Well, my yesterday did not get the memo about the itinerary. What I hoped for and what I got were not even vaguely alike.

Realize that we did get a lot accomplished. Just not the lot that I hoped.

The man from the axle surgeon arrived as expected, only to find the inside diameter of the axle on Pepa's trailer and the outside diameter of the new stub axle he planned to install would not work together. The outside diameter was a half inch greater than the inside diameter, so the stub would not slide into the housing.

What amazed me was this was discovered after he had cut off the old axle. He told me, we don't have to do this. I looked at the cut off spindle and then at him and said, "I would have to say you are committed!"

I had already determined a course of action and figured I could have his stub in and out of the local machine shop in a couple of hours. Instead this man tried to tell me they were building a stub specifically for this axle.

Bunk!

He spent a couple of hours prep-ing the axle housing for when the stub arrives. When it does it will take about an hour to install. Lasers will be used to align the stub with the other end.

He has assured me the repair will have a lifetime warranty, guaranteed to be aligned.

My little mad man driver worked on unit #244 yesterday. A fan sensor, fan belts, a/c belt and some headlight adjustment screws. Then he tried to shore up a fiberglass fender that has been mistreated. If things don't pick up we may get a little fiberglass resin and some webbing and take this repair a little further.

We had been trying to find a water leak on the mad man's truck. Yesterday we found it. We removed a reservoir to find a bolt holding it had barely rubbed on the upper radiator tank. Barely, but for long enough to wear a small hole. I decided to give southern engineering a try. We cleaned the area, coated a small screw with epoxy, installed the screw and epoxied over and around the screw. We made the decision that the driver would take a different truck home so the epoxy could cure properly over the weekend.

Just about the time we were finishing our day (we thought), Pepa asked if we would help him put his duals (tires and wheels) on his farm tractor. I knew that he had loaned out one of his tractors and the borrowers had removed the duals for their use and they were supposed to show this week to put them back on, but it was Friday and appeared they had been be no shows! So, my truck driver got the forklift, I hooked the service trailer to my pickup and to the North end of the barn we went. In about thirty minutes we had the duals on Pepa's 8310.

We were gathering tools and wood blocks to put them in their appropriate places when Pepa told me, "You know Brent and his people were supposed to put those on, I was really talking about my other big tractor."

I stopped and asked him, "Do you want us to put the duals on your other tractor?"

"Yes!" he replied.

I went to get the other tractor and my driver began getting the duals ready. Talk about a mess, there were eight more dual tires and wheels leaned up against the box car, some of them flat, some of them cut. It appears they have been mixed and matched, and there was no way to properly determine which ones went on each particular tractor, so finally we picked a pair that were aired up and we installed them.

It only put me an hour and a half behind when I thought I was leaving the shop. I told Krl about us putting the duals on the first tractor and then Pepa telling me he really wanted the duals on the other one and she said, "And he just let ya'll put them on?"

We both had to laugh.

Well, our party is a week away. If everyone does their part it will be easy. So just do it!

I decided we would take the day off today. I plan on taking Krl to get haircut. This means while she is getting her hair cut, I will get to pick up anything we need from Wal-Mart. I may be dumb, but I am not stupid!

We are planning a trip to the grocery store, our first big groceries since we returned from the jobsite (except for Christmas dinner). If things go well, we may try to eat out! I still have that hankering for something, I just don't know what.

I did notice Krl has a ham steak laid out to thaw. She has a big pot of Lima beans cooked already, so we may end up coming home.

Yesterday for lunch Memama fixed meatloaf that resembled chicken strips. Actually she was mixing her meatloaf and dumped in a container's contents she thought was bell pepper only to learn it was broccoli. She had to change her menu abruptly.

Yesterday morning when I left our house, I had plans of going to the jobsite to pickup one of the two remaining travel trailers. I drove down Buffalo Gap Road to check gas prices and fill up. When I pulled in I reached in my pocket to retrieve some cash only to find it was not in my pocket. I checked every pocket, knowing that the previous day I had broken a hundred dollar bill. I was and am positive I had a fifty and a five folded together. I grabbed a credit card and filled my pickup, and decided I would drive home to see if when I put my change, keys and pocket knives in my clean jeans I had forgotten the cash. No such luck! I thought back to my previous day, and the only time I was in that pocket was to get out my pocket knife inside the farm shop. I thought maybe I pulled it out too, and it was laying in the floor of the shop. Not so. When I arrived at the shop and searched for the missing money my mad man driver asked what I was doing and I told him about the money. He assured me if he had seen me drop it he would have told me.

I hate to lose money like that. I am still hopeful it will surface. If you lose it you might as well have burned it or splurged on something you didn't need. Last time something like this happened Prissy had eaten part of a bill, but enough was left to trade it in at the bank for a new bill.

Hey I can hope!

Have a weekend!

FATHER, I can understand YOUR hope that, that, which is lost will return. Praise be to YOU!