I really can't tell much difference from the weekend and weekdays. No monumental tasks, no great accomplishments, it just seems that I stay steady and busy.

Krl and I had made plans for Saturday morning. She was wanting to go to Big Lots, on to eat breakfast, by the Mall, to the grocery store and then home. She was about an hour late getting motivated but things fell in place. We made the first stop and purchased the item she was coveting, then decided to go to IHOP for breakfast. As we grow older we are finding breakfast is our most enjoyable meal! When we arrived, there was a line extending out the door of IHOP. Where did all these people come from? Krl's next choice was Denny's and we began to make our way there when I mentioned that Cracker Barrel serves breakfast all day long. That was it, Cracker Barrel here we come. When we arrived there it made IHOP look like a step-child. I have never ever seen as many cars and people at Cracker Barrel. Krl was dejected and asked "What next?". I told her Skillets was just down the service road and we arrived there to find minimal room in the parking area, adequate room inside, but more importantly we found a fully stocked breakfast buffet! It was delicious! One factor Krl and I had not planned on was the regional track meet in Abilene this weekend. Pee-wee school buses were everywhere!

As luck would have it, we had forgotten our grocery list and had to return to the house. We took a short break before making a final push toward ending our errands. We went to Petsmart, went directly to the aisle our dog food was on and placed a large bag in the basket, then we continued on toward the checkout, on our way I saw a display for our dog food advertising ten percent more for free with the same price as what we had picked up. That would mean five or so days more before we needed to repeat this exercise. Immediately I Picked up the larger promotional bag, took a second look at the pricing and then returned to replace the smaller bag and check pricing there. Sure enough! Petsmart was playing a snooker game with us! We went to the grocery store and made quick work of that before we returned home to put up our stock! Actually Krl did the putting up once everything was on the house.

The three houndgirls were in the back yard, enjoying the warm sunlight and getting a little exercise when they began to franticly bark. Krl scolded them from inside the house before she finally went to check on them. They were very excited, and on closer examination Krl found they had chased a field mouse until it had collapsed on the back porch. The mouse was scared to death, the hound girls were quite proud. I grabbed a paper towel and picked up this trophy by the tail, it was still breathing and upon close scrutiny I can say there were no markings, no evidence that the houndgirls ever had this beast in their possession. I knew I was going to have to answer to Krl as to my disposal of our unwanted guest so I made one of those quick calls. I dropped it into our dumpster which is full enough that a mouse with "will" could escape. I am confident this intruder will not make the same mistake of entering "our forbidden zone".

I'm already looking for signs, "Beware of Houndgirls".

My next project was to put down an application of insect protection on the yard. For years and years we had used Dursban which had been very effective in controlling flies, mosquitos, even fire ants were hesitant to move into our yard. The main reason for this applications is to keep our hounds free of any un-wanted guests. They get a monthly spraying, this is just the other half of the program. I had to do some quick maintenance on the cyclone spreader, but this task was done rather quickly.

Krl and I had decided to do 'burgers on the grill for supper. One of Trc's to do things was to replace my grill. Krl had given me a Thermos gas grill six or seven years ago for Father's Day. I had never really wanted one but I have found that there are some advantages to having a gas grill. We probably look like "grill collectors" because we have the gas grill, a smoker, and a charcoal grill. On certain occasions I have been known to use all of them for the same meal.

I decided to clean out the gas grill. It was filled with lava rocks and lately it had been increasingly difficult to regulate the fire. We removed the grate and began removing lava rocks piece by piece. Surprisingly many of these had actually heated themselves into nothingness. Just a pile of granules. Finally we reached the point where we could remove the shield that protects the burner. You can imagine my surprise when I found that the burner had holes burned in it at multiple locations and one of the pipes had rusted through! No wonder it had become so difficult to cook on! I suppose the only thing that had made it possible was the load of lava rock deferred the flames enough to cook on it.

'Burgers thawing on the cabinet and the gas grill is down and no charcoal for the others! Krl had told me I needed to buy a new grill. Actually she is making good on a promise she had made a couple of years ago. She had told me I could get a new grill, after she got a new kitchen stove. Since Trc had taken care of the stove part, I was good to go. Now they have some absolutely fantabulous grills out. Best part is they have changed the direction of the burners and have put more of them in. Stainless steel has replaced the black painted aluminum. Rottisseries are optional on nearly every model. Side burners now have griddle attachments. Some models even have panels that are located on the back wall that brown and cook. One thing I had always wondered is why they don't make a grill with a side burner on one side and a deep fryer on the other end? I had told Krl that I am going to wait until I can get what I want, not what the manufacturer's want me to have. I can remember a few years ago seeing a Coleman "mobile kitchen" that was about ten yards long. It had a place for a cooler, condiments, cooking tools, side burner and on the far end it had a connection for a water hose because it was equipped with a sink! I know the grill suspense is "grilling" to you. I coerced Krl into going with me ....... to the storage building and I got the Stl grill and took it home. I'm going to strip down the old grill and get all the parts I can salvage before I "retire" it from duty.

By the way, the burgers were great!

It was last night before we realized we had omitted the Mall errand.

This morning we were laying in bed, I was dozing, Krl was sleeping, and Maple was cuddling when I thought I heard my cell phone. I hopped up and went to retrieve it from the charger. The screen showed one missed call. I punched the appropriate buttons and it showed Merrit had called. She had been here Wednesday night on her way to the metroplex. Immediately I was concerned that she had had car trouble or even an accident. I tried repeatedly to call her but ended up in voice mail. Realize that this girl should have been blond. I have no idea why GOD made such a large space for a brain and then didn't install one. Finally after an hour she returned my call. She was on her way home, she was in Weatherford, she was going to get gas but someone had stolen sixty-five dollars from her purse. "But don't worry, AAA auto club brought me ten dollars worth of gas!" This reassurance came from someone who stopped by to spend the night on her way to the metroplex with three dollars in her possession. Luckily for her Krl and I gave her her birthday money along with a stern warning about a fool and her money ........ . Well, this fool and her money were soon parted! I asked where she thought she lost her money and she told me she thought her friend Liz had taken it. My response was, that is no friend. What really miffs me is a jaunt to this "friends" was not even on the itinerary when she left here. My final words to her before I hung up were "If you have to push that car home it will teach you a lesson". Duh!

Krl and I had reservations about giving her the money. She can't manage money. Heck, she can't even manage her life. To much success, to much money, too fast friends, bad choices, bad vices, have all contributed to her situation. I guess I have rolled the dice in hopes that her inability to tell the truth has a hand in this tale.

I didn't go to church this morning. To be honest I continue to have a hard time with what went on with our Sunday School Class while we were gone. This in turn is making it almost impossible to"get" connected. Initially I had decided to go to Southern Hills, but today is a combined service at Cooper. They are calling it W.A.T.S.. (We are the sermon). No early service, no classes. Of course Merrit and her call made me miss Highland's early service which was the second option. I'm going to have to come to grips with this. I am almost afraid if I go to Highland and see Terry, I will lower the boom with everything that is bothering me about it. I will admit that between ACU and Highland we always get mail, not cheap presentations but very high end print productions. Add to this what seems to be the current mentality at Highland and I am wondering if it "is" the right fit any longer.

