What a full weekend. Bookwork, bookwork, bookwork.

Sunday I left my trailer very early and made my early rounds at shift change, I returned and hit the books solid. By the time Krl was up and about I had finished driver settlements and was expanding my scope. I had even corrected some from the night before. All said, I left my trailer three times the remainder of the day. Black Dog and I went to the office to do some copies, then back to the trailer. Later, Maple Syrple made the trek with me as we went to the office and the bale dock. They sure feel special. They run in circles ninety miles an hour as I walk the short distances. Prissy didn't feel up to an outing or we would have found somewhere else to go. My last time out of the trailer was at the night shift change.

The plant did not have a good Sunday. We broke a saw shaft early in the day and the GM called the saw service from Lubbock. Before they could leave Lubbock we broke another saw shaft! This left us at fifty-percent of production until they arrived and completed repairs. Finally we were up and hitting on all cylinders until about two this morning and I awoke as the plant went down. They had a problem with their air system that moves the seed. Three hours later they were back up and running. When the morning tally was done they had done eight-hundred sixteen bales for the day. Most plants would kill for a day like that but not out here. Everyone wants and expects to knock on that eleven-hundred bales per day threshold.

We are sneaking up on eighty thousand bales. Sometime this week we will be half through. I sat down with a calendar last night and I have picked my guess for the date of completion. More on this later. The only hint I will give is that is in April.

Krl was talking yesterday about "when" we got to go home. I told her "here" was home. She expanded it to say "When we get to go to Abilene". I countered by saying "Oh, you mean when we get to go to the summer house". It became very somber when she asked if I realized that we would only be home about four months before we have to return. And that's if we don't go to South Texas!

We began Sunday night in very good shape. It didn't hold. By morning I had bales on the ground again. I did put a letter in the pay envelopes of all the bale truck drivers explaining that if this trend continues either pay will be shifted from drivers to loader operators because the drivers are causing double work for the loader operators, or the duties and expectations on the loader operators would be reduced giving the drivers more responsibilities.

We run teams on each truck. While the drivers are never on the truck at the same time, they share the truck on an alternating basis. In theory, the trucks are only sitting still at either the loading end or the unloading end of their trips. It is becoming more evident that some of these guys are not team players. My best truck driver (who continues to rehabilitate from surgery) consistently would haul eighteen to twenty-one loads each week, by himself. My teams this year are struggling to haul twenty-four to twenty-five loads each week combined. I think it is a lot about "want to".

I am hopeful that we will get started printing W-2's or 1099's today. Krl and I have been very diligent this year keeping the different spreadsheets and trying to make them multi-function where they will work in each application we need. We got ahead of the curve early in December and picked up a program update along with forms and envelopes. Last year taught us a lesson about waiting to the last minute. At the moment, I am optimistic that we will be finished much earlier than last year but I am not going to spaz until the last minute if they aren't done.

Krl and I have set some goals for the day. She plans on putting all the Christmas decorations away. I hope to get down all the outdoor lights. We had left everything in tact pending Kat's visit. I also learned that out here it is customary to burn your lights and leave your decorations up until the conclusion of the epiphany.

I have been talking skidsteer loaders last evening and this morning. They are a totally different animal which are foreign to me. I have operated one before but never really looked at what makes one brand better than another. I was approached about one so now I am on a steep learning curve. Thankfully in my network there is always someone who knows "who" to call.

I talked with Reidman over the weekend. He thanked me for his Christmas. "Thank you for my Christmas. I 'preciate it!" I figure that before long he will have to live outside in his tent with his sleeping bag and safety lantern if he is going to play his drum set! Give 'em a rimshot for me! Badda boom!

This morning there is extra bustle in the compound. For the last month the locals have been harvesting their pecan crop. The larger producers that have the large orchards have been shipping on a regular basis for quite some time. Today was the day for all the small producers to come to the plant and weigh in and make their deals.

I am somewhat in awe of the pecan buyer. He is looking at the pecans, making his evaluation followed by his offer of money. He has a trailer that is sealed to keep water out and the producers are urged to put them in waterproof bags. The real hoot is that when they arrive at the pecan company they will float them in water, soaking them before they shell them. Only thing is they sure don't want to be buying moisture.

Each to his own.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, I need one of YOUR pick me ups! I feel tired, depressed. Give me focus on the task at hand and not the completion of the job. I ask for Krl's renewal and healing. I pray for safety for Adam and his men. I lift up Addie, Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, Jess, B., Lillie, Aimee, Ashlyn Kate, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, Hope, K.C., and Tyler for YOUR gifts of healing and care. I pray for those sad and hurting from loss. I pray for those of us struggling to follow YOU. I pray for our spiritual family and leaders and for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. I pray for Richard, Anastacia, James and Terah, that they would accept CHRIST and his sacrifice, that they would choose to live good and GODLY lives fully embodied in YOUR grace and love. I pray too for our prayer partners Jenavene and Susan, victory in JESUS.