Ridin The "T" and the "K": March 2021

Friday, March 26, 2021

Been Working

We had some good weather over the past week or so.I put it to good use. Installed the door frame and the two windows I built back in January down in my basement and then built a new work bench so I'd have a level surface to build the door.

So,the other day I decided to actually build the door.Went and got a nice flat sheet of 3/4 AC plywood and some real nice clear pine and set up shop in my back yard on the picknic table then set up my new work bench over in the work area in front of my garage. It was a fun project that took all day. This was the first real long day I've worked since injuring my leg so it was somewhat difficult . Working the leg helped it . I couldn't see that the night I finished the door but after sleeping it started to feel pretty good and I'm able to move around better so that problem is more or less in the rear view mirror.

Damn this door is heavy ! It must weigh close to 100 lbs but I was able to carry it over to the new shed next door by myself and get it up on the work bench I have set up in the shed where I finished the day by priming it with oil based exterior primer.So,now I wait for the primer to dry.It's cool out so it takes forever to dry but it will and when that happens I will hang it.

While I was building the door I realized that the hinges my neighbor bought are too flimsy to carry this heavy door . So,I made a trip to the store and bought stronger hinges yesterday. I also spent some time on Craigslist and came across this small very light weight table saw for 25 bucks ! I went for it and spent the afternoon servicing it .It's so much easier to shlep this around than my big one and at 72 years old it's getting hard to carry that monster.So,now I have this to help me with light duty table saw work.It's no good for serious work like building cabinets or cutting hardwood and plywood but great for doing trim work like I'm about to start doing on the shed.I can set it up right where I'm working rather than having to walk next door to home to use my big one.This will save me lots of walking when I trim this thing out next week.

Today I go see Steve.We are just about ready to start the renovation of his house. This job will be lots of fun . Tomorrow I ride The other day I got out on two bikes and rode most of the day.My leg is finally getting better.It's been a three month ordeal with this mess but as Spring begins it is working out and my life is returning to normal.I'm thinking of summer travels on the Moto Guzzi , camping and kayaking up at my camp , and perhaps a road trip out west to look at real estate in Arizona so we can finally retire.

Friday, March 19, 2021

Winter Drags On

It's mid March and cold here in New York.The Covid is letting up some but it's still always there lurking and front & center in my mind. Been trying to get started working again in the shed and have built a door frame but these past few days have been too cold and wet to hang it and start making the door.You see, it's all outside work and the wind that comes across that cornfield out back from the north west is wicked . So, today is sunny but too damn cold to even bother to try.Sitting here I started to look thru some old photographs .Found these pictures from the very early 70's of my friend Victor that I took when we drove east across the country in 1971 in my old 1960 Ford Panel truck.I loved that truck man.Sure wish I could get one today but they are totally out of reach financially .

This trip was supposed to be the beginning of a journey to Mexico where Victor is from but it wasn't meant to be.Half way across the country he learned it wasn't a good time for him to bring Hugh and I down from his family there so he just went up to Boston to meet his girlfriend and Hugh and I ended up high hiking to Alaska.Those were good days for me, carefree and able to do as I pleased.That trip was awesome and life was good. After returning I started my little painting and refinishing business and
Lived in my truck for a while and hich hiked around to places like Nova Scotia . Blew the motor in the truck in the fall of 72 and there began my first motor job. See that bike there,I had just bought that.I still have it today all these years later.

Got a junk yard motor for a hundred bucks and put it in.Couldn't get the thing to run,Fooled with it for a couple weeks until I gave up and got another motor.It was probably just a bad timing chain but I had no idea what I was doing back then so I scrapped it and in went the second motor.Got her running real good and things were great for 6 days when some asshole ran a red light and t boned me totaling my truck.. It was December,I had no money but I found some work and my friends mother who I was renting a room from at the time loaned me her car so I could work.Got paid and found this gem

I had this truck for the next 11 years ! So many good times .I haven't seen these photos in years so I guess it's a good thing the weather is too damn cold to work today.Life is returning to normal for me now.My leg is healing nicely and Spring is right around the corner.Went out riding the other day on my Yamaha R5 . Every time I ride now I'm able to use my leg a little better and with way less pain.Gotta get back into shape, who knows,I may ride out west this summer with any luck.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Waiting For Winter To End

This winter has been tough on me.It started off ok working on Donna’s shed and then working on Andy’s house fixing up the apartment I built there 16 years ago. Now , he’s between tenants so I’m there giving the place a face lift of sorts.It got a paint job ,and a complete bathroom make over.

What happened first is that we had a bad rain storm on a Saturday and by Sunday morning it was beautiful again so I decided I’d go riding.As I was waiting for the roads to dry up I went thru the bike checking the tires ,oil levels ,and so on then got all suited up in my leathers and as I was rushing around to get out I slipped and fell real hard on my left side in the driveway.Felt a bit of a sensation in my shoulder but nothing serious so I sat down for a few then went out.It was a great ride.Went to visit my friend Steve to see what he was up to then headed out east and did a hundred or so miles just blasting around on backroads.Next day I buttoned up Donna’s shed because snow was forecast for later in the week .

