Stars and Stripes Forever

 

Probably should have posted this one yesterday, but that's pretty much the story of my life - day late and a dollar short. 

Memorial Day started off with a telemarketing call at 8:45 in the morning. Apparently, the greedy bastards forgot to turn off the automatic caller or they just don't care about recognizing those who have given their lives in the service of our country.

Another quick observation about Memorial Day. While the holiday was originally Decoration Day, a day to decorate the graves of the fallen soldiers from the Civil War, it became a national day of remembrance in 1971 on the last Monday of May. Veterans Day, in November, is for all who have served. However, around here there's no way you can plant flowers in November, so we plant flowers and flags in May, the graves look nice all summer long and all who have served, whether they died in service or not, get recognized. Not a bad thing, really.

Finished up the table legs and got them delivered. If you enlarge the photo or squint a bit, you can see the knee braces sitting on top of the legs. Those are made from 3/4" angle that I notched the ends on, bent to a 45, welded together and drilled the holes to match the hole in the leg and allow them to meet the wood top at the proper location. I didn't make the center legs. I gave the boss the line-up on the installation. When he's got them bolted to the top, I can make the center leg and the stretchers.

I got an update from my buddy on the engine for the trials bike. Steady by jerks like my old friend Joey used to say. Not much left to do on it.  

I got a little more garden work done and as soon as I clean up from table leg job, I'll make the bushing for TVI. Take a couple of days for yard and garden work and then tackle the rusty Ranger. Hopefully back on the jitney after that and then maybe take a look see at the BSA. 

With the holiday on Monday, I almost forgot the Tee Shirt Tuesday post. QBlast was a locally made sports drink. The creator, Leon, is a piece of work, The product was a good one. He sponsored and sold this stuff at races. I liked it and would buy it by the case - sugar free and lots of potassium. Shame it's no longer available.

Memorial Day

 

Cuzzin Ricky and I did our annual "Dead Relatives Tour" on Saturday. Instead of the guys from the American Legion posts putting the flags on the markers, there were a bunch of Harley riders taking care of it. As we were heading to the cemetery where our dads are buried, I spotted a guy off to the side of the road carrying some flags and a parked motorcycle. I thought it strange until I remembered the little strip of property is actually the pauper's cemetery. I'm not sure what the group was that was taking care of that, but they were at both of the cemeteries that we visit. My thanks to all of you.

Rick and I talked a little politics along with our usual reminiscing while traveling and planting flowers. Lots of politics and news to discuss this year. I've got a fairly good idea what both of our dads would say about the current state of affairs - in fact they're probably spinning in their graves. I doubt they ever thought things could have gotten to this point. I pray those who lost their lives in the service of our country didn't make the supreme sacrifice for nothing. Unfortunately, it's looking that way.

Good Looking Legs

Madeline's one of my favorite artists. I can't listen to her day in and day out but when the mood strikes, it works well for me.

I'd never heard of these guys before - just stumbled across them and I've always liked the song. Probably the wrong season for it but I'll forget if I wait for the Harvest Moon.

Jumped in on the table legs after the dentist visit, which was mostly painless, by the way. I need to pick up another 6' of the 1-1/2 square tube in order to finish the job which I'll get this morning. One of the legs in the photo is all tacked together, the other one ready to go. If I get busy today, I'll have all four of them tacked together today. I looked at the wire in the MIG and even though it's a little rusty, it might work if I run a few feet off the outside of the roll. If not, I'll pick up a roll at Harbor Freight when we do the dead relatives tour. I should be able to have them all done, other than the stretchers, tomorrow or Sunday at the latest.

Here's To The Salt Of The Earth.

Here's to all the hardworking people - especially everyone struggling to buy gas to get back and forth to work, trying to feed their children since they're not getting lunches at school anymore and, of course, all of us middle class retirees watching the value of our savings and Soc. Sec income shoot craps. As we approach the Memorial Day holiday, we should be remembering all of those who gave their lives so that we could indeed live in the home of the brave and the land of the free. Hate to think their sacrifices were in vain.

