Oil Change....

Today I changed the oil on the motorcycle. I like to change my own oil as the dealer changing the oil is pretty expensive. I got a gallon of Mobil 1 Synthetic and a Purolator filter. Put the bike up on the stand and spread paper. Emptying the oil was easy. But the filter was stuck. So stuck in fact I broke a strap wrench. When to Pep Boys bought a oil filter wrench. Broke wrench that trying to loosen the filter. When back to Pep Boys again bought a oil filter wrench. Broke that wrench trying to loosen the filter again. Then I just took a hammer and screwdriver to it. That got it loose, but I dropped enough oil on the driveway to qualify for a Superfund site. Finally got it done and got the bike, the drive and me cleaned up.

Words to remember " ....Hand tighten filter! "

One Year....

Hey, today it's been one year since we first started blogging!

It's been 1 year and there has been about 1000 visits to the blog.



Woo Hoo to us!

I'll keep writing, you keep reading.

Sad News....

Jean, who is Stacy our sister in law mom, has passed away after having a long illness.

Services will be this weekend. Marilyn will be going this weekend to represent us.

Call Center needs help.....

This morning I called Verizon Voice Wing ( VoIP ) customer service.

Now I know a lot of call centers are in India. And, I know that they take a Western name for the call ( Hi, My name is Frank ). And they have to stick to the customer service script. And I know that jokes are universal.


So with that in mind here is a little how the call went.

Me: Hello,
Voice Wing Guy : Hello, ( Male Voice, Neutral Accent )
Voice Wing Guy: My name is Patricia, How can I help you?
Me: Uhhh Patricia?
Voice Wing Guy: Yes, Patricia.
Me: Ohhhh Kayyyyy!

Another great boat weekend.

We slept in lat on Saturday then headed down to Rock Hall. We loaded up the boat and tried to put up the main sail. The sail slugs that I got this winter that I thought would help dropping the main sail did not work well at all. They hung up going up as well as down. OK, we made the trip to West Marine to get sail slugs and lube. The main then attached we made ready to get out of the slip. The engine was put in reverse and nothing happened. We tied back up and I dove under the boat. I found the prop was completely fouled with marine growth. Marilyn handed me the scraper and in 20 minutes the prop was free. But it was getting warm and late so we headed to the pool.

On Sunday we walked into Rock Hall to the Java Rock had a cup and made it back to the slip. Getting out was much easier this time. We got out to the bay and put up the sails. I spent some time adjusting them. We caught just a little wind and then dead calm. The motor was switched on and the sails lowered and we went for a little ride just to see and smell the bay. Coming into the slip worked well even after a year. We washed up the boat and got it bright white again. I then put another coat of varnish on the hatch and we left for home.

5 years!!!

Well five years ago today Marilyn and I got married. I always tell her it was the smartest thing I ever did! She really looked good at Churchill Memorial, cool as a cucumber. I was melting! The day went by in a flash. It was a great weekend with all friends and family.

Going out

For my birthday Marilyn took me to the Keswick to see Pink Martini. I left work and went to the Jenkintown Train station where I toasted my birthday with a Martini at Johnathan's. Marilyn met me later and we had dinner there. We then went to the Keswick. Pink Martini is such a cool band it's a 12 piece band with a singer. Their songs are so diverse. You'll be listening to Cuban music then the next number will be Japanese or Egyptian or a Samba. And the band is so very tight. They play with such precision. It was a much better show that the last time when the leader, Thomas Lauderdale, was not feeling well.

Happy Birthday.....to me!

Well I survived another year!

Cards and greeting have been coming in and thanks for the thoughts.

Marilyn and I are going to the Keswick Theater tonight to see Pink Martini. It should be a good time.

Boat weekend.

Marilyn and I went to Rock Hall this weekend. We took down the sails, navigation equipment and sheets and blankets. Marilyn cleaned up and removed a big old mud wasp nest and e installed the Bimini cover and the jib. We put new equipment on the main sail so that it would drop easier when we loosened it but I forgot the sun cover for the main sail so we did not put it on the boat. The weather was just great down there 77 and breezy. We took some time just to enjoy the weather.

