The Eagle Sys says 7 days!

Yesterday morning Frank told me this last eight thousand bales was going to be the longest eight thousand bales we have ever ginned. So far we have processed 172,500+ bales. I probably wouldn't believe it had I not been present for this exercise! I will testify as to authenticity for every single one of the white rectangular shaped bales that has exited the plant and been loaded onto trailers for shipping!

Frank and the GM's decided to forgo the scheduled maintenance Sunday today, so we have seen two days of happenings that seem to be out of sync. Friday night my on the ground people changed shifts, and yesterday the saw people came and changed the saws in the gin stands.

What that meant was that the gin spent most of the day working at three quarter capacity. They would take one gin stand down, replace the saws and get it back on line before moving to the next stand.

For those of you who aren't familiar with what I am talking about. The gin stands are what separates the seed from the lint, and if it is stripped cotton the gin stand will take any burrs or sticks that have made it through the overhead stick machines and pre-cleaners. The gin stands here are Continental 161's. This means each gin stand has 161 saw discs. The discs are 16 inches in diameter and have about 8 points or teeth per inch. The discs are mounted on a shaft or drum with spacers in between and when positioned in the gin stand, each saw operates between two "ribs". The saws actually pull the cotton through, separating the seed from the lint. The seed drops into an auger conveyor and the lint is routed out the back of the gin stand into the lint cleaners behind the stand that will clean the lint prior to it going to the press to be baled.

In the time it took me to type the above paragraph, the gin would have processed two 500 pound bales of lint and three-quarters of a ton of seed. Each gin stand would have to process one fourth of this as there are four gin stands. It is a rapid process!

The reason the gin replaces the gin saws is because they become dull, which slows down the ginning process and adversely affects the producer's turnout. Out here the saws are replaced about every twenty-thousand bales.

The process of changing the gin saws gave my truckers a false sense of security and this morning we have bales on the ground.

On a good note, Rian went home from the hospital yesterday. His new doctors found an effective pain relief regiment and decided to let him go home. Some of the diagnostic procedures they had scheduled have been postponed a week or two. If things continue to go well, Rian will go in Monday and they will remove his catheter. It is hard to believe this minor procedure has stretched into nine days.

When I last talked with Rian yesterday, he was enjoying being home with Erica and the boys. He did make a wise decision and stayed home instead of going to Reid's T-ball game.

Maple Syrple and I are going to have to have a talk. She loves to sleep with me. I have decided it is as bad as sleeping with a small infant though, you sleep with one eye open to keep from rolling over on or hurting the baby. The problem with Miss Maple is that she is a cuddler. I move away, she cuddles up against me and before I know it I have to go to the other side and the process begins all over.

Last night I had Maple behind me and Black dog was on the floor right next to me.

I am a popular person, at least in some circles.

Krl and I were trying to work our pantry inventory down prior to the move home. I think we may have cut it too close on some items though because we discovered last evening we were out of one of our staples (like Bush's baked beans). I have also calculated that we will be about three gallons short on our R.O. water.

This week I will begin to put together an exit strategy. I will determine what trailers will go home in what order and where their destinations will be. I will let one of the big trucks take our big travel trailer to our house to be unpacked and cleaned before it is stripped and repainted and re-carpeted. Then it may go to Lake Brownwood for the summer. I have talked with a gentleman about renting a spot there. This might be a good year to do it because it is going to be a short time frame. (Usually it goes into a storage facility from January to September.). It would be only four months of rent to have a lake place. I'm just not too sure if we would use it that much.

I have begun to think about life after cotton ginning. Pat and I need to talk about my schedule at the NAPA store. I would love to work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays. Of course there would be other times I would probably have to work when someone else is off. This schedule would allow me to do my weekend traveling.

It appears my summer will be full of activity with truck and tractor pulls. I already have seven shows tentatively booked for announcing and sled with a couple more just for announcing. The first show will take place on May 17th either in Trent or Sweetwater. The Trent FFA is doing it as a fund raiser for the second year in a row.

I did turn down a weekend booking Friday. I received a call from the President of the association wanting to schedule me for Vernon doing both the sled and the announcing the weekend of June 14th. I had already told them I would be gone from June 8th to June 17th. That is when Krl has scheduled her trip to Cozumel.

I wish we could get on the plane right now!

I did visit with Pat yesterday. They have been busy meeting with Hank's attorney and developing a plan for Hank's children. It seems that Hank's wife's estate wasn't totally settled and Hank was the executor, so the family members had to select a temporary executor to deal with that along with Hank's estate as well as appoint a temporary guardian for the kids. Pat said while Hank was in the process of doing a will and making his wishes known, his attorney said they did not have a finished product. About the only thing Hank had made provisions for was to be cremated. There is a visitation today at the funeral home. A memorial service Monday at the Baptist Church, and hopefully the body will be released by Thursday. Memorials to his church in lieu of flowers.

The FAA has come in and is doing an investigation, resulting in Hank's body having to be sent for autopsy. Pat said that should be nothing more than a formality. Preliminary findings are a valve that had backed off, they presume it just happened over time. So far nothing that Hank had done or any co-workers had done, have been tied to the accident.

I just got off the phone with Rian. He said he was hurting some but it has been since two-thirty this morning since he had any pain medication. I told him he may not want to go so long between taking it. Catching up might be a woolly bear!

I have been re-reading parts of the book The Secret. I find that I really enjoy the "Powerful Processes". Especially the "Process of Gratitude". This is something I have been trying to work on.

Hope you are having a great weekend! Have a blessed day!

FATHER, we continue to lift up Hanks family for YOUR comfort and care. We continue to lift Rian for YOUR gifts of healing. Help us to persevere, to be anxious in nothing. Instill in us that each day, each moment, is a gift. Bless-ed be YOUR name.