Talked to the boss at the side gig yesterday. He's wanting the table legs ASAP. The plan was to have his son help me with the welding but I don't know if we can co-ordinate our schedules and get them done in time. Would have made it easily without the covid. I was cutting some more pieces last night and the power went out. The generator kicked on but I didn't want to weld anything using the generator, plus it was raining. I don't like getting trapped out in the shop during a storm.

Trip to the dentist today. The tooth quit hurting but yesterday I woke up with a pus ball about the size of a marble along the gum line. It popped when I took the first couple of bites of my yogurt. Interesting flavor combo. They're calling for rain again today. When I get home from the dentist I'll get to work on the table legs. Get the frames all tacked together and finish cutting all the pieces that go inside the frame. That'll take a while but if I get that done, maybe I can get the boss's son to finish weld them in the next couple of days. I don't know if I've got any decent MIG wire. The welding would go a lot faster with the MIG than the TIG, which is what I've been using to weld most everything the last couple of years.

The "Ranger repair" stopped by yesterday morning. The frame is cracked right in front of the rear leaf spring mount - about the only thing holding it is the top flange. Not much to weld to - mostly flaky rust. He said he's not in a big hurry but I'd like to get to it before it breaks completely loose and then have to chase it all around to get it lined back up again. He told me it cost him $600.00 to fill up his big septic tank truck I repaired last year. He never brings me an easy job but I always enjoy talking to him - old guys with common attitudes and values. 

Water

We got a new water conditioning system yesterday. This replaces a couple of filters that I had to replace every couple of months. In addition, there's now a reverse osmosis set-up for the ice maker and a separate faucet on the sink. Even with the filters, we used bottled water for drinking, coffee, etc. With all the agricultural chemicals surrounding us, this should give us good water without any chemicals, iron or sulfur. The young man who installed everything is a former student of mine. Pretty much typical story. Knucklehead in high school but plenty of talent and is now making the world go round. Did a fine job for me.

I did some more yard work yesterday. I've about chased the cooties away. However, I broke a tooth a week or so back and yesterday it decided to start causing me pain. I'm now on a round of antibiotics and I see the dentist tomorrow.

I was supposed to rendezvous with the boss at the side gig on Monday but he never called. He sent me a text last evening so we'll try it again. I also got a call from Jimmy's dad about the same time. He's in need of some more welding on his little Ranger pickup that I worked on not too long ago. What he should do is jack it up and drive a new one underneath it. He said he'll be by in a couple of days for me to take a look at it, however. 

I've only got a couple more things to do in the garden and then it will just be normal maintenance. I need to get back on the jitney if it's going to run at the end of the summer.

 

Tee Shirt Tuesday #30

I dug this one out of the bottom of the drawer. Normally when I do the laundry, whatever comes out of the dryer or off the line in the summer, that's what I wear. No point in folding it, putting it away and then grabbing another one. This one made it to the bottom of the drawer and has been there for a while. I can't remember the last time I wore it. It's been around since 2007 and the event was a 10K, meaning it was before I screwed up my chest. No way I could run 6.2 miles now days. It must have been an everyday shirt for a while judging by the dark spots on the left shoulder. Those are from oil slinging off the lathe chuck. Not the first time that's happened, probably won't be the last either.

The flowers are starting to bloom. We've got several colors of iris blooming and the wild rose is coming into its own. When I first moved here 25 years ago, there wasn't a flower visible anywhere. A couple of multiflora roses came back a year or so later but rare was the old farmstead that didn't have flowers. Not the case now.

I've decided to start incorporating garden plants into the landscaping in the future. In addition to the iris and hostas, I've got a couple of pepper plants and a tomato plant in there. No reason I can't fill in some of the spots along the outbuildings with veggies instead of annuals. Not much difference in the work required and with the forecast food shortage, be good to have a supply of organic vegetables easily accessible.

I did some yard work yesterday - mowed the front yard and pulled some weeds. I've still got a few things to plant. Walked three miles on Sunday. Getting my strength back but still a little short of breath if I try to turn up the wick. There's a 5K locally in about a month. I'm hoping to be in good enough shape to walk it at a decent pace. Time will tell.

