Heh, Heh! For barbers and clergy today is their Monday!

My Monday really wasn't bad. Not much going on at work. A little data entry, filled out some forms for a TWC audit, faxed the paperwork to the accounting firm that oversees the TWC reports, sat some, bored out of my gourd! Finally had lunch and spent the afternoon in the fleet shop doing a little rural engineering.

The owner has decided to take out the middle man and direct market the gin trash burrs. Some of these will be whole burrs, some of them will be ground. We are studying the large tub grinder trying to determine some gear ratios. It appears that the most versatile solution is for us to add a multiple speed gearbox or transmission. This would allow us to "ballpark" where we think we need to be. Our current goal is to grind one-hundred tons per day! That is a lot of mulch for that flowerbed. The owner is really a pretty amazing guy. He is quite mechanical and is not scared to tackle anything! "Let's open that gear box", "What would happen if we swapped those two gears", all sorts of questions which are usually followed by practical application answers. None of that model building and computer simulation here! This man has a high school diploma but more importantly he has a gift. He may not have some of the spiffiest equipment, you know the old adage "poor men have poor ways", but in some round about way he seems to fabricate machinery that ultimately gets the job done. On occasion I get really frustrated and tell him let's just bite the bullet and buy what we need. He usually just smiles and says he will think about it. The following day I may arrive to find that he has spent the majority of the night on one of the lathes fabricating a piece that we need. "Time" is the cheapest asset this man possesses while "vision" is probably his most valuable. "Someone had to make it, if someone made it, I figure I can too!" No, that wasn't Forest Gump, that was my fearless leader!

Best part of work right now is that I am getting more time in that great big office with the good lighting, the sky blue ceiling and the remarkable view!

A couple of high notes! Kyle Patrick Henry and the Highland one act play advanced Saturday night. They are going to state! Congratulations! He is so excited and feels so good about himself! He cannot wait to get his "leather jacket" for drama! (Letter jacket).

Chris' new enterprise has begun! They signed all the paperwork Friday afternoon and now the operation is up and running! Memama and Pepa carried Chris to the airport Monday morning so he could get back to Little Rock to continue his education! Since they closed the deal on the new business he is now obligated to take "business administration". May be a tycoon in the making!

The best news of the day came from Ollie. She had been to the doctor and her kidney function was up. The kidney that was working at 19% last week was at 42% this week. Doctors say if it will stay above forty percent, they can work with that. What is really frustrating is that Merrit has been to three different doctors, all with the same prognosis, yet yesterday her doctor told her they were going to treat this like a severe kidney infection and that she might have kidney stones. Duh! Way too many mights for me. Let's see, kidney infection and kidney stones, I bet either, or a combination of both would affect kidney function. I am sure hoping that is the case. I would love for these doctors to be wrong and have to admit that they really want to be proctologists (because it appears that is where they might have their heads).

It also appears that Merrit is going to move to Amarillo. An opportunity has presented itself and anyone that knows Merrit knows how bashful and wishy washy she is. (Yeah, right). At twenty-three and single she isn't tied down anywhere. I know she and her beau are on the outs right now. I made the mistake of asking what he thought and I got a very curt reply. I really wonder if Merrit will ever be able to maintain a long term relationship, if you get too close you will get run over when she changes direction. I would love to see her get on track and chase the same "carrot" until she reached it rather than being distracted by "a better carrot". Each to his or her own. I suppose with K and Ol we have opportunity to see both ends of the spectrum!

And to the other nephew, who knows who he is, time has expired! You can tell me anything, but don't tell me you are going to do something and then not do it. In the future if you are foolish enough to ask, the answer is "No". I really feel used and abused. I am beginning to think he may have just wanted a buffer between Pepa and him and I was the sacrificial pawn. It won't happen again.

Interesting article on the web yesterday. Sleep habits linked to diabetes risk. If you sleep less than six hours per night or more than nine hours per night you are at risk. If that is the case I need my insulin fix.

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR love, YOUR mercy and YOUR grace. Thanks for being my safety net when I try to go alone, thanks for forgiving me when I try my solo attempt. FATHER my heart is heavy, my mind is tired, my body aches. I ask for renewal, to be refreshed. I ask that YOU will lift me, energize me. I can't do it, but I know YOU can. FATHER I pray for Krl, for Ollie, for Hag, for B., for Lillie, for Carol, for Michelle, for Aimee, for Jennifer, for Tori, for Ashlyn Kate, for TJ, for Anna, for Jess, for those recovering from their injuries, for Yaenga, and for Dr. Mackie. Heal our hearts, heal our minds, heal our bodies. I pray for those hurting from loss and ask YOUR comfort for them. I pray for those of us who struggle in our spiritual journey, lead us. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. Sweet surrender.