Monday morning I ran; the temperatures are cooling off and it is nice to run in 50 degree weather and not sweat profusely. For the past several months the tire light in the van would illuminate every 3-4 weeks; one tire drops about 10 pounds of pressure which triggers the light so I use the compressor to inflate it. It finally occurred to me: why am I doing this? So after my run, I took it in to get it fixed. There was a small staple causing the leak. So hopefully, I won't be needing to add air.
And speaking of slow leaks, I have had a similar problem with one of the truck tires; what is good for the van, is good for the truck, so back to the tire place to get that tire problem resolved. Interesting how we let little irritants creep into our lives that we are willing to live with (but don't need to) until one day we wake up and say: what am I doing!
My neighbor enjoys mowing her yard; it is therapy for her. She has accomplished that task using an 18 year old Craftsman riding mower. With the help of mechanically inclined church members, we have managed to keep that mower alive...until this week. The transmission died. I told her I would be over to mow it on Wednesday. It was evening before I got there. It had not been mowed in 4-5 weeks and was tall and thick. I had to mow it twice and there was a lot of cut grass piled up. I have been trying to find her a used affordable mower in the local area, but they don't seem to exist here.
The tractor has been sitting idle in the north '40' for over a week. The first part they ordered was not correct. The shop called Tuesday evening to say that the second attempt at finding the right part was in. Since the drive is one half the distance to Menards where I purchased the wood for the decking, I called them to confirm they had sufficient material to warrant another drive there; they did a hands on count and I purchased what I needed. Wednesday morning, after my run, Steve joined me as we first stopped at the John Deere dealer in Harrison to get the tractor part. The drag link has a ball joint at each end, 90 degrees apart. This one had one joint 180 degrees out from the original, but I thought it might work. It didn't. Anyway, we drove to Hollister to get the lumber, loaded the trailer and returned home. Now I have sufficient material to finish the deck on the west side of the house. This trip took half the day.
Thursday was the 1st anniversary of Sandy's passing. Sue, Steve and I paid a visit to her gravesite. They brought their alp horns and serenaded the local residents with beautiful music.
Here is Sandy's headstone; someone else had thoughtfully placed a vase of artificial flowers there.
Steve assisted me in trying to attach the new drag link to the tractor; but it didn't fit. I suspect there is a left and a right hand drag link and they sold me the right when I need the left. So I had to call them and explained the problem. He did find another link which should be the one I need. That will require another trip to Harrison; fortunately I hope to drive to Bella Vista this week and will stop to pick up the new part on my way through town.
Friday after seminary, I was all set to go run again, but then noticed the temperature was 41 degrees! I checked Saturday's weather - it was to be 10 degrees warmer in the morning - and decided I could wait until then to run. A man has to know his limitations!
I have spent some time in Sandy's office this week.. I managed to rearrange things enough to be able to move the computer desk and one file cabinet out of the room. Now I am organizing the many files. Managed to fill one trash can with obsolete files and papers. Sandy retained copies of many of the articles she wrote or had published; I want to ensure that somehow they are preserved for the future. I suspect they may reside on her computer or in the many disks she left behind. I just need to find them. This is what the office currently looks like, but not for long!
Steve was busy resolving some issues with two of my clocks. He oiled the mantle clock and it now keeps time. He also dismantled the 30 day Korean clock and managed to get the hands adjusted so it now chimes on time and not 5 minutes late. And it no longer needs to be hung crooked on the wall to function.
Saturday we were blessed to view all three seasons of conference without interruptions. I especially enjoyed seeing the entire First Presidency and Quorum of 12 Apostles (minus Elder Gong) in the same room. Lots of uplifting encouragement and counsel for me to ponder on. The Sunday morning session did not disappoint either.
Hoe all of you can 'swing with the boat' this week!
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