Very frustrated right now.

I have been working on several different business plans and none of them are coming together.

Arrrgh.

I just kind of feel like the wheels are coming off!

I spent yesterday at C-City working on the equipment acquisitions from May. I got one of them running, only for it to run out of fuel again. I have been tote-ing fuel to it five gallons at a time. However, someone must be climbing the fence and stealing fuel. To further complicate this, when the people that recovered the equipment for the bank parked this truck, they parked it on a severe incline and the fuel is running from the high side tank to the low side through the crossover line. When the fuel is gone, the fuel pick-up sucks air.

Dang the luck.

The other truck needed a fuel solenoid and I have it installed. I have batteries in the back of my pickup, but have yet to install them. To be honest, I figured if someone would steal fuel they might steal batteries.

I hate a thief.

Apparently the second truck has been relieved of it's fuel too.

I have spoken with the previous owner of the repossessed equipment and he informed me that both trucks had been full of fuel when he parked them. If this is correct, someone must think they hit the mother lode! That would mean over $1400 worth of fuel has been stolen.

Yikes!

Long time family friend Harold Haynes died yesterday. He was one of my favorites. For the last while he has had a very difficult go of it. I had talked or corresponded with two of the kids and both were pretty sure this was where things were headed, but no amount of time can fully prepare someone for this.

Well, let's get this day underway!

Have one!

FATHER, I pray you will lead me where you intend. Help me to figure out things. FATHER, I lift up Joe and Rebecca for YOUR miracle of healing. I lift up Harold's family for YOUR gifts of comfort and care.

Krl tells me I need to get a life.

I have developed a habit of doing 99% of my regular correspondence on Sunday afternoons. Yesterday was no different. I spent four hours writing three letters totaling ten pages, made a blog entry and a couple of Facebook posts.

I write regularly to Ollie (my youngest daughter who is in jail awaiting transfer to state jail), a friend serving time in TDCJ, and another friend who was just transferred to a halfway house from a Federal Facility.

I write these people because I want to support them and encourage them. I try not to be judgemental and I feel that all three are worth salvaging.

I guess that is why I catch myself cheering for Michael Vick. First of all I would love to see an area athlete do well (Kevin Kolb) but since he was injured in game 1 of the season and Vick was elevated to starter I have enjoyed watching Vick play.

No doubt Vick is talented. Gifted. Blessed.

No doubt he began believing all the headlines of a few years ago and was living big. Too big. We all know the story.

I am not making excuses for him or his behavior.

Hero to zero. It is only a step. And with that step he went from riches to rags. Bankrupted. No job. Creditors lined up.

When the Philadelphia Eagles gave him his chance, he was offered base salary plus incentives. Heavy on the incentives!

If there was ever a man destined to run a wildcat offense it has to be Michael Vick.

I suppose we will have to wait and see if the success goes to his head again. But I am hopeful.

As I am for my daughter and my two friends.

I wish the Cowboys had Vick instead of Romo.

C-City today! I have got to get those trucks to the farm.

Can you believe it? 50 degrees this morning! Fall is here! Bring it on!

Have a day!

FATHER, I pray for a blessed week, for a productive day today. I continue to lift up Rebecca, Joe, and Harold for your gifts of healing and care.

The last text I had received from Jason yesterday was over three inches of rain with rain still falling heavily at Roscoe. Earlier today I saw a Facebook post saying in Maryneal someone had received over six inches in eighteen hours.

Tremendous rain blessing!

I know, not for this year's crops, but for next year.

The old GM at the seasonal work use to tell me that while "good weather" for the harvest and ginning season was a great blessing, it was a huge detriment for the following crop.

And of course farmers are hard to please!

I am a hard to please football fan. Abilene Cooper won big. Abilene High got beat on a trick play in OT. Sweetwater won their homecoming game. Godley drilled Breckenridge while Munday marched over Roscoe. I was so hopeful that Arkansas would defeat Alabama (I really don't like Nick Saban), and it really didn't bother me that UCLA drummed the Texas Longhorns.

I was working on a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Roscoe Plowboys because they both need a win and someone would get some relief. I had received an e-mail from DMS earlier in the week that was so choice!

