The Time Has Come

Welcome to May (almost)! If it’s May it must be time to load up Winne and hit the road. Yes indeed ... with only 8 And-A-Wake-Up days to go ... it is time! Winne’s pre-trip maintenance is pretty much complete, the pre-trip appointments are almost completed, the load list has been made, some items have been checked off, and the list has been made again. It is the same ‘ol story with the same “stuff” to deal with ... but yet it is always different and new ... especially when we haven’t been in travel mode for over a year! About the only thing different for this trip is we will need to take our face masks for those places still requiring them and our proof of Covid vaccinations just in case some storm troopers are turned loose along the way and road blocks get set up to check Picture IDs and other “papers” to allow US citizens to travel state-to-state. I jest ... but yet I want to be prepared!

Our plan is leave next Sunday and spend the night at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. After some dry camping on the Reservation we will finish up our trek to NJ ... with a different for us stopping point near Atlantic City where we will spend a week while visiting the NJ Evringham clan and congratulating our newest college grad. Our granddaughter Alyssa is graduating from Stockton University with a degree in Marine Science!

After seeing all we wish to see in the Garden State we will be continuing our trip south - around Baltimore west to I-81 and then south again to the mountains of North Carolina - near Asheville. We plan on just relaxing and exploring a bit in the Asheville area for about a week before taking a side trip to Gaffney, SC to visit the Freightliner Custom Chassis Factory Service Center. There are a few maintenance items I would like done on Winne that I just don’t want to do and don’t trust just any Freightliner Service Center to do. So while we are “in the area” why not let the factory techs do it right the first time (I hope)!

After a few days in Gaffney we plan on heading over to “the quiet side” of the Smokey Mountains near Maryville, TN for another week stay of relaxing and exploring ... with maybe a wild party thrown in to visit our good friends Gene and Judy Curp!

After wearing out our welcome in Eastern Tennessee we thought we might meander our way over to Branson, MO. We haven’t visited Branson since 2007 and we really enjoyed our visit then ... so why not?! I hear they are open for business and have some great new shows to see!

After a week in Branson I think it will be time to point Winne northeast and make our way home ... somewhere around the end of June ... just in time to enjoy summah in Maine which always means lobstah, sunshine, and birthdays!

I am looking forward to it all!

Bingo!

 In spite of the wintry mix of rain and snow falling at the moment ... it really is “spring” here in Maine. We have had several 60+ degree days in the past few weeks, the daffodils are sprouting and the trees are at least showing some buds. That counts as spring for us ... like I said ... in spite of the sn*w falling here on this 16th day of April!

We enjoyed our visit with most of the New Jersey Evringham Gang last week and we will be visiting with them again in a few weeks when we head down there to help celebrate granddaughter Alyssa’s college graduation. The weather was nice enough for Brian and I to get out for a short ride on my two recently restored Honda Superhawks and we also got to enjoy an outdoor cookout and Bball shootout over at Stacy and Kaj’s place in Richmond. As always ... it was fun watching our kids and grandkids enjoying the day and each other. We (at least us over 16 year olds) are vaccinated now so that stress has been lessened ... one more step back to finding the new normal.

I brought Winne home from storage a couple of weeks ago to get started on preparing her for travel. Since Brian was available to help me I took advantage of the situation and we removed and replaced one of Winne’s rear leveling jacks that has been leaking hydraulic fluid for some time. I purchased the new jack last fall and was hoping to have some local repair place do the work ... but my Plan A and Plan B repair places couldn’t do the work. The Plan A shop doesn’t open up from a winter/COVID restrictions break until May and the Plan B shop can’t seem to find workers willing to give up their “enhanced” unemployment benefits and come back to work. Apparently this is part of the new normal as well. Regardless ... Brian and I managed to wrestle the leaky jack out and get the new jack installed with nobody injured and only a few work clothes sacrificed to the rag bin.

I have accomplished a few other repair/maintenance items on Winne over the past week and have a few more to accomplish over the next few weeks and she should be ready to roll once again!