I was at Andy’s for two weeks or so and at the last week just after Christmas I noticed my left leg was stiff after the drive there .It went away after walking into the house so I didn’t pay any attention to it.This went on until I finished the job.The end of the job was installing a new bathroom vanity and hooking up the plumbing.I was under this thing on my back for about an hour fooling with this crap and finally got finished.Next day I start building the windows for Donna’s shed in my backyard and down in my basement.I have my table saw set up out in the yard so I don’t have to deal with the dust downstairs.I’m up and down the stairs a lot and at the end of the carpentry part of this job my left leg hurt so bad I could barely walk. It went from bad to worse.I spent the last month dealing with this taking hot baths and doing exercises . Took a shitload of Wobenzyme to take care of the inflamed muscles and now it’s finally ending sort of but it’s still there and painful.I kept busy finishing the windows and working in my shop on auto parts for the restoration of my 65 Valiant station wagon.It’s been a hard winter shoveling snow with a bum leg hobbling around in pain but I dealt with it myself so I didn’t get bankrupted by the medical profession .Dealt with it and kept forward motion so all’s good.Today I’m at around 85% and have made some real progress on my projects. Now it’s hurting again . It’s one step forward two back .This is life when you get into your 70’s !Got a major house renovation coming up starting in March for my friend Steve.He and I are going to be tearing down walls ,making an open floor plan for his new kitchen and living room/dining room .Should be fun.Steve and I work well together.With this in mind I’m being careful not to hurt my leg and to strengthen the muscles. What happened was the muscles got all swollen and caused me to have a bad case of Sciatica .So that’s been my life for the past 6 weeks or so.Now with things improving I’m getting to the things I really like to do like cars, motorcycles , my painting ,and this journal.

Now I’m off to the auto parts store to get some things so I can finish the distributors and carbs I’m working on and also to pick up the new oil seals I ordered for the steering box I rebuilt two weeks ago. I’m excited about actually getting started on my 1965 Valiant station wagon restoration. Been way too long since I restored a car.

Back from the parts store now. My seals for the steering boxes I am rebuilding were in and I ordered some carb parts.It’s good working down in my shop.I think I’ll start prepping the front suspension parts next.I have all new ball joints , tie rod ends ,pitman arm, idler arm , and bushings so basically I just need to clean up the center link and upper and lower controls arms so I can paint them.Getting all this stuff finished now will really help me when I’m actually working on the car.
Yesterday I built another distributor out of a few old ones I had laying around. There is a foot of snow on the ground and more on the way.I really do hate winter !

Now it’s Friday,I started this post on Tuesday . Sitting here at 8 AM eating breakfast and looking out the window when I see this squirrel climbing up this tree in my back yard with an ear of corn in it’s mouth . Now it’s sitting up there eating corn on the cob ! They really are amazing little creatures.There is this farm field out back and the farmer planted 5 acres of corn then just left it .The wildlife is feasting on it . Last week there were three deer out there eating it and some days there are a hundred or more Canada geese out there feeding on what the others drop to the ground. You know , I say I hate winter but I am lucky I live here and can see all this wildlife so it’s not really all that bad.I just wish that I could function the way I normally do without pain in my leg.Well,I feel pretty good right now so perhaps today will be better than yesterday

Sitting here thinking back to the days when I really used my skills .I wish we had digital cameras back in the early 80’s when I started to do all this construction work in the city. It really set me off in a direction that led to some amazing things like the job I did for my friend Andy.That happened when I did have a digital camera and I photographed every part of that job.I took over 1200 pictures in the 2 years I was at that house.Did it all alone being the lone wolf I am . Steve did the electrical and Andy hired a plumber for that but everything else was my work. I bought 1×10 planks of oak and milled my lumber for the kitchen cabinets in the living room where I had a complete wood shop set up ! I had every tool I owned there ,it was great, sort of like a regular job where you just put in your hours and walk away at the end of the day . Never had anything as amazing as this . Usually the things I do last a couple weeks and I’m on to something else .I built the apartment downstairs then did the rest of the house, Built the both sets of kitchen cabinets on site. Didn’t take to many photos in the apartment but upstairs in the rest of the house I did.Here are a few

I learned so much after I crashed and burned ! I’m grateful I survived the first 30 years of this life because the next 40 have been nothing but good to me. Oh wow ,a flock of about 30 geese just flew over coming in for a landing in the snow covered cornfield.Really beautiful against the bright blue sky . They say an ice storm is heading our way.Guess I’ll go out to the garage and run the generator and get ready for the worst.Loosing power in the winter is no fun .