Sunday we walked to the new Java Rock cafe for a cup of coffee and tea. Then we helped Philip climb his mast. He has to change a wind instrument and was determined to climb the 55 feet to the top of the mast. I was there for safety but I was just going to watch him fall as there is not much I could have done if he started to fall. He fixed the instrument came on down. Much to our relief. We then varnished the main hatch cover on our boat and got ready to go home. It was starting to get warm out. We'll get out of the slip next weekend.

Marilyn Home.

Marilyn made it home last night. Not too bad the flight from KC was only 45 min late. At least the delays was not like mid day Friday when some FAA computer crashed.

To the boat.

Packed up the motorcycle this morning. Took the two hour drive to the boat. It was a partly cloudy 73 degs so it was very comfortable even a bit cool with the mesh jacket. It was a good ride down the jerks seems to be home asleep so I was relaxed.

The boat was tied up at the dock and it was OK. I emptied the bike and ran to West Marine to get the oil and oil absorbant blanket. I got back to the slip and did and oil change. I also put the oil absorbant blanket under the engine to catch any oil drips before they flow into the bildge. The thermosthat housing was leaking so I fixed that up too.

I tried to see who was around the marina. I saw Glenn and Carol they were getting set to go out for the week. I helped Scott put up his jib sail. And said hello to Gary and Linda.

I then packed up the bike and drove home. It took a lot out of me as when I got home I just sat sat down an took a 2 hour nap.

Caffee Galleria

Went to Caffee Galleria last night with Mike, Gail and Bennett. The parking in Lambertville stinks on a Saturday night. With construction going on we had to park about 8 blocks away. The nice part was the walk was thru a very nice park of town. The houses were very nice to look at. There was a party going on in a backyard. I was trying to convince Mike we should just join the party there.

The menu at Caffee was super. From vegetarian to carnivore. I chose the tomato salad and shrimp fra diavlo. The food was really fine every one enjoyed the meal. You can really make a meal of an appetizer and a salad.

Saturday Stuff

Marilyn has left the building. She has gone to Kansas City too see friends on Friday. Today I went off to see Mom. I showed her the motorcycle. Asked if she wanted a ride. She politely declined. I did some painting of the panels for the air conditioner so it would look better than plain wood. Tonight I'm going to dinner with Mike and Gail to Caffe Galleria.

Also, I'm getting stuff ready to go the boat first thing. I have all the stuff I need to do an oil change. And I'm getting stuff ready to jump iin the pool down there.

Air Conditioner Repair

Running home today because of the heating and air conditioner guy is coming to clean out and fix the system at home. Seems like the fan is not pushing as much air thru the system as it once did. I think the inside evaporator is clogged because the filter will not fit on the system. So they are going to look at both problems.

Mom doing Ok....

Went to see Mom last night. She seems to be doing well. She is staring to make some friends with the ladies there. And she thinks that the place is Ok and seem to be having a good time. She seems to be doing a lot better than she been in a long time.

What else is news......

News roundup.....

Boat is in the water. It has been for three weeks now. We haven't been down to see it. Pete and JoAnne looked at while it was in the slip and it seems like it is ok. So one of these weekends we'll be able to go down to see it.

I worked on my motorcycle. I replaced the handle bars for ones that are adjustable. The old ones were hurting my arms and back. I replaced the back suspension. It was just worn out. The front will be replaced in August. I have been riding to the train station all last week. At 35 mpg it really saves gasoline. BTW with a 7 gallon tank it takes over $20 to fill the motorcycle!!!

Marilyn will be out of town next weekend so I may take the motorcycle down to the boat so I can start to get things ship shape down there.

Spiderman

Well Marilyn went out to the movies last night and saw Spiderman. It was a good summer movie not much thinking involved but I really wanted to see it.

I can finaly exhale.......

Well, Mom is finally safely in an assisted living setting. She came out of the rehab unit yesterday. After doing much research and lots and lots of inward retrospection we found a nice place for mom. It is the best suited for her and a place she could be safe and looked after.

Getting her ready was pretty rough as she never spent time out of her house. When she traveled she spend time with relatives and any other time she spent out of the house it was to go to the hospital. getting her ready to go was like sending a kid to camp for the first time. Right down to putting her name in all her clothes.

When she finally got there she was have a ball an enjoying her self and talking to all the residents. She found the place nice and was getting along. The staff then shooed me out so she could find her own way.

I guess the camp analogy worked well as I got a phone call from her asking me to take her home. I tried to reassure her but I'm not sure if I did. It's be a awhile before she will get used to the place.