So here we sit ... 21 days and a wake up before Winne hopefully rolls south once again. If it sounds to you like I am ready ... BINGO!

On Being “Back” to “Normal”

Well spring is trying to sprung ... even here in the frozen northeastern US. Believe it or not ... all of our snow piles have melted away and we are into full mud season now .. and it’s not even April 1st! An early spring it is!

Although it was a tough winter for us ... mainly because we weren’t able to run south for some warmer weather and sunshine ... most folks up here would tell you it was a mild winter overall with less than normal snowfall. I suppose it was “mild” but still too cold ... for too long ... for me!

I was able to take advantage of the nicer weather to get my motorcycle projects completed earlier than I expected, so that was a bonus. Not only that but I have been able to get the “summer” stuff out of the shed and into their summer spots and the “winter” stuff into their storage spots so that the two Super Hawks could be put into their storage spots.

While I have been busy moving stuff around Peggy has been doing all sorts of spring cleaning inside. The New Jersey Gang is trying to get up here for a visit next week - so that was one incentive ... but we also hope to leave here ourselves in just under 40 and A-Wake-Up. 

Since Winne hasn’t moved much at all in the last year that means I have a lot of maintenance checks and a few repairs I need to get accomplished before we are ready to be on-the-road-again. So today’s focus will be waking up Winne and getting her home to her driveway spot so the tinkering can begin.

I am looking forward to traveling once again ... but I wonder how “normal” it will be? It has been just over a year since we arrived home from our last trip at the peak of uncertainty regarding the Covid 19 virus. We managed to survive this last year wearing our protective masks, washing our hands frequently, and maintaining our social distance as much as we felt was responsible. We limited our contact with others outside our household and suffered watching politicians outdo each other trying to shame us, encourage us, and lie to us to save us from ourselves. We became vaccinated as soon as possible. So now what?

Who knows what the future has to offer? I know this ... I am not in total control of my destiny and I can only do what I think makes sense while weighing the risks of living with the rewards of enjoying life. 

When you think about it ... that sounds pretty “normal.” I guess I really never left.

Think Spring

 Well it may not be spring yet ... but I am more than ready.

A couple of weeks ago we had a few days of above freezing weather so I took advantage and hoisted the repaired engine/transmission for my 1966 Honda Super Hawk out of the basement and managed to get it installed in the cleaned up frame. Fortunately the decent weather lasted long enough for me to complete the reassembly project and at least get it running before the frigid weather returned.

We have had a couple more days of poor sledding weather so I decided to move forward and get going on finishing up Super Hawk #1. I retrieved the engine from the basement on Tuesday - the rolling frame came up and out on Wednesday - and the reassembly was completed this morning with another successful firing up of the engine!

So now these projects get to sit and wait for real spring to arrive for proper test rides and any necessary adjustments.

In and around tinkering on my motorcycle restoration projects I also managed to receive my two doses of Covid vaccine and Peggy is scheduled to complete hers next week.

With our vaccinations complete and hopeful for seeing our country start retuning to closer to normal soon - we have started to schedule our first motorhome trip in over a year. Granddaughter Alyssa will be graduating from College in mid-May so we plan on heading to NJ for that. 

Then we are thinking of heading to the mountains of North Carolina for a week or so ... and then perhaps into eastern Tennessee for a few more weeks before heading back home around the first of Julyish.

Not that I’m looking forward to it or anything ...

Think Spring!

Just Pondering (for now)

 Okay friends - Mikee needs some help. As I sit here in the cold cold grip of winter in the frozen northeastern United States I find myself pondering ...

I know how I got here ... the job I wanted when I was 30 years old was here. I even know why I have lived here for 40+ years ... Maine is a wonderful place 6 months out of 12! 

Probably the main reason we are still here is that 2 out of 3 of our kids live here with 3 out of 7 of our grandkids! Well, that and the thought of all the hassle involved with moving anywhere!

But as we age we do keep thinking more and more about thinning out a lot of our “stuff” and simplifying our lives. As long as we need to thin out our “stuff” anyway ... why not really thin out our stuff by moving!?