Here it is:

Training at the NFL's Cowboys stadium was delayed nearly two hours this morning, after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the ground.
Initially the NFL team thought it was a prank! Training was immediately suspended, while police and Homeland Security officials were called to investigate.
After a complete analysis, Dallas Police forensic experts determined that the white substance, unfamiliar to most of the players, was in fact, the goal line.
Practice will resume this afternoon after Police and Homeland Security decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again.

I thought that was very funny!

Well, Jimmy Johnson has begun flexing his muscles in the NASCAR chase for the Sprint Cup! I am so disappointed that no one wrecked Denny Hamlin. I am not a Kevin Harvick fan, but I agree with him standing up for RCR and his teammates.

Believe it or not, I have just completed my Sunday letter writing. Ten pages total, three recipients. Then my Facebook, then my blogger. Krl tells me I am going to have to get a life!

I talked with Rian the other day and Thursday he and the school counselor from Shallowater had to go to Perryton for their freshman and JV ball games. The principal and the superintendent didn't go. They left at 10:45am. for a 4pm. freshman game and a 6pm. JV contest. They returned home at 12:28am. Friday morning after traveling 489 miles. Wow, that is a little much for a during the week road trip!

Hope you had a good weekend!

I was thrilled with the gorgeous morning. Everything is pretty and clean from the rain blessing and a very moderate temp of 68 degrees this morning!

Lovely!

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR blessing of rain and the changing seasons! I lift up Rebecca, Joe, and Harold for YOUR miracle of healing and care.

Rain blessing!

I spent the week at the farm. We are planning on another application of Roundup, and we had hoped to begin earlier in the week. Wind prevented that, until yesterday. We are making a final application because Pepa and Jason's cotton is very young and we want to try to keep the weeds knocked down until harvest. So, we were jumping through hoops trying to do other things that were going to be coming up. One day we transferred chemical from the storage into our transport tote in preparation for friendlier conditions. That was they day that Erica and Baby MOses came by the barn.

This visit was a total surprise. I had no idea and Rian had kept it quiet. It seems that Erica's best friend moved to Salido and although they talk via the computer quite regularly, they still miss the daily interaction. Erica's friend and her husband and family had met Rian and Erica at the West Texas Fair Truck and Tractor Pull. It seems that on Wednesday Erica's friend had a doctor's appointment and her daughter, Baby MOses' girlfriend, was looking for transport for a visit to Lubbock with friends and family, so Erica and Baby MOses drove to meet her friends husband and daughter in Sweetwater. They were running far enough ahead of time that Erica called for refresher directions to get to the barn.

It was no accident I had left the big green tractor sitting in the door of the barn. When they arrived, Baby Moses told me "I like your big tractor!"

I told him I had been waiting for someone to help me park it back in the equipment line and asked, "Do you want to help me move the tractor?"

I didn't have to ask twice.

I sat in the companion seat and he sat in the big seat. I would reach across and bump the gear shift and he handled the driving. He sure is into turning and has a tendency to drift left. It was fun and once we were done he had to sit on the forklift. I know he knew he was missing a golden opportunity to get filthy. I guess that is the difference between going to the farm with Dad and going with Mom. I told Erica she must have a little country in her if she could find the barn!

We got the first cotton stripper out this week. We are contemplating running the old 484''s with no burr extractors for the first time in about five or six years. It would appear they are still the cheapest way to harvest your crop. Of course when harvest cost goes down, ginning goes up. The best price we have heard for burr extracted stripping is .075 per lint pound. That computes to $37.50 per bale (500 lb. bale). Yikes! I saw in last year's records that Pepa paid almost $16,000 for cotton harvesting last year!

My plans had been to work this coming week on the farm and then go to the gin job at Loop with the trucks for the next five or six weeks, and then hopefully have everyone trained enough that I could come in for eight to ten days to help strip Pepa's and Jason's cotton.

You know what they say about the best laid plans.

Well, Abilene High lost last night in double OT by 1 point. Godley put it on the Buckaroos 49-6 I think, the Sweetwater and Shallowater 'Stangs won homecoming games while Abilene Wylie lost another one. The Plowboys play at Munday tonight!

After the rains yesterday I had planned on working at C-City today. However when I check, it was still raining hard over there. Oh well, that should just mean that I will have opportunity Monday!

