Tag Archives: winter

Back On The Snowy Sidewalks

And now, a snowy episode of …

ADVENTURES IN TRUCKDOM!

Jingle Trucks
Not quite this fancy, but you get the idea….

I’ve had my truck off the road during the past number of weeks to complete a few work items on my repair & improve list.  There have been a number of delays due to schedule and a major appliance going out at home, and yet my dad & I have chipped away at the work when and where we can.  Last night my truck reached a point where it’s ready to go back on the road for a while.  This accomplishments with this round of work feels good — it looks like I’m starting to get on top of my to-do list.

Frosty weather, snowy weather, when the wind blows we all go together ...Today I plan to get the front bumper back on my truck — to get my truck in our garage I had to start with taking off both bumpers.  Lately our temperatures have been as low as the upper teens and as high as the mid-30s — and we (finally) had our first round of snow.  Right now we’re getting our second round of snow.  For the next few days it looks like we’re supposed to get more of the teen temps to lower-30s and snow.  Snow began to fall again this morning, and so far it’s sticking however it is our warmer wet-snow … and now I’m going outside to work on my truck.

Did someone put their truck in a ditch ... in the snow?
Not actually my truck … same brand and product line however

At this juncture I will skip how our western Washington snow IS in fact different than many other parts of the country, how we DO know how to drive in the snow VRS the southern transplants to Washington State that have no freakin’ clue (including how to drive in snow, rain, sun, etc), and how our wet-cement snow turns to ice along with being on hills that have more or less the same slope as parts of San Francisco.

SO — the remaining work to get my truck back on the sidewalks …. er, I mean, back on the road…
  1. Reinstall the front bumper and other MANLY metal bits along with the grill.  There is also a jerry-rig repair I want to finally complete on the grill.
  2. Reinstall a few interior bits now that that the defrost and dash-board lights are operating again.
  3. Replace the sandbags in the bed and put my tailgate back on — minor things, but necessary nonetheless.
  4. Paint the rear bumper on Saturday, get the paint adequately dry, rebuild the bumper (license plate lights and etc-bits), and bolt the bumper back on Sunday.

Yeah, I think that’s it.  The first step though is to get my winter clothing located following my move this past summer.  I’m and old-school Pacific Northwest boy — up to a point I tend to shake off the rain and snow … but over and around this weekend we’re supposed to get hit with enough snow and cold AND since I’ll be laying on the ground to get bumpers back on … yeah, something a little more serious in the way of clothing is called for.

Oh … PS!

the snowmobile's red haired step child
When I grow up I wanna be a snowmobile!

This time last year my truck was off the road, in a garage,  with my dad and I doing work on it.  The winter before that I didn’t drive it because I didn’t need to.  This is the first time in snow that I might actually get to drive my truck and see how it handles, how I do with it.  I was starting to wonder if it was going to notoriously be ‘off the road‘ every winter and I was never going to drive it in the snow.  I’ve been all ready for this year — sandbags in the back along with snow tires!

P-PS!

Make Your Darn Good Cookies book coverWhen it comes to inclement weather are you an in-door person? Do you prefer to curl up at home on the couch in a blanket, sipping a favourite hot beverage with a book?  If so, grab your preferred online device and order a book — and not just any book but my book — Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies, available now on Amazon in paperback and e-book.  Over 50 proven recipes including cookies, biscotti, coffee, coffee cake and apple sauce, along with a number of main-course comfort foods you and your friends are sure to enjoy!

Did that sound like an advertisement?  If so, good — because I need to sell these things!

Truck Doors … Done?

Adventures In Truckdom
Doors … Done?  Anything … Done?

I set out to do a number of little tasks on my truck today — all of which I thought I was going to be able to knock out and then be done working on my truck for the coming week.  Best laid plans …

After starting in on my truck I found I needed to spend some time addressing the storage of one of my cars along with some spare body parts I have for my truck.  All of this needed immediate attention and it sucked up a bunch of time!  Frustrating, but stuff like that happens.

My plans today were to finish the work on both of my truck doors — seal the gutter rubber, transfer a seal from the bottom of my old passenger door to the new one, pull the windshield washer bottle and change the pump, restocked cab, and install a seat cover.

What did I get done?  … Restocked the cab a bit, half finished the doors, and pulled the windshield washer bottle.  I also had to re-work the passenger door because I screwed up a bit when I built it.  Nothings broken, I just put some stuff on backwards — which I kind of need to take it apart again tomorrow and check the other bits.

Oh, I also got some sandbags into my bed today for winter traction.

What else did I accomplish?  I’m tired and sore.  Going on 3 years ago I was in a car accident and got whiplash; I think I’m mostly healed now and back to normal, but sometimes I wonder that I’m still recovering some of my strength and stamina.  Some of it too could be that I’ve also gotten older in the mean time.  Poo.  But, I’m not one to give up, not one to stop pushing or trying — NOPE!

Here’s the thing… I have plans to leave for the weekend — plans that are important to me — and I need my truck a bit more ready than it has been.  I think I can get everything else done tomorrow.

I’m not sure if I forgot something above.  I’m not sure if this is written at all well.  I’m sore and tired … I mentioned that, right?