I guess I need to practice what I blog. I need to go back a year to my blog about the "Jesus Saves" church north of Abilene. I need to not let church get in the way of GOD and worship.

Be the real deal.

Hope that I don't have to go and shine the lights for Merrit to push her car home!

FATHER, I need YOU, I need YOUR help.

Will I ever catch up?

It seems that everyday I do some task related to putting our home, our house, our lives, back in order. Yesterday was moving phone lines.

I don't want you to think I am picky, you should know I am, and if you don't know or think I am, you should think or know Krl is! Use to be when my desk was in one corner of the family room the fax machine was not noticeable. Now with the merger of Krl's and my offices into a full fledged office, I am afraid the fax sitting on the floor in the family room sticks out like a sore thumb. Thankfully, all the wires were run. It was just a case of figuring out which phone box on the outside of the house contained which line. I'm not equipped with all the little trinkets that an official phone man would have. I can't put an attachment into the wall socket and then begin touching terminals in the junction boxes until I get a tone. I have to rely on educated guesses, a lot of luck and believe me, when I ask Krl "Can you hear me now?", I mean it.

I was extremely lucky, I mean good, and got the right box, the right wires on the very first try! If I had had a tool belt I would have been strutting my stuff! I was so good I decided to check out why the phone outlet in the kitchen no longer works. (It hasn't worked since the fire, but it hasn't been an issue because of the cordless phone bases being in other rooms). Hindsight is 20/20. I spent twice as much time moving wires back to their original position as I did initially moving them. Crazy thing is, we didn't even have a stray phone to plug in to see if I did in fact repair the faulty outlet. So the office fax line is operational, the kitchen outlet is questionable, still.

Bad weather is coming, they say. It's that time of the year. This is a storm that has dashed from California to Texas in just over a day. Possible large hail, lightning, damaging winds, and possible heavy rains! I am still testing and pouring chemicals into Krl's pool. I cannot remember ever having put so much chemical in, just to raise the ph. After watching the weather forecast last evening I went and re-tested and added even more chemical. I don't want to lose any ground we have gained should we be blessed with large accumulations of rain! So I have hedged my bet! Just so we dont have some sort of mis-understanding, I am working in one pound increments each time I administer another dose! I would hate for EPA to show up on my doorstep.

Today is a toss up, depending on weather. If the forecasters have guessed right (you can tell how much faith I have in their ability), it might mean a down day. I am cautiously optimistic. I do realize that even though I am no longer farming, indirectly I still rely on the blessing of rain for my livelihood. It would appear that the STL area is almost on the edge of the dry line that forecasters think is going to trigger the rains. Also it would appear that the gulf coastal plains may receive some rains as well, they definitely need it. Sources have told me production in the gulf coastal plains area may be down seventy-five percent!

Whazzup with our military and their fearless leader "W"? I have a television in my office (actually it is the one out of the company travel trailer. After the trailer was broken into and cleaned out last year I am taking no chances!). They have just reported that many wounded soldiers are being forced into bankruptcy, and reported to credit bureaus and collection agencies for overpayments, or not meeting the terms of their enlistment bonuses! Huh? They have shown pictures of one soldier who lost a leg, doing rehab, and the military wants their pay back they paid to him while he was in the hospital? Another soldier was forced out of the military as a result of his wounds and was forced to live in his car because of negative reporting by the military on his credit report. He couldn't rent an apartment. Then there is "W". Shown in New Orleans with the Mayor, rebuilding a house. Why is it all the other workers are carrying lumber overhead with both hands yet "W" can do it with one hand and wave at cameras with the other? (Actually I was surprised he could even reach the lumber carried overhead!). Why are the other workers in jeans, t-shirts, and work boots and "W" is in his white shirt with slacks? Answer....... photo op! Answer ....... low ratings in the polls! Answer ...... ego! "W"="whut?"

I think our leaders, President, VP, Senators, and Representatives on the national and state level, including city and parish councilmen, mayors, and county officials should be subjected to survivor type challenges regularly and we should be able to send them packing when they deserve to be kicked off! Reality politics! Yeah!

Pray for rain!

Be the real deal!

FATHER, temper me today.

So much for that experiment.

I figured if I drove by the chiropractors office and I woke up with a back ache I would try something else. When I was on my way home yesterday I drove by a bank. I didn't wake up in a room filled with cash. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Yesterday was a really good day. It was really the first day we have been home that I finally felt like Krl and I were getting on top of things and getting adjusted. Due to some other changes Krl didn't go west so we made plans to get together for lunch and we invited Trc. There were several things we needed to talk about. It was a fun lunch.

I spent a large portion of my afternoon trying to order a battery for the old lap top. I guess I am set in my ways because I still like working on it. In fact the new lap top the company bought has not been turned on since we returned home. When I went to the manufacturer's website I immediately went to parts and service, there I found a link to batteries and brought it up, found the model, and discovered that the lap top I was shopping for was not even listed! It hit all around, but skipped the numerical reference for the one I needed. I decided to back up and enter the service tag number and do a search that way. Finally I received a message saying the battery I was shopping for was not available on-line. A telephone number was listed, so I called it. My call was answered by someone who could barely speak English. I felt bad that I had to ask him to repeat himself. I would give him a number and it would take three tries to get it correct. Give him credit though, he knew what I needed, but don't get carried away. I gave him credit card information for Krl's company card and I thought everything was good to go, however just before we finished our call he told me the card was denied. Krl was furious because she had been on the phone with these people earlier in the day. I took an order reference number from the sales tech for the battery and told him we would get it straightened out and call him back. Almost immediately afterward, I received an e-mail from the sales tech and it was atrocious. Krl's card is very sensitive to matching information and this man's spelling was horrible. I swear Maple Syrple could walk across my keyboard and come closer to the correct address! Anyhow, once you make an attempt on the card and it is denied, it is locked down until you call in. Of course they were already closed. I hope I get a sales tech from the U.S. today.

Just as I was about to throw my hands up on Krl's swimming pool, it turned the corner. It's almost there. I had turned the vacuum loose for a couple of days. I felt it had skimmed enough from the top. Yesterday I took the vacuum out and let it begin to skim again. I did pick up some clarifier yesterday because the water is cloudy. More than likely I over did the chlorine. A couple of days of bright sunshine should burn off any excess.

Trc was telling me how busy their business is. They are weeks behind and of course everyone wanted it done yesterday. Brently is in Brownwood for the second straight week. Unfortunately he is only at half crew. The lead of his second crew is sick and that has shut down that entire group. Hopefully their roofer is coming by our house this week. We haven't done anything on our back porch because everyone seemed to think we could avoid duplicating some work if we would let the roofer do his thing first. I know if he gets here they can do their thing and be gone if a couple of days. Patience is a virtue.

I am getting a little miffed. I have had a call in for Robert St.C in Lubbock since yesterday. He was on a conference call when I first called him and the receptionist told me she would give him the message. It almost appears that when they've got your money they lose interest. Actually what I need from him is simple. Just a phone number. But since I have thought about it, in December I had received a bill from his office. We had pre-paid his fee but elected to continue to put money in a client retainer trust just in case there were additional service needed. When we received the bill, I had discarded it only to receive one with a red "past due". I called Robert's secretary and inquired because we knew there were no additional services that would have depleted the retainer at that point. She had forgotten we had paid the retainer and was supposed to check on it and send me an accounting of it. To date I have not heard from her. Luckily for us, the events we were trying to pre-pay didn't materialize and now they can reimburse the balance of the retainer. Looks like a trip to Lubbock would put some money in my pocket! Heh! Heh!