Have a weekend!

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR blessing of rain. FATHER, I pray that I will make good decisions. YOU are good. I lift up Rebecca, Joe, and Harold for YOUR gifts of healing.

Lots of laughter this week!

Thanks! I needed that.

I attended my High School Class reunion. They were billing this as our 40th, although it was only our 39th. Since Roscoe holds homecoming every three years, this was as close as we were going to get!

The reunion was hosted by classmate Nancy (Williams) Althof and her husband Daylon, at their home. Gorgeous place.

We have 42 people affiliated with our class. This is a greater number than those of us who walked across the stage to receive diplomas. We had several classmates that were in and out of our class. One preacher's daughter who probably was a classmate six to eight years, another classmate who went to elementary with us, then moved and returned in High School, yet moved prior to graduation. I suppose our motto should be, "Our class takes all!"

Of the 42, 5 are dead. That leaves a balance of 37 and of them, 16 attended the reunion. Sadly, many of the remaining classmates did not even respond.

Simply put, there wasn't enough time and I regret not attending the Friday function. It was good to re-connect.

Rian sent me a text earlier this week. The top ten Country and Western Songs of all time. I have narrowed it down to my favorites of the list.

1) It's hard to kiss the lips at night that chewed my ass all day!

2) My wife ran off with my best friend and I sure miss him!

3) She took my ring and gave me the finger.

and

4) I'm so miserable without you, it's like you're still here!

Pretty funny!

The other morning I was leaving the house early and noticed a neighbor's garage door going up. As I was fixing to pass, a female neighbor emerged, carrying some things to her car. She began to wave as I was passing, and it was about this time she realize she was clad only in T-shirt and unawares!

Luckily I didn't run over a fire hydrant or mail box! Although I was laughing!

I finished the strip tilling on the farm Tuesday afternoon. The remainder of Tuesday and half of Wednesday was spent getting the big plow ready to go home.

Jason and I were going to try to begin applying a final application of Roundup, but the weather was drizzle with an occasional rain shower, so we worked around the farm shop instead. We did get our first cotton stripper started and moved. Depending on the weather, we may get another one out today if we can't spray.

And, of all things for a Thursday I have jury duty! Municipal Court. Yuk! Even worse, 1 pm.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR gift of laughter!

Well, well. It has been a long week! I have much I need to do here at the house but I don't want to do any of it!

Top news of the week is that the silk purse experiment is ended and we still have our sows ear! Ha! Pat and I have laughed until we almost cried! Thing is we all knew what the end result would be, it just took a while to get there!

Oh well!

Let's see, other news, we attended DMS's 67th (oops, maybe that should have been 57th ha ha!) birthday party at the Firehouse Bar and Grill Wednesday night. Live band, lots of her friends. It was fun!

I go a return letter from a friend who lived between Freddy and I in college in the dorm. I didn't know if he would write me or not and of course there was the possibility I had the wrong man. (There were two in the Federal Prison registry with the same name). Turned out I was right on and it appeared my friend appreciated the letter. He is being moved the 21st of this month (this Tuesday) from Florida to a half way house in Austin, Texas prior to his release. He promised me the whole story when he is released. It was real interesting because on his envelope's return address it listed his full name, then P.O.A.-in-fact. I have an idea what that means but will ask him to be sure. Outside of that he only hinted at government corruption.

So that means I have heard from all three of the people who are incarcerated that I have been writing to.

But, I got a phone call yesterday from Ollie, scolding me. "It has been nine days since I got a letter from you!", she said.

I responded "I know, but I did send money to your inmate trust account! Doesn't that count for something?"

We talked briefly as her card was running out of time, but she assured me she would call again Sunday!

My week has been spent at the farm mostly, if you include the time I spent in the shop repairing Pepa's mower. I probably lack 70 acres being through with the strip tilling. It has been a little frustrating because it is almost too wet. (I know, a farmer is never satisfied. Too hot. Too cold. Too dry. Too wet!). I seem to have a problem with wheat stubble and the wet dirt moving through the
plow. I think it is related to the tracks or ruts the combines left when they were harvesting!