And if we decide to move ... why not move somewhere where the weather is more tolerable for a longer period of time!

Don’t go all crazy on me kids ... I’m not planning on putting the house up for sale anytime in the next few weeks ... just thinking with my fingers here!

So that’s where I need the help. Peggy and I have been to lots of areas of lots of states over the past 15 or so years and have plenty of places that we liked ... but then we tend to visit those places when the local weather is at it’s best!

But where is the “perfect” place ???

Warm is better than cold ... but we don’t mind a FEW weeks of winter and a LITTLE snow.

Dry is better than humid ... but then even Maine gets a bit “humid” for a few weeks in the summer. On the other hand ... I’ve lived in Hawaii and been to Mississippi in the summer and didn’t care for it all that much!

Trees are better than Cactus. I like the desert southwest ... but not for months on end in the summer.

An ocean nearby would be nice but plenty of lakes and rivers would suffice.

I really don’t want to have to deal with annual tornadoes so “Tornado Alley” won’t do at all.

The Left Coast is out ... nuff said!

So whaddaya think? Where is the perfect place?

Parts Are On Order

Well here I sit. It is 0 degrees outside this morning ... up from a low of minus 1 or so ... still surviving winter in Maine ... and still not enjoying it! It doesn’t help that my Facebook “newsfeed” reminds me every day of someplace much warmer that I was enjoying grilled shrimp or great BBQ ... on this date 1 or 3 or whatever years ago!

The good news?it is going to warm up tomorrow so we can receive a big nor’easter with a bunch of snow ... yippee? But I’m not going to whine ... nope .. not me!

So what’s new? Well, we are both as healthy as can be expected for a couple of 70 year olds not getting enough exercise, hunkering down in the frozen north country. We have both managed to avoid the Coronavirus to this point ... I received my first dose of the vaccine last week and am scheduled for my second dose in a few more weeks. Peggy? Well that’s a another story. 

I have spent many hours over the past month cleaning, inspecting, and repairing parts on my Honda Superhawk II project, including moving the engine to the basement, disassembling the engine, repairing the kickstarter mechanism, and reassembling. Once it warms up enough outside I’ll finish getting the frame cleaned up and re-introduce the engine to the frame ... whenever “warm enough” returns to Maine!

I have also spent some time helping out my lobsterman friend Bill work on one of his many collector cars. Bill has built a very nice and large workshop/storage area/display area near his home in Harpswell, ME ... complete with heat! Bill has about 20 or so cars in his collection. Most of his cars are 1930 something Streetrods in varying levels of “modification.” A few years ago I helped him with a few “upgrades” on one of my favorites in his collection ... a 1937 Ford Coupe. One of the modifications we added was the installation of a new digital dash with all modern gages ... but with a retro look. Bill also decided that he wanted this car to have a modern radio system ... and of course it needed to have a modern GPS navigation system ... and a backup camera just like all the new cars! Back when I helped install that digital dash I recommended against it since it required cutting up a perfectly good original 1937 Ford dash. But Bill insisted ... so we did. Installing this “infotainment” system in a Bonny and Clyde era Ford seemed like further sacrilege ... but Bill insisted ... so the dash got cut some more! It was no easy chore but I managed to get the radio to fit in the dash and got the GPS system, Backup Camera, and radio to work pretty well without cutting any more holes in the original car exterior! Of course, just about the time I was announcing success Mr. Bill decided he wanted to replace the steering column as well. “What the heck” says I, it’s your car, your money, and your vision ... and apparently I have nothing better to do! 

Parts are on order. Pictures to follow.

Think Spring!

Well here we sit ... December 28th ... the year 2020 is mostly behind us. I was hoping to tell you how excited I was to be here on day 3 and-a-wake-up ... getting ready to head south for the winter. But alas it isn’t to be. With the COVID numbers as high as they have been for the last year and every state trying to out shutdown their neighbor — it seemed the prudent thing to do was to just sit here in Maine for the winter, watch the snow fly, tinker on my motorcycle project, and await my turn for vaccination. I said it was “prudent” ... not enjoyable! Assuming I can make it through till spring this will be the first winter we have stayed in Maine since 2008!

