All the rest of you can remain in bed. You have my personal guarantee that I will fiend off any attacks that might be coming from the worms.

I have collected so many worms, as in "The early bird gets the worm", that I would love to turn that responsibility over to someone else. But, for some reason I can't.

Three mornings in a row, shortly after three (Uh oh, there is that defining number again) I have awakened. Try as I might I cannot go back to sleep. I had tossed and turned so fitfully that the little houndgirls fled to Krl's side of the bed. So now, close to six in the morning, I have already read the online newspapers I usually read, I have read and responded to my e-mail, and I am trying with all my might to find something else to do besides delve into my day!

You know this might not be too bad. I could have my eight in before noon if I continue to wake so early.

My yesterday was not very productive. I spent part of the morning reviewing pay summaries for 2008. Then I began taking inventory of forms. Once I had that count I was pretty comfortable with where I was at, but decided to count the pay summaries. Much to my dismay, I did not have enough W-2 forms. Krl and I had picked up the forms in November when we made a quick jaunt to Staples in Midland. This package contained 25 forms, but I needed 39. I even went back to my computer to check and make sure all of those employees had wages in 2008. I was surprised by the number of employees we had through the year.

Just to be on the safe side, I decided to check on W-9's. It would appear we have an adequate supply of them since we only used twelve sub-contractors during 2008.

I needed to run a couple of errands, so I slipped my boots on and made my way to the garage. When I saw Krl's SUV, I remembered the left rear tire was low. Apparently we had run over a nail or something and it had a very slow leak. I returned to the house and got the keys to her ride and loaded my stuff up. As my luck would have it, my two errands were all the way across town from each other. One on East business 20, the other on West business 20. The tire shop was smack dab in the middle.

Surprisingly, the were no cars at the tire shop. Zero. Zilch. I went in and told them what I needed and immediately, the SUV was in one of the bays. They made quick work of our problem.

I continued East to my destination, went in, wrote a check and began my westward jaunt. When I arrived at my second destination it wasn't as quick as my first one, but they found my paperwork quickly.

I thought these errands had gone so well I would try to stretch my luck and pick up the needed W-2 forms. I went to my choice of the major office supply stores in town only to find they wanted me to buy software I already have, to get the forms. All I needed were the forms, yet I didn't see one single package of W-2's without software. They called it W-2 Suite. Of course the price was about double what the forms would cost by themselves, so I rebelled and left the store. Against my better judgement, I decided to go to the other major office supply in town. This store is my all time low performer for office supplies. It's name begins with the word Office and ends in the word Max, and it is rivaled for the bottom only by Office Depot in Midland.

It was no surprise to me when they didn't have what I needed.

I called Krl and asked her to call the salesman who use to call on us at the family business. She did and sure enough, they had the needed forms, without any software. So I made the drive all the way into downtown to retrieve my forms. They probably weren't as cheap as my first stop might have been if they had them, but a bird in hand is worth three in the bush.

Crazy thing was, by the time I made a stop at the grocery store and drove home I had been gone about four hours. And I wonder what happened to my day?

Krl wasn't feeling well late yesterday, so we did a tag team supper. She had called giving me two choices for supper and I threw in one more possibility. She chose my suggestion. So we cooked hamburger steaks with onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms served with brown gravy, whole kernel corn, creamed potatoes, and biscuits. It was great!

It had been a long time since I had done some of the meal preparations I did last night. Probably before we left for the seasonal work. It was fun. I find that I enjoy cooking, and when Krl and I work together we can turn out some pretty tasty dishes!

Actually, we need to take a couple of nights off from cooking to get rid of some left overs. I know we have a couple of casseroles that are probably beginning to move toward the door.

Yesterday, when I was running my errands, I noticed smoke on the Northern horizon. The longer I was out, the more intense the smoke became. Probably about three in the afternoon I received a call from Chris at NAPA. He wanted to know what road my buddy K.O. lived on because they had a big grass fire going in the general area Northeast of Hawley. I told him K.O. lives off FM 3326 and Cr 360. "Oh", he responded, "I thought it was something 26. The fire is on a 1226." I decided to call my buddy just to check. Lucky for them, the fire was a distance to the East.

The Abilene Distorter News reports this morning that the fires continued to burn into the night and had consumed 2500 to 3000 acres, 7 homes, 2 vehicles, and various other structures. Many people were trying to get their cattle from the path of these fires.

I can remember taking a course at ACU about Rural/Urban sociology and we took a field trip one night to go 'coon hunting in the Hawley area. There is an abundance of shinery, so thick you can't get through it, and of course this area is pretty sandy soil as well. Those factors in their own right would make fighting a fire in the area difficult, add in many acres of coastal hay fields and it would make for a nightmare. And that is exactly what they have experienced.

I have experienced a house fire and I can tell you it is an experience you can live without. Whatever doesn't burn,the smoke gets. Years afterward, you still can get an occasional whiff of smoke.

Well, I have delayed my day long enough. I'm going to take the plunge into it!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for a gorgeous day yesterday. I pray for rain. FATHER, for my friends and family that farm, and for relief from the dry, parched, conditions. I pray for those who battled yesterday's fires and for those who suffered loss. Help us to benevolent and sensitive to their needs.