Just when I think I am through with office stuff for a while something else come in. Accident policy. I will admit I am interested in this one though. Insurance is a racket. When we put this policy in place we had to project what the payroll would be for the first month and pay on the projection. Basically we had to pre-pay a month just to put the policy in effect and it was adjusted after final numbers came in for the actual payroll. April 1 I had to send the employee roster with the March payroll information and April's premium. Krl and I talked about it because the March payroll was the largest of the six months and yet all but three office personnel had been terminated. I really expected a huge credit or refund from the premium because it only made sense that we had pre-paid in the beginning we should be able to coast on premium the last month of maximum employees. Didn't happen. At least not yet. I'm like a hound on the scent!

I think I recently mentioned Krl had purchased for the company a scanner software package she had seen on Martha Stewart. It is called Neat Receipts. It looks like a three hole paper punch. It has proprietary software that analyzes and groups receipts and prints statements. All of this is acceptable by the IRS. Once you scan it in you can discard the paper copy because you can always re-print it if you need it. We are actually looking at trying to go totally paperless. Driver records, equipment records, billing, receivables, payables. Everything. I have been looking for a new computer that would be dedicated totally to this. Nothing else. Basically all we need in it is large memory capacity, a pdf file writer and the basic Microsoft office package. This should be a real improvement, no more receipts that have faded beyond the point of reading. A major undertaking in the beginning but once caught up it should be much more simple.

Well, let's do it.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, use me in this day.

What are the odds?

Late yesterday I made a mad dash for Kinko's, the last of the quarterly reports. There is a way to exit behind the Kinko's parking lot into what was the old Butterfield Junction complex and then thru the alley behind Oasis, Quiznos, and some empty commercial buildings. This is all done to avoid having to make the trek to Southwest Drive and doing the U-ie thing. Time. Isn't it what we all try to save?

As I was driving down the alley I was thinking back several years ago to when my chiropractor was located in this small strip mall. I also thought how long it had been since I had done my exercises to stretch and hopefully keep everything from tilting out of whack.

Another slight diversion as I cut through another parking lot to an adjoining strip mall where my chiropractor now offices, around Blockbuster, by Taco Bell and on to Buffalo Gap. I was on my way and I had saved ...... seconds.

This morning I awoke with a catch in my back. What are the odds. I would rather have awakened to a DVD or a burrito.

I am hopeful that this is just the weekend activities of garage and storage building projects catching up with me and my back. We should know later today as a man is coming over to pick up a few remaining items, one of which is an electric cook stove. Oh well, I have all day to limber up.

My Monday was upended and set on end. I have been procrastinating getting some quarterly reports finished. I had all the data processed and grouped, I just needed to transfer it to the official forms. Probably the one thing that had me dreading it was filling out the paperwork for "when" "what" liability was incurred. This is a deluxe four ticket ride because there are three pay groups and three pay days. This is "your" uncle's way of determining how often you need to "send money". Interesting fact is, this particular entity is officially a monthly depositor by "uncle's" determinations of the past, however this depositor deposits weekly. In fact the very last check written each pay day are for the payroll taxes. Talk about government waste, and now they're wanting to waste my ..... time!

I thought I had a week to complete this baloney when scheduling required me to have it ready by morning. Talk about putting the "M" in Monday. Best part is, it is done. Which opens up my schedule to go to .... the chiropractor.

I don't know what my day is today. Krl had made plans to make a westward trek. Initially it was going to be her and Trc but apparently that fell through and then it was going to be a friend from down the street and that fell through (her spouse didn't want her that far from home. 158 miles each way, six hour round trip? Go figure.) So it may well be that I get asked to accompany Krl. Why am I always picked last?

Actually I was hoping to catch a ride, at least as far as Roscoe. One more attempt at picking up the last company truck and getting it to Abilene. This will be try #4. I have been told that it is there this time. I am hopeful that BS 22 will come out of the body shop and I can get the two side by side and try to make some "tire sense". One of my directives given me was to go over and look over each piece of equipment and make sure it is "road ready". Actually BS 22 has not required a whole lot. I am hopeful that BS 222 is a similar situation. Now BS 2, that was a time consuming project, lots of little stuff that just consumed your entire day! I am hopeful that some tires can be swapped between trucks and only one new set of tires will be required at this time. Aren't I the considerate employee? Maybe I should be working on a percentage of how much I save my employer.

I had a call from Rogelio (one of the seasonal employees) yesterday. He had been scheduled for court yesterday and today. This has been hanging over his head for a couple of years and apparently it will go on a while longer. The judge issued another continuance. This one until June. They don't expect to go to trial until next year sometime. Rogelio did say he was enjoying his vacation and his unemployment. Little jerk! I don't think he has the vaguest idea how unemployment works.

I have a confession to make. I am hooked on NBC's hit program Deal or No Deal. I have always enjoyed Howie Mandel and the ease and grace he exhibits hosting this show is top shelf. When we were still at the work compound I was able to watch an interview Howie did with Ellen Degeneres. He actually does a lot of work preparing for the show. He interviews all the contestants prior to the show and creates a very personable relationship during their being on the show. I was very moved to know that he sometimes wants to tell the contestants to take the "deal" because he has inside knowledge about their financial situations. Money (or the possibility of) makes people do crazy things. As for me, I don't have to worry about being crazy 'cause I don't have any money! My favorite moment of the show was when one contestant was proposing to his fiance and Howie interrupted and told them it was his show, let him do it. Howie then got on one knee and asked the fiance, Deal or No Deal?

Well, let's git 'er done!

Be the real deal.

FATHER, thank YOU for hope. Thank YOU for promise.

I can't believe it's another Monday. Time sure flies when you're not!

We had a pretty productive weekend. We are well on the way to opening Krl's pool. I would imagine if it weren't for a hole in the weather tarp it would have already been open. I had placed a sump pump on top of the tarp and pumped the accumulated water from it and decided to let it dry a day before I removed the tarp. The following day I returned and found the sump pump under water again. Yuk. Anyhow, at least it was more like a seep than a full fledged hole. When we removed the tarp the water clarity was good even though it had a green tinge. Hello chemicals. Krl collected a water sample and I took it to our pool service and they did a computer analysis. Three cups of acid and a pound and a half of chlorine and getting it circulating should do the trick, or so the pool guru says. Of course if you have any pool experience, the absolute worst thing that can happen to a pool is rain. That will upset the ph and all sorts of bad things will happen. Guess what happened Friday. Rain. Yesterday the pool was much improved but not where I had hoped it would be. I may pull another water sample.

We cleaned our storage building out along with the garage. During Trc's house project things that were stored in the garage were moved to the storage building out back and things no longer needed in the house were moved into the garage. The domino effect. To further complicate things, I made six trips to the rented storage facility. If we can make it toward the end of this week without adding anything else to the garage, we should be to the bare essentials. We have a pretty good pile of things Krl has put together for the AHS cheerleaders garage sale. There is a refrigerator that I need to get to Memama but after that it is just arranging things where we want them.

