I'm done!!  Just finished installing the last of the front struts.  Woot!  All it cost me was an extra $160 in parts, a new hole in the nose, and some sore muscles.  As far as I can tell, everything is done right.  Had to do a few, um, ghetto rigs, but nothing epic.  Like with the rear shocks, I cut the brake lines instead of dismantling all that shit.  They are gonna be fine like that.  Had to cut the rubber upper spring seats as well, as they were not compatible with the strut bumpers I got.  Now it fits perfectly.  I have it all torqued to spec as well.  Only remaining thing to do on that is to get the brake rotors turned.  That part is still bugging me.  The old brakes had more than plenty of life left, but the car definitely was having those warped rotor issues.  Based on a recommendation, I switched to ceramic brake pads instead of the usual semi-metallic.  Seems like the Sm's can warp smaller rotors of cars like mine.  We will see.  I definitely don't need to be doing brakes every damn year.... the asbestos would kill me, lol. 

Next up on the agenda (since now I have more time due to a canceled road trip) is the air intake.  I still have the cone filter from the 300ZX, so that is gonna go on her.  Honestly, I'm only expecting like 1 HP increase.  But it is supposed to help with fuel economy, so I figure I'll give that a try.  I mean, I get about 36MPG, but a couple extra is always welcome. 

After all this, though, I don't have anything else seriously planned anytime soon.  I mean, I do plan to get a better CD player for Pearl, as soon as I figure out how to remove the old one.  The plan is also to remove the back deck and set it up so I can have rear speakers.  Wow, I could have bass!!  Car is already prewired for rears (thank you Toyota!), so this should be a breeze.  Also, eventually I do plan to get a rear sway bar for her as well.  I can't really up the power, so I'll up the handling.  Though I do have to take Pearl to the shop, though (booo!).  I need to get an alignment now that I got all this suspension work.  Besides, they might tell me what else I need to replace, he he. 

I'm gonna go swap some brake pads out, then veg for the rest of the day.  I think I have finally earned it.  Once I get the rotors turned and installed, I am SOOOOoooo  going for a cruise in her!   

Sooooo, my father in law was coming over the weekend, which means ESCAPE!!  lol.   I try not to be around when he is here.  So, on Friday, as soon as Val got home from work, I took off.  first leg of my trip was to meet a lady selling a lens for the Nikon.  Got me a 55-200mm AF-S zoom!! Woo! Only paid $60 for it, and it is mint.  My old Tokina 70-210 3.5 is better, but without autofocus, it handicaps me a bit.  I'll still use it for longer reach and MUCH higher max aperture than the new (the new one is 5.6 at the long end, while the old one is still 3.5 at the long end).  In any case, got my lens, ordered some ceramic brake pads, and took off.  Didn't have too much of a plan, so I just drove around for a bit.  Eventually, I met my friend McKenna, and went off to see an old Confederate cemetery.  Grabbed some dinner, then spent the rest of the time at her house just talking.  That was rather fun, too.  Didn't get home until 530am Saturday, lol.  Val thought I'd been killed or something....

Saturday, ugh, Saturday.  Val electrocuted herself, but that would have been a Godsend compared to what happened next.  Father in law and the girls were upstairs playing.  I got showered, dressed, and headed out to get my brakes.  When I get back, I see a black cat in my garage.  Found it kinda fishy that it didn't run away when Pearl pulled in, but it didn't set off any alarms.  I called Val down since she is the animal lover here.  She managed to get the cat, who was hidden between the AC unit in the garage and the wall.  Val was able to pick it up and take her outside.  That is when we got the smell.  First we thought it was from the insulation she was hidden in.  Then after she dropped the car, we noticed it was from the blood that was coming from God knows where.  I saw the cat running on 3 legs and headed under the back porch.  That is when it hit us that the piece of crap was looking for a place to die.  We are NOT dealing with that again!  So, we got the hose and tried flushing it out from under the porch.  I had the air rifle ready in case the water wasn't enough.  No, I didn't get to shoot it:o(  Val finally got it flushed out and it set up camp in the middle of the yard.  AT this point, the question became of what to do with it.  It didn't have long because it was panting and meowing a lot, plus the green flies were all over it.  We didn't want to leave it there because the minute we left, it'd go back and hide under the porch.  We wanted to put it out of its misery, but we didn't have anything to do it with.  Well, I stand corrected:  we had a machete, but no one wanted to behead it, and the air rifle isnt strong enough to penetrate bone (at least I don't think it is).  We briefly considered shooting it in the eye at point blank range.  Gruesome, but it WOULD have killed it instantly (at close range, the air rifle will shoot thru metal)....but we just left that one alone.  Eventually, I came up with the idea to lift the back fence that goes to a deep drainage ditch, and let it escape that way.  Val just grabbed the cat and put it over the fence.  I would have thrown it as far as I could, but that is why she is the humanitarian.  We guesstimated that the cat wouldn't be able to climb up the fence since it was running on 3 legs only, plus it didn't have more energy.  Though I threw some acorns at it to move it away from the house.  After a few minutes, I lost track of it and it was nowhere to be seen.  My guess is that it moved down the hill and hid in one of the drainage culverts on the hill.  At least it has its private chamber now.  So, my garage was left smelling like rancid fish and the flies are going ape shit in there. 

So, yeah, I hate cats.  I REALLY do.       

