Having Problems????

can't believe a week has past by since I last worked these keys with so much thought.....
a lot of time passes in a short week......
7 sunrises...7 sun sets.....
7 moon rises......7 moon sets
7 days.....
168 hours....
10,080 minutes....
6,048,000 seconds.....

WOW.........

seems that in good ole Spfld Mo, the mayor is taking advantage of his connections.....
as my friend Jim is known to have said....
it's NOT what you know....
BUT 'WHO' I know........

guess it is good to be the mayor in Spfld Mo......at least for now.....


the horsefarmer is off on another vehicular mission......
I'm thinking the next thing we know is that he will have a 1/4 scale trailer
to pull behind that 1/4 size car.........
just staying in theme here....
if he gets an excemption for the littleprincess to drive the 1/4 scale car to the shows....then I'm thinking the mayor may be calling him soon.....

the longroof is preparing for a journey.......well, to me it would be an afternoon's drive....but this is the longroof......recently he facilitated a training sesson down in Melbourne FLA for the goodattorney.....one day event.....I lost the bet with Jim as he got home the same day he left.....
I figured the trip would take him two days......it is almost a hundred miles away and as the longroof despises the Eisenhower highways, the only other way south from here is county roads.....sure didn't expect to see him until Monday at least....damned if he didn't get home the same day......sure surprised me....cost me a buck too.....so you owe me a dollar longroof....

the sungoddess's sisters are coming for a visit the end of this week.....
not sure I'll ever get to the bottom of her list....just when I think I'm there.....
the week of rain we had has resulted in an abundance of those pesky little
critters that suck the blood out of you....oh, they are bred extra large here in lovely FLA....
something for the tourist to remember on their holidays.....
these things have been known to carry off small children if left unattended.....
but the yard has been cleared of any water containing leaves.....
mowed twice and will be mowed again before their arrival......roof cleaned.......headge trimmed.....and the neighbor's side too.....wood pile cleaned and restacked.......house washed.....
yes we do that here in lovely FLA.....green stuff grows on the siding in the shade.......explains why everyone owns a pressure washer....or knows somebody that does....
driveway cleaned and recoated to cover the oil spots.....

that last sentence was a transition statement for those brother's of mine that are watching....

as the owner of two vehicles over 40 years of age...and one that is closer to twenty than I am....
oil spots on the driveway are going to be the death of me yet.....
the kid's jeep leaks oil from a 6 dollar part......
only have to pull the transmission to replace that little seal......
the new-old jeep leaks oil from the same place......
the honda just leaks from every seal on the engine......175k miles and 18 years...
guess it is going to be leaking for a while....
but this leading someplace....not sure where...and I think I've been there before....
the oil spots are easily covered, but continue to reveal themselves after repeated traffic.....
powdered concrete and stucco mix are great for the short term, but I've got to come up with a permanent solution to a permanent problem.......thinking about paint, but not sure what the end result will be.....might be too slippery......tell you later.....

spent the weekend at the ball field......the kid's sister played in a tournemant this weekend and thus did the sungoddesses and I.......6:30 am Saturday until 4:00 pm Sunday......
loooong time to spend in the sun.......they won one on Saturday and one on Sunday.....first time for the latter.....it was great watching the kids enjoy a Sunday victory.....

these are a few of the reasons why we.....

CELEBRATE LIFE.................


at least 6,048,000 seconds a week.....

Beach Sunday

went to the beach today.......every day spent at the beach with my wife and kids is another day to CELEBRATE LIFE.......had a great time......lots of sun and surf.....the kid spent the better part of four hours catching waves......the kids sister fought her way out to the breakers and then nailed three good waves.....using one of her brother's boards.....the kid's second oldest aunt gave him a couple of surf boards that belonged to her late son.....after a little work on them we were able to make them sea worthy again......one of the boards was missing a couple of fins, and on the way to the longroof's yesterday I saw a broken board in a wastemanagement pile......had to double back because the fins looked familiar......brought the tail home and the fins were the same that the kid had been shopping on ebay at $20 each......three fins.....0 dollars....and they worked perfect.......gotta figure that was a trip that was meant to be.........back to today.....the kid commented no less than three times how sweet the new board was with three good fins......cuts like a sharp knive was his exact term........the kid's sister was using one of his other new boards and she grabbed the first wave and was gone like a flash.....the grin on her face was priceless.....
she couldn't get back out to the breakers fast enough......two more good waves and she was done for the afternoon.....there was a wicked current today and by the time the kid's sister called it quits, I was ready too......rather sit and watch than fight the surf sometimes.....
so thanks to my second sister and her gift to my son.......
it enables him.....and I.....to........

CELEBRATE LIFE..........

Thank you Carol

No, it's not done yet.....

as the longrooffan is always asking me......is it done yet????.....well, not yet but it is getting close..
placed a call to the longroof today to see what he was doing......
as he was available for any adventure I headed over to show off the new old jeep.....
I really was looking for it's maiden voyage on the beach, and the company of my brother to share the experience with me.....
got the needed windshield sticker that allows unlimited access to the sandy shore thanks to some guy in Flagler that is having his kitchen remodeled, so thank you whoever you are.....
then we made a quick left hand turn into forbidden sand unless four-wheel drive equipped....
three miles later we made a quick u-turn and headed back towards our favorite beach access pass.......
about half way back the little mule overheated.......those ever present beach patrol officers came to the rescue with a water jug and after a quick stop at the closest external shower to refresh the little girl we were mobile once more......
dropped the longroof off at the Taj Mahal and bee-lined it home trying to stay ahead of the afternoon rain showers I could see forming......didn't need to hurry as the rain clouds passed without leaving us any happiness......
got home and decided to see if the top would fit on the old jeep.....as anyone who is familiar with the type of fabric used in the soft tops available, they know the tops are pretty much useless after sitting around for 10-15 years......as was the case here, so off came the side windows and the rear window......it helped that the windows were all cracked and broken......what I ended up with is a primative safari top.......seems to work pretty well too......well, you can be your own judge as for the effectiveness...
































