Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Another bright morning

11/27/07 Tuesday
It’s another bright morning with a frost covering the ground. The rye seems to be holding up very well despite the snow and frosts. I am a little disturbed this morning. Some home stuff I won’t talk about. I have a tendency to focus on things more than I should. It is a common problem for those of us with TBI. Perhaps by recognizing it I will be able to balance back out. But it makes things hard on Cherie when I do this.

I never made it over to Chuck and Lillian’s yesterday so will hopefully get out there today. I did get some of the tiller motor back together but have much more to do. It is a slow process as I am unable to remember taking it apart. I remember I took it apart but not what piece came from where or the order it was dismantled. So I slowly figure it out and carefully look over the parts. Hopefully everything will be done alright. Getting the piston in the cylinder without what is called a cylinder sleeve was a big, big, challenge. I took the metal strip from a measuring tape that was already broken and, wrapping it around the piston, managed to get the piston in one ring level at a time. Used the rubber mallet to encourage it. That is not the right way but I do the best I can with what I have. Buying a cylinder sleeve for a one time use is just not in the rather tight budget. We will see.
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This morning Cherie went to Midland to do some housework for Janie. When she started the car to warm it up I heard a loud steady noise from in the house so ran out to see what it was. It stopped before I got out so didn’t know if it came from the car or not so shut it off to be sure. Popping the hood I checked the oil. While doing so the sound resumed so I learned it came from where they were working on the oil well that had just been drilled. But it was a good thing as it was because there was no oil registering on the dipstick at all. Her car was out of oil. Not good at all. I keep meaning to check it cause I know her car uses oil but as it is with me I keep forgetting. I told Cherie to mark her calendar for me to check oil every two weeks. That is how it has to be. If anything is to happen it pretty much has to be in a written schedule. Otherwise it just doesn’t happen.

I just got back from the John Deere dealer and picked up the quote. I was surprised to see that it almost matches the one for the Mahindra tractor except it doesn’t include a trailer. The trailer is important as it allows me to transport the tractor to potential jobs, thus providing additional income.
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I’m tired and it’s getting late, at least by my standards. It’s 10:30. There was a time in my life that this was when the party was just getting started. Glad to see those days are gone. I’ll have to think hard to remember what else happened today. I went to the landfill and didn’t come back with anything. That’s new. There wasn’t any mail to speak of. After checking mail I dropped by the John Deere dealer and I see I already mentioned that earlier. Then I went home and grabbed the camera. I wanted to take some pictures of Chuck and Lillian’s place to go with some measurements so we can have a better idea of the material needs for a new roof.

I also wanted to get some pictures of this place. It belongs to Carol Yader and he had worked there with my grandmother back when it was a grocery store or something like that. This building is right on the interstate and is a stones throw (literally) from the west bound exit. And it is next to FM 829, the road our place is on. That’s the overpass for 829 right behind it. There is a half acre or so lot that goes with it. What a perfect place for a farmer’s market and store to sell our produce. I know Carol said he was going to put it on the market but have no idea if it sold or how much he would want for it. It’s all part of this dream I have, or at least can be a part of it.


I went to Midland to mail a letter to Wayne in Toledo. While there Cherie called and asked if I could run by Janie’s house as the Maytag repairman was going to show up and she was at the grocery store. That was fine and I was glad to be able to help. Mike from next door was outside when I pulled up so we talked a bit. He asked how things were going. I told him about the farm and how we were trying to get a tractor. Mike made a suggestion that caught me by surprise.





“How about I do a golf tournament to raise money for you?”. Mike is a golf pro and he began to tell me of the many charity tournaments he has put on to raise funds for different needs including a guy with a bad cancer. Once he played something like 820 holes of golf in one day, eight hours non stop. It beat a Guinness world record but they didn’t have anyone to send down and verify it. The idea really has merit. But is it right to put on a fundraiser for yourself? That seems off key for some reason but I really don’t know.

That’s all I can remember now so goodnight.

4 comments:

i beati said...

so many projects always biggees alway s proud of you accomplishments 1,000 miles away !!!

Nate~ said...

if you want to wait a couple of days and not damage the piston I'll mail you one

Bob Westbrook said...

Too late Nate. Already got it done. How good a job I did we will find out when I go to start this sucker up. Keep your fingers crossed.

Amy E said...

Hey Bob! I like the building...lots of possibilities...