Today
I unloaded. I spent the afternoon taking auction purchases out
of the car, sorting, boxing, and labeling things, and putting
them away. I got the car unloaded, but there's still more sorting
and boxing to do.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
With the Camry in town for maintenance I was going to drive the Chevy to work this morning. But when I went out to start it I found the battery dead. I ended up driving the Dodge, but was a few minutes late because after that truck has sat for a few days you have to prime it to get it started. After work I put six gas cans in the truck and drove down to the casino to fill up the tank and all the cans. That should take care of the mowing and other yard work for the rest of the summer. On the way home I stopped to pay the bill for the Camry, and that was the afternoon spent. I've been using up reunion leftovers, and tonight finished off the baked beans. Last night saw the end of the potato salad, and Monday I finished off the barbecued beef. Sunday evening I'll take the hot dogs and burgers out to Shane's and we'll cook all of those.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Today
I unloaded. I spent the afternoon taking auction purchases out
of the car, sorting, boxing, and labeling things, and putting
them away. I got the car unloaded, but there's still more sorting
and boxing to do.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
After doing laundry and gassing up the car, I finished filling out the census form. Yes, I know, we already did that in April. But this was the full-bore extended form sent out to a selected few of the elite. It was actually pretty simple, but I did have to spend some time looking up some of the stuff I didn't remember. After I put away the laundry I went out to the shop and put away more auction stuff. Specifically, I took Model T gaskets out of their dirty, falling-apart box, wiped off some of the dirt and spider webs, and put them in a new box. Dinner was at the East Buffet, and the evening's entertainment was going to see the the Karate Kid remake. This is a movie where you know exactly where you're going, but Jaden Smith and especially Jackie Chan make it an enjoyable trip.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
It was a rainy day, time for some inside work, so today I got busy on some stands to hold up the Ford touring car when I pull out the rear end for rebuilding. I spent most of the day on that until I took all the leftover reunion hot dogs and hamburger patties out to my cousin Shane's house for a cookout. We spent the evening watching the kids set off fireworks, and I didn't get away until a little after midnight.
Monday, July 5, 2010
It was another rainy day, and I spent it working on those stands. I got a lot done, but there's more to do on them.
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
This afternoon I cleaned out the trunk of the Camry, getting ready to go shopping at the Iola Swap Meet next weekend.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
By the time I shopped for groceries and dog food and gassed up the car, the afternoon was pretty well shot. I spent the remaining time packing for my weekend trip.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
I'm baaaack! I left from work Thursday and drove to northern Iowa. After snoozing at the Mile 214 rest area, Friday morning I drove on to Wisconsin. I spent the day at the Iola swap meet shopping for Model T parts, and that evening went to a free movie in the park with Elizabeth and the kids.
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Friday at the swap meet I took notes on possible purchases and their locations. On Saturday I visited the car show, then went back to the swap meet and bought some of the items I found Friday. Saturday evening we dined at the Hong kong buffet, then went to a fireworks display by the Wisconsin River. The fireworks were a week late because of a rainout on the Fourth of July weekend. It was a good show. Sunday morning I headed for home at 4:49 AM. I spent the day driving, and arrived home at 7:56 PM. I found one of the best views of the trip Sunday evening when I got back here to Cowley County.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon catching up on mail, unloading the car, and putting things away. After work today I went into killing mode, spraying little trees that were coming up in all the wrong places, mostly in the lawn. I'll wait a couple of days for the poison to get down to the roots, then it will be time for a much-overdue mowing.
Wednesday, July 14
Bastille Day found me observing the return of high summer (highs in the upper nineties, plenty of humidity) by sitting in front of the computer and playing. Maybe I'll get something done tomorrow.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
And I did. After work I picked up trash along the road by the west field, then brought out the tractor and mowed. I did the lawn by the west drive, and along the road to the west. After a couple of weeks with no mowing, and some rain to keep the grass growing, some of it was pretty tall and I had to go slow in first gear. The evening brought rain, and the annoyance of leaking tarps. Apparently something has blown out of place, and I'll have to get up on top and see what it is.