I also note that this is my 1055th blog entry since I started this method of communication back in 2008. I had a different blog running in 2005 when we started RVing but swapped to Blogger in 2008. I also note that this blog finally made it over 10,000 page views! Since we started using Facebook in 2009 to help keep our family and friends up-to-date on what we were up to while RVing America ... and the fact that we have been RVing less these past few years ... the need for the blog has gotten smaller and smaller since I share the blog with all my Facebook friends anyway. Regardless, I think I will keep on trying to get in at least 1 post in per month while not traveling and more when we are on the road.

We had a joyous Christmas in spite of all the Coronavirus limitations. We got to see the Maine kids/grandkids for short - socially distanced - visits and managed to enjoy the holiday. We did miss visiting with the NJ Gang this year but we will make up for it this spring when we head that way for Alyssa’s College Graduation Ceremony. That’s right! She is scheduled to graduate after only 3 years and hopefully they can have a nice ceremony this year!

I have continued to work on my Superhawk II motorcycle project. I am pretty much taking the whole bike apart piece by piece, cleaning it all, replacing what must be replaced to make it reliably functional, and then putting it back together again. For now — I am doing my best to keep it as original as possible — but I may break down and repaint it. 

So that’s about it for us Maineiacs this last week of 2020. Hunkering down for the winter and hoping for a pandemic breakout in early 2021!

Think Spring!!!

Ready For Whatever Comes our Way!

Hello there from the cold and blustery State of Maine where winter has begun (it is after Halloween you know)! Winter usually starts right about now and this year is no different. We have already had many nights with temperatures below 32 degrees and even a few days with highs below 35.

Fortunately, I am pretty much done with my pre-winter chores. The leaves are mostly down and picked up, WTT has been winterized and is back in its storage spot waiting for whatever comes next, the lawn tractor is put away, and the snowblower is ready.

Now we look forward to a fun Thanksgiving holiday with the celebration taking place at Stacy and Kaj’s place this year. I’m sure we will have a great time in spite of keeping the numbers of family down and doing our best to keep the Coronavirus at bay!

We remain on the fence as to whether or not we load up WTT and head south for the worst of the winter months. Our plan is to keep an eye on all there is to keep an eye on ... and make a decision sometime in early December. The travel restrictions being put in place in the various States along our travel path ... and at our planned destinations in Florida will certainly play a factor — as will the availability of a vaccine ... but mostly we will do what makes the most sense to us.

In the meantime we will watch winter arrive and enjoy the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

With the now red 1965 Honda Super Hawk project mostly done and awaiting spring I’ll bet you were all worried about what Mikee will do with all his “free” time .. especially if he stays hunkered down in Maine for the winter. Well worry no more!

I won’t bore you with the long story ... but it seems that I just couldn’t resist buying yet another vintage motorcycle project. The latest one looks an awful lot like the last one. This time a 1966 Honda 305 Super Hawk has found its way to Mikee’s Motorcycle Restoration and Maineiac Madness Workshop! I was telling myself that the last one was ... the “Last One.” Apparently it wasn’t!

The latest acquisition, now known as Super Hawk II - is a mostly complete and original version in black with only 5,444 miles. When it arrived in the shop neither the kick starter nor the electric starter worked but I was able repair the electric starter in short order. The kick starter issue looks like an easy repair ... but does involve removing the engine and some serious disassembly ... so that will wait until warmer weather (maybe!). The good news is that Super Hawk II appears to run well and has most of its original parts. My initial plan is to clean it up, get it reliably roadworthy, and find a new owner ... time will tell how this plan works out!

So that’s the way it is here at the Maineiacs In Motion Winter Chalet this 24th day of November 2020 .. 38 and A-Wake-Up (Maybe) and ready for Turkey Day. 

Bring it on!

The Big Reveal

Well folks, we made it to mid October! In spite of the increasing level of political advertising, the craziness of social media Supreme Court fear mongering, the actual and hyped up danger of the COVID 19 virus pandemic, and all else that attempts to daily bring us down ... we are still here!

