Fine...

Spent yesterday trying my new socket on those same stripped bolts without any success, so I'm sending it back to them.  Managed to bruise five knuckles and bloody three of them on top of the bruises, so it shows how hard I was trying.  My dad came to help after he got our new faucet installed(We can wash dishes in the sink again!)and had no better luck.  Turns out we can remove the gas tank right next to that area-just have to siphon off the gas as it's over a half tank(meaning nearly ten gallons)so it doesn't squash us-and therefore get to the bolts much easier.
Went tubing near Yellowstone over the weekend-among other things like four wheeling(where my mom got lost on a back road so we went a lot farther than planned)-and stepped into rather sticky mud and got some cuts and bruises from that.
We kids all got a bit sunburned from that, thanks to running out of sunscreen-my poor sister's legs are the worst, and she's got work today-so aloe vera has been in use as well.
I also wound up driving home thanks to that, which meant pretty much all day behind the wheel.  Towards the end I really wanted to get home-and it's been a thing among my siblings to try and beat my dad home-so I set the cruise control at 80(the driver ahead of me was going that fast)and spent the last half hour that way til we neared the exit.
Still don't like driving, and I was very sore afterwards.

Ow...

Should not get enthusiastic about pulling weeds when I haven't put that much effort into it before.  Gave myself a rather nasty blister on the side of my right index finger for it.  Funny that my left one can take it, but I have been going easy on my right hand til now.  Managed two buckets of weeds despite that, though it was an interesting exercise.
Work was rather busy yesterday, thanks to a micro-burst I believe.  Wound up getting off 45 minutes late-not really a bad thing, as I still got paid for it-but my employee evaluation got put off because the manager doing it was working as well.  Can't talk to employees and run the store at the same time. Just doesn't work.
My sister got some new sockets and wrenches to try to get the bolts off my truck, but they still couldn't manage it.  We tried heating it then cooling it with a socket on, but  that just stripped off again.  Almost crumbled actually.  Hope I get my socket today so I can see if it works better.

Grumble

The heating of bolts really only resulted in a rather startling display as the (very old) propane torch caught fire-I have no idea why, there were no sparks or anything-right around the control knob.  Thankfully I was able to put it out before the knob was damaged, but I kind of gave up on heating after that.  I was very glad I'd chosen to try heating the bolt furthest from my gas tank so that was never at risk.  And my hands were much lower down on the tank.  I'd also pulled my hair back and shoved it under my shirt so nothing beyond the torch caught fire.
Found this tool online that was made to remove stripped bolts of all sizes, and ordered one since nothing else is working.  Here's hoping...
Employee evaluations this week, I'm nervous...

Sigh...

Just read a post about self driving cars.  They think they will make the human driver obsolete, which I will admit they have a point, but no computer is without fail.  Storms and weather can effect current systems, and should they remove the steering wheel, how can a human occupant control a car should the auto pilot fail?  Yes human error causes most crashes, but humans also can avoid accidents that a computer might not.  Or at least reduce the damage. Think on that people.
Woke up to rain this morning, so we're cooler today.  Made the house smell nice too.
Got the lubrication line off, now just have to mess with the drive shaft before I can get to the trans. That's going to involve heating the now stripped bolts, hammering a smaller socket onto them to 'reset' the grips, letting them cool, then getting them off.
Church was fun yesterday, and we watched 17 Miracles in honor of Pioneer Day this week.  Also watched Amazing Grace, which I think is a pioneer story as well.  If you haven't you really ought to watch it. Along with the #IamaPioneer video the church did this week.

And Nope...

Still didn't get very far with my truck. The drive shaft is free, but still in the transmission as it has a mount between the back wheels and the trans.  Drained the fluid in the trans-and somehow thought there wouldn't be that much fluid so now the very old and very black stuff is on the bottom of the pit in our garage-so at least I got that out of the way.
Made it to the temple with my parents and they actually asked me to do a few extra baptisms-which is a first-so I did fifteen in all.  It helped my headache too, so there was my benefit.
My sister came home from work and is now asleep on the floor of the computer room where I'm at due to a late bedtime last night. Going to try to get her up for dinner, and I'm sure its not good for her back and stuff.  Plus she probably won't get up to her alarms in here either.

Not Again...