To further complicate things, the land lord on this place isn't really buying in on this strip tilling, and even less on the direction Pepa chose for the rows! When we were shooting the A B line for the guidance system (You mark a beginning point by putting the tractor in start position and pressing the begin tab on the guidance screen. Then you drive to the other end and when you reach the end position press the end tab. Then your guidance is set provided you have keyed in your implement width.) Before I had finished my first pass through the field the land lord was waiting at the end for me.

I am driving to Roscoe this afternoon to attend my class reunion. They are billing this as our 40th although I think it is really our 39th. Homecoming is held every three years, so this is the closest we will have to our 40th. While homecoming activities began last evening, and continue this morning and later today, I am jumping in at 5 this afternoon at Nancy and Daylon's house. Burgers and trimmings, auction (to fund the event), and a live band! Then there are other get togethers going into the night!

Krl went to the orthopedic surgeon Thursday. Her hip is really bothering her lately. Last visit they told her the screw was backing out. New x-rays revealed good bone growth and no screw issue. The doctor told her that new bone is painful and that she showed indications of arthritis and fibromyalgia (sp??). I might believe the arthritis but the fibromyalgia is don't know. I think that may be something doctors are using when they can't explain something.

Rian and Jason opted out of going to the tractor pull in Wichita Falls this weekend. I was glad. Their big tractor is still in pieces and the little one needs to be! It turned out Jason and Devon were committed Friday night and if the tractors were together either Rian would have had to drive down to get them or I would have had to take them for them. Then Rian's schedule became cluttered!

Rian's Principal took Friday off, then Erica wanted to go and hear Jenna Lucado speak in Lubbock Friday evening and Saturday morning, so Rian stepped up for mutt sitting!

Rian and the boys left yesterday afternoon and went to the Dye farm at Roaring Springs to check on their deer feeder and shoot guns! After all the festivities, they gathered wood and started a fire and roasted wieners on coat hangers, ate some chips and finished off the night roasting marsh mellows.

When they were getting on the black top Rian asked them, "What was your favorite activity at the farm?"

"Shooting guns!", was Holt's reply.

Reid said, "I liked gathering the wood to make the fire and roasting things. And I kind of liked shooting guns a little!"

"I liked eating supper!" was baby MOses' reply. (Who would have thunk it!).

I can't believe weeks after the fact that Drew is still hanging on to the Baby MOses persona!

Rian said that the pasture was so lush from all the rain that corn was still visible on the ground around his feeder. The wildlife is not having to hustle to eat!

Pepa did get his walk in bath tub installed. I accuse him of looking all wrinkled like a raisin lately! (Too much water). It sure didn't help his disposition any. He has been foul! Told me he was going to fire my ass, and I begged him too!

I think I need a break!

Well, that is about it for now. Have a weekend!

FATHER, I know whom I have believe-ed! Work YOUR plan! I lift up Joe and Rebecca for YOUR miracle of healing! I lift up all those traveling for homecoming for YOUR traveling mercies!

Although it wasn't my plan, I spent my Monday helping tie loose ends from the West Texas Fair Truck and Tractor Pull. By four in the afternoon, there was almost no evidence that we had ever been there.

I would like to mention a few vendors who helped with the 2010 show:
Abilene Performance Car Association
Abilene New Holland/Kubota
Quality Implement
Yellowhouse
Abilene Rental Center
Templeton Equipment
Corley-Wetsel Freightliner
Fulgrum Performance Specialities
Larry's Better Burger
Olney Bros. Trucking
(I hope I didn't leave any one out!)

The buzz was still buzzing yesterday about the show. Trc worked in the front Lemonade stand Saturday at the fair, which she says usually isn't as busy. Unless there is a tractor pull going on! They were selling Lemonades 20 and 25 cups at a time! They ran out of supplies twice during Saturday afternoon and evening! K.O. visited with the Fair GM and she was beaming. She and the Fair board were already trying to figure out another day, more seating and a larger area for the pull!

At lunch yesterday K.O. and I went to the Better Burger and slipped in the back door. Every day, friends family and regular customers meet in a small area and indulge in a better burger, hot off the grill and whatever conversation the topic of the day happened to be. As you might imagine that topic was the tractor pull.

In one odd occurrence a gentleman walked in and after ordering, began his own report on the pull. One of his first comments was "I don't know who ya'll had announcing, but he was very good!" I don't know who was more embarrassed, me or him. But it did make me feel good!

