New tires, our visit, Azle, next up

Kimberlyn came over yesterday to help Mama get some things done for Mama’s planned attendance of the market day in Azle, TX. Part of Mama’s day included a trip to the post office to get a number of packages mailed out. It was on the way home from the post office that Mama and Kimberlyn heard a sound that frightened them both. The sound seemed to be coming from a tire but none of the tires were flat. They stopped twice to investigate but could find nothing. Mama finally decided to drive the vehicle home but at a very slow speed. Still the wound was continuous and loud. When they got home, we investigated and found that the tread on one of the rear tires had begun to shred. As the tread peeled off the tire, it would slap the inside of the wheel well causing a very loud banging – especially when Mama was going sixty miles per hour.

It was nearly lunchtime when they got back to the farm, so I put the spare on the Sequoia and headed to Discount Tires to have them evaluate the tire. I did not remember when Mama had bought the tires, but I was reasonably certain that we had gotten a good amount of mileage out of them. That turned out to be correct. The tires were rated for forty thousand miles and we had driven almost sixty thousand miles on them. We had certainly gotten our money’s worth. The longevity impressed the young man who tended to me at the store. The front tires still had some good tread on them, but I bought a set of four tires. These are rated for sixty thousand miles. They will hopefully last longer than we intend to own the vehicle.

Mama was a little worried that I would be upset by the requirement to replace the tires, but I told her I had been praying that the Lord would make evident anything we needed to have worked on in the Sequoia before we took it to Amarillo next week. That was an answer to prayer. Better that the tire lost its tread a few miles from home than to have that happen as we shot down the highway at seventy-five miles an hour on some lonely stretch of road a couple hundred miles from home. There would be ways to deal with that occurrence if it had happened, but it is always better to deal with something like that in a more relaxed set of circumstances. Praise the Lord for His perfect timing!

Around 6 pm, we headed to visit with Red and Joanna. We had a bit of trouble finding their house but finally got to the right driveway. I drove the truck in case Red wanted to load the wire roll he was needing to get rid of, but it was after dark and it was cold outside, and it was much more comfortable to just take the time to catch up with each other. So, we talked for a while before Mama and Joanna moved to a table where Mama could apply the nails she had given Joanna. All in all, we spent a couple hours just enjoying each other’s company in a familiar, friendly, comfortable way. It was a very pleasant evening and Joanna really liked the nails Mama applied for her. Red was impressed as well. HE especially liked the price and convenience.

Mama loaded up this morning to head to Azle, TX to check out the little market they have there. I am not sure what she will find but what we have heard about the market sounds good. It is much smaller than Trade Days in Bowie so there will be less competition for sales and less competition in getting noticed. Hopefully it will work out, but we do not know. Sometimes you just have to test the waters and see how things work out. This will serve as our first test of that venue. I am praying it goes well. I am glad Mama is willing to give it a try.

Next up on our agenda is our Christmas party here at the house tomorrow evening. The potential attendance has grown from about ten to probably closer to twenty, but we will have a good time. After all, the get together revolves around eating and exchanging gifts. Mama will be stressed out over the cleaning needing to be done to the house, but I am sure we can get it all done in a satisfactory manner by the time we start to entertain. If not, we will just go with it. I am going to put a small ham and a couple dozen sausage links on the smoker but that is the extent to which I will be required to prepare food for the meal. I should have plenty of time to help Mama cook and clean.

In between cooking and cleaning, I will put up the panels for the pen in the hopes of getting the pig into that pen before Grandpa has to take over the feeding next week. It will be a lot more pleasant for him if I can get him out of the mud – but I am not entirely sure I will have the time to get the pen secured to my satisfaction in only one day.

We shall see.