Got started on my clutch replacement, and hit a nasty snag.  Turns out my 97 truck has weird stuff.  I guess it was a weird year for ford...The bolts on the drive shaft-which I have to remove to get the transmission out-are twelve point 12mm size that you can't remove with arm strength alone.  My dad tried after I spent about fifteen minutes without it budging.  He had no better luck, and he doesn't have the socket size for his air socket wrench. Gr....
Also sliced my left finger removing the gear shift-not sure why you need to, but I guess it is connected to the transmission-and of course we didn't have any band aids.  So I made do with steri-strips(like super narrow cloth tape that works like stitches but you lay it length wise on the wound to hold it closed)until I got a band aid.  Need to get more though.
Someone in my singles ward that I talk to has to replace the clutch in their 98 ford ranger, but I think theirs is bigger.  And the problem isn't an old clutch, the lubrication line to the gear shift is leaking and it dripped onto the clutch and ruined it.  So before they can replace the clutch they have to fix the leak so it doesn't just ruin the new one all over again.
Went on a walk with my mom this morning, and used my previously unused running shoes. I think that may have been why my ankle was acting up, because it felt much better to walk in those despite adjusting to new shoes.
We're getting raspberries!  But they are still ripening so we've only got a handful to eat thus far.

Meh...

Kind of humid today, which is mainly due to the rain last night-I suspect-and this morning.  But it meant the weeds were easier to pull-still hard though-so I got in three buckets to make up for last time's one.  Starting a third 'row' in the weeds, which means I'm behind my brother in space cleared but my weeds are bigger.

Helped my mom with a trailer shop-did one theater all by myself-for Minions, which I'm not a big fan of.  I'm sure kids love it, but it doesn't work for me. The trailers were more interesting to be honest.  Goosebumps looks funny, though I think its meant to be a bit scary too-the books certainly were-and yet they don't really go into that.  Might be fun to watch.  Pan looks fun too.  My dad is very anxious for Peanuts, but that's waiting til november.
Did have fun talking to the person behind the box office while trying to get a manager-paperwork, sigh-which made it a better trip than I was expecting when I left.
I'm so bored now....

Oh Come On.

Went to weed the garden and barely made 25 minutes before it started to rain on me! But I filled my bucket up, so I was able to get some done despite the cats bugging me until the rain came down in earnest.  Between my brother and I we've got the big weeds down to a 10-15 foot patch in the center.  Have a big rhubarb that's gone to seed on the east side of my end, which I have to work around.  Getting there...

Heard back from the dean about my grade, so they're looking into it and will get back to me.  Of course that means they are going to contact the teacher, so that may not get the grade changed, but I can hope.

Work was busier yesterday, so I got off late from work.  Mainly by choice, the evening manager was helping a older pair with a catering order for something and so we had one person for each spot.  If I left there would have been a gap so I stayed until the manager finished then I left.  Smelled like bananas when I first got there, and couldn't figure out why.

Independance Day!

Well, it was humid, which was good as it diminished the fire risk.  I had to work, but it was slow and boring, but not enough to get off early.  We went to breakfast at my uncle's which was sparse-not a lot of people wanting to get up and go somewhere to eat.  Then we got the table back in the dinning room-my second youngest brother and I-so we were able to eat there yesterday. My mom and dad got the sink in place with the help of my three-the ones at home-brothers and I.  My mom got to caulk it, so it's now secure.  But as my dad said on the note stuck to the faucet, the 'well is still dry' as the water is not connected and the drains are still just holes into the cupboard underneath.
Dishwasher is also still in the t.v. room, so dishes are still in the bathtub.  My grandma was being rather unsympathetic about it-I don't have an issue with it, but it is a bit hard on the knees and my sister still can't hold stuff in her left hand-and was joking about her childhood.  My sister and I have started recording her stories because she didn't talk about them much before.
Dumped water leftover from the fireworks saturday on the weeds this morning to help make it easier to get them out.  But there wasn't much so it didn't really help.
No word from the dean yet....

Oopps.....

My dad turned the water sprinklers off for a rainy day, and forgot to turn them back on-hence the nearly dead dry lawn for the past week-so he's had them on most of the week in hopes of saving and bringing the lawn back.  Might lose a good deal of it, as a lot was very dry and dead looking, but we're hoping.  At least the potatoes are managing so far.
Finally emailed the dean of the art college at school, as my teacher won't talk to me anymore.  Can't say if that will do anything, but I can hope.  Better than doing nothing and having to retake the class after all that effort.  I really wish I could get my own camera, as that would eliminate their primary argument, but might not change their mind.  Plus I do agree that cell phones just don't do it when I want good shots.  Too bad I can't afford one.
Celebrating my sister's(both of them)birthday this week, which was fun though the younger one's kids were not allowing for a relaxing dinner. Youngest was grouchy thanks to the oldest, and the oldest was kind of being a brat. Sigh.  But I got to play with the older one a bit to take the burden off my sister for her birthday.
Two steps forward, one back as my mom put it, with regards to the kitchen.  We got the paneling up yesterday, and my mom painted the stuff by the fridge area so we could put it back.  But monday the tile came off the sink counter area-meant a good deal of scraping to get the thin set off so the tile could be reused-before he could put the sink back.  So we're back to square one on that part.  But the fridge is back in place and out of the computer room.