Hard to believe 26 years ago I announced my first show out of necessity for the Roscoe Young Men's Association (Previously the Roscoe Jaycees). It would be interesting to know how many miles I have driven and flown over the years, working for promoters from New Jersey to Louisiana, to Arizona to Washington state. I've only been stiffed one time in all those shows. Walked out of the arena and my rental car (provided by the promoter) was gone (So was the promoter). It was no surprise the following day when I had to catch a ride to the airport! Luckily the plane ticket was non-refundable! Favorite show was probably Greely, Colorado. Not because of the show but because of the families promoting it! Those people went out of their way to keep me entertained!

BUT, grassroots pulling is BEST! The small town shows benefiting local clubs and causes.

K.O., D.O. and myself visited some about where to take the Fair Pull next. The logical thing is to add a second day. That would mean a Saturday evening show with a Sunday matinee. Don't need to go up against Friday night football in Texas! The next possibility would be to add local 4 X 4 trucks and stock farm tractors. The theory is simple. The more people involved, the spectator base expands. As the local classes grow, run qualifying sessions (shorter sessions on weekdays of the fair) and then on the closing weekend of the fair bring all the top ones in for a pull off! I think this coupled with an antique pull might be a good draw to close the fair. An antique show would go all day long!

Well, I had a report Sunday from Roscoe. We received another rain blessing! Just under an inch. Excellent!

Well, it is back to the grindstone today!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for a successful weekend. I ask YOUR continued blessings as I make other hard decisions. FATHER I lift up Rebecca and Joe for YOUR miracles of healing. I lift up Jimmy Moore's family for YOUR gifts of comfort. YOU are in control.

Question of the day:

Can a person claim success if they married into it?

Would said person or persons be guilty of prostituting themselves for personal gain?

Would there always be a question of whether said person or persons married for love, or married for love of money?

Inquiring minds want to know.

My personal thoughts are that success is what you accomplish on your on. This would also be negated if at the age of say 30 or 31 you came into a windfall, say an inheritance. As it would also not be a persons own accomplishment if they joined an established enitity.

Kind of like riding on the shirttails, or hanging on to the apron strings! Any tail or string in a storm!

The 2010 Pull at the West Texas Fairs was a resounding success! Standing room only,and I have no idea how many people turned away due to no seating. Preliminary numbers who an increase of almost 400% at the general admission gate from last year! And 33% from the year prior to that.

The General Manager of the Expo Center was ecstatic! Plans are already under way for a bigger, better show next year! With more seating capacity!

I announced the 2010 show. This is the first show of the year for me to announce. I will admit two things. #1 it had been nice to travel unattached and just watch Rian, Jason, and Devon pull. #2 I am not in announcing shape! Seriously the announcing takes more out of you than you can imagine! Granted, it is mostly mental, but when your mental is as limited as mine is it becomes major!

It took me about two hours to wind down last night and I am whipped puppy today! My mental is mental.

Have a day!

FATHER, rest and renew me! Thank YOU LORD!

I have been off one day all week long! I don't know if I was just trying to rush my week along or what.

Anyhow, Colb, I know your birthday is the 8th!

Truck and tractor pull tonight at the West Texas Fair. It has been twenty years since they last had a pull. Thank you Tony Mc! If you didn't have a horse he didn't want to talk to you. I bet his unawares had horses printed on them. Well, he is dead and gone and there is a new sheriff in town.

My buddies, K.O. and D.O. stopped in for a visit and ended up selling a show! They have been hard at work this week and I have spent Thursday afternoon and all day Friday helping them. I can't believe how little help the Expo Center is giving.

It will all be O.K. when it is over!

Abilene High lost last night. Their seventeen game winning streak is over. The lost to Florida Cocoa 24-21, but didn't have the services of one of their star players.

Pepa bought a sit in vertical bath tub earlier this week. Thursday he went in to set up double knee replacement. I told him I don't understand, if he bought the tub does he need the knees or if he gets the knees does he need the tub? Maybe sub-consciously he knows he won't do the rehab.

And,

Have you ever thought you had something but ended up disappointed? It can be a possession, a vehicle, a friend of even a family member. Upon closer scrutiny maybe it revealed that it had been damaged and repaired, smoothed over with filler and shined to a lustre.

