What was it I said yesterday about my truck repairs???

That I needed to… snow

1. Reinstall the front bumper stuff and grill along with a jerry-rig fix on the grill.
2. Reinstall a few interior bits.
3. Replace the sandbags in the bed and put my tailgate back on.
4. Paint the rear bumper on Saturday, rebuild it and install it Sunday.

What’s happened since???

I worked for 3 hours in the snow, with and sometimes without warm gloves.  I got the bumper, bits, and grill on but didn’t have time to get to the jerry-rig.  Last night I returned the sandbags to the truck bed, today I put the tailgate back on.

My approach to today was to paint the bumper and then install the interior pieces.  The bumper painting went well all things considering.  It snowed over night and it was still cold today, including in the garage.  I painted the bumper using a product specially made for painting bumpers — which was a trick — because the directions indicate it is to be used between 60 & 90F and the garage was … well, much colder.  I pulled off the painting by making a small tent over the bumper using a drop cloth and two sawhorses and then heating the area using a cubicle heater. snow

After that things got interesting …

The wrap up on my truck repairs produced a comedy of errors.  I went to my truck — now parked outside — to install the face-plate that goes over the gauges.  To get the space needed to put this in you have to put the vehicle in gear — to put it in gear you have to insert your key into the ignition and turn it part of the way.  Since the truck started rough last night I thought I would run it a bit now to charge the battery.  It cranked some and then konked out — dead battery, no surprise.  Back to the face-plate… snow

I needed to reattach the headlight switch to the face-plate, which is held in by 4 little screws.  While putting the first screw in the plastic receptacle broke … so, no face-plate installation today.  I’ll glue the broken plastic bit tonight and install it tomorrow.  On to the battery … snow

When I went to pull the battery I put the few tools I had on the passenger seat for easier access to the battery.  I popped the hood, got out the drivers side, and went to open the passenger door.  I found it is frozen shut.  Back to the drivers side to get the tools and pull the battery.  Long story short, I need to loosen 3 bolts and the tools I had would only work for one of these.  Inside the garage for another tool.  Battery out, now for my battery charger. snow

I went to my storage space to get my battery charger.  It revealed itself quickly, so back to the house to get the charger going on the battery.  When I got back to the house I found I locked my keys inside of my storage area.  There is a spare key, but right now it is half way across the state and won’t be back for about 24hrs … hopefully.  So, my storage key is secure.  My truck keys are secure.  My house key is secure.  All my keys are secure for the next day.

Fantastic.

Fortunately, I can look at this and laugh along with saying “Sometimes this happens.”  Good thing I can laugh about it or I might still be outside kicking snow drifts.

PS — something else I said yesterday…

Did you have a frustrating day?  I have a remedy for that — make cookies!  Yes, make cookies and eat some.  It will feel good.  What will feel even better is to share your cookies.  My book guides you through easy pan cookies, biscotti which is a joy to make, and other assorted cookies (along with some beverages and main courses you’re going to enjoy, but let’s focus on cookies).  “Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies“, available now on Amazon in paperback and e-book forms — give a copy to a friend and add one to your collection at home. snow