We managed to finish up September and then entered Evringham anniversary season. Peggy and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on October 4th, Eric and Jen celebrated #14 on the 7th, and Brian and Nicole celebrated #25 on the 14th. Congratulations to us all - it’s a bigger deal than you may realize! Peggy and I had hoped to have a bigger celebration party but the pandemic made that pretty much out of the question. Our kids did throw us a mostly close family party on the 3rd. It turned out to be a nice fall day here in Maine so we were able to have it outside. Everybody seemed to have a great time — a few may have had too much fun — but it was great having “the  whole gang” over to help us celebrate!

After taking a few days off to breathe after the Party it was time to move on to fall chores. The beautiful fall foliage started its fall to the ground, the annual vehicle oil changes needed to be accomplished, the vintage vehicles needed to start their annual pilgrimage to their respective storage locations, and it is time to winterize Winne The Two. The “get ready for winter” chores will continue over the next month ... but the process has started.

Of course it hasn’t been all work and no play for Mikee! I did manage to almost complete the reassembly of the engine for my 1965 Honda Superhawk Project. And then my painter friend Glen decided to complete his part of the project! So faced with a bunch of freshly painted parts what else could I do!? It had to start going back together!

Standby for the big reveal ....

It’s RED! Well RED and silver anyway!

Now all I have to do is place this into that frame ...

I’m thinking I will wait for next spring to accomplish this final step. The plan is to take the frame and engine out of the basement separately and then reinstall the engine. I have removed whole bikes from the basement In the past ... but I’m thinking it will be safer for everybody (and the bike) to do this one in pieces!

So then what? Once the pre-winter chores are done and the bike project is on hold ... what do we do for those next few months of real winter?

We could just remain here in snowy, cold Maine —- burning heating oil, shoveling snow, and hiding from the coronavirus. Or we could load up WTT on New Years Day, drive rapidly south, and hang out in Florida for a few months. Although door #2 sounds really good ... and I feel pretty confident that we could make the trip and “hide” from the virus just as easily in Winne in Florida as staying here ... a lot depends on what happens with the virus “flare ups” and what the different governmental groups along the way decide to do. If it becomes more hassle than its worth to make the trip — we’ll stay home. If not — we may go. We have the reservations we need ... now we will watch and see.

One-Day-At-A-Time

 Summer in Maine is pretty much over and we have moved on to Fall with lovely days and chilly nights.

With Fall comes fall chores. The leaves haven’t started their color change and fall to the ground yet so I have a few more weeks before that chore begins ... and it isn’t quite time yet to start getting all the summer toys placed into storage — but it is getting close! But before I move on to those projects I thought it was a good time to get my Fall/Winter motorcycle restoration project ready for the next phase.

Last week I took the 1965 Honda 305 Super Hawk for a short ride and then started its disassembly. It took me a few days but the Super Hawk is now in many many pieces.

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The parts to be painted are ready for their next phase;

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The parts to be detailed and prepped for reassembly are ready for that work;

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And the engine/transmission has been completely disassembled and inspected.

The engine itself was in pretty good condition internally but the transmission was a real rusty mess. 

It was so bad that I declared it trash and found a used replacement on eBay that will replace it completely. With the addition of a few new bearings the whole rotating assembly is ready for reassembly.

So ... that ought to keep me busy for a few months!!

And then there is that whole 50th Wedding Anniversary thing coming up in a few weeks! How did that sneak up on me! One-Day-At-A-Time that’s how!

The Dog Days of Summer

 It appears that the “dog days” of summer 2020 are just about behind us. Today was a very nice day with a high in the low 80s but the humidity was fairly comfortable. The forecast for the next few weeks shows highs mostly in the mid to high 70s and lows in the high 50s ... so it appears we are heading towards fall here in Maine ... in spite of the leaves that will be falling come early October ... this is my favorite time of year.

