Nuts and Bolts

Since college boy is off to the Minnesota State Fair for a concert (you wouldn't know them if I told you), hubby and I decided to do something fun.

And by fun I mean finally installing the kayak carriers on top of the CRV. Nothing says fun like two people trying to assemble something with dozens of nuts and bolts – and both of them have their own idea of the right way to do it.

Now I'm not saying that his idea was better, but it just seemed to be more efficient. I'll give myself some credit for laying the groundwork with the installation of the car rack bar thingy on top a month ago. But figuring out the easy way to do these "J" stands was something else.

Naturally, after an hour or so of frustration and sweat, we get down the last set of nuts and bolts and the tread on the inside of the nut is stripped. We don't really keep spare parts around. I looked in the toolbox in the basement and the junk drawer in the kitchen to no avail. So I volunteered to go the hardware store. I felt somewhat responsible because, well, I contributed to the stress with my "strong belief" that I knew what I was doing. Some might call it "stubborn." I don't know. Either way I was trying to make up for it.

I decided to run into ACE Hardware since it might be a more manageable size to navigate compared to Home Depot. Plus, isn't ACE the place with the helpful hardware folks?

And they WERE helpful!

I quickly discovered when I walked in that even though it was a smaller store, it still had a ton of aisles of do-it-yourself stuff. True to form, a helpful young man offered assistance. Now this is where it gets fuzzy. Did I say, "I'm looking for your nuts." Or was it, "Where are your nuts?" I can't specifically recall, but it didn't come out sounding the best. Good thing I can play a dumb blond at the drop of a hat and giggle it off. He just showed me the aisle and quickly scampered off before I could ask another question.

I did find the right-sized nut but that brought on a whole new set of blond moments. There were little plastic bags that said to put down the quantity and price. Well I got the quantity part – one – but I couldn't find the price anywhere. Luckily there was another young man nearby. He was shopping but he was writing down a price on his own bag so I knew he was going to be one of those "helpful hardware folks" whether he wanted to be or not. After my "this is my first time doing this" spiel, I got my answer.

Thank goodness after all that, that when I got home, it was a perfect fit and we got the racks installed. We figured they might be a little tall for the garage, but hubby was able to back in with about an inch of clearance. Whew.

Too bad by the time we accomplished all that it was getting dark. Guess we'll have to go paddling another night.

Of course, we'll have to agree on how we want to securely tie on the kayaks. They did include several adjustable straps with the racks. Hopefully there is only one way to use them.

Falling Off The Turnip Truck

To set the record straight, I did not just fall off the turnip truck yesterday.

I did that today.

Hubby says, "Hey, you want something to blog about?" So of course, I come running. You never know, it could be something good.

It wasn't.

Turns out this muffler thingy – guard, maybe? – is now dragging from the CRV and somebody needed to crawl under there and fix it or take it the rest of the way off. Let's see... it has to be someone small enough to get beneath, someone who brags about her "Gearhead Card" and, apparently, someone in desperate need of blog fodder.

That would be ME, I guess! So yes, I went straight from the turnip truck to the garage. The muffler thingy was just hanging on by a rusty thread so I gave it a twist or two and it came off. At some point, we'll let the true gearheads install a replacement. For now, at least it's not dragging.

Mission #1 accomplished.

Actually, make that Mission #2. My first mission was getting up and going over to a girlfriend's for coffee and cinnamon rolls. Since my friend Brenda is a teacher and I am between jobs, we both had today off. That worked out nicely. Had a good visit catching up. In fact, after two hours, I thought, this is perfect way to avoid housework and yardwork today. But my dance card remained wide open for the rest of the day. Dang.

So after Missions #1 and #2 were done, I went for the big #3. I decided I would finish that rock pile if it killed me. And with today's heat and humidity, it almost did. Probably stupid to keep going for hours, but I did. And it's done!

I realized I did not take a "before" picture but I found one from May when I was taking pictures of some torrential rainfall. Anyway, you can see it is an overgrown mess.

Here's Phase 2 after I'd weeded and dug out crap, replaced the brick border with a higher one, and placed some of the under-layment stuff. Oh, and got the 2 yards of white rock delivered.

Today, after blood, sweat and sweat-induced salty tears, I am basically done! I do have more items to add, such as a solar lighthouse perhaps, and I need to move my old bricks somewhere. I had stacked them like the leaning tower of the Great Wall of China... wait, what? You know what I mean. Now I might use them to enhance the fire pit area. We'll see.

For now, though, I don't care to lift another heavy object for quite some time.

Unless it's an ice cream scoop laden with cool and creamy yummyness. I think this little turnip worked for it, don't you?

Loyal Fans

With all of Carter's cross country meets "away" and some "far away," hubby and I know we can't make it to all of them. But I am going to try my darndest to get to as many as I can.