Krl called to check on Ed (the burr contractor at STL). Pearl took him home from the hospital Tuesday so he stayed ahead of or in the time frame the doctor had told him. He had not had a good day but that is to be expected. Pearl was telling Krl of some developments at the job compound since we had all left.

During the past season a man and his son from Midland had come to the compound and visited with the GM. This man was interested in burning burrs to generate electricity. This has been tried in other areas but with little success. This man had a little different perspective, burn the burrs to heat water and turn the generators with steam. This man and his son met repeatedly with the Co-op's Board of Directors. Nine miles from the current plant is the old plant #2 which has been gutted and abandoned for eleven years. There is considerable acreage there which would allow for stock piling of burrs for future use. Finally the two groups met and a formal verbal proposal was made by the man from Midland. In general terms, the Co-op would allow this man to use the plant #2 site and would commit to supply the burrs to be burned. There would be no cash outlay by the Co-op. The big benefit would be that the electric generating plant would pay for the transportation of the burrs from the current plant to the generating site. (This past year that would have saved the Co-op about $600,000). When the generating plant reached profitability the Co-op would share in the profits. For several months the Board of Directors waited for the written contract. When I left STL at the end of March the Co-op lawyer had just received the contract from the other side and had begun to dissect it and re-write it. The last report I had received was that the only people benefiting from the pending agreement were both sides attorney's wallets! (And the congregation shouted AMEN).

I had nicknamed the older man from Midland "Redy Kilowatt" (after a TV ad icon used by Taylor Electric when I was a child). The Board had nicknamed this man's son "Echo" (because he always repeated what his Dad had said). "Redy" had told the Board he needed all the burrs that were already piled at the old plant along with twenty-thousand bales worth more. The Board acted in "good faith" and began delivery of the requested material. "Redy" had told them if they could get the burrs there, he would push them up into huge piles. In fact, "Redy" made the bold statement that he was bringing a "big" loader out there with a sixteen yard bucket. (Ed and I would have liked to see that loader because it was going to be bigger than any we had ever seen!).

It was about this point that it seemed as though "Redy" was a lot of talk. If the Board satisfied him on one issue he wanted more in another area. "Redy" became more and more demanding. He called the GM telling him to have Ed's employees push the burrs up (no talk of reimbursement). "Redy" then called the GM and Board President wanting more burrs for fuel. "Redy" ended up receiving thirty-two thousand bales worth of burrs plus what was already there prior to their agreement. When Board Members would ask questions "Redy" and "Echo" would be very vague if they answered at all. "Redy" and "Echo" were asked why they would come to STL, the very outer edge of "cotton country", to try to put together their program. Why not locate their plant in the center of vast numbers of acres of cotton with an almost endless supply of fuel for their plant? "Redy" responded that the people from STL are known to be more progressive minded than people from other areas of the industry. One Board Member asked about their education and expertise in the field they were trying to enter ("Echo" carried a briefcase from College of the Mines and his answer was "No, I didn't attend school there, my sister is a librarian there"), but nothing further was offered. They were asked very pointedly if this venture was contingent on government grants, the Board was told "No". They were asked if they were putting up their own money in this project and they responded "that it was none of your business". Apparently the contract has been a problem and the relationship is deteriorating. My last information was that "Redy" was willing to reimburse the Co-op less than 2% of the hauling cost for coming years, nothing for hauling of the burrs already hauled (this past year it would have amounted to about ten-thousand dollars of the six-hundred thousand dollar burr transportation cost). "Redy" may be adamant about not being subsidized by the government but has no problem with the Co-op subsidizing them. This may get interesting. Obviously "good faith" may have been exercised by only one side of the two parties.

FYI, blogger is having some issues today. I tried to post this about three or four this morning and blogger ate about half my blog. When I went to recover post it only recovered a small portion of what I had written.

I had better get. I need to figure out what I am going to do today. I am going to have to get a job when I grow up!

Do the dew.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, let YOUR glory fill this day.

Yesterday was an enjoyable day. It rained on and off all day. Of course in Texas this is an oddity. We are accustomed to having the forceful thunderstorms unleash their strength and fury in a single blast. We had a small taste of the thunderstorm mentality Wednesday night. A little rain, a little hail, lots of lightning, and loud thunder. It was a stark contrast to Thursday.

I continue to maintain my habit of monitoring multiple radar sights which enable me to keep tabs on the weather in the St. Lawrence area. Unfortunately, they didn't get what we did. Of course their weather is directly related to their production which is directly related to our work. We continue to be hopeful because after an absence for a day the rain chances return for several days.

Our painter arrived yesterday morning only to be rained out. He was able to paint trim on the porch, but the remaining surfaces were wet. We took this opportunity to go and look at additional supplies and or optional supplies at local vendors. Jim was able to get us closer to what I had been looking for, but it isn't exactly what we had hoped for.

Since Jim was rained out and the fact that he had a one o'clock appointment to look over and bid another job, he had time to kill. I recruited him to help me to take BS 22 to the body shop. Surprisingly, we got it done with twenty minutes to spare. My afternoon was filled with running errands. Work orders, post office, Kinko's, insurance agent and finally picking up some supper. Krl was in the mood for Mexican food.

Krl and I both felt sub-par last evening. She went to bed super early, I went to bed super late for me. We have been pleased with the changes made in the house in our absence. With the removal of the carpet and installation of tile, it seems to have drastically cut the airborne allergins, so there is much less sneezing, coughing and wheezing. What we have been battling seems to be a low grade fever and aches.

Tomorrow the two older hound girls will celebrate their birthday. It is somewhat bittersweet. This will mark two years in a row that our hound numbers have dwindled. Happy birthday Lady and Prissy! Also on a birthday note, Sunday will be Merrit's. I won't say how old she is but I will say she is old enough to know better! Happy birthday Merrit.

I guess I had better get around. I am dragging this morning. I checked earlier and Jim hadn't shown up. I would hate to get fired.

Have a day.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, take control.

I guess I got rotated out.

You usually have a good idea of what the weather is going to do if you watch our hound girls. I was awakened with one extra hound on our bed and another peering over the edge. (Prissy's arthritis limits her ability to hop onto the bed. If she hops up there, get out the Ark and call Noah). Maple Syrple was restless, and all the sudden bounded off the bed and under it. Almost immediately there was a brilliant flash of lightning followed by it's sharp crack. Rain began to pelt the windows and you could hear the occasional piece of hail. By this time, one could see multiple sets of "whites of the eyes" as all the hounds look to me for solace. The only person oblivious to the thunder storm was Krl. Zzzzzzzzzz. It has always amazed me that the hounds have come to fear storms, with the possible exception of Maple Syrple (we don't know prior to her coming to us), the hound girls have never been left out in a storm. Go figure.

I spent most of my day at Lowe's picking up supplies. There was one elderly gentleman I ran into who was asking "Where are the associates when you need one". He lamented "We should have gone to Home Depot". "Naw!", I told him. My experience has been that at Home Depot you are constantly bothered by associates who have absolutely zero product knowledge but have grasped the concept of customer service. (What a joke). At least at Lowe's you aren't subjected to uneducated associates interrupting your thoughts. On the other hand you aren't going to get any help loading either. (At Lowe's you will never see an associate unless you don't need one).