Most of our home improvement projects are also now behind us. The new siding is on, the new seamless gutters are on, and the driveway sealcoating is done and is curing. Hopefully the new garage door will be delivered to the installer on Monday and we can get that accomplished next week.

In spite of all the disruption and the inevitable dealing with contractor issues ... we are very satisfied with how it has all turned out and we are looking forward to many years of enjoying the new low maintenance feel of our new home exterior. Color-wise it may look pretty much the same ... but I reckon that is because we liked the colors it has been for the last 40 years ... so why change? Besides ... with our advancing age we might not be able to find our way home if it were changed significantly!

I still have a few small maintenance items to take care of ... like painting the steel bulkhead doors leading to the basement ... but that is small potatoes so to speak.

As we finish off summer and move into fall of this crazy year we remain optimistic. The collective WE ... will figure out how to safely navigate this pandemic, restore saneness to our society in general, and will continue to prosper.

After all ... what other choice do we really have?

Summer Chores

Here we are ... August 2020 ... still here, still well, and still sorta isolating. I say “sorta” because we watched Taylor and Aiden for about 6 days. We survived quite well and so did they. And we hosted Brian, Nicky, Alyssa, and Emily up from NJ for a week ... and we all survived. And we continue to be doing well as we listen to the sounds of banging and clanging as the siding crew busily replaces the siding on our house. The new Cedar Impressions vinyl siding is looking good and we are looking forward to seeing the finished product!

I was hoping to have the siding work done a few weeks ago but the contractor was waiting for materials which arrived last week. With about 5 minutes notice we suddenly had a crew of guys in our front yard and the old cedar siding was being ripped off and walls were being prepped for the new stuff. The NJ Gang got a rude awakening for sure! Oh well ... I think that’s pretty expectable when dealing with construction type contractors. They show up when they have materials to work with, they work hard, and then they are on to the next job. I’m pretty impressed so far. They seem to know what they are doing, they work pretty steady all day long, and they do a pretty good job of cleaning up after themselves each day. I’m happy to be supporting the local economy ... but I’ll be happier when they are done and we can have our house back!

Once the siding work is completed and the new garage door is installed it will be time to complete my next house maintenance project ... seal coating our asphalt driveway! Another periodic chore I never look forward to! Mmmm ... perhaps another contractor I can look forward to working with! That job has to be completed soon ... certainly before all the local trees start dropping their leaves!

And then there will be motorhome maintenance to accomplish.

Sure glad I’m retired!

Summer Projects

Welcome to July 2020! Peggy and I continue to survive amongst the hue and cry of the outside world dealing with pandemics, civil unrest, and all around social anxiety. We know it is all out there ... but so far we have been able to cope just fine.

Since my last post I have continued on-and-off on tinkering with my 1965 Honda Super Hawk ... and 1966 Yamaha Big Bear motorcycle restoration projects. The Yamaha is pretty much done and the Honda is improving a little each week while it awaits its Autumn complete disassembly for some engine work and new paint. Actually, the motorcycle projects have taken a rest for these last few weeks while I have been busy getting ready for the house siding work that should start in a couple more weeks.

Although the upcoming siding work is going to include wrapping all external window frames with metal to eliminate even more periodic painting needs ... that really only helps with the house windows since the windows were replaced several years ago with vinyl framed windows. The garage windows were the original wood framed and wood sash type that seemed to always need re-glazing and re-painting. So it made sense to me to replace them with new vinyl windows as well. It seemed to make sense at the time ... until I counted them (6 total) ... and then realized that each one of the openings would have to be slightly modified to accept the nearest “standard” sized and generally available window. So Mikee got to play carpenter for a couple of weeks.

And then of course there was the “issue” of what to do with the 60 year old wooden garage door. Yup ... that needs paint too! But this time Mikee smartened up a bit at found a local contractor to handle that replacement! So once all the contractors finish doing their thing ... the external house maintenance chores should be greatly reduced. That’s the plan anyway!

That brings us up to today when Peggy and I start our grandkid watching duties. Stacy decided that she and Kaj needed to venture out into the world for a much needed vacation so we get to try and corral and keep entertained Miss Taylor and Young Mr. Aiden for a bit over 5 days. All prayers for all involved are greatly appreciated!

