application to have a picture of my award winning roach displayed. it will be in the casino renovation project. i will get paid a $200 licensing fee to have my work shown. righteous bucks. i gotta wait til the other artists get their apps in. then the will notify me to take my roach to get it photographed. i can then pick up my check when i drop it off. hell yeah.

the new hybrid chickens i bought are finally learning to use the egg boxes i built. they always layed eggs in the corner on the ground. now they found the boxes i built. thats easier to pick them up. i hope they learn to roost in the rafters.  the chicks i bought are roosting on a rack i made for them. once the new chicks start laying eggs i will butcher some of the hybrid chickens. they kinda dumb.

gotta start moving my things to the other bedroom. always busy.