The painter and I spent a portion of the morning looking at the back porch. There are some trim issues that need to be addressed before he can paint. Of course with the forecast of the next few days this may not be an issue. I may have ample opportunity to make any repairs.

The next project is the roof. I was on a portion of it yesterday and the simplest remedy it going to be to accelerate its replacement. Insurance had given the go ahead a while back. I had been in hopes of putting one of the new metal roofs on, but it appears a composition shingle roof is most economical at this point. I cannot remember how many times we have had the porch redone. I know of three times for total replacement and then twice more for repairs. I think Maple Syrple could do as well as the last workers a college buddy sent out.

I may live. I swear yesterday morning the rigor mortis had set in. I sounded like Rice Krispy's with every movement. Thank goodness the Tylenol was on a lower shelf. Two Tylenol with two tablespoons of WD 40 as a chaser should do the trick.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, You know. We add Lucille (Hag's mom), to those we lift up to YOU for your care.

Hot!

Good golly, if you were outside the last two days you know exactly what I'm talking about. I thought I was gonna melt down! What is August going to be like?

Thankfully we have a chance of rain the next several days, a cool front will take us down about twenty degrees. Now that's more like it.

Most of my day was spent working on the fence project. As my luck would have it, it was between the houses on the sunny side of the fence. No wind, no shade. Also as my luck would have it, most of what tools I needed were in the travel trailer. This fence is a tubular steel structure with cedar palings which are screwed on with floor screws. It has been maintenance free for ten years, but thanks to the really wet year last year and also to the lawn service jerks, it needed some spot repair. Initially I had thought eight fence palings would complete the repair, as it turned out it was sixteen. I thought for this small project I would be able to complete it with the 18V cordless drill and circular saw. Wrong. Half my day was spent working, the other half was spent jockeying batteries to and from the charger. I continually thought about the big half inch electric drill in the storage bay of the RV.

The only break Krl and I had was around four o'clock we left to pick up Black Sheep 2 and went on to retrieve the company travel trailer from the repair shop. We stayed on task, the trailer was ready, but this errand still took two hours by the time we returned home. When we put the trailer into storage Krl had a short list of things she needed from it. Just before we left she asked me if I wanted to get the big drill. I thought for a moment and told her "No, I only lack sixteen screws and two cuts, the batteries have had two hours to charge so I should be good to finish".

I hate it when she is right.

This morning I lack installing one screw and making one cut.

The RV shop made a run at us to trade trailers. It was interesting to see what is out there. It was also interesting to see what the company trailer is worth. If the company had thirty or forty thousand dollars lying around I might be tempted , but it doesn't and I'm not. So there.

Today appears to be sparsely filled. Finish the fence and then take Black Sheep 22 to the body shop and back to the office. I swear, some of the government agencies are totally worthless. You submit a report, they do a half ass analysis and then send you a notice telling you they changed your report and to send money. The frustrating thing is the reporting period is over a year old, which means you have to dig out the records which fueled the report initially. Actually, they have thrown down the gauntlet and I'm going to throw it back. It appears they have left one month of activities from their report. I know, you can't fight city hall, but I can make them actually work.

We have one contractor continuing to work outside here at the house. I was not in favor of spending any more money but if Krl is paying and she and Trc think it needs to be done, so be it. We had already discussed the need to paint the outside of the house this year. Let me go on the record right now, I don't like painting. I don't care what kind of painting it is, I don't like it. However, if it comes to spending money to pay someone to do it, I might suffer through the task. Trc's painter really wanted to paint the outside. He gave her a price, paint included. I told her to negotiate. She did, he didn't. Krl stepped in and told the gentleman to start. Actually he had already began, caulking and priming.

As it turns out, this has been a blessing in disguise. I have enjoyed visiting with this man, he has a very colorful history. Kind of a rags to riches to rags story. He was a young teen when his mother married "money". His step-dad helped to develop a work ethic in him and give him a vocation that he uses today. He has lived in Texas and Colorado, been a wheeler dealer, and on the verge of poverty. But this man is a happy man. Hardworking, honest and appreciative. He is currently living on a small ranch owned by a family trust (he only has to pay the taxes to continue to live there) with his wife and five small children. He has two grown children by a previous marriage. It was a very heart warming moment the other day when he told Krl and I he wanted us to know how much he appreciated the opportunity to work, and that our project had come at a time when he was looking at living on the streets. Our job got them through a rough patch and now he has work lined up for the next several weeks and possibly months.

Kind of gives a guy a warm fuzzy feeling.

This isn't getting it done. Have a day!

Be the real deal.

FATHER, today is on YOU. YOU are going to have to carry me. Thanx.

Sorry for the lapse. ISP issues.

Every since we returned home we have had periodic episodes where the internet service just went away. All of the sudden we would get an error message, "Page cannot be displayed", or "server not found". Over the weekend, it quit. I messed with it and no matter what it said to do, nothing worked. Yesterday I was home during a good time to call tech support.

Krl called them initially and we talked with a local techie. We did a little backtracking (and a whole lot of stuff we had already tried, but what the heck). How many lights are .....? Let's reboot. Unplug the modem. Are you using a wireless router? (No, but give me some time). It didn't take too long before the "local" tech support put me on hold. It was very evident when "Eddie" came on the line we had moved to a different zone. Of course we did many of the same things (again). He visited with me about a wide array of subjects. When I asked him where he was located, he responded Virginia. It seems our ISP has two level two or senior tech supports, one in Virginia, one in California. After an extended try, Eddie informed me that he was going to have to send a hardware guy out to check cables. I told him I had extra cables, some travel with my laptops, others had just accumulated over the years. He told me I might swap cables out but for some reason we weren't getting enough signal to hold it. "Hardware techie" is supposed to be here between two-thirty and four-thirty. When Eddie and I terminated our conversation I took our computer down and unplugged the modem.

I began to think about what "might" be the problem. Since the office was moved, lines outside had to be moved as well. I went outside and began to disconnect lines, found a suspect splitter, and made a made dash to Lowes. Several years ago we had "gone" digital, but this one splitter didn't proclaim it's digitalness. After replacing it I went in and booted up. Walla, internet. No new cables. Just a splitter. Did Eddie or the local guys find something during the mean time? Was there in fact a problem in signal strength? Did the prolonged absence of power to the modem "clear it's circuits"? I don't know. I feel like we are chasing gremlins. My big question is why did it work O.K. for a while and then develop problems. We may never know.

I have hit a threshold. I have completed all the work I am equipped to do on the trucks in the bull pen. Part of my day yesterday was spent at the body shop (where both are headed for repairs) and at the engine shop where "Black Sheep 2" is headed as well. As luck would have it, while I have had these trucks "out of commission", numerous opportunities have surfaced. This will give me good excuse to bring the last company truck to Abilene. Last week, I made the trip two different days to pick up the remaining truck but with no result. The closest I came was on my way back to Abilene I met it on the road pulling a fertilizer tanker. I was not a happy camper. I had received a call from "Trick" last week inquiring about license tags at which time I told him I had the tags for it in Abilene and inquired as to "why" they might need tags for it. I went on to tell "Trick" that his inquiry only fueled my speculation that some improprieties were going on. Over the last three months it would appear that this has been a repeated process and Black Sheep has never been compensated for the use of it's trucks. I had even told Fred that Black Sheep would entertain a flat rate lease (instead of a percentage) for power units if he was short. Now it would appear this is a conspiracy that extends beyond Fred and the mechanic into the office and even into payroll and payables.

