Yesterday was a long day. A little road time, looking at equipment, delivering some things to my Mom and Pat, ate lunch with Memama and Pepa, and made a stop by Fred's office. By the time I got home, it was about six thirty. Krl and I made a run to the mail box, by a storage facility and picked up supper and a lotto ticket on the way home. Gotta keep swingin' for the fences! When we returned to the house I wanted to check the web reporting on Bill Cowher's resigning from the Steelers. After a while Krl brought me the phone and I had an extended conversation with a former co-worker. Finally, about nine-thirty I sat down and ate supper. By then Krl and the houndgirls had already been to bed once.

Yesterday was a very trying, tiring day. It was mental, and everyone knows I am playing with a short deck there. I find myself very tense from walking the tight rope trying to be politically correct and not say or do anything that might upset the delicate balance. I had told Memama that sometimes I feel like I receive far more information than I need or want and that I feel like sometimes people want me to filter it and decide what needs to be passed on and what needs to be held back. I don't like it because it puts me in the middle and makes the hair stand up on my neck! It is difficult when someone is riding the high of a fortunate opportunity that has come to fruitation and they preface it by saying, please don't tell me this is going to mess up someone else's plans.

Krl had a brunch date yesterday with a friend. The friend had called and set it all up earlier in the week. About twelve-thirty, Krl called her and asked, "Did I mis-understand?"

"What?", her friend replied.

Krl said, "I thought we were having brunch."

Her friend replied, "Oh, I forgot! Can we do this when the kids are back in school?"

"Sure", Krl said.

This is about the sixth time this has happened. What Krl didn't tell this friend is "don't hold your breath". This friend's husband worked with Trc when she re-did the house, and we got to be friends as the project was completed. This couple is displaced from Colorado and has a limited circle of friends in their new community. Last summer, they hit a difficult time, he wasn't working and we pre-paid him for some work here at the house. It remains to be completed. We had asked him to finish it while we were out of town and to contact Trc to make arrangements. Shortly after that, Krl's friend took a night shift job and wanted to borrow some gas money 'til she got some tips the next day or two. Still hasn't happened. We aren't talking a huge amount of money, but there was a time late last summer when we were sucking wind. This couple has five kiddos and through the summer, if I was home I would kringe at the ringing of the door bell as it would usually mean an unannounced visit from Krl's friend and her kids plus a couple of extras. It seemed they always arrived in swim attire, needing towels, and it was always around lunch. The husband/dad had wanted to accompany us to the seasonal work. I told him I would give him the opportunity, but when it came time to go he decided not to. He had taken another job or so he said. Now it seems as though they cannot remember what they told us and we keep getting new versions. I am not optimistic about the pre-paid work ever being completed and I am not optimistic for this friendship. It seems to have crossed the lines. My first guideline for a friendship is honesty. Second guidline is courtesy.

I may have to subscribe to that modified old adage, "No good deed goes un-punished".

I caught part of a program early yesterday, linking weight gain and obesity with sleep disorders. We have known for some time that I need to go through a sleep study. We just haven't been able to afford it. Now that I have insurance it is probably a more realistic possibility. I have three family members who have been diagnosed with sleep disorders. For years I hovered around the weight I was when I graduated high school. Sometimes I was below it, sometimes slightly above. When I quit smoking about five years ago, I was thirteen pounds over my high school weight. The last couple of years you can add about another twenty or twenty-five pounds to that, and I'm not happy with that. After watching the program segment yesterday, Krl and I briefly talked about the possible link, because during this same time period my erratic sleep behavior has spiked. Maybe I could be in a study! My question is would I be a sleep study participant or would I be a "control" patient. Isn't that scary if I'm the normal one in that group!

Yesterday, after Krl was stood up for her brunch date, we discussed the possibility of going out to dinner. I made the comment that being a Friday, either we went before or after the rush or we would have to be willing to wait. A few weeks ago we went to Abuello's at nine and still had a wait. When I arrived home, Krl was still dressed for her date. I told her I needed to change clothes and asked where she wanted to go. She told me I had talked her out of it because it would be crowded. I figure it was a combination of my tardiness, the possible wait, and the new smoking ordinance that influenced her decision. I still like to see her dolled up and take her out! When she agreed to ride with me to pickup take out for dinner, I was elated. It was one of those dream dates, driving through the drive thru and back to the house. You can imagine my thoughts as Krl went to slip into something more comfortable!

She loves those pink flannel footie pajamas with the purple owls!

Maybe, just maybe, over the weekend I can take her out for mexican food. We have both been craving it! So if you happen to be in one of these restaurants and see me, I will be the one with the woman in the pink footie pj's.

I don't know why, but I have found myself looking forward to the weekend. I guess I am adjusting back to civilization. Of course anytime we are at the jobsite, it doesn't matter what day of the week it is or whether it is day or night.

Krl and I had been wanting to trim the trees and shrubs at the house. I told her I didn't have the equipment we needed to get way up in the trees. Although we have paid for a multitude of chainsaws over the years, we don't have one. We don't have a trailer to haul the pruned brush away, and it would mean a trip to the recycling center (if they are open) or a trip to the land fill. So I put it on paper, I could buy a cheap chain saw, I could buy a ladder, I could rent a trailer, I could fall out of a tree ...... . ....... .. .

I used some Christmas money and called the tree service my Dad uses. Four hours later it was done, and when I arrived last evening I was pleased and even had one neighbor stop to compliment the job and inquire as to who the service was. It is amazing how having the right equipment makes the job a breeze.

Hey, if money were no object, I would have bought me a lumberjack special, souped up chain saw, and a rocket pack (forget the ladder). I would have looked like the bottle rocket that went awry, spinning and swirling into space!

Sometimes not having money isn't a bad thing.

Have a day!

FATHER, may we always find joy and comfort in the simple things.