CELEBRATE LIFE.................

It's been THAT long?????

twenty three years ago today I was lucky enough to marry the most beautiful woman in the world....today I am still married to her, and she is more beautiful today than all those years ago..

Thank you Babe.....

5 months, 22 days......

Yep....that's how long it took.....
5 months and 22 days for the kid to get his first ticket while a licensed driver within the state of Florida......and those other lesser states that don't count hanging chads.....
seems that if you back out of a parking spot in a darke parking lot and hit the car parked across the lot from you is considered a driving offense if done on the beach in the state of Florida....
I suspect that he spent too much time in the sun surfing and was just anxious to get home....
of course to Officer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_7C0QGkiVo
this is a violation of state statue , whocaresaslongasbothpartiesareokwithit....
so he writes the kid a ticket for, and I'm not kidding here,....."improper backing".......
now what the heck is 'improper backing'..?????
seems this is what you write a kid a ticket for, when you want the kid to get off, but are required to write the kid a ticket for something......
well tonight the sungoddess was told about the incident.....she, while extremely upset, handled the situation quite to my surprise......
since I am still able to sit here and write should be an indication of how well she responded....
still got my fingers and voluntary use of my mind....
the kid is still breathing on his own, so things look good here......
seems kind of funny, here I sitting thinking that I am the first parent to go though this experience......
then I recall my parents and realize they are extracting their own personal revenge.....
and every parent, or grandparent, since motorized transportation began........
well, it was bound to happen sooner or later...........

CELEBRATE LIFE...........

CELEBRATE LIFE.........

well, as I learned a long, long time ago......is it done yet..?????......well today it 'got done'....
phone call came in late Tuesday afternoon......it'll be done by 10 tomorrow......
phone call came from the longrooffan about 10:30-11:00 this am....
seems the rag top is making a noise when in reverse.....
didn't intend to brush by that statement, but damn I was busy and trying to get out by 11:00....
noon came and went and my partner at work had yet to return from some mission he was on....
12:30 he shows up and I hauled butt outa there.....called the longrooffan and informed him of my destination.....he said he'd meet me there.....my buddy Jim calls me 3 minutes later inquiring as to my where-abouts......"I'm across the street getting ready to make a left"......in a manner that takes some years to understand he says bye-I say bye- and we hang up.....10 seconds later the longrooffan shows up and this is what we saw....me for the first time....not for them......















now that is yellow......almost a carnary yellow...but a high gloss finish on a real close replica of Michigan Yellow.....I wish I had brought a pair of sun glasses yellow.......
a damn far cry from what I dropped off a week ago Monday.....
so the longrooffan and I are talking to the painter and he tells me that he tryed to start it but it would not fire.....oh man, another failure.....but no, I pop up the hood, and as John says, "He's gotta check the fuel gauge."....the painter states that he did and the gauge didn't work......John points out to him that the working fuel gauge is the fuel filter.....if it is full of gas, then you got gas....if the filter is dry, then put gas in it......1 gallon of fuel later the little baby fired up and I drove it out of the shop......John and I then proceeded to head to my homestead to retreive the tow vehicle.....we doubled back, hooked up the towbar and went our seperate ways......got home tonight and installed the new water pump.....man it is amazing how much noise the old water pump was making.....can't even hardly hear the little girl run now......bad bearings make lots of noise...lots of noise.....seems that my bride, who didn't want anything to do with this little project two weeks ago is now full of advice......guess it will be beach running sooner that I thought......
anyway it has officially been on it's last run through the woods on my watch......next step is to have the wheels sent out and powder coated white......that should just about top it off to my satisfaction.....a couple of small touch up spots on the black and that should just about top it off....
I'll be saying those last six words for a while I think.....but this will just about top it off for tonight..

now there are a few more small projects left on the little girl, but for all practical purposes it is finished.....
and believe me, this will allow us to, in grand fashion.......

CELEBRATE LIFE..........

Safari style to the beach

didn't get the old jeep this weekend....painter doesn't work on Friday or Saturday.....he fishes those days....anyway, so with the weekend plans thrown asunder, I looked for other projects early Saturday morning.....amazing how quiet and peaceful it is at 7:30 am on a Saturday.....but as usual I found a few things to keep me busy until noon, then it was off to help a neighbor repair his 72 MGB.... what is it with us and old cars and trucks....two hours later the old British oil rig was running and stopping fine....spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out waiting on church....got home and then off to the fishing hole....stopped at the longrooffan's on the way home and you know the story by now.....got up this am and loaded up the CJ-5 for a day at the
beach.... we call this safari style on the beach.....good time had by all......best looking jeep on the beach belonged to the kid as usual.....but that's only because the new-old one isn't home yet. hopefully the little girl will be in the driveway tomorrow evening.....























CELEBRATE LIFE..........