Anyhow, the owners of Black Sheep are wanting to report the final truck as "missing", and I can't blame them. My only argument is that the only person who will be inconvenienced is the elderly gentleman who I saw driving it. He will be the one wearing the stainless steel bracelets.

The biggest problem I have with this is that Fred had three trucks sitting the very day I saw them running the last Black Sheep truck. I'm not being difficult but you can't run these trucks up and down the road for nothing. Wear and tear, tires, maintenance. It all costs.

The company travel trailer comes out of the shop today. K.O. and I made a trek out there yesterday. In fact, they told me to show up mid afternoon to pick it up. Once again I am feeling like Earl. Getting things done! I am arguing with myself if it was the right call. When this trailer was originally leased it was leased knowing there were some issues. One had to be corrected within a week, the other major issue was at the head of this repair trip. After the purchase option was exercised, I had talked with the O.M. and the "CO" about whether it was best to repair or trade the trailer. I had located a newer used travel trailer while we were on the job, in fact it was four feet larger with one additional slide out. This doesn't sound like much but it would be an increase of about 10% of existing trailer space. Ultimately I didn't have to worry about it, but it didn't bother me. The environment on the jobsite is so harsh I have a real problem taking something nice out there, I don't know if I would be able to take something new. Man, they have some really nice trailers on the market.

I am beginning to get antsy. I need a little more purpose in my daily routine. I guess I am needing more structure. I am not sure what the future holds. My job of last summer is coming open in less than thirty days. Situations have changed, the closing of the can manufacturer has changed the complexion of what my job was, changes within the core customer have magnified the alterations in what my job would be. I do know that later in the summer if things continue to progress I should have the opportunity to put together a "new" program again. It seems this is much of what I have done the past two years. I have also been told that if I want to go to South Texas the opportunity is there through one of the other contractors at the Fall jobsite. I just don't know if I am ready to "go" again.

I am hoping to do some fence repair today. In our absence the house sitter was paid twice for securing lawn services. Upon her termination (because of non-performance) we contracted with a service to scalp the lawn, trim the hedges, trim the trees, clean flower beds, and take soil samples for analysis. The biggest requirement by Krl was that they had to bag the grass. Late last week Krl had seen the service down the street and told them how disappointed she was in their work. The following day she and a neighbor were on the back porch when they heard a loud noise and then a man with a mower came into view. Just as he ran over a water hose Krl shut him down. Of course he had a mulching mower with no bag and he confessed they had not caught the clipping when they were there earlier either. Turns out, when they wanted in the back yard they just rammed the gate, breaking eight fence palings. Krl terminated them on the spot even though the back yard man's accomplice was half done mowing the front yard. These men were only employees of the service. TRC's cell phone is the contact number the lawn service has and the owner has called her wanting the job back but he hasn't had the guts to come by the house. This could be interesting. My money is on Krl.

Deal or no deal?

Be the real deal.

FATHER, be a part of my day.

If you want something done right, do it yourself!

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Dun deal.

Be the real deal!

The dreaded hour has come again. I had been so pleased that I had consistently slept past the "two in the morning" time span that used to see me getting my day up and running. Now the last two nights guess what? It's back!

When you are on a jobsite that is going around the clock, seven days a week, insomnia or erratic sleep habits can be a blessing. The shifts can never guess when you are going to be coming through their part of the compound. When the work is over and you get to come home to re-charge you sure don't need to be awake in the middle of the night.

Yesterday was used to work on workforce unemployment applications. So far I have received two claims (Oh, I am confident there will be more coming). One of these gentlemen did it as a last second thought, just before he crossed into Mexico he filed for unemployment. Usually I don't make too big a fuss, but if he is going to draw unemployment benefits from over here, he needs to be "in" this country. The second former employee to file for unemployment benefits calls me quite regularly. I think it is a conditioned reaction to his guilt when he is not doing anything. This is an employee who I constantly had to look for because he was usually off visiting instead of where he was supposed to be. This employee has told me repeatedly that he plans on vacationing until mid summer. Of course he does have a court date coming up then end of this month. I responded to both of these unemployment claims honestly and openly. If it is a valid claim these people should be entitled to benefits but if they are abusing the system because they do not want to work, they need to be thrown out on their ear. I am also considering using their claim history as a contributing criteria in whether or not I hire them next year and it will definitely affect the pay rate.

When I left my last job, I took a cut in pay with hopes of some benefits (medical insurance). I had almost decided I had made a foolish mistake when things began to look better for this development.

With the demise of the family business, Krl and I lost our insurance coverages that were provided. By the time we became aware of the problem, we could not even salvage it to COBRA. Luckily, we have not had any serious or lengthy illnesses. I was able to use some of my prior contacts to direct my employer where to go in their search. A few years back I had received some quotes from multiple agents and I was always impressed with one gentleman in particular. He was very plain spoken, listens very well to what you want, and is extremely knowledgeable in his field. Three weeks ago he called with news. After five months of searching he had something worthy of a presentation. Friday morning we sign papers and in thirty days insurance will go into effect. Hooray! (Just in time because this ordeal has made me .... sick.).

It seems that what he was looking for is almost non-existent. A small group policy with only three enrolling employees, only one of which is enrolling their entire family. Talk about odd deals, most years the seasonal employees are not on the payroll long enough to qualify for insurance. This year eighteen employees would have qualified. I am not sure if this influenced the underwriters or not but evidently no one wants to write small group policies. I guess everyone wants to hit a home run. We were very up front about year round employees so I am hopeful that the wheels don't come off this proposal.

Yes!

I am really frustrated right now with quarterly reports. It seems like every time I get things set up, they change the way they want their information reported. (Which means my spreadsheets don't fit!). I received a new addendum with the first quarter 941 yesterday. In addition to the revised form (Jan. 2006), they are wanting me to provide a payroll tax liability schedule showing when and how much payroll tax liability was incurred. We have always been required to deposit taxes by the fifteenth of the following month. We have found it easier to deposit them weekly. The last check Krl writes for payroll every week is the payroll tax deposit. I am hopeful this is a one time deal for them to determine if our current deposit schedule is sufficient or should be changed. They are very clear in their instructions that they don't want to know when you made the deposits, they want to know how much was owed, when. Sounds like overkill to me.

I had an inquiry yesterday during a telephone conversation about Marvin. I hadn't thought about him in a while. It has been a long time since I talked with him (probably since the last time he collected his money). I popped his number up in my phone and called it and went right to voice mail with no recorded message. Last I heard he was living in Eagle Pass, rumors have him having moved across the border. Man, if I was going to live in Mexico it would be on the Mexican Riviera not on the Rio Grande.

No word on Ed yesterday. They were supposed to wake him up over twenty-four hours in CCU. I didn't go out yesterday because I knew all of his family was still in. Krl and I will return when the numbers dwindle and Pearl and Greg need a break.

Enough.

Be the real deal.

FATHER. Give me a double dose of YOU today.

I think we are going to have to return to the jobsite so I can rest.

