Weekend Update

 

Mailbox repair & repaint over the weekend. The handle had come loose on one side - figured I better get it fixed before the other side broke and the mailman wouldn't be able to deliver all the pleas for money I get. I do occasionally get a check once in a while, however. Just not near often enough.

It's basic black rather than blue, but I shouldn't have to fiddle with it for a couple more years.

I made up a quickie sketch for TVI. The sketch went to my buddy Kevin to get the part 3D printed. 

 

Went for a walk with Coach Jen yesterday. The place has a permanent 5K course, so we walked that and got our 3 miles in. Beautiful day for a walk - beautiful setting with a beautiful young lady. 75 degrees, sunny, slight breeze - couldn't be nicer. Especially after a couple of days with a 115 degree heat index. Today's weather is just about the same as yesterday. Life's definitely good.

Got out on the bike this morning - 8 miles - planning on doing both cycling and walking the next few weeks. Need to lose a few more pounds. I'm holding steady at 165, but it wouldn't hurt to get down to 160 and then add the 5 pounds back on with muscle. The shoulder doctor told me to go easy with the weights until things get better. I've been doing the therapy on a regular basis and the shoulder's improving daily. 

More yard work today and some cleaning in the shop.

And if one Taj Mahal is good, two's even better. Enjoy!

Hot Out There

 

Hot and humid the last couple of days. I took the wife to the eye doctor yesterday. The car thermometer was showing 100 on the nose until we pulled into the parking lot at about 4:00 and then it dropped to 99. It was still 91 at 7:30 last night.

It wasn't as humid as Wednesday, but still humid enough to wet the floor of the garage. 

I got up yesterday at 5:30 for a 6:00 start to help out with the "barn raising" for the CSA. It's actually a green house. It has a clever steel frame and trusses with plastic sheeting covering the ends, sides and roof. They started on it Wednesday and had all the steel structure completed by the end of the day. Most everything else was completed by 10:00 Thursday morning. I got home about 10:30 and did a couple of things outside the shack as long as I was already sweaty. Hot out there.

I've gotten enough range of motion back with the shoulder I can raise my arm up over my head finally. I did quite a bit of it in the 4 hours I was helping out. The arm was sore the rest of the day, but it was good therapy.

A couple of big fat peaches from one of my trees. They're not quite ripe yet, but I made a smoothie out of one of them yesterday for breakfast. The peach, a cup of yogurt, a scoop of protein powder, a little honey, and almond milk to fill up the cup. Tasty and healthy as well. I'll have the same thing this morning and as soon as they ripen up a little more, I'll bake myself a pie.

Raccoon Stripper Pole

The grandson and I finished the mailbox job. He had a little trouble with the layout - still struggling with his fractions. The bottom of the box is bent from the accident, so we checked for plumb and square a couple of different ways, got it tacked up and then he finish welded it. His welding is still a little rough but a few years' worth of practice will take care of that.

Two views of the little pepper from my little kitchen garden. I love the stripes. Don't know how it tastes yet but it looks like it would make a nice addition to a salad.

The temperature yesterday was hot. Chicago beat the old record by one degree, plus the dew point was 80 degrees for a heat index of around 115. Might have been a little cooler around here but not enough to make a difference. I'm helping with a barn raising this morning. Six o'clock start and they're planning on being done by 11:30. I don't know if I'll make it that long. The forecast calls for temps a little hotter even than yesterday. We haven't had any hot weather around here - at least not enough for me to have gotten acclimated to it. I've done a lot of hot jobs over the years so I know how to take care of myself, but I'm not a youngster anymore. 

Fuel

The Missus was watching an old Dragnet show the other night and saw a Ranchero in the background on one of the street scenes. She asked me if Ford sold a Falcon pickup truck and I responded with Ranchero. And just like that, the next day went I went to the grocery store there was a Ranchero in the parking lot - even more impressive than mentioning something out loud and then it magically appearing on the computer.

I've been doing a little research into available fuels for the Sportster, primarily, but also for the jitney and a few other things I've got cluttering up the shop and storage. I sent a missive to my brother from a different mother on the subject. He's done quite a bit of research on available fuels in order to get his Camaro to run properly with a high compression, carbureted engine. He tells me most all fuel that comes out of a pump whether that's at a marina or a local gas station has alcohol in it. Might not be ethanol, but there's alcohol in it. He told me there are race fuels available without alcohol. 