Sleepless Night

"Car knocker" flashlight. Just the ticket for around the farm and shop. Nice bright, wide beam. Just the thing for working on a piece of equipment or checking for varmints in the middle of the night.

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 The Missus woke me up a little after midnight Friday night. She told me the chickens were making a lot of noise like something might be out there. I grabbed my slippers, flashlight and firearm and went out to reconnoiter. Nothing seemed to be amiss, so I went back to bed. About an hour later the cat woke me up trying to cough up a hair ball. Shortly after that I was awakened by the cat batting at something on the other side of the screen.

My window is of the awning type that hinges along the top edge. I had it open to the point there was about a three inch gap along the bottom edge. Just enough for a bat to get between the inside of the window and the screen, as it turned out. The cat chased the bat away so I went back to sleep. Round two came along some time after that. The cat batted the screen, the bat left and I closed the window completely. Never a dull moment around here.

I received a catalog from Lee Valley recently and saw a reel mower sharpener. It's got a gizmo that clamps to the mower base and a strip of adhesive backed sandpaper goes on that. Spin the reel and it sharpens the blades. Hope it works as advertised. The little blue & silver gizmo in the foreground is a sharpening stick. I was a dime short of getting free shipping on my order so I threw that in. I ran it across the serrated edge of my pocket knife and it seemed to work well.

Worked a little more on the table legs for the side hustle yesterday. I'm still not 100% but don't have the shortness of breath, at least with what I was doing in the shop.

A Little Somethin'

 

On a little bit of a Bob Dylan kick as of late. The radio stations I listen to out in the shop don't seem to play much Dylan.

Not much James Brown either. Both of these from "back in the day" when I was listening to them in my dad's garage.

Also from back in the day is the four engined prop job that flew over the shack the other day. You have to look close but it's there in the middle of the photo. If I had tried to zoom while taking the photo, I'd have missed it completely. Not something you see every day.

Did some grocery shopping yesterday morning and then worked in the shop later in the day for a bit. Even though it was hot out, it wasn't too bad in the shop so I got some pieces tacked together and drilled and tapped some holes. Not much of an accomplishment but progress, and I wasn't gassed out when finished. It's going to be cooler for the next week or so. I'm planning on making some headway on this job and the jitney. Felt good to be doing some fab work again.

The Times They Are A Changin'

They sure as hell are. And certainly not for the better. I watched the 2000 Mules movie yesterday - no doubt in my mind now about vote tampering in the 2020 election, not that there was much before. Even if the next couple of elections are honest, I can't see us voting our way out of this mess now. I'm afraid the country is just too far gone now. 

Did a little yard work yesterday. A little over an hour's worth late morning and I was pretty much spent. It's supposed to be close to 90 again today, so I'm going to wait until it cools off some before doing anymore yard work or gardening. I am going to do some work in the shop today. The Missus told me she saw something on TV about people thinking they're done with covid and then it comes back again a week or so later. That'd be a real kick in the ass. Once is definitely enough. I'll keep easing back into it and hope for the best.

I got a call from TVI yesterday. He needs a bushing made for his sidecar rig. I checked my inventory and I've got a piece of a cored bronze cut-off that's just about right. He said he's in no hurry, so I'll get some progress on the job for my boss at the part time gig and then see about turning that out. If you follow the link to his blog, he's got a short clip of him on the bike with the hack attached a couple of posts back. No engine yet but it's a roller now.

