Jazz Ballad

 

A really smooth jazz number I heard on the Waterford, Ireland station in the wee, wee hours. I recognized the tune right away but didn't recognize the artist. Fortunately, the disc jockey filled that in for me. It's a long tune at10 minutes, but well worth listening to.

It's been an absolutely lovely Spring this year. Everything has been blooming - no late frost - just good weather for all the trees and flowers. We could use some rain now to get the field crops germinated but it'll come. The lilac is about the best it's ever been. The rose is the first blossom of the season but there'll be a lot more coming.

I took the dog to the groomer yesterday and in between dropping him off and picking him up I went to Menards to get a couple of things. When I was in line to check out there was an old guy behind me in line. He was probably about my age but looked a little rougher. He was wearing a Marine Veteran cap, so that might explain him looking a little older. He only had one item, so I told him to go ahead of me. He paid for his $4.00 dollar item with a twenty and told the cashier to put his change towards my bill. I didn't hear the conversation and I had to ask the cashier what was going on when she adjusted my bill.  The Marine and his wife were out the door before I could thank him and didn't see them when I made it to the parking lot. Made my day even though it was totally unnecessary.

One of the items I bought was the organizer in the above photo. I got the large taps (3/4 and larger) out of the toolbox and then organized the rest of them - pipe taps, fractional sizes both fine and coarse threads, left hand taps, and special thread pitch taps like the 3/8-32 for the caps on the TIG torches. Metric taps and dies are in another drawer.

The toolbox is a Penncraft the Missus bought for me as a Christmas present about 50 years ago. J.C. Penney used to sell most everything like Sears and Wards did. They sold mechanic's tools and sporting goods. Must be a tough business. Wards is defunct, Sears Craftsman tools were being sold by KMart and now Ace Hardware is selling them. It's been years since I was in the Sears store at the local mall. There was a Sears hardware that sold tools, paint, etc., close to the college that I used to shop at, but it closed down several years ago. I've still got quite a few Craftsman tools. They built them to last.   

I bought some pepper and tomato plants as well. Depending on the weather, I'll try and get those in the ground in the next few days.

 

Busy Weekend

This one popped into my head when I was cutting grass the other day. Hard to beat one of the Rock and Roll originals.

The Big Leaf Magnolia's blooming. It's quite the exotic tree - big blossoms and leaves that are easily 18" long. It's always the last of my Magnolias to bloom but definitely worth waiting for.

Cuzzin Ricky and I went to our first open wheel race Friday night. 25 lap feature for the midgets and a plethora of stock cars, including a vintage class. Among the Camaros were a '57 Chevy and a '63 with a shark fin on the roof. We managed to get plenty of dust in our eyes and lungs while sitting in the stands. Chilly, too. The temps were in the forties by the time we left. I had the foresight to put on my long underwear and bring a heavy coat, hat and gloves, so I was comfortable.

The grandson came down Saturday. We did some work on the shooting range - still a bit more to do - moved some fireplace wood so I can run it through the log splitter, welded up Cuzzin Ricky's job for the American Legion, and welded a job for the grandson's employer. He did the welding; I did the prep work and holding. The kid's getting to be a pretty good hand.

Sunday I watched a couple of cowboy movies and then did some yard work. Aired up the tires in the Himalayan as well. Time to ride.

Doctor's visit this morning and ham radio club meeting in the evening. A little more yard work and shop work in between.

Gone Like a Cool Breeze

 Retired once again - this time for sure! Had a light night and was able to bug out early - through the front door I might add. Same set of doors I went through when I hired in there the first time 13 years ago. Head held high and no looking back.

I installed the new bearings in the neck of the trials bike yesterday. The big nut in the photo has been a pain every time I have to put it on or take it off. It's 35mm and the biggest metric socket I have is 30mm. I decided to make up a little tool to make the job easier.

I took a piece of 1/8" x 1/2" flat, bent it to match the angle of the nut, welded a piece of 1/8" sheet to it with a 5/16" bolt welded through a hole. 

Works like a charm. Even though the nut is large, it doesn't require much torque. A ratchet with a 1/2' socket spins it right on. I'll probably never have to take it off again, but if I do, I'll be able to save myself some time - providing I'll be able to remember where I put the tool.

I'm going to work on Cuzzin Ricky's job today and get that one knocked out, cut some grass and then off to the midget races!

Trailer & Retirement

I've always liked her work, starting with the Stone Poneys way back in the sixties. Beautiful voice and excellent choice of songs to showcase it.

