My Slow Takes (vol. 6)

1. I received a used John Deere tractor from our middle son, Todd. It starts and runs fine, just requires some repair wok for the two rear tires. One has a slow leak and the other a rather large slit. So I worked on the latter with poor results. I eventually decided that the tires needed replacement. Age had worn them to a "dry rot" stage. So I took the tires over to one of the local lawn and garden equipment places. We checked the tire size and as the gentleman searched his computer for pricing. As he searched the computer database he let out a startling sound. "That doesn't sound good," as my mind started to imagine a series of possible issues. "No it isn't, pricing is $100 per tire." Whoa, I can get a tire for my car for that price. But the gentleman was kind and suggested that I check one of the local suppliers that handles tractor tires. He didn't have to do that but he did. Thank you Lord for an honest merchant. I found tires, as he suggested, two for $120.

2. Monday evening I took our three granddaughters, Isabelle, Eryn and Hailey out to dinner. We went to one of their favorite places, McDonald's. This was the same one that their father worked at when he was in high school. They had a difficult time understanding that, so I told them to ask Dad.

My Christ moment with them was saying the blessing before we ate. My heart was touched as we all did the sign of the cross and said the prayer. None of them hesitated nor question what we were doing. Thank you Lord for their parents who are raising them to know you.

3. I work with EVM, Earned Value Management. We use it to measure our project performance and progress. My area of responsibility is material. I been doing this for about two and a half years. So, my knowledge of the EVM terms is not perfect.

Once each year we are involved in a government audit. They want to make sure we know what we're doing. This years audit was better than last year because I was able to get through it without saying, "I don't know." I am learning.

4. I bought a copy of "Halo Reach" for my Xbox 360. The good news is that it's a great game. The bad news is that it's a great game ..... I've been playing it every night this week. I need to take a break and get some more important things accomplished.

5. It's Friday and I'm looking forward to the weekend. There is some painting of historical figures that I want to get started. Yard work, of course, and garage door opener repair. Hopefully it's repairable, could be as simple as a chain adjustment. We've had it for over 15 years, so maybe it's just tired.