I was looking at the atlas to see about a trip to Tulsa - about 11 hours from the shack. I was also seeing where it was in relation to Lincoln, Nebraska and Manhattan, Kansas. The Tulsa trip would be the middle of August and that would be cutting it close if I tried to go to the fights, Speedway Motors on the return trip and try to get the rear end I want installed in the jitney before Labor Day. However, a trip to Kansas with Lincoln on the return would be do-able. I need to see what Cuzzin Ricky has going on his agenda and maybe head west to see my brother and get parts for the jitney. The rear end is a truck ship item so it might be worth the trip - mix a little business with pleasure. Maybe have a breakfast meeting next week and see what we can come up with. Time to get out and see some racing as well.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #29

 

This one's the same as last week, just a different color. I got both of them plus a nice polo shirt when I chaperoned the high mileage team on their trip to California. Fun trip. In addition to the free shirts I got to see the Golden Gate Bridge and some giant redwoods. There's a few other things I'd like to see in California but I can't see me traveling out that way again unless it's  a stop-over on the way to Hawaii. I'm still needing that one to complete my tour of all fifty states. There's still a couple of world destinations I'd like to visit as well as a return to Alaska and a couple of other states. Now that I've had the cooties, I'm more inclined to get out again. Looks like I'll be going to Tulsa for the Golden Gloves Nationals. It'll be good to get back on the road.

I found a very interesting YouTube channel while visiting The Pergelater the other day. There was a photo of an old Excelsior motorcycle on the page that caught my eye, so I followed the link to Paul Brodie's YouTube channel to check it out. Seems Mr. Brodie is my kind of guy. The first video that came up was a how-to on brazing. Great info and he explained about automatic fluxers. I was aware of them but had never seen one in action. Not something a guy like me would need but if you built bike frames with brazed joints like Mr. Brodie does, it would be pretty handy. He also has a video on TIG welding and he has several dealing with an Aermacchi road racer. I haven't watched any other than the brazing video but I'm definitely planning on checking them out. Talented guy, excellent instructor.

Made it out yesterday beyond the property line for the first time in two weeks. A trip to TSC for some shop towels, a squirt bottle for WD 40 and a couple of garden plants. Hit the gas station to fill up the cans for the mower - $46.00 for ten gallons of regular. Time to get the bicycle trailer out and use that for running my errands. Save myself some money and get some much needed exercise. 

I got my weight back down to where I'm no longer a heavy weight again but I'm shooting for 170lbs even. I've lost quite a bit of muscle over the last couple of years - and the last two weeks haven't helped matters at all. I'll be back out on the bike starting to get my strength back real soon. My running buddy is still talking about doing a century ride this year. If that's going to happen, I'm going to have to start training in earnest before much longer. 

Trees & Shrubs

 

Feeling a little bit better. I mowed the "poop park" with the reel mower Saturday morning early and then rested for a couple hours. Mowed the front yard after that and then called it a day. Did some house cleaning out in the shop on Sunday. I came down with the covid rather suddenly and had left a big mess out there, so I spent about an hour tidying up, then walked around the yard checking on the flowers and trees. Lilacs are blooming and the blossoms on the Big Leaf Magnolia will be fully open in a couple of days. Lots of yard work needing to be done but it'll have to wait until I can get around to it. Fortunately, the temperature has dropped down out of the nineties, so I'll see about juggling jobs in the shop and outdoors and start getting caught up.

New Champ!

 

A young man from our gym won the open division 156lb championship in Indy last night. He'll be fighting in Tulsa in the Nationals. I'd like to make that trip myself. 

Not feeling too bad but I rode the bicycle down to the mailbox yesterday and my forearms hurt by the time I got back to the barn. The Missus talked to a friend of hers last night who had this stuff and she said it took her about four weeks before it went away. I'm not liking the sounds of that at all. The temperatures are supposed to be more seasonable next week, so I'll take it easy at least until then. 

Mag Drill

 

My new mag drill came yesterday. I've been thinking about buying a new drill press but when I saw the mag drill on sale, I figured that would do as good or better. My drill press has a Morse taper on the spindle so I can use large drill bits, however, the motor spins too fast for anything larger than about a 1/2" bit. What I need is the ability to drill holes up to about 1". I'll get some annular cutter bits for it and I should be ready to go - advertised capacity is up to 1-3/8", plus it came with a 1/2" drill chuck. Should be handy for drilling some of the holes I'm going to need in the frame rails of the jitney.