Today's meet was in Loyal, an hour trek northwest of Rapids. It would have been like a 2-hour drive from Iola, so I worked from home so I could go. As it turned out, both Carter and I put on miles today. I had to go pick up the CRV from the shop so that was a 4.18-mile run/walk. (Loving my new Garmin watch!) I was happy with my average pace until I realized Carter still runs 2 minutes faster than me. Per mile! Oh well.

Got plenty of work done so that we could leave the house in mid-afternoon. I saw a few of the other CC moms at the bus dropoff area but none planned to go up to Loyal today. Since I wanted to be a "loyal" Royal fan, I made the trip myself. I was glad I went so I could cheer on the team. We were light on Assumptions fans.

The race did not go as well for Carter. It was super hot again and he got tuckered out and finished over a minute slower this time. Here's a few photo highlights...

Team prayer before the start.

Team huddle: Royals!

The Loyal invitational included 14 schools. Whoa.

And they're off! Can you see Carter? Yeah, me neither.

Still staying with the crowd at the first mile marker.

On the tail of a Regis runner.

Looking to make the pass.

Oops. Seeing Mom with the camera.

He passed him!

Part of their route took them through a corn field. Not kidding. Here he is coming out of the field and making the turn back on "normal" ground again.

The last mile.

Running out of steam.

But sprinting hard at the finish. Way to go, Carter!

Our boys team finished last again, I think. But our girls won again. Carter said despite his slower time, he felt better mentally. That's good. We told him he'd probably learn something every time -- and that's even before school has started. Wow.

Blow Ye Winds, Hi Ho...

I have a song stuck in my head with the lyrics: Blow ye winds, hi ho, a roving we will go... When did I ever hear it or sing it? No idea. But it's hard not to think windy thoughts today.

The weather forecasters started giving us warnings yesterday that today was going to be really, really, really windy. Did I mention really windy? Like gusts up to 40, 50, even 60 mph. Unfortunately, they were right.

We've got rain on top of it so it's awful out there. Hubby and I had planned to trek up to Wausau after work but once we hit the monsoon, we figured we better wait until another day or so. As hubby pointed out, nothing says "desperate" like showing up in this weather to buy a car. They'd know we needed it and we'd have no bargaining power.

Plus on days like this, a person of a wicked nature thinks about alternative transportation anyway -- like a broom.

I was telling someone I started out the day as the Wicked Witch of the West and I've already made it to the Midwest! After learning from my nephew in South Dakota that they have the snow plows out already, I am not sure I want to stay in the Midwest either. Is there sunshine out East? Too bad I can't get this broom to fly South. Knowing my luck with vehicles, it would probably break down over a hurricane or something...

Speaking of vehicle "issues"... I had to change a headlight bulb again on the CRV. I think that's why the previous owner sold it. I mean, seriously, how many times have I changed these in the past 2 years?? It's a pain in the butt and I had to have Carter help me tonight (holding the flashlight).

I'm hoping my gearhead side proves I can be useful for something -- and not just breaking every machine or electronic device I touch.

This does not mean I won't charge Jim for labor...

Simply Saturday

Our busy Saturday Season kicked off today with the first soccer game. Now that Carter is getting older, there seems to be fewer kids/teams in his age bracket. They either outgrow soccer or move onto some other sport (or the couch).

Since Carter's thumb is still on the mend but this close to being 100%, he couldn't play goalie today. He was bummed about that but that kept him moving in all the other positions.

Here Carter races for the ball. These kids got pretty tired out. One, because it was the first game of the season and two, because his team has no extra players. So that means no subs, no breaks.

They still started off with a 2-zip lead. But the second half, the other team took advantage of the very, very, very strong winds at their backs and scored 3 unanswered goals. So the Rapids Sweepers lost 3-2.

This was coed soccer and by the end of the game, Carter was fighting back with this girl. This time he got the ball from her...

This time, though, she shoved him out of the way...

The last time he says, "This one's mine!"

Despite the loss, it was fun to watch. The skill level is better so it's a good, close game. Plus we get to know some of the kids over the years. Today, Carter's friend Nate (who he'll be playing baseball with) was on the opposing team. So at least one kid is happy!

Carter did suggest he'd feel better with a stop at DQ on the way home. How could we say no?

Plus, I was in a good and generous mood. I scored a bag full of books cheap at a garage sale this morning (that season's in full swing, too) and I finally got the CRV headlight all fixed! What a full day.

Actually, what a typical Saturday. Looks like we've got plenty more of these in store. There is an opening on June 26 (unless we do something we do something for my birthday), but then not until July 17. Good thing Sundays are a day of rest, eh?

Oh, Man!

Although we are still one year and two weeks away from official teenage years for Carter, apparently the transition to teen-hood and manhood starts early. Really early.

This has been an interesting week for Carter. Of course, I am the mother and was not witness to any of this. I was the second to last to know. You, dear reader, are the last.

Signs that manhood (as we know it) is on the horizon:

The other night while hubby was cleaning the toilet (wait, that's not the way to start talking about manhood, but I seriously love that he is man enough to do that for me, er us). Anyway, the other night, he was cleaning it and the brush broke and got stuck. He actually reached in the water to grab it, but couldn't reach it it up that hole on the bottom. (I bet there's a technical plumbing name for that but it escapes me.) So he needed someone with smaller hands to get it. (Thank god he is leaving my small hands for headlights.) He asked Carter to do it. And he did it!

