How many miles today?

I wish we had kept track! Stop at Rancho San Diego corner to go the bank to get cash, check. Over to Target for paper for programs, ribbon for the ribbon cutting, a game of Skip-bo requested by the crew, check. Hey, they have a Starbucks stand, get a latte for me and a mocha for Forry.

Then off to National City to Sid's Carpet Barn to get carpet samples for House #3. Manager who had provided carpet for House #1 not there, he's at the local radio station recording a commercial. Salesman standing by offers to help. He and office manager look for prior invoice to find amounts, price range, etc.; not under client's name; not under CRT or Community Reconstruction Team, whose name is on the credit card used; not under Mennonite Disaster Service! Forry finally suggests looking under MDS, sure enough, there it is! Find four samples of brown flecked carpet.

From there to Chula Vista to a Home Depot for paint -- 30 gallons of it! Laminate flooring, hmm, 8 boxes of Hickory for House #3, 32 boxes of Oak for House #2 (no carpets for that house!) check, oops, we need 13 more boxes. Tile for bathrooms and laundry rooms, check. Paint rollers, sleeves of paint roller covers, paint brushes, check. Ear plugs, shop rags, drywall screws, check. Time to check out. Let's see, that cart all goes to House #3; no, those two things go to #1; that cart gets charged to House #2; oops, wait a minute, all that stuff on that end gets charged to MDS. Nice young man comes to help load five gallon pails of paint and the flooring into pickup. Stop by the vendor outside the store and buy two Polish dogs, get sauerkraut for Forry's; order diet Coke; clerk starts to fill, machine starts sputtering. Clerk apologizes, says she doesn't have another bottle. Buy two glasses of iced tea.

Oh, oh, an email on my iPhone from the environmental water guy says to contact him ASAP -- call him, he says we need to go to El Cajon to get a more sensitive test kit for testing for chlorine -- that darn well still shows the stuff -- we can't get the nitrate test until it's clear. Drive to El Cajon. Let's see now, he said to look for two ugly brown buildings, find the one next to the courthouse, okay, now for a parking space. Oops, can't both go in -- we've already got a couple thousand dollars worth of stuff in the back of the pick-up. Better have Forry stay with it. Okay, there's the door; nope, says public around to the other side; find the side door. Said to stop at front desk, sign in, get VISITOR badge, find elevator, go to 6th floor. Man at desk says the man who emailed me and I called and he said he'd be here until four is gone... Other guy shows up, nice guy, says he knows all about it. Shows me pink water from well, says the pool kit they had us buy yesterday isn't sensitive enough. Gives me five tablets, I'm supposed to add one to a water sample to check water every day, and to tell client to leave hoses running. He'll be out to check again on Monday, but tells me to go over to check it first & call him if it's still pink.... Gives me sheet of paper about sterilizing the well, it says to pour 1 QUART of chlorox down well for every hundred feet of casing. Remember seeing two empty GALLON jugs of chlorox by well... Find elevator, go back downstairs, give VISITOR badge back; now where's that parking lot? Oh, yeah, I had to go around to the other side of the building.

Stop to get gas at Costco -- price is up three cents from two days ago.

Go to Lowe's for missing piece of railing for porch at House #3.

Go to El Cajon Home Depot for missing 13 boxes of oak laminate flooring. Forry stays with pick-up in parking lot. Find only ten boxes on display...! Load them on cart. Finally think to ask if they might have any more. Clerk checks computer, says they're supposed to have fifty boxes of oak; was I sure I looked? Other clerk goes to check. Finds more boxes three shelves up near ceiling. Calls another clerk to get a rolling ladder. Climbs up gets one box, brings it down. I tell him I need two more. Asks me if I'm sure, after all the boxes must weigh forty pounds. Tell him yes, I need two more -- forebear telling him I had already loaded ten boxes of the stuff. Check out -- easy, these only go to one client. Get Forry to bring pickup over to loading area, one clerk helps load while another watches.

Forry parks truck a bit away from the loading area and I watch the pickup and wait for him to go in to purchase PVC pipe he needs for another client. Call Sister Sherry, get caught up on her and the dogs. Check my email, reply to accountant about address to send our tax return to us for signature. Sort out my wallet and receipts. Forry comes back with lengths of PVC pipe and elbows. Ties down load. Temp on clock in shopping area says 82 degrees.

Realize it's already five PM. I won't be back at camp to de-brief the crews at 5:15. Call Construction Foreman, he offers to go ahead with meeting, we can confer later.

Pull into the camp at 6 PM just in time for supper. Sure wish I had kept track of the miles...