We set a record for the heat yesterday - it was about 94 degrees on the north side of the shack at 3:30 in the afternoon. The heat index was about 102. Since I'm still on the mend from the cooties, I stayed in the shack with the AC on most of the day. It's looking to be 90 again, so not much on the agenda today either. At least I'm feeling better. A few more days and I should be back to what passes for normal.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #28

 

This one's from my last high school gig - been ten years ago now. The time seems to have passed rather quickly but I haven't missed working there. I had the pleasure of working with some great people, both faculty and students, but the administration wasn't always what it could have been. The state mandated some changes at the end of my run that didn't seem to make much sense, and the administration was forced to implement them, so it wasn't all their fault. I've had a bit of a problem with those in authority as well, so there's that. It was definitely time for me to go. The students deserve your best effort and if you can't give them that, move along. 

The recovery from the cooties is ongoing. I mowed the front yard yesterday and did a couple of household chores. A little tired afterwards but no real issues. I'm planning on mowing the back yard today. The temperature is supposed to be approaching ninety, so that'll be all for today. I'll just keep easing back into it. The general consensus seems to be don't rush it. So that's what I'm planning on.

Riding The Recliner

A little theme music for riding the recliner while dealing with CCP virus. 

Looks like I might just be doing that for another day or two. I've still got a bit of a scratchy throat and a minor cough which are just a nuisance. However, it looks like I'm going to have to take it easy since I've still got some muscle soreness and I gas out pretty quick if I try to do anything. Today's another cold rainy day - might just as well try and catch up on my reading.

My new smart phone turned out to be not so smart after all. I had it on the charger Wednesday night and when I grabbed it Thursday morning it was turned off and refused to turn back on. I'm not a total slave to a cell phone but since I'm layed up for a while, it would be nice to have a phone handy. We've still got a landline, so I'm still able to communicate with the outside world if necessary. 

Cooties

 

May 4, 1970 @ Kent State. As guaranteed under the Constitution, the right to peaceful assembly. 52 years later and nothing but trouble on the horizon.

I' been stricken with the cooties. I thought I was just suffering from the usual springtime allergies but when I started getting the chills and my skin was sore to the touch, I figured something else was afoot. I took the at-home test from the feds and there it was. Other than really, really sore muscles, not doing too bad. I'm thinking a couple more days and I should be just fine.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #27

 

I got this one at Kreed's high school graduation. He boxed at the gym for several years and later on boxed in the Marines. He did real well representing the Marines. His dad helped coach for a few years until he started having eye trouble. I don't know if it was a result of the boxing, he explained what was going on but I don't remember anymore.

I wish he was still hanging around the gym, however. He's a great big guy but can spar with anyone at whatever level they feel comfortable. It's hard to find guys capable of pulling their punches during a sparring session, especially when guys are training for a fight. You get a nasty cut or a concussion, and that's it, no tournament.

Put 5 miles in on Sunday, cut some grass, went to the feed store and the hardware store yesterday. Picked up a new lamp socket and replaced it right a way when I got home. Didn't want to burn the house down with an electrical fire.

From Here

I'd really like to have one of these or an old Dodge Power Wagon - other than the seat cushions, most everything in the cab solid steel. No back-up camera, no GPS, no automatic trans. As long as it had a heater, that'd be about all I would need. Maybe pick one up on my 80th birthday - hope to have most of the other projects done by then!

Finish One, Start Another

 

I cut some pieces yesterday for the next job in line. I'm planning on doing a little more today along with going walkies, weather depending. 

Made a big pot of soup yesterday - pretty tasty. I don't have a specific recipe because I don't get the same root veggies every time from the CSA. In fact, I've never attempted cooking with most of these. I need to do a bit of research on different cuisines that use a lot of root veggies. About the only thing I'm familiar with is pioneer cooking from the days before refrigeration and I don't know much about that. With the food shortages being forecast, it wouldn't hurt to know more about storing and cooking things that don't require refrigeration or canning.

I got a text from my buddy who's working on my Ducati motor for the trials bike. He's got the bottom end taken care of - heavy brass flywheel instead of the aluminum one for better low rpm performance. I'm not sure when he'll have it done but I'm in no hurry. I've got plenty to keep me busy for the next ten years or so.