I really had the best intentions when we returned from our Fall work (that lasted until Spring). Get all the needed equipment repairs done while it was fresh on my mind. I think this is going to kill me.

One truck needs very little. It's main repairs are for damage done when a machine operator at the compress dropped a bale on it. It mainly needs to go to the body shop for some cosmetic repair. Nothing major, but it needs to be fixed while it is fresh on all parties minds. (The compress has agreed to pay for the repairs). Problem is, this truck has decided not to start. We had absolutely no problem with it during the season but brought it in and parked it for twenty-four hours and the problem surfaced. It may have been there, but not have been noticeable since the truck was running twenty-four/seven. It took an act of congress just to remove the batteries. We have maintained and charged them and finally found one that will not hold a charge overnight. All of the batteries are Exide's and are twelve to fourteen months old. I am shopping around a for a bargain and if it is good enough I will replace all of them. I would like to have a brand where I know someone who I can "eyeball" if there is a problem. I am afraid the one battery that is bad might have damaged the others. We will see. I guess I could do a consumer test and put all different brands and then record and publish my findings. Hmmmm. Maybe I can get a research grant.

The other truck is another story. Prior to going to the jobsite last Fall I spent almost a month tinkering with stuff. I realize that this little truck has worked it's butt off the last couple of years, but is is amazing the poor maintenance that the drivers have done. From as simple a task as a truck wash to a light lens replacement, these drivers have been pathetic in their attempts. Add to this the fact that many problems are not mechanical in nature but the result of lack of respect and stupidity on the driver's part. From painted windows (I guess this is a Mexican version of window tinting) to leaving screws out of or loose in the dash to letting objects ride on the dash (that ended up falling into the defroster ducts and lodging in the blower motor fan) to hot wiring the radio CD player to a boom box. Some of it is simply unbelievable. I would bet you that at one of these driver's home you when you turn the light on in the bathroom, the toilet flushes.

Probably the most frustrating thing was the stereo. I can understand if a guy spends ten or twelve hours a day alone in a vehicle, he needs his "toons". Early in the season one of the drivers told me he was about to vapor lock because the radio/CD player had quit. I made it a point to go to Midland and pick up an exact replacement. The driver did a swap (I put the remaining screws in it yesterday, thank you) and everything was cool, for a brief while. The next complaint was that the speakers had quit, enter the aforementioned boom box. Upon this driver moving to another truck, the drivers who moved into this truck wired the speakers to a single four inch speaker lying on the truck dash using the fifteen foot speaker wire which was hanging from the ceiling. Yesterday I decided to purchase new speakers and install them myself. I decided against the high end speakers and got a lower mid-range set of speakers. After a couple of hours messing with wiring harnesses I became very frustrated to find that the new speakers did not work. Turns out one of my rocket scientist driver's had a sharp ear and needed to adjust the bass, treble, balance and fade. This is only a two speaker system because there is no bunk or sleeper on this truck but the driver had adjusted the "fade" to the two speakers the system didn't have. Upon that discovery, the old speakers worked. I'm going to write that down, don't take the driver's word for anything (the speakers weren't blown out).

Right now I am awaiting some parts that the dealer had to order in. They should arrive Thursday or Friday. Three more hours and I think I will be done. Half a day on these two and we can bring in the last truck.

I went to Roaring Springs one afternoon earlier in the week. I rode up with a friend who was going to a business there. It was one of the small "stripper" oil mills. (I don't really understand why they call it that, they perform the same task the larger mills do). It was an interesting excursion. I was very impressed with the low number of employees (2) and the use of every part of the product they were milling.

During the trip to Roaring Springs I received a call from one of my former employees. He was telling me that the burr contractor from the Fall jobsite was in the hospital in Abilene and that they would be doing bypass surgery Tuesday morning. Since the hospital he is in is less than a mile from my house I made a dash over there Monday evening. It seems that while were were at the jobsite Ed had an episode but chose not to share it with anyone, including Pearl or Greg (his wife or son). After returning home to Coleman he had a bull get out and he went to retrieve it and had another episode, which he told Pearl about, and they immediately went to the hospital. They determined he had 95% blockage in three arteries and sent him to Abilene for bypass surgery. I had met a couple of his brothers previously, but I got to meet the whole crew. One bright spot was Tuesday afternoon Krl and I went by about the time he was supposed to be out of surgery (which they hadn't even taken him in) and I got to see Milton, the contractor's younger brother. Milt and I used to be pretty good buddies when he worked at the job compound. He has since moved on to bigger and brighter things, but it was a refreshing visit.

The surgery went very well, Greg reported late in the evening, and after about a week in the hospital Ed will be released. He is expected to make a full and complete recovery.

I have to go back to the jobsite either today or tomorrow. (Don't ask me why I think it has to be one of those days). Julio has finally moved into "plant housing" and I can retrieve the last company travel trailer. I am "waiting to exhale". This will be the last scheduled trip out until late June or early July.

It would appear that when I am ready to go to work I will have an opportunity to work on an interesting project. I will know more about it after the seventeenth of this month. My friend I have helped the last couple of years is in the negotiation process with a new company which is coming to town. These negotiations have been going on for several months but it appears to be coming down to the short rows. If it continues to progress, my friend may very well move his operation here depending on the second level negotiations with DCOA. I told him if assistance is available he needs to take advantage of it. The possibilities are tremendous. It will require considerable growth over the next few months which means more equipment, which means more employees, which means more fuel, which means more resources, which means more backing which means,........ lots of paperwork.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, I pray for safe travel. I ask for YOUR total peace. Settle me, calm me. FATHER I lift up Adam and his men. I lift up Memama, Pepa, Addie, Hag, Bets, Jess, Douglas, Jack, B., Lillie, Ashlyn Kate, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine and Ed for YOUR gifts of healing and care. I pray for those sad from loss and ask YOUR comfort for them. I pray for those of us who struggle to follow YOU. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. May we proclaim YOU!

Jesus died.

Again.

O.K., true confessions.

I didn't go to church last Sunday. Too much jet lag. But I did go today. I arrived early and assumed my customary seat and was reading the Highland Helper when the sponsoring Elder from our Sunday School Class stopped by. FYI, the name of the class is "Living Jesus". We conversed about how long Krl and I had been away at the jobsite and during the conversation he told me they had disbanded the class while we were away.

If I want to fluff myself I would say I was the glue that held things together but that wouldn't be true. This class always seemed to be feast or famine. It would vary in attendance from six to twenty-one to twenty-four. I will be the first to admit that it was a rag tag bunch, that was why it felt so "at home". Terry and Kurt took turns directing our study although I have been told earlier there were several different couples that participated in leading the class. Krl and I began attending this class almost two years ago. With the exception of time out of town at the jobsite, I probably had one of the better attendance record of class members. The class was a varied mix of couples with a sprinkling of single males and females, a widow, and other singles attending without their spouses. Many of the class had health and or emotional issues, some were public, some were private. I will admit, in the beginning I didn't care for the class. It wasn't my choice, it was Krl's. Initially I thought that this was a gathering of God's shortfalls of creation, but before long we came to love and appreciate each person for what they contributed to the group.

