I left the yard around 2:30 yesterday afternoon heading for the Army Depot just outside of Texarkana, TX. I'm having my coffee in IL this morning. I supposed it's a reflection of my industry but I noticed that the smoking section was fairly busy when I walked in, but I have the non-smoking section all to myself. There are more truckers that smoke than not so that's not too much of a surprise. I spent a few hours knitting on the Irish hiking scarf before turning in. The scarf is coming ...

I checked into the hotel and walked over to Appleby's for dinner and a few beers. I'm an irregular regular there so they all know me. I took my knitting along, the Irish hiking scarf, and worked on it while I enjoyed a few beers. Predictably several of the female employees came over to check out my knitting and fawned over it. A couple of the female customers also stopped by to make comments. Naturally I was enjoying myself quite a bit. At one point this young guy sitting a couple of...

Here's a pic of the Irish Hiking Scarf I am working on. It's a long way from finished but here's where it is now.

Last night I went down to the bar with the boss and a few of my co-workers. I shouldn't have gone. Having a few beers and being in that smoky bar, I blew my quit. Now I have to go through that miserable first three days all over again.

This morning I drove the pile of junk spare truck down to the diesel shop in Milwaukee to pick up my trailer so I could finally deliver the load. I popped in to find out where my truck was parked as the paperwork for the load was still in it. To my joy they informed me that my truck was repaired and ready to go. It was a faulty fuel injector as I suspected. I tossed my overnight bag, knitting bag, and laptop out of the pile of junk spare truck and into my truck, hooked to the trailer and h...

I got up and got an early start this morning so that I could make delivery in WI by noon. I never made it. My truck decided that it really didn't feel like working today and the engine sputter and spat all the way up the road. No power at all. Wonderful. I then got stuck in a really bad back up on I-295. By the time I made it up to the choke point I saw why. Someone was having an even worse day. An SUV ran over someone on a motorcycle. They had the body covered with a white sheet but th...

Today was day 2 of my smoking quit. It really hasn't been all that bad. The Wellbutrin has really made a difference. I've had a few cravings here and there but nothing terrible. I'd just pop a piece of cinnamon gum or cinnamon candy in my mouth and go on about my bidness. I'm spending the night in Southern Indiana tonight and will get an early start tomorrow as I'd like to make delivery in WI before noon if at all possible. I haven't really felt like doing any fine work yet so I haven't...

In the process of packing up my stuff in preparation for going back on the road I noticed that the samples of Wellbutrin the doc had given me were running low. There was only enough for a few more days. I hopped on the bent and rode over to the pharmacy to fill my 30 day prescription. I'm damn glad I asked about the price difference between the name brand and the generic drug. The name brand would have been $180! For 30 stinking little pills! Outrageous! The generic was $140. Better b...

It feels like I just got home and now I have to prepare to hit the road again. I'll be leaving out some time this afternoon as I have to pick up a military vehicle in Charleston, SC tomorrow. It's amazing how fast the time at home flies by. I feel like I could use a few more days but having bills to pay makes that less than practical. I have lots to do before I leave, but for now I am just not motivated. Maybe after I've had my morning coffee and shower.

I rode down to the C-store to pick up some beer. When I got inside there were several young gang banger wannabes hagning around taking up space. I could see the clerk was less than comfortable even though they really weren't doing anything wrong, just talking kinda loud with a lot of "yo" and such. I am not one who is easily intimidated, but have always been pretty good at intimidating. I walked right through the midst of the largest group of them and towards the beer cooler. I looked them...

I finally finished the knitted clock for Mom. What do ya think?

The storm broke just in time for me to walk outside and watch tonight's shuttle launch. I was able to watch it go for a pretty good way before it finally disappeared behind the clouds. Every since I stood outside and watched Challenger explode during launch I get a knot in the pit of my stomach while watching one go up. The shock of seeing what happened to Challenger live and in person and not on television has always stayed with me and I am reminded of it every time I watch a launch. I j...

I wanted to make something different for dinner tonight. When I'm home off the road I usually prepare a lot of the same old stuff. It's usually something relatively quick and easy. I picked up some boneless chicken breasts at the grocery and decided to make baked chicken tonight. It's something I haven't made in a long time and just sounds good. I prepared the chicken with a bit of butter and some herbs and popped it into the oven to bake. It already smells really good. I'll start some ve...

This is why you never stay at the bar until closing time.

This is why you never stay at the bar until closing time.