Pictures for first of 2010

Here are the pictures I have been taking for the first part of the year starting at the end of January. Have some pictures from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and NE New York. All were cold, but Minnesota was coldest with highs below zero. Hearty bunch up there.

Final pictures are of last time home when I finally got the living room finished except for painting the trim and putting up some curtains. Got the furniture in there and out of storage was the main thing. Took 3 years from the time David and Dick helped me tear out the walls and replace the windows until now. Lot under the bridge in that time. Next time home I am going to set in the recliner for 3 days straight. The next time home I will decide what I do next. Maybe take a vacation.

Now back to the Tennessee Vols/Ohio State game....

All right Vols on to the elite 8 for the first time. Way to go.

Back out

Have not updated since going home almost 2 weeks ago. I stayed out long enough last time to get the ok for an extra day off. I was home a total of 5 days and finally managed to finish remodeling my living room that I tore out 3 years ago with the help of David and Dick. Seems like every time I came in there was always something else that I needed to do or take care of and was hard to make the time to just finish it. Little by little I got it though. This time I had my son and grandson corraled to help. Good thing too, my right knee was locked up and I believe I cracked/broke a rib on my left side. Getting old sucks!!

Went back to work last Friday and have been moving 10 to 11 hours every day. Over to Georgia, up to Indiana and back to Arkansas. I deliver to Ft. Smith this afternoon and then will have to shut down to let my hours build back up again. Have some pictures and if I can get a strong enough signal for my computer I will get them loaded up.

Another Long Week

Kinda catches up to me. I had meant to add to this blog more than I have. When I started it freight wasn't all that heavy, but it has picked up some, at least enough to keep me rolling. I have been away from home 31 days now and will be going home on Friday.

I had made my delivery in Dandridge, TN last Monday and they ran me over to Newport 17 miles away to pick up a load at Conagra, used to be Bush's Beans, and the load went up to Tomah, WI to a Walmart DC there. I remember growing up in East Tennessee, that when we would go home to Texas for a visit mom picked up 2 cases of Wolf Brand Chili to bring back to Tennessee. In the 60's they didn't have decent chili in Tennessee.

In 1996 I went into the Bush's plant in Newport, TN and picked up a full load of Wolf Brand Chili and took it to Texas. Times change. Couldn't get Mexican food in Tennessee back then, now you can get it in Canada.

After I dropped my load in Tomah they sent me over to Oshkosh, WI to pick up a load of paper packages going to Kelloggs in Omaha, NE. As I left to go to Oshkosh my signal lights went out on my tractor. So back in the shop again. Found a wire that had been rubbing against the frame and had shorted out.

After delivering in Omaha they sent me downtown Omaha to pick a load of paper bags going to Conagra flour mill in Columbus, OH. Was interesting here because it was supposed to be a drop and hook on Saturday morning. When I got there there were no empty trailers and they were refinishing their floor and couldn't unload the trailer. I got to drop it in their dock and just drive about 2 miles to our terminal in Columbus and picked up an empty trailer there. I went up to Lima, OH and picked up a load at Procter & Gamble going to Walgreens DC near Greenville, SC.

I was supposed to go down to Knoxville, TN and across to Asheville, NC on I-40 and then down to Greenville, but I-40 is closed through the Smoky Mountain Gorge because of a rock slide couple of months ago. The detour is up to I-26 near Kingston, TN and through the mountains to Ashville which is an extra 45 miles. Which I don't get paid for. Doesn't matter if roads are closed or not, they only pay what the rate miles are, and that is all the driver gets.

I delivered the load to Walgreens this afternoon, now I go to Columbia, SC tonight and pick up a load to run over to Target DC in Tifton, GA. Hopefully work my way home from there.