"A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason." - J.P. Morgan

I know I've been terribly inconsistent here. I went for years never missing a day and now often miss two or three at a time. There's just too much stuff. I have more projects than time, never get to the end of a day feeling like I made enough progress, and I'm screaming up on deadlines that can't be adjusted.

Primary among those deadlines is the Brazil trip. I leave here on Aug 7 ... three weeks from today! I have SO much prep to get done before then. I promised myself I'd have all the slides done and sent off by the end of this week and unless I hit a hot stretch that self-impossed goal is in serious jeopardy. After that I have 365 daily emails to write and at least a sketch of an agenda for the time I'll spend with the local pastors each day. I'm working 2-3 hours each day just on Brazil material.

Two weeks from yesterday I'm driving up to Seattle for a 3-day visit with my mom. I'm delivering a weanling that Marta has sold to a gal who will meet me in Tacoma and then driving on to see mom. Her health seems to be declining at a significant rate so I think this visit is particularly significant. It may be the last one.

I filled up the truck yesterday for the first time since I got it. I filled the tank that first day so I could check MPG, so yesterday was technically the second time, but the first was only about 1/4 of a tank.
It has a 33 gallon tank, I put in 25 gallons, and discovered that driving as carefully and conservatively as possible my in-town MPG is a whopping 11.7. That didn't come as a total surprise - David told me what to expect, but I was hoping to be closer to 15. I'm curious to see what I get on the drive up to Seattle.
The news at the pump yesterday has spurred a greater sense of - "urgency" is too strong a word - to get Sally back on the road. I like driving both Sally and the truck, but as a daily driver into work each day, at about 35 miles round trip, Sally will be much more economical. I'll order parts today so that when I finally have the paint done I can reassemble it. I don't see any way I can get that done before I leave for Brazil but hopefully shortly after I return she'll be looking good and ready to drive.
I've learned at each step of the way how best to do this alternative paint job and I think in the end I'm saving time, but I'm spending hours more on each panel sanding it smooth between each layer of primer and paint.

My Continuing Ed classes are screaming up on me. I start teaching those 4-week courses every Thursday night beginning the first week in September. I know what courses I'll teach when, but that's all. Haven't done any more than think about doing more than thinking about them.

Did I mention we have goats, chickens, a dog.... Oh yeah, there's my wife, too. We really want to get away between Brazil and Continuing Ed classes - maybe a 4-day camping trip - but that's looking increasingly unlikely for both time and money reasons.
Yeah, I still haven't sold the Dodge truck. If I lower the price much more I'm to the point of giving it away.

I meet for an hour a week with each of 5 guys from church in a mentoring program. I really enjoy doing that and value the commitment of these young men who show up to talk about their life, sometimes in a very direct, probing way. But that means that most mornings I'm out the door by 6:30 to make it to Starbucks by 7:00.

So yeah, I'm feeling the pressure, and this blog is an easy (and appropriate) thing to push further down the to-do list.
Part of the problem: I haven't had enough BACON lately. Gotta fix that.
And I can't run daily like I was. The arthritis in my hips has ruled that out, as well as any plans to do a half marathon in late September. I'm still simmering about that realization.

...primed and ready for paint.

I planned to paint this afternoon but the wind was blowing too hard. Means too much dust and dirt in the air. So I cleaned the barn which desperately needed it, and wired a 12v power outlet into the truck for my cell phone. I'll use Waze for my trip to Seattle.

The wind is supposed to blow at 10 mph and above through the weekend but it's typically calm until about mid-morning so I may focus on that Friday and Saturday morning.

We've had dinner and are settling in for downtime. We'll watch a recorded episode of the Great British Baking Show, maybe Forged in Fire, and then bed.
I got a lot done today and tomorrow is Thursday. That means fried eggs and BACON for b'fast and my weekly cheat - a Harvest Bakery cinnamon roll mid-morning.

Tomorrow...maybe.