If a camel flies, nobody laughs if it doesn't get very far.

You've had them - those days that begin with ambitious plans expressed in a long to-do list that end in confusion because you can't figure out what went wrong or when.

My sermon is a hodge-podge. It's not that I don't know what to say, but it lacks the necessary structure that gives it a beginning, middle and end. I'll be at Paradise Bakery early tomorrow morning for as many cups of coffee as it takes to get it done.

But I'll drive the van. (Heavy sigh)
The repair of the fuel pump Tuesday went as scripted, but a trip into town this afternoon brought trouble. It's still idling too high but it's apparently also running WAY too rich. The trip home had me wondering if I'd make it; things got worse with each mile. I stopped at the rec center to swim my laps and had real trouble getting it started back up again.
I *think* at least part of the problem might have been a blocked step cam. The oil bath air cleaner is held to the top of the carb with a screw clamp, like the kind you see on radiator hoses. When I put things back together after repairing the fuel pump I put that clamp back in such a way that it blocked the carb's step cam. I fixed that in the rec center parking lot. The drive home was better but it still sputters and hesitates badly on acceleration, and cruising ain't good either. Did I foul the spark plugs? I'll replace them this weekend, something that should be done anyway. Is the vacuum advance on the distributor working correctly? Is the carb's mixture screw out of adjustment?
(Heavy sigh)

Part of my discouragement at this point in my day has to do with fatigue. This morning, as part of my decision making process re. the triathlon on T'sgiving Day, I did a race distance run followed immediately by a race distance ride. I had the bike and my riding stuff set up in the garage so my transition from run to ride took no more than a minute or two. It went OK. I didn't pay any attention to pace because this was about gauging fitness, not speed. When I got back from the ride I thought about how I'd feel getting into the pool for 400m and decided I'm not ready for that. But I also have three weeks before I have to be. Bottom line, I had no real trouble doing the double this morning, and the 400m at the pool this afternoon went easily enough. I think the decision is made but I still have three days before the early entry discount ends so I'll use it all.

One upside to my training push is the loss of 5 pounds since we got back from the cruise. And trust me, I have not been watching what I eat at all, except for a quick glance as it passes from plate to mouth, incl. German Chocolate cake direct from the pan.

A Facebook exchange with a former student this morning brought to mind one of my favorite poems, Cuddle Doon. It mixes things Scottish with children and God's care for his own.
"Bairnies" is the Scottish word for children, "faught and din" means tussling and noise, and "cark" in the wonderful last verse means worry.

I went to the bank today to see about refinancing our 3-year old mortgage that is at 6.25%, compared to the 5.375% we could get now. I knew, of course, that our mortgage is at Wells Fargo but I learned it's a Freddie Mac loan, whatever difference that makes. (I think they make it confusing on purpose.) The good news is that even though the 20% down we paid 36 month ago has been completely eaten away by depreciation, because ours is a HARP (?) loan they will re-fi it. We don't need a positive loan-to-value ratio. But the costs to refinance are so high that we'd spend 36 months just recovering those. Then we'd realize a savings of $100 per month.

Now, if we had 20% equity they could get us an even better rate that would make it all worthwhile. Nobody here who bought a house within the last five years fits that criterion!

My brain is too tired from doing a triathlon today (albeit in two segments) and stressing both a sermon and VW issues. So this is all I've got for tonight.
Deal with it.

A fool and his money are the root of all evils.

[Be honest. Did you see how close to your nose you can get your tongue?]