My bad, stocking up, pickups and deliveries, vise stand

Early Friday morning Mama and I loaded the truck to head to Azle for the flea market they do there the weekend after Trade Days. Our first stop was QT to get fuel. That is where I messed up bigly. I inserted my card in the pump, asked for a receipt, and started fueling up the truck – with gasoline. I hopped into the back of the truck to rearrange what we had there so we would be able to add the tables to the mix. It was only after I pumped about ten gallons of gas into the diesel truck that I realized my mistake. I was furious with myself. After calming down, we called Triple A and had the truck towed to the house. Grandma and Grandpa met us in Decatur to give us a ride home. Due to COVID restrictions, the driver was not allowed to take us with his in the tow truck.

Grandpa and I were going to try to get the tank drained ourselves. But when Grandpa and I tried unsuccessfully to siphon the fuel from the tank we realized we would have to drop the fuel tank to get the incorrect fuel drained from the tank. I had the truck towed to a diesel mechanic in Bowie to have that work done. I felt like it was too much for me and Grandpa to take upon ourselves. We will probably get the truck back today. Fortunately, I did not start the truck, so the fuel lines to the engine were never contaminated. That saved any horrific damage to the engine, but the incident was one of my more foolish, distracted moments. I have owned this truck for six or seven years and this is the first time I have made that mistake. Thinking about it still stings a little.

Mama and I redeemed my time off by going to Denton to buy a few things. I had found a great deal on a vise at a Northern Tool store in Denton. I have needed a vise for years but have not purchased one because they are so expensive. This one was offered at half price. Mama and I then went to the bread store to buy day old bread for the chickens. From there to WinCO and Sam’s. We were buying stock up items, not necessarily things we needed at the moment. We ended up spending over three hundred dollars on those food items, but we are in pretty good shape in our pantry in case we have to suffer through another lockdown; which is entirely possible should the election stand as it is currently being promoted – false thought that it. It was a good way to redeem the time off after my mistake. The Lord in His graciousness allowed us to run into a woman outside Sam’s who was interested in Mama’s nails. They exchanged information while they talked for over thirty minutes. I waited in the Sequoia for more than twenty minutes and finally went over to the vehicle where they were talking to make sure Mama had not been kidnapped. She was having a great time, so I waited some more before we finally headed home.

Early Saturday morning we went to Bowie to pick up two lambs. They had been selected for us by the son of the sellers. We had wanted to buy three, but he was not willing to sell up three at the agreed price, so we had to settle for the two. One will be ours and one will be the Chinese family’s to process. That will happen next week. So, we will have them for only a few days before we take them to the processing facility. The lambs are not at all happy with the change they have been forced to endure, but they are at least eating and drinking in the little enclosure where we have them. To retrieve the lambs, we had to pull the stock trailer with the Sequoia, but it did very well.

After the lambs were unloaded, I started working in the shop making a stand for my new vise. I had an idea of what to do but was able to improve on that idea as I put the stock trailer back in its place under the equipment shed that is attached to the barn and spotted a steel plate that had been part of a door for a piece of equipment. I did not get to work on that very long since Mama and I were asked to deliver three goats to a buyer in Weatherford. That buyer had an amazing place with two horse arenas, dozens of areas set up for Longhorn cattle, multiple large barns, and a large house. We put the goats in a little paddock beside a huge storage building and the buyer paid us $825 for the three goats. Not a bad deal. Those animals will be as well cared for as the goats that remain with us. Once we were back from that delivery, I started back on the vise stand.

The stand is made from a base of a grill that was left at the property when we bought it, the steel plate I found and a short piece of pipe I had left from another project. I like the way it turned out. I have to sandblast it and paint it – at some future date – but for now, it is serviceable. I have already used the vise and the plate it is mounted on for welding braces for a gate I need to strengthen. It will be a great addition to the shop both as a vise and a small welding table.

This week I have classes tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning. I also have to set up a class for Red to teach Wednesday morning. Next week is Thanksgiving. Wow! This year has flown by.

On a sad note, Victoria’s flight to Honduras was cancelled. She will be stuck with us through the Holiday Season.