Friday, July 16, 2010
After work I did some grocery shopping, paid the fertilizer bill, went to the bank and bought quarters for the laundry, went home and got the truck, went back to town and bought angle iron, then went to Juquila to get some tacos for dinner. By the time I got home and put things away, that was the afternoon.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
After doing laundry I drove up to Rose Hill for another auction. The attraction this time was some precision tools. I picked up a micrometer, a dial indicator, and a camber/caster gauge, plus a roll each of .005 and .002 brass shim, a box of tools that included a pair of large reamers, a gasoline hose & nozzle, a pair of two-jaw gear pullers, a lot of galvanized nails, and a few other items. I buy galvanized nails at auctions because they're the old hot-dipped type, and not the electroplated kind now sold in hardware stores. The former are good for decades, and the latter turn to rust spots in a couple of years. I enjoyed another good meal at La Fiesta, then went to see Leonardo's new movie, Inception. The dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream premise was too much for me, and I found myself drowsing off.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Most Sundays I spend the morning on the TV gab shows while I web surf and do other computer stuff. But today I got an early start outside to take advantage of the morning cool. I started up the WD and used the blade to do some grading, filling up the ditch where I installed the water line to the barn last year. I also removed a stump from the back yard. I dug around it and used an ax to cut some of the biggest roots, then wrapped a chain around it and attacked it with the tractor. The WD has weights and is heavy enough that about a dozen yanks finally pulled the stump out. After grading and stump pulling, I got out the B and turned to mowing. I got quite a bit done, but suffered a breakdown. A couple of mower mounting bolts are broken, and I won't be doing any more mowing with the B until I can replace them.
Monday, July 19, 2010
As soon as I got home this afternoon I went to work on replacing those broken mower mounting bolts on the B. It turned out to be an easier job than I feared, and I finished a few minutes before five. I should be able to finish the mowing tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
I mowed, but not as much as I had hoped.
After taking time to put away some of Saturday's auction purchases,
I got a late start on the mowing. I finished the east lawn, and
mowed the lane to the pasture with the mower all the way up because
the grass was so high. After it's had a day or two to dry out,
I'll go over it again with the mower down.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Job One: Fold & put away sox from Saturday's wash. Job Two: Climb to the roof and find the reason for last Thursday's leaks. No tarps out of place, indicating that the main tarp is leaking. They get that way from weathering, so it's time for a new one. Job Three: Get out the Dixon and mow the edges around the east lawn. Job Four: Bring out the Model B and sharpen the blades on the Woods mower. Actually I sharpened the two outer blades, but the center one was so worn out and bent that I replaced it with a new one. Daisy decided that while I was lying under a tractor was the perfect time to give me a good face-licking. I finished the job anyway, so I'll try out the mower on the lane down to the pasture, probably tomorrow.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
And that's just what I did. The grass was so tough and thick in some places that I had to go over it several times. With two old blades sharpened and a new one installed, the mower makes a nice, even cut. With the lane done, I took on the old cow lot behind the former dairy barn. It was the same story there. The grass was so thick and tall that I had to go over it several times. I tried to avoid mowing any of the Johnson grass which has taken over a lot of the area. I want it intact so I can spray it and kill it. The afternoons have been windy lately, so I may have to get out there early Saturday morning before the wind comes up to get any spraying done.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Didn't get much done today except buy a new tarp for the roof. I didn't even get around to putting it up. According to the forecast, the chance of rain is pretty slim.
Saturday,
July 24, 2010
I checked out an auction in Wellington this morning and found nothing interesting enough to keep me there, so I came home and worked on some shop equipment. I'm making stands to hold up the touring car when I pull out the rear end for repair. One stand is done, and the other will take less than an hour to finish.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
This was rear axle day. I spent it pulling the drive train out of the touring car, opening up the rear axle, and starting to clean up the parts.
Monday, July 26, 2010
After work today the parts cleaning continued, with a clean-up of half the rear axle housing. I still have to clean the other half, then I'll dismantle the drive shaft and see if any parts there need to be replaced.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
This afternoon's job was more parts cleaning. I worked on the left axle housing and some of the smaller parts. I'm finding pretty bad paint, or lack of paint, so I think I'll dismantle everything down to nuts & bolts, remove rust, and repaint.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The dismantling and cleanup continue. Today it was the drive shaft. I removed the brake rods and supports, the rear radius rods, and the universal joint. Then I took the drive shaft out of the torque tube and started cleaning off all the old grease and oil. Working conditions have improved greatly in recent days. Temperatures are still in the nineties, but the humidity has fallen to 50% or lower during the day. Now it's even possible to pour salt out of a container.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
I was going to spread a new tarp on the roof, but there was enough of a breeze to put a stop to the effort. I'll try again later. Fortunately there's no rain in the forecast for a few days.