The Sunoco website list quite a variety of race fuels, both leaded and unleaded. According to the description of their Surge fuel, it's an ethanol free fuel that's a real close approximation of the high-octane fuel that was available at the pump back in the day. It also has a two year storage life if properly stored. The website also listed a dealer that carries it less than 20 miles away. In fact, it's right down the street from an Aldi store that I shop at occasionally. Next time I'm up there, I'll stop in and get the scoop.

Going to be hot the next few days. Maybe a record heat on one of the days. Agenda until the weekend?

Exercise early in the morning, do some chores and tinker later in the day after the sun starts going down. Catch up on my reading and inside chores during the heat of the day. 

Nothing Much Once Again

 

Maybe not the safest way to pass, but I it's a cool photograph. It's been a little while since I've done any black & white. Since I bought my new phone, I'm just about 100% digital now. The phone takes nice photos and allows for some editing. However, I have a couple of negatives I'd like to print but I don't want to mix up a batch of fresh chemicals for just a couple of prints. I've got a couple of film holders already loaded up for the 4x5. I should take a day, load up the Himalayan and see if I can find something worth shooting. Probably won't be this week, though. It's supposed to be pretty hot. Heat Index over 100 middle to late week.

Even though it's going to be hot, there's no rain in the forecast. I'm planning on getting out early every day and either ride my bike or do some walking. I did 20 miles on the bike Friday, 8 miles Saturday, and 2 miles walking Sunday. Good start on my training plan. 

Baked an apple pie yesterday. I'm going to slice up a few apples and put them in the dryer. Got new filters and spark plugs for the mower and installed those on Saturday. Planning on sharpening the spare blades today. The grandson welded up a pipe for a job we're working on last week. I ground it down but I want to touch up a couple spots. I'll weld those up and then grind them down while I'm out in the shop. Got a couple other odd jobs I'd like to tackle unless it gets too hot for this old guy. It is National Senior Citizen Day, though.

Much Ado About Nothing

 

I've been listening to Otis Redding in the truck lately - the dude could sure enough sing. Shame he checked out at only 26.

The shoulder's improving daily. I wish they would have given me the steroid shot right away instead of wasting six weeks of therapy. I should be good as "new" by the time I go back for my checkup. I rode the bike 20 miles Saturday morning, 8 yesterday morning. No shoulder issue at all.

Since I'm on the mend, I'm planning on a couple bike rides yet this year and a few more 5K events. The local event I usually do didn't have a walking class this year. With no walking class and a sore shoulder, I stayed home. However, my "archrival" 84 year old race walker did the event. He finished with a 42:15. Pretty brisk pace for an old dude. I finished second to him last year at the 5K I'm planning on doing in about a month. I'm not too far off that pace right now - no where near what I used to do - but now that the shoulder's better, I'm going to start training in earnest. Hard on my ego getting beat by a guy who's 84.

Did a little work on the Sportster yesterday. I put the cams back in and double checked the end play. A couple of them were a little snug, so I re-shimmed them. I decided I should probably put another new gasket on there since I had already squeezed that one with the shimming process. I've got a couple ordered - they should be here in a couple of days. 

I've got a list of things to work on while waiting for the gasket. You'd think after staying home the last few years, I'd be caught up. All that covid hysteria just sucked the life out of me. That and the lead in my ass that comes with old age. 

Good Bye Old Paint

 

Got rid of a motorcycle last evening. A rather rare occurrence around here. Most of the time it's like the Hotel California - you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

'79 Honda 750. I got this thing in payment for repairing another bike. It was in pretty rough shape due to having been stored in a metal shed with a gravel floor. Lots of corrosion and the parts that had been chrome plated had the plating flaking off. With some help from Surly, I got it looking pretty good and running but one cylinder was low on compression indicating a valve problem. At that point I didn't want to pull the head off, so it got pushed to the back of the line - and that's where it stayed.  One of Surly's buddies was looking for a project bike for his son. Seemed like this would be a good fit, so down the road it went. 

I've got a paper to sign at the financial planner's office. I'm thinking I'll ride the bicycle over there - 20 miles round trip. There's a 40 miler Labor Day weekend I want to ride, so this will give me an indication if the shoulder and legs are up to it. The shoulder's doing much better after the steroid shot, even if I didn't get any sleep Monday night because of it. Decent trade-off, though.