To be honest, Krl and I had talked about making a change while we were at the jobsite the last six months. In fact we had discusse at length the possibility of changing churches as well as classes, but that is another story. In our class there was a couple, one of which used to be an employee of Krl's in a previous job, who had offered Krl a position which she accepted. Long story short, there were some improprieties going on at this man's work place and he had hired Krl to appease his wife who wanted someone there to police activities. Needless to say, it was not a good situation and after a brief time Krl quit. This couple never forgave her for quitting. The couple had quit attending class and we were wondering if it was because of us, and since they were charter members of the class. Krl and I would have moved rather that be a deterrent to them.

It is really bothering me that the class was dis-banded. I don't think you dis-band a class, you might merge it with another but disbanding seems wrong. It almost seems like survior, "You need to find another class, the votes have been counted!" There are a number of small issues I have. I worry for some of the class, will they move on? Will they quit coming? What happens to the class benevolent funds? Is it accounted for? Who made these decisions and at who's direction?

Could Krl and I have walked away? I don't know. Would we have many of the same misgivings that we have "having been walked away from".

I understand that many things have happened during our absence. One class member is incarcerated (for what I don't know, no one volunteered any info), other class members felt a need to change circles because of their children becoming "social age". I was told others needed to expand their scope. I don't know where I fit in this mix.

The only thing I know for sure is, "Jesus died". Again.

6,934 e-mails.

We've been gone for 6 months. When we return I have an error message saying that my mail server is full and mail is being returned to sender.

You'd think these folks would get the message.

It makes me want to hack a bullet and send it back to them.

Lots of subject lines are filled with comments like "in regard to your inquiry last week ...."

Baloney!

Krl and are are fighting a stomach bug. We have different methods of dealing with it. My personal favorite is spicy hopped up mexican food with plenty of jalepenos. Ie:.... you just think you feel bad. This is how bad it could get.

Krl is cleaning closets. Lrn is getting ready for a huge garage sale which will benefit the AHS cheerleaders. Krl is too small to wear most of her clothes, I am to big to wear most of mine. Maybe we should trade. Bodies that is. I am donating a pair of full quill ostrich boots. These were a gift several years ago. The box says $700+. I have worn them less than a dozen times. They have a riding heel instead of a walking heel and they have just never been comfortable. These were a gift from the rogue equipment dealer who helped to take down the family business. I wish I had stepped in manure with them, I would send them back to the giver. They probably wouldn't appreciate it though, they have an endless supply of ....... manure.

I didn't do anything yesterday! Except get out of the house late to go get ..... mexican food.

I continue to comprise my list of things to do. I am also putting together a list of things I want to do and probably more importantly a list of things I don't want to do.

The main thing I don't want to do is spend money, which is somewhat easier since I don't have any.

My goal for the week is to finish the first quarter reporting. Workforce, 941, 940, and Accident insurance. Actually all of the reports feed off the same info and if I can get organized enough to find that disc.......... it will be a piece of cake.

Of course I still have lots of physical labor I can do. Currently this is therapeutic. It just amazes me how no one ever does anything and yet equipment always has things that need fixing. I am also finding that one former employee who thought he was a master mechanic was a whiz at southern engineering. Give him a roll of tape, a bottle of glue and a can of paint and he could put a smiley face on the world. Two days this past week have been dedicated to undoing what he did.

Friday, and all eyes are on the clock.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, I need a lot of help here.

I'm still alive. At times this has been questionable, but alas I am still kicking.

Talk about a thrash!

The 29th was just that. Trucks began to arrive early. I had held two employees over to help in the mass exodus, but I would've needed twenty. Needless to say, when trucks arrived they had to wait as we worked them into the mix.

Krl and I arrived home (at the "summer house") about six-thirty Wednesday evening. We looked much like a convoy (I was #4, Krl was #5 for all but the last fifty miles) as Charles was in one of the trucks bringing our trailer to the house to be unloaded before dashing it off to storage and the shop. Trace and the girls had given Krl specific instructions not to go in the house until they were over. As it turned out this was a long wait as we had to secure the trailer and get everything ready to "weather the night". Power cords had to be stretched and connected to preserve everything that remained in the freezers and refrigerators that we had brought in. Finally Charles was unhooked and headed back to Sweetwater with his power unit, Brently had arrived and Krl and I were allowed to tour the house.

Wow!

Trc did excellent. I really think she could make a lot of money decorating if she wanted to. Every single thing was perfect. All the accents, painstakingly thought out and put together. It is simply unbelievable. We took about an hour touring and then the girls broke out the pizza(s). I told them "Let's hurry up and eat so we can get gone before the people that live here get back!"
It is much like coming home to a new house. There are a few odds and ends that Trc still wants to do inside, but it is 99.9% completed. The workers have much to do on the outside as they have just barely began.

It has been wild and wooly since our return. Trying to get things put up and stowed away has been an enormous task. Krl has been doing most of the work at the house while I have been trying to get everything else put into storage, the shop, or just doing maintenance that needs to be done while it is fresh on my mind. Today was an all day sucker as I took the RV to the shop, took Blacksheep 2 to be washed, adjusted brakes and other sundry projects before I parked it. Hopefully next week it will have its time in the shop. A couple of wheel seals, a seal in the turbocharger, a compressor gasket, a new front bumper, and a little cosmetic work to remedy the damage the white tail deer did. (I think the guys hit six or eight deer with this single unit).

Other parts of my day were consumed with Blacksheep 22. I think one battery is going bad and late in the afternoon I finally finished removing the air farings where I could "eyeball" the batteries. It was at this juncture I discovered they keys were missing, so it required me to spend the rest of my day back tracking everywhere I had gone trying to find them. Thankfully I was successful. Stupid, but successful. I think that I have been juggling about seven or eight different key rings so this was bound to happen. The alarming thing was this key ring held one key that we have no duplicate. There is not a single key cutter in town that can reproduce this key. The only way to get a duplicate is to go to the dealership, provide proof of ownership (or responsibility) , give them the vehicle Id# and then wait for the key to shipped. I am almost scared to ask price but Krl thinks we should get another key for both BS22 and BS222.

It was only today that I was able to find enough computer parts to get back on line. I'm, not at a hundred percent, I am limping along with a makeshift mouse and this is the second or third key board I have tried. I guess if there was a flaw in our house project it was that Trc and her help were not "computer savvy". There is one big box of computer cords, power supplies, "mice", and what nots. It has been a chinese fire drill, but I am not complaining. I appreciate what she did!

I guess I am going through a post season funk. I am battling depression, some kind of cold or flu and generally suffer from the "don't want toos". If I felt really energetic I would probably go to Lubbock either Thursday evening or early Friday as my "bud" Frank is receiving an award at the Texas Cotton Ginners Convention Friday morning. One thing for certain, he holds the bragging rights this year! Congratulations Frank!

Since Krl and I vacated the job compound so quickly we did not get to do our end of season celebration with Frankie and Nancy, Becky and Ricky, and Kristy and Alan. I had told Krl that we could stay an extra couple of days and all of us go to town and out for dinner. She worked it with all the wives that they will come to Abilene at a future date, either as a group or single couple and we will go out. I figure some of them might need some recuperating time after the barbecue and celebration Tuesday a week ago. That party was way to close to the trailer park and lasted way too long as far as us residents were concerned.

Well, stick a fork in me. I am done.

Be the real deal.

FATHER, for YOUR love.