I knew a person who purchased a stainless steel grill that a time of purchase was gorgeous. Shiny and pristine. But after a brief while the stainless steel began to rust. It was flawed. It just took some time for the flaw to become visible.

The same can be said for friends and or family. Sometimes you think you know a person and then "true colors" are revealed. Sometimes the most perfect appearance hides the most horrendous flaw.

The really sad part is that most times an individual believes they are safe when in essence they are nothing but hypocrites trying to act out a role.

I suppose that is one thing I can appreciate my grandfather for. He taught me that it is better not to put on airs and pretend, but better to be real and try to live it.

My day today. Haircut. Pre-game. A little home work. Do the show. Come home and unwind!

Have a day!

FATHER, help me to know the difference between on the surface and in my heart. I pray for a blessed day. I lift up Joe for YOUR gifts of healing. I lift Up Jimmy's family for YOUR gifts of comfort in their loss. Work YOUR plan in me. May my day bring glory to YOU!

Happy Birthday Colby Lucille! Is this 31? That is the way I figure it! Have a good day!

I woke about three and made a quick bathroom run, hoping to be back in bed before my brain realized I had been up. It didn't work. I'm getting ready to go to the farm. That's the thing about the GPS guidance system. Its never in the dark.

And, I question the Florida church that is planning on burning copies of the Quran on 9-11. WWJD.

Have a day.

FATHER, bless this day!

I hope I am getting smarter. At the very least I hope I am not getting any dumber.

I have been asking myself what GOD is wanting me to learn from everything going on with, and around me.

I think I have figured it out.

I believe he is wanting me to learn that I don't have to see a series of pictures in my life, I just need to see the frame I am in. It's all about faith, that whatever changes in that next frame, he is going to equip me to deal with it. It isn't always going to be pretty. But he never promised us that.

For me, this is extremely difficult. Because I am the kind of person that "needs" to know. But I am working on it.

My day began today very early. About 2 AM. I laid back down for about an hour and a half at 5 AM. Both Krl and I are feeling very, very nauseous.

One of the first things I ran across this morning was the song "Find us Faithful". That is a pretty good way to start a day. I will say that while all the versions are good, I prefer the A Capella version.

I love the part of the chorus "May the footprints that we leave, Lead them to believe".

For many, tomorrow is a holiday. I plan on going to the farm.

I need some farm therapy.

Have a day.

FATHER, I need YOUR strength, YOUR resolve.

1.2 to 1.6 inches of rain at the farms. Rain Blessing!

Excellent.

About the only thing that would have made it better is if it had come a couple of weeks earlier. But, its gonna be O.K..

While I was at the farm, I decided I would go ahead and fuel the tractor and move it away from the fuel tank and the county road. Just as I began to back away, a pickup slowed on the road. The gentlemen got out and began looking over the strip tiller. As it turned out, they had one very similar but encountered some problems. Their trailer was loaded with coulters with depth bands. What they were fixing to do was haul their parts to Lubbock to have a change over to the style the strip tiller we borrowed has.

It was a good opportunity to visit and exchange information. My first question was what speed they were running their tiller. We had started out trying to run 6 mph but in short order I had slowed to 4.5 mph. It seems they had found the same ideal speed. They have been plowing 3 to 4 inches deeper but just a few days ago pulled their ripper foot pieces up a couple of inches. So, now we are running within an inch or two, depth wise.

They have been across a lot more acres with their tiller, so I was very glad and appreciative to exchange information. Their plan is to do about half of their fallow wheat ground with the strip tiller. The remainder of theirs will be done with several more conventional and proven methods.

Our plan is to do about 90% with the strip tiller, the remaining 10% will probably feel the blade of the offset.

Well, let's catch up on Friday football. Memama and Pepa went to Breckenridge where the Buckaroos moved to 2-0 with another impressive win. The mighty Plowboys got into the win column and are now 1-1. Sweetwater Mustangs fell to Monahans and are now 1-1. The Shallowater Mustangs got their first win of the season in Amarillo and are now 1-1. Pepa and I had jovially argued about the Abilene Wylie/Stephenville ball game. He was positive Wylie would throttle the Yellowjackets. I was confident the Bulldogs would fall to the larger school. Heh, heh. I was right!

