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About this blog

mostly real adventures on the road

Entries in this blog

Bidness As Usual

I went to the eye Dr. Monday,and she said everything was looking good.I have to use eye drops every day for glaucoma. They put drops in my eyes and dilated my pupils,and shined that really bright light in them.Then I went to the shop and picked up a load of beams at the yard going to Export,Pa.It was almost dark when I left the Dr.'s office and I could see pretty good.By the time I chained my load down and left it was full dark,and everything was a little blurry,and every time I met a car their

other dog

other dog

Cheap Smoker Oven

I have another favorite cooking tool in the back yard too-the outdoor electric smoker range. My best friend "Traveling Kid" ( he died of a heart attack a few years ago,while driving a truck. He was just past the scales on rt. 58 in Suffolk,Va.) told me how to make it,and it works great-if you don't mind an old electric range in your yard.I had mine in the shed in Appomattox,now i've got one out back behind a small metal shed,kind've out of sight. All you need is an old stove with a drawer in the

other dog

other dog

Ready To Go

I got that old stew pot all clean and ready for it's next mission.I really should have done it yesterday,but...you know how that goes! I sprayed it out with the hose and it came pretty clean,then I scrubbed it and rinsed it,then boiled it out again,dumped it and reseasoned it with Crisco while it was still hot and dry.All I gotta do now is let it cool and put it away.It probably doesn't need to be reseasoned every time,but it can't hurt,as it's used infrequently.That's probably why it cleans eas

other dog

other dog

Stewed Out

The stew went well,it was delicious and everyone seemed to have a good time. Had a little bit left over,but not a lot.There was enough where some people took some home with them though.I'm tired as a dog,and tomorrow i've got to boil the pot out again,clean it,and reseason it,but i'm gonna call it a day now and go to bed.

other dog

other dog

Stewing

Got the stew on and bubbling away.Had to go to Avon,Oh. Thursday,but I got unloaded and reloaded pretty quick,unloaded in Roanoke last night,and came home and cut up meat,potatoes,and onions until after 1am.Got that cooking now-that's the hardest part,the raw ingredients.After they're done it's just a matter of opening cans and dumping them in.Gotta go now,don't wanna let the pot boil dry or burn anything,or i'll have to go buy 300 cans of Dinty Moore before anybody gets here.

other dog

other dog

Same 'ol Same 'ol

Once again I have returned from a week of hauling freight up and down our nation's highways...nothing exciting or out of the ordinary happened,which is good.I went to Avon,Oh. Monday,reloaded at Macedonia for Roanoke,then took a load from Dillwyn to Zelienople,Pa. and reloaded at Pittsburgh back to Lynchburg.Got that off this morning and picked up a load of Kyanite at Dillwyn going to Fremont,Oh. to deliver Monday. I'll be leaving Sunday. Next weekend i'm making a stew,and I wish you all could c

other dog

other dog

Frost

They're calling for frost tonight and tomorrow night so I picked all my tomatoes that were ripe,or showing any sign of ripening.Then I went back and picked the biggest and best looking of the green ones.I'm gonna wrap them in newspaper,put them in a box and put them in a closet to see if they'll keep for a while.Shame the biggest and best looking tomatoes are on the vines now that it's about to frost,but they just didn't get any rain until last week.I've got a pepper plant that's still blooming

other dog

other dog

New Boots For Jo

I've been out seeing how much money I could spend today,or so it seems anyway.I went to the drug store and got a prescription filled, stopped by the cell phone battery store to get a new battery,then had to go to Altavista to the shoe shop to get my boots I was having resoled.Made the mistake of criticising ( that just doesn't look right-maybe I can't spell criticizing either ) Jobyna's driving along the way,and how she pays attention to everything except what she's supposed to be doing,which is

other dog

other dog

Dark

I forgot to mention it was dark when I dropped that piece of chicken.All I could see was the glowing charcoal.I just got in,unloaded lumber in Eighty Four,Pa. this morning and went to Neville Island and picked up a light load (18,000 lbs.) of rejected steel beams to take back to Petersburg Monday. I unloaded in Curwensville,Pa. Monday morning and had to go to Pittsburgh to reload.I ran 879 to 286 to 119 to rt.22 to 376 into Pittsburgh.When I got on 22 I noticed a truck back behind me a ways in t

other dog

other dog

Charcoal Chicken

Yum,had that gritty charcoal and ashes taste,but otherwise OK. Good thing I wasn't cooking over yak dung though.

other dog

other dog

D'oh!

...and then I was cooking the three chicken breastesess on the grill,and when they were done I moved the whole grill grate over to the side that wasn't over the charcoal.So the one that's twice as big as the other two could cook a little longer,I moved it back over the coals with the tongs,and forgot the grate was over top of the other one,and dropped it right into the coals and ashes.I brought it in and washed it off and put it back on-on the grate this time. I'm gonna eat it anyway.

