Just writing for writings sake.

Last night Deb and I went out to Ft. Benning to get her step dad a uniform to be burried in. Of course, this one isn't anything like the one that he wore back when he was in. He retired in '65 but we made sure to get the correct rank, ribbons, and awards for his service in WWII. Of course there are a few vultures involved as there always seem to be when someone dies. His children from a previous marriage are sort of kicking up a fuss about certain funeral decisions that Deb's mom has made. She is taking it pretty well since Deb is "handling" the conversations with them. She's actually doing pretty well mediating, I think my buddy Jimmy Carter would be proud. The viewing is Thursday and funeral on Friday.

We just got done dealing with some social worker who had to come "inspect" the house to see that it is fit for Morgan to live in. It's funny that it takes them forever to take a kid from an unfit parent, but then they act like nobody is good enough to care for them afterwards. I think it went well, but you can never tell with those folks. I found out the hard way that sometimes they are two-faced, but the judge can see through the bull when it comes right down to it. I made sure she knew that I wasn't above hiring counsel if needed to make this a smooth transition, and that we wouldn't be jumping through hoops for them either.

I'm jealous that SOME PEOPLE are taking motorcycle rides, and I'm not...I shall have to rememdy that hopefully tomorrow afternoon.

Oh, and I can't help but notice that nobody ever comes south to visit, then I thought that maybe I hadn't invited anyone either. All my readers (the both of you) are welcome to come join in my madness whenever you like. I won't have any vacation myself until it resets in January, but don't let that stop you from coming down here. Don't forget, I'll still be riding a motorcycle two months from now....can you say that much?

Anyway, have a nice day, whatever your doing. We try to do that even with all the madness going on.

What a week (end).

New baby...Christyn had her baby. Allie was born at around 2:30 am Saturday morning. Healthy, all is well, and is now at home.

Death in the family....Deb's step dad past away last night at around 3 am. We spent this afternoon getting a uniform together for him to be burried in on Thursday.

Sister in Law Angie in bad accident...this one actually happened last Saturday night. Basically destroyed her foot, and has several cracked vertabrae. She is going home on Wed, but has a big surgery ahead of her.

While visiting her on Thursday I lost a filling from back in my teen years. I had to go the whole weekend with a rather large hole in my tooth...got it mostly fixed today...only it will need to be capped. At least insurance pays half, because caps aren't cheap.

Debbie hasn't slept a full night in three days. I feel like I've been in a fight and lost. Oh well, it can only go up from here, right?

Notes from the front.

Well, it's been raining here for a few days. Not hard, but enough to help with the shortage I would think. It's been a busy week for me because Al had a couple days off. I'm taking tomorrow because we all have to work Friday and Saturday due to the roll out of some new software that pretty much changes the way we do everything but the actual installs. Routing, opening and closing, inventory....everything.

It looks like Morgan will be living here for a while...I seen this one coming before she was even conceived, so I'm not going to act suprised or anything. She's better off here for sure, and a two year old shouldn't have to worry about anything but being a two year old. Don't know how long, but for now she resides here....not mother, just daughter....State mandated....you get the picture.

Speaking of pictures, there is no story to the above album. Just a days worth of pictures from Sunday I believe. I hope my loyal readers are well. Here's wishing Brett Brady a happy birthday. Have a good evening.

Rainy day off.

Well, I see AOL gave one of my lost entries back. I'm leaving it in case they decide to take it back.

Of course the only rain we've had in months shows up on my day off. It does look like it will pass in the next couple hours, so maybe I can get an afternoon ride in.

I got the mirrors for my bike, but the pictures I took suck because it was dark out, so I'll do some more when the sun comes out.

Greg is back in town for a week, then he's off to Idaho for 9 months. It's been pretty busy here this moring. Jerry and son Geraldo from New Orleans came by at 7:30(!), then Greg, followed by AL. Lots of visitors. I'll probably head out to Gregs this afternoon....with a shop the size of an airplane hanger I should be able to stay dry.

I'm liking Ron Paul, mainly because he seems to actually hate the IRS. He'll never get the nomination, but he's my guy at the moment, followed by Romney who'll also be out of luck because he's Mormon. Rudy may as well be a Democrat and is anti-gun so screw him. What a mess this one is shaping up to be.

Well, back to surfing for a while. Have a nice day.

Third try at this entry.

No explanation this time...third try for this entry. AOL sucks.

Some pictures from the weekend.

Second try at this one as AOL ate the first...........

 

Like Rachel, we come across a cheapo digital camera as well. Mine was free but required a charger, so thanks to ebay I've got an entire $18 tied up in it. I'm really amazed at what a couple megapixels do for quality. My before and after pics of the bike really make the newer free camera show it's stuff. Because it was free we've been letting Lyndsay use it when needed, so you'll see some of her photo's mixed in, as well as before and after shots of her first haircut...Yeah, 1st. I wasn't to wild about it, but she likes it...so what the hell?

Bike pictures, before and after.

 

 

 

Ok, here are some pictures. I was sort of putting off getting back on the bike until I knew my leg was working somewhat normal. My plan was to keep it torn apart doing different things to it, so I didn't give in and hit the road to early. During that time (the last two months) I set about making the bike mine like I do most of the vehicles that have come and gone. I'll not do a breakdown and the parts, but I'll mention the notables. The Corbin seat turned this thing into a comfortable ride, something it really wasn't before. It was fun as hell, but not comfy...it is now. I replaced the 15 tooth front sproket with a 16. This small change is huge on the hiway as I'm not wound up so much at 70 mph. They gear it from the factory to do both on and off road...I'm not going off road, so a hiway gear was in order. The exhaust pipe is one of those things you just have to do....it's in a rule book somewhere I'm sure. Now it would be hard to sneak off without anyone knowing I'm leaving, that's for sure. I got the graphics from a place in Kansas City, and I'm really happy with the way they come out. If you look close there are a bunch of little aluminum guards and things that replaced the plastic stock counterparts.  Anyway, I've got a different set of mirrors still enroute along with a shorter street front fender and I'm calling this one done. I'm very happy with it, so it's time to ride!

I worked last Sunday, which gave me two days off in a row this week, a pretty rare thing for me. It's been a pretty fun couple of days. Thursday was spent waxing the car and working on the bike. The bike has changed since you last saw it, and pictures are in order but I haven't taken any yet. I was waiting on one last part that arrived via UPS at 7:30 pm last night. I figure that if I wasn't able to ride it, I may as well be working on it, right? Anyway, I got it back together by 9pm and took my first ride in over four months today. My only problem is getting on and off because I transfer all my weight to the broke leg when doing both. Riding was not a problem, and I put in around 50 miles off and on all day. I'd take a short ride, come home, then go ride again later. All is well.

Tonight we took another ride out to the drag strip for another try at improving my skills. I'm still having a time launching without smoking the tires, but I did improve from last time....13.398. This is a 12 second car, I've just got to do my part. While there I met another guy that is in our car club and raced him twice. He beat me off the line both times, but the second I didn't smoke the tires to bad and got him. In the picture we are lined up at the lights, ready to rock.

 

A picture fix for a nose problem.

Well, here are some pictures to fix dads "nose problem". I think the last person I heard use that term was Grandma Wood. Anyway, Deb took a lot of pictures, so here they all are.

I hated to see it drive away, but it was doing nothing here but sitting in the yard. They guy paid what I asked without trying to barter me down, so I guess that's a good thing. Now we'll see how long I'll go without needing it for something. The only attachment that I didn't get rid of were my pallet forks/carryall because I had to much time and labor in making them and they can't be bought when I get my next tractor......whenever that will be.