Four ball games at Shotwell this weekend in the Action Sports Football Kickoff Event. Next week in is what has been the Sammy Baugh Classic in Sweetwater.

Abilene High is playing a team from Louisiana at eleven today. Next weekend they play Florida Plant in another interstate game. Florida Plant is coming to Abilene.

My day is up in the air. $$$$$$$. If some money comes in I may go to Colorado City and work on trucks again, but I need a couple of parts. It seems like all of our vendors are slow paying right now. That sure makes it tough!

When I finished at the farm yesterday I went to C-City and worked on trucks. One has a fuel solenoid issue, but it is getting power, so either the switch is bad or it has a more serious issue. The thumb screw to put the engine on manual is not working. I just hate to spend the money if it it doesn't need the solenoid. The other truck was run out of fuel. (I confess, when I was looking at these trucks and preparing a bid, I had this truck running when it died). I have had holy h-e- double l getting the air out of the system. I'll get there! My hope is to get both trucks running and then enlist some help to go with me and drive them to the farm shop.

One note. Rian called me earlier this week and announced that they are officially homeless. They sold their house. It is really a pretty neat deal. A couple from Tennessee bought their house but they don't want to move until next summer so Rian and Erica leased their house back until their home in Shallowater is ready. Best part is they only have to move once!

Now to tattle. Rian called me yesterday to tell me he, the Principal, the Superintendent, and the School Counselor were all riding together to the Shallowater ball game in Amarillo. Since Rian is the youngest, he got to drive. Last contact I had was a text message, "We are at the Big Texan Steakhouse" was all it said. I know it is the home of the world famous 72 ounce steak. Use to be if you could eat the big steak and all the trimmings, it was free. Use to we would have several truck drivers order the big steak with additional setups and they would share the mammoth steak!

Have a grrr8 weekend!

FATHER, YOU are good. Work in me YOUR plan.

Krl and I are still puny. And I am tired of feeling bad.

I may have written of it, but about two or three weeks ago we got in on the egg recall.. Our problem was, the story broke the morning following us having breakfast for dinner! Nausea, cramping, and the required die reara. Just about the time we think we are over it, it seems like we begin anew! We haven't even wanted any chicken fruit since then! Krl seems to battle with it more than me, but that is normal. Worst part is she can hardly stand the weight loss.

For a couple of weeks I have been looking and doing a little research. One of the fastest growing farming practices in our area is strip tilling. I have watched neighbors on adjacent farms, and even visited with them about the reasons. In our area there are two different strip tillers manufactured by competing firms. I was able to chase both of them down for a comparison.

When I went to lunch, I told Pepa that after we ate we were going to do a tour. He wasn't too excited or cooperative. BUT, he did go with me. We took about two hours and circled all of his farms while looking at the different practices neighbors were employing. Offset, hoeme, ripper, mouldboard, listers, and strip tillers, we looked at all the different practices. Finally I took Pepa to a friend's equipment yard where an idle strip tiller sat.

Immediately, his mind was made up. Strip till. When I took him home as he walked into the house he was telling Memama "That wasn't half bad. In fact I kind of enjoyed it."

I had to draw the line there. I told him I don't mind taking him around but I didn't say he could enjoy it!

As I was beginning to leave their house to work on a tractor Pepa asked me when I was going to start this strip tilling. I told him "Next week, that I figured we would see what comes of the rain chance for later in the week".

"You could be through by then" was his response.

Sheesh!

Thing is, there is no way I could be done in two or three days. I figure four days minimum. Which means it would be a good project to start the first of the week.

I did have voice mail telling me that it was showering around Roscoe last evening. It was from an unhappy dove hunter who had great plans for this morning! I also saw a post on FB from a friend in C-City who reported it had rained there Tuesday evening as well.

I am hoping for a substantial rain blessing this week!

Often I have a feeling of my skin crawling, or of impending doom. Lately I have had a feeling of something big about to break. For the good! I can hardly stand the anticipation!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for a good day. I ask for YOUR blessing of rain. I pray that YOU will reveal YOUR plan to us. I lift up Rebecca, Joe, and Larry for YOUR gifts of healing.