 And this right here is why the average middle class wage earner never gets ahead of the game. You bust your hump going to work every day, but every day your dollars are worth less. There's definitely something wrong with a system where the government borrows their money from an outside concern and then has to pay interest on it while devaluing the purchasing power. If I would have purchased an item for $1.00 on the year I was born, 1950, to purchase that same item this year it would cost $32.30. A little bit of fiscal responsibility certainly wouldn't hurt.

I finished up the trailer job and it got hauled away yesterday - glad it's gone. However, Cuzzin Ricky stopped by and dropped off a job for the American Legion post. Not a big job, but I thought I was free to get back on my own jobs exclusively for a while. I'll get that cleared up in the next couple of days and get back on the trials bike and the jitney. I did pick up the new bearings for the steering stem on the bike the other day.

Last night of working for wages tonight. Retiring for the 3rd or 4th time isn't as exciting as when I left the high school years ago, but I'll be glad to be out from under it.

 

Finishing the Trailer

 

Cross pieces for the antenna rack on the trailer are all finished. I ordered some foam pipe insulation to put over the square tube to pad the big antennas that should be here today. I'm planning on finishing the installation tomorrow - should be dry for the next few days. I'll be glad to get rid of this one.

I did get a little more done on the jitney and took care of some paperwork for the college gig. I got my last evaluation of my job performance last week. It was positive, so at least I'm finishing on a high note. I'll be glad to get rid of this one, as well.

I've got some boxing stuff lined up, project work, of course, and a few other things to keep myself busy - going to the bike shop to pick up some bearings for the neck of the trials bike today. I'm thinking about dusting off the old tap shoes and learning the Shim Sham. It'll be good from both a physical and mental angle. I want to do a little more black and white photography, camping, fishing, traveling, etc. Make up for a couple of lost years due to covid. Plenty to do, and hopefully, the good health to enjoy the freedom to do whatever I choose to do. 

New Battery

 

The new battery for the trials bike showed up this past week and since I figured out what was wrong with my air acetylene torch, I repaired the little brass box I made for Surly years ago. One of the corner seams had split open, so I re-soldered it. I also shined it up a bit. Of course, when it shows up on The Antique Roadshow the appraiser will probably knock the value way down because I removed the patina!

I finished welding up the pieces for the ladder rack on the trailer yesterday. That was a pain in the ass. Each piece had to be fit up individually. No two pieces were alike, and I had to move the ladder from side to side of the trailer about 100 times it felt like. It would have been a lot easier if I had a helper on the off side or if I could have tacked the pieces together while on the trailer. Anyway, I'll get some paint on them today and do the final installation when it's not raining and I've got some help.

Back on cleaning up the fork legs on the trials bike and tinkering around a bit on the jitney. It's my last week at the college coming up. I'm done working for wages. The plan going forward is to work on the multitude of half-finished projects, travel a bit and enjoy life the best I can. Sounds like a good plan, but I know how plans can change. There's always something coming along to throw a monkey wrench into the plan. And like always, I'll deal with it when it happens. 

Weekly Reports & a PSA

Busy day Monday. Started off with a bicycle ride. I got about 2 miles from the house and a gust of wind blew something into my eye. Not sure how it happened since I was wearing wrap-around sunglasses but it must have been some fertilizer or lime from the farm field. Burned like the dickens and the tears were flowing like Niagra Falls. Decided to head home after that. 

The rest of the day went better, however - barber shop, steel supply, drugstore, grocery and bank. Sharpened the spare mower blades, swapped the old ones out, then mowed the front yard. Fed and watered the chickens and called it a day.

Tuesday a little lighter on the chores. I bumped Monday's chores back a day, so did those. Cleaned up the poop park and then "mowed" it with the string trimmer. Went to the new Harbor Freight store by the college for a cheap 1/2" breaker bar. I kept one in the garage just for changing the mower blades but it somehow came up missing. Menards after that to pick up the hardware for the trailer job, Aldi for a couple of things and then went to work. Only three more nights to go now.

I'm planning on working on the trailer job today but I don't know how much I'll get done since they're forecasting rain. If I get rained out, I'll work on the fork legs on the trials bike. I've got another little job I want to finish also. 

I wasn't able to get my air acetylene torch working after getting a fresh bottle, but I swapped out the tip and it works fine. I'm thinking maybe a spider crawled up into the tip and built a home. I'll blow it out with the air compressor next time I turn it on and see if that takes care of it.

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Public Safety Announcement: Lots of slow-moving farm vehicles on the roads now. Take your time and have some patience when you come up on one. They drop dirt and debris when leaving the fields sometimes, so you motorcyclists take it easy on the corners. Also, the homeowners are mowing grass and throwing it out on the roadway too. And let's not forget all the animals that are on the move when the sun goes down.

Be careful out there my friends!