03JAN24 - Yesterday was rather dreary with continuous drizzle but I got out and removed one item from my ToDo list. To wit, I cleaned off the stain that got through the tape on the 88 bolt ends and then brushed on a coat of Fluid Film.

The hardware is stainless but I wanted to rust-proof them further.

It took me a good three hours to do them all and while it was a fairly easy job, my legs were worn out from going up and down on the stool I used.

20JAN24 - Back home after the trip to see my crazy old friend, Carpenter, at his sister and BIL's place near downtown Pittsburgh. The graciously allowed me to stay in the "Garage Mahal," which is a large, one-bedroom apartment above the three-car garage. but those doors..oh man..they are three of the most beautiful, hardwood folding doors that I have ever seen, bar none. With traditonal glass..they are spectacular both aesthetically and in craftsmanship.

Back to the photo. Had to get a few things at The Depot last Thursday and one of those items consisted of having three copies of a key for which I only had one copy. (as usual, misplaced one of the damn walk thru gate keys but gotta have those,) made. Anyway..

..as I'm walking toward the aisle that I think the key machine is on, out of the corner of my eye I get this blast of Grabber Lime. I couldn't believe it. I can be most absent minded and these may have been there for years but it was the first time I'd seen one.

Followed the checklist, gave 'em a card and, in about eight minutes, I had the three copies. The next photo shows the heart of the machine and I thought it was worth a shot. :=)

To give you a laugh for the day, despite the warning sign on the front, I STILL left the original in the machne. Maybe I'll ask next time if there's a lost and found key department but I have three copies. Hell, I just remembered, I DO have one original hidden near the far gate which never gets used. BadAss. :-)

I realize it is a small, simple, two-axis CNC machine with a common rotating supply, just something about it grabbed my attention.

Just after sunset.

After I finished the queso, (and Buddy watched me like a hawk,) I sat up holding the jar and he immediately sat. I let him salivate for a few seconds and then gave him the "OK." He attacked the inside of that jar so aggressively that I almost had to use two hands to hold it. Fortunately, he gave up before my left hand did. (laughing)

I'd say it took him about ninety seconds to finally give up on the licking. He is so funny.

Forgot to grab this one off the phone, it was shot as I pulled out of the driveway in the pouring rain (or as folks around here often say, "a real gully washer." (grin) That it was and while I don't know how much of what is shown here was runoff from other recent showers, the ditch still had a lot of the lawn still showing early yesterday morning so it filled up quickly.

31JAN24 - My first attempt at making bagel dough..

..but working with it to actually make them was more than difficult and obviously, they turned out pretty ugly. :-)

Forgot to get a photo of them post baking but they turned out decent looking but tasted and especially toasted, wonderfully. 

05FEB24 - Based on a recommendation from a forum member, I picked up this "Curve Ball" brush to use for tire dressing. I had been using a detailing brush which is much smaller in diameter but with the new one, the task will take half the time.

A bit of humor.. (smile)

Super Bowl Sunday..

Set up the screen and projector in the corner of the deck and had about a dozen or so attendees. When we set up the rig early in the day, the brightness was so dim that it was almost unwatchable. Fortunately by game time, the sun was much lower and after dark, it looked great.

24FEB24 (cool date ;=) - This 2020 GT-500 belongs to my friend, Jaime, who lives in a Boston suburb and is a native of Massachusetts. He took delivery of his girl within just a couple months of mine arriving BUT, soon thereafter decided to send it to Shelby American in Las Vegas for their "SE" (Signature Edition,) treatment.

That took many, many months but she finally came back late last year (I think it was.) Jaime is, among many things, a Mustang guru as well as a perfectionist and not too long after his girl came back home, he, his family, and the car got invited to SEMA via a sponsor. (WAY cool, BTW.)

That put him in Vegas and somewhere along the way he decided that his 500 now needed the SA "Widebody Treatment" so after SEMA, back to Vegas she went.

Finally after another long, long wait, she came back from her second trip and the result is stunning. This is a recent photo.

25FEB24 - There aren't many things that I dislike more than making work for myself and I did that on the last day of the landscaping area makeover.

To wit, as we were cleaning up, I backed over the damn ground spot that shines on the brick facade out front. DAMMIT!

I didn't mess around either, I broke both PVC EMT supports so I had to dig and dig and dig to get to the last coupling where I could cut the pipe off.

Got down far enough to cut them off then put the two new supply/support sticks on. (Also had to use a 3/4 to 1/2" slip adapter as the two main feeds were three quarter while the fixture is 1/2").

Two more threaded adapters and the box was glued on.

Then the chinee fixture..

On the way back in to get cleaned up, I grabbed a shot of the deck.