Papa and Gramma are ready ... bring ‘em on! But be ready for the consequences!

Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Welcome to summer 2020! Yes, I know ... 2020 has generally been a bummer ... but it is time to move on folks! Get used to wearing your mask in public places, get used to weird protocols to eat in a restaurant, and get used to COVID 19 Statistics, Lies, and Damn Lies. Just don’t get used to the “Government” telling you how you must live you life. I have a healthy respect for any disease that that can kill me ... but I definitely fear a government that believes it knows what’s best for me and is determined to show me how much it loves me! 

Peggy and I have been generally doing well these past weeks as the weather has slowly improved and turned down right warm these past few days. We are in that stretch of early summer where the lawn needs mowing at least once a week, it is best to get any outdoor work done by 10 AM or after 4 PM, and the roads are full of “Summer People.” All that is true except the last part! With all of the COVID restrictions in place ... the summer tourist season here in Maine is a real bust! The traffic is still busy out there but tourism is way down. I hope these businesses that rely on our summer tourists can survive but I fear many will not.

I have managed to stay busy on my various “projects.” I have continued to tinker on my 1965ish Honda 305 Superhawk. It runs more reliably now and I have done a lot of cleaning of 50+ years of grime and yuk off just about every piece. This is the not-so-fun part of restoring these old machines ... but necessary. Necessary just to improve it’s look and necessary because you tend to find problems that really do need repair under all that yuk! Lately I have been working on the wheels and suspension. A bunch of cleaning, a little polishing, a few new parts here and there and she is beginning to clean up quite nicely!

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A related project was to tackle my storage space problem. I thought I had solved that problem back in 2104 when I build my shed out back ... but that was before I bought a Lawn Tractor and before I started on my motorcycle restoration hobby. Having gained up to two lawn tractors and up to 5 motorcycles I created a whole new problem. Where do I store them in the winter, where do I put them in the summer, and most importantly ... where do I work on my next project!

Last year I sold two motorcycles to help with the problem ... but then bought another one this spring ... and then of course there was the whole lawn tractor debacle last fall which found me owning not one but two LTs! As soon as I could after we returned home from our winter travels I advertised and got the Craftsman LT sold so that helped a bit. But I still had two motorcycles that I had to get out of winter storage and two here at home! 

The home storage plan included selling another two bikes but I needed to get them out of winter storage and put somewhere first ... so a “temporary” storage solution was required. After some time on the internet and some time convincing Peggy that my solution was “temporary” ... I purchased a 6’ by 10’ “Shed-In-A-Box” ... built a platform to put it on ... and installed the new SIAB next to my other shed. Viola! Now I could bring those other two bikes home and get them advertised for sale.

It didn’t take long to sell the first one ... my 1974 CB350F. This one was restored back in the winter of 2015/2016 and was one of my favorites to ride ... but it was time to move on to it’s new owner.

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The 1964 Yamaha YA-6, my first restoration project from back in 2014/2015 is still up for sale and I have had a little interest ... so we’ll see how that works out. But until then she has a home in “temporary” storage.

Then there are the house projects! Back in 2015/2016 I painted our house. I should say Bailey, Kyla, and I painted our house. Nonetheless - it is time for it to be done again ... and I said last time that that was to be the very last time! So over the past few months we have been talking to contractors and have recently decided to have our house resided with vinyl siding. The siding will sorta look like the cedar shakes that we have now, will still be red and white as it is now, and the job will include all new trim, soffits, and gutters. So we are looking forward to getting that job done next month.

But before that work gets done I did want to repaint/re-glaze the daylight basement window frames and repaint the cement foundation and entry steps ... so I did. And then the deck was due for a re-staining ... so Peggy and I did!

I know I can’t eliminate all my homeowner maintenance chores but my plan is to severely decrease any that take a lot of work!

Now that summer is really here it’s time for “soda and pretzels and beer“ as that song goes. I’m ready ... are you!