other dog

other dog

On Sale...again

Went over to Wal-Mart a while ago to get some film developed. I'm gonna stop looking at the cameras that are right next to the counter where you drop your film off-now the camera I paid $199.99 for is down to $129.99

other dog

other dog

I Must Be Off...or I Might Be Off

Well,sometimes it doesn't pay to plan to make a few extra bucks.Never did get anything to go with the magnet,so I took it by itself.I might as well have left the day I loaded it as it turned out.Then I could have gotten another load this week,but no, gotta be greedy,try to get two loads in one! I did make an adventure out of it though-I went across rt. 33 from Harrisonburg over to I-79, since I only had 8,000 lbs. on. That's a great adventure no matter what you've got. Hope the boss doesn't rea

other dog

other dog

Mountain Country

I unloaded a load of pipe right on top of a mountain ( well actually on the side of a mountain-everything in Cumberland,Md. is either on top of,the side of,or at the bottom of a mountain ) Monday morning,then went to Boardman,Oh. and picked up a magnet,then went to Macedonia and got a load of coils going to Roanoke.After I got the coils off I went to Petersburg and delivered the magnet and picked up another one going back to Boardman to be refurbished-they make new electro magnets there and also

other dog

other dog

Railroad Festival Parade

I just got back from the Appomattox Railroad Festival parade and it was a good time.Looked like a really big turnout this year,and lots of parade entries.Only bad part is when you're in it you don't get to see it. They threw me out this year,so I had to make an early exit-they said not to throw candy,but they didn't say not to throw cans of beer and cigarettes to the kids,and I wanted to give them SOMETHING you know...(I am kidding of course,let me make that perfectly clear-I didn't throw anythi

other dog

other dog

No More Jugs (that Explode,that Is )

I went to Raleigh with a load of steel on a side kit trailer this morning,got lost, ( kind of par for the course for me ) then came back to the shop and tied down a load of pipe going to Cumberland,Md. for Monday delivery. The guys in the shop had discovered that an empty Pepsi bottle explodes much louder than the windshield washer jugs.I guess they just ran out of the jugs and had to find something else.The Pepsi bottles take much more pressure to explode-then they'll blow off of the fitting an

other dog

other dog

Exploding Jugs (no,pamela Anderson Is Not In This Story)

The Appomattox Railroad Festival and Parade is this weekend.Last year Tom at the shop put the big "Mack" sign on the water tank on the mixer the morning of the parade. I had to burn the frost off of it with a hair dryer first,and we tilted a space heater up inside the shop to try to warm it up so the decal would stick. When I stopped by the shop to get fuel before I went to Seneca Tuesday it was 94 degrees. Still no rain ....speaking of Tom at the shop ( I'm Tom too ),he's discovered a new form

other dog

other dog

Too Tired

I left Sunday and went to Cleveland,brought coils back to Roanoke,then loaded treated lumber at Moneta and went to Seneca,Pa. and finally went to Kent,Oh. and picked up 2 new 48' aluminum Fontaine trailers. They bought Ravens trailers,so you can't get a Ravens anymore,but I suppose these are the same trailer,just different name.They came from the old Ravens factory.Just got in with them a little while ago,so i'm too tired to write anything tonight. Maybe later...zzzzzz

other dog

other dog

Air Leak

well sh...oot! sometimes it doesn't pay to try to save a couple of bucks. I got my power steering hose made,$34.00 and went to put it on. First thing I did though was to take the air line off that I put on yesterday and put some thread tape on the fittings. It only took a few minutes,it was easy to get to. The power steering hose was much more difficult ,but I got that on and started the truck and turned the wheel back and forth then refilled the reservoir and was good to go,until I pushed the b

other dog

other dog

#@%&! Taxes!

I'm off to Car Quest to see about getting a new line made.Just wrote a check to pay my real estate taxes- $239.00. I sold my house in Appomattox on 1 and 1/4 acres and bought this place,a single wide on .73 acres for $28,500 and now they've asessed it at $59,000 at tax time.I don't know whether to feel like I got a heckuva deal or if I got screwed big time. Gotta wait 'til later to pay the vehicle taxes-about $270.00.They asessed the mixer at less than half what I paid for it. I would take off

other dog

other dog

What's Up ?

What did I do this week ,if anything?...oh, I remember- I went to Negley, Oh. with a van load because my return load from Follansbee,WV to Richmond had to be in a van. Didn't have any 48 footers at the yard so I had to pull a 53. Tight spot at N.B.Handy in Richmond,got to blind side back to the dock,and it's much easier with a 48' trailer because it's so cramped in there. The windows in the sleeper and motorized mirrors really come in handy there. Then I went to Seneca,Pa. with a load of treated

other dog

other dog

Or Not

Well,I've got one load "in the hole" since I deadheaded home.My week wasn't near as good as I expected-should have left that load in Plymouth,it really wasn't worth fooling with,and I invested those two 3 liter Mountain Dews in it. As slow as it's been anything's better than nothing I guess,but it's a tremendous letdown to run as hard as I did and not even bring home $500....geez! About the only thing that would cheer me up is if Jim MacMahon showed up here with a big ol' check in his hand.

other dog

other dog

Sunny Florida

After I unloaded the second load of lumber I went to Orlando.Wasn't real happy with going that far on Thursday,and sure enough I deadheaded all the way back.Left there about 10 this morning and got back at 9 tonight. Didn't see any alligators,no bikinis,and only 1 armadillo. Looked like he was mashed about a week ago.

other dog

other dog

Good Week

Since I was here last i've unloaded the lumber in Moneta,been to Petersburg and got a load of beams and delivered them in Garden City,Ga, and picked up another load of lumber in Estill,S.C. Got 8' 6x6s this time,but I didn't have any trouble with it sliding. This and the pipe to Weaverville from last week should give me a pretty good week for the first time in a long time. And if I go out tomorrow I should have 2 loads on next week's check. It's about time to make a pickup payment,the electric b

other dog

other dog

Slick Boards

Unloaded that steel in Wilmington this morning and went up to Plymouth,N.C. to load a load of lumber,16' 2x10s.Had to weigh in and out,and where I loaded was a good ways from the scales,so I threw 2 straps across each stack of lumber to go weigh out.The weight was OK, so I just eased on out to the truckstop across the road to finish strapping down.It was about a half mile away,and there's a stop light at the end of the road,truckstop's straight across.When I got parked I saw that the inside boa

other dog

other dog

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