For a dollar!

So being at one with the toilet is some male rite of passage, I guess. But he continued this bonding...

The next night he actually took his social studies book in the bathroom when he knew he'd "be in there awhile." When he was done, he was very proud of his multi-tasking accomplishment. "I almost got the whole chapter read!"

Yay.

Tonight, though I should be grateful this has nothing to do with toilets, was a real big deal. I was told after the fact of course that Carter drove the CRV from our next-door neighbor's and parked it in our driveway. Good lord! We're down to one vehicle and we're putting it in the hands of an 11-year-old? I guess only moms think there is a problem with this scenario because all the neighborhood dads thought it was pretty cool.

So did Carter, who by the way, isn't old enough to legally sit in the front seat to begin with. He's got 2 weeks before he can ride shotgun...

and hold my purse. Yeah, how's that for manhood?

Dim and Dimmer

I am this close to turning in my Gearhead membership card. It may even be stripped away.

For the first time, after successfully changing countless headlights on our vehicles over the years and, most recently, reaching the "radiator hose connection" level, I have failed. Or at least it appears that way.

The low beams went out on the driver's side of our CRV. This was a week ago but I finally got around to buying a lovely $20 replacement bulb tonight. So I change the bulb very carefully since it's halogen, then test it. Nothing on the low beams. The high beam works, though, as before. So I decide to take it out and start from the beginning.

Now if you've changed headlight bulbs before, you know the challenges. The reason I do it (and not hubby) is because I've got the small hands to reach under some metal bar and squeeze past the battery, scraping off just a top layer of skin as I do so to get to the backside of the light. This is why I did not want to have to do it twice. And then, after doing it twice, it still did not work! Grrrrrr.

So I gave myself a timeout and then went with the next logical source of the problem. The fuse box. I now know the layout of our fuse box quite well and can use the handy dandy tool for pulling fuses out and checking them. None of the ones associated with the headlights were broken.

At this point I'm stumped. I feel kind of geeked that I worked my way around a fuse box. That's a new one for me. But I feel embarrassed that I can't figure this one out. I even went off to Google land to find a solution. It seems the only other thing could be wiring. And honey, I am not touching that!

If I have to cease being a card-carrying member of the Gearhead Club, then so be it. Wires scare me. Either someone else will have to take it from here or I'll have to get used to other drivers flipping me off for not dimming my lights!

I'm Ba-a-ack!

I realize it was silly to encourage people who received my Christmas card to visit my daily blog, then take 3 days off. But here I am again -- after surviving 80-plus hours with no computer, no Internet, no Facebook. Yup, I was north of Highway 8 -- that invisible line that separates the Northwoods from the rest of the world.

I haven't even unpacked my bags yet, but I figured I better blog first. There's a good chance when my bed is cleared of my clothes and crap that I'll jump right in!

My long weekend in a nutshell...

Friday: Had a brief shopping excursion in Eau Claire and finally found that something special for that special hard-to-buy-for someone on my list. Yay! Got to my twin's at supper time and we just had a laid-back evening of cleaning and chit-chatting.

Saturday: The whole family (within driving distance) showed up for lunch and cookie baking. There was little baking, but lots of eating and talking and laughing and eating and playing games. Learned a fun new game called something like Telestrations -- sort of like the games Telephone and Pictionary combined. Funny stuff. I didn't even win and I didn't care (and that says a lot). It was a great day.

Sunday: Yup, I woke up to this lovely sight! I completely forgot they had mentioned snow in the forecast. Thankfully, it was mostly gone by afternoon. I left my sister's and went down to my parents near Luck for the afternoon and evening. Mom and Dad taught Carter and me a new card game called Dirty Rummy (or "You can call it Nasty Rummy," says Mom). Dad won the first game and Mom won the second. In between, they let me watch my Vikings play (and win, naturally), then served up a delicious supper of my mom's yummy meatballs and mashed potatoes. It's good to be home!

Monday: There was a reason I stayed at my parents' last night. I had to help at a photo shoot for work that was on my way from Luck to Rapids. It was a classy auto restoration place that impressed both Carter and me. In this photo, he stands (not touching!) by a multi-million-dollar Daimler that is just one of 12 in the whole world. Cool stuff. I told his teacher about it ahead of time and she was OK with him having a "work experience" day off from school. I made sure I took a picture of him by a Jaguar, too, to show the kids at school!

We got home just in time to unload our multi-thousand-dollar CRV and get ready for Carter's first basketball game of his career. It was not a very good game, but hey, you gotta start somewhere. Shooting, Carter was 0 for 1 and he had one foul -- AND he had 3 steals, too! They lost 36-10. But he had fun, lots of fun, and that's what counts, right?

Speaking of fun, I better go pay attention to that other guy that lives here...