Been really bad about updating this thing here lately.  Then again, I haven't had anything of note happen in a good long while.  Just the same old same old.  I mean, I did go to Middle TN and got rid of the kids for a week or so.  Glad to have their brand of chaos back, though.  Got to see my friend Amy on the trip to drop the kids off.  We watched <i>Wayne's World</i>, which I have never seen until then.  While at home alone with the kids, Val and I dated a good amount.  Not every day we get this chance, so we took it.  Of course, more than nightly hijinks ensued as well, lol.  I did start feeling pretty blah over the weekend, though.  On Tuesday, I drove up to pick up the kids.  Took a detour and saw Lorelei.  Didn't get to hang out for too long, but it had been too long since I'd seen her last (whenever we went to Gatlinburg together).  Saw Holly on the way into town as well.  Would have talked to her more, but I was turning green at the gills at this point.  Cough drops were doing nothing.  Picked up the kids, and raced home.  That was a struggle.  I fell asleep at the wheel more times than I could remember.  Got home and passed out.  For the next few days, my throat got much worse and fever kept coming and going. 

Yesterday I went to the doc (or was it day before?), and got loaded up on steroids, shots, and all kinds of shit for allergies.  A few little fever spikes and a passing out irregularly, and eventually I could swallow and talk again.  Today Im feeling better, but I should eat something.  I've lost like 5 lbs since this all began.  Not the healthiest way to do it, but gotta look at the positives. 

Still playing the crap out of Super Mario Galaxy.  I am loving it! Simple, yet hard and deep.  Hell, I am finding it harder than God of War...   

Should be installing the front suspension in Pearl here in the next week.  I was hoping to get all the parts to freshen up everything, but I cant be riding on just two good shocks and springs.  So, Ill get that and redo the front brakes.  Gonna go with ceramic pads this time, though.  The fronts right now have less than 10K on them, and they are warping the rotors already!  And yes, I did have the rotors resurfaced...  I think I might have gone a bit too cheap on them.  Besides, as fast as I am driving now, I should be able to stop better, right?  Planning on taking Pearl down to Tail of the Dragon sometime after I get this finished up and properly break her in;o)

I really should stick to writing here.  Keeps my memory going a fair amount.  Let's see, in a nutshell, went up to Lebanon over the weekend.  I went to the Slammin' and Jammin Car show, while the girls saw some friends and played in the pool.  Also, it gave me a good chance to tear Pearl thru some serious back roads.  She took it, and begged for more.  It was wonderful!  Car show was really awesome.  Cool cars, half naked women, and the smell of molten rubber.  Ah yes.  Went to pick up the girls, but ended up staying there for a couple of extra hours socializing.  Tabby and her friends were having a total blast.  Eventually made our way south fairly late in the evening.  Ate at the German restaurant (which really impressed Val), then crawled home.  Got rained on, to boot. 

This week has been fairly slow.  Mowed the lawn today.  Cleaned up the workbench again, as well.  Played some Terranigma in my down time.  Went to Tabby's award ceremony on Tuesday.  She got all A's for the year.  Yay!!  I'm proud of my little potato head.  Apparently she was the only one in her class to do so as well.  Today they got to go to Lake Winnie (not the full name-- I can't spell the full name), as their reward.  She also finally got her Nintendo DS.  She saved long and hard for that one.  Got it used for a REALLY low price. 

Been playing some SF here recently.  Despite not having competition, I've been practicing for the next SF tourney.  Focusing on using a joystick.  I can now do dragon punches from both sides of the screen accurately.  Can't combo them, but can bust out the move easily.  On a pad this was no problem, but it has held me back a lot on joysticks. 

Finally got my Minolta X-570 back today! Wow, the guy did an EXCELLENT job.  Hell, I don't think my Nikon is this clean.  The camera looks almost new.  Not too shabby from something from like 1983.  Got new batteries, and away it went!  Shutter is smooth, brand new light seals.  Hell, he even cleaned spots that I didn't know you could clean!  It really is as close to a new camera as you can get.  Already transfered the old thick camera strap from the XG to the 570.  It is now officially in service:o)  With the fancier viewscreen, I should be able to take sharper pics, too.  Much easier to focus on this one than the XG.....  

Well, today Pearl got a proper shake down.  And it was proper alright.  Up and down two mountains, the interstate, and city traffic.  She handled beautifully!  I was taking turns at about 15 MPH faster than I used to (speeding ticket in my future...).  For some reason it ran a bit smoother, too.  Felt like a totally new animal. 

So, yay!!

Got my Pearl back on the road.  Yay!!  Long story behind that.   After completing Strut #2, I noticed I had an extra part one the strut.  Oooook.  Turns out (thank God) that I rebuilt #2 right.  It was #1 I did wrong.  Turns out that I left a spacer out of the strut mount assembly, and that was not good.  Took the car for a  test ride, and learned that it cannot stay that way.  Ok, I figured I could just keep the car on the ground, remove the nut, and install washer (full car weight on the spring=compressed spring).  Of course, things are not that easy for me.  AT this point I guess from the test drive, the strut mount  took some damage and now the strut piston was spinning freely with the nut.  What followed was 2 or 3 days of swearing, pleading, putting holes thru the workbench (Val says she is gonna get me a punching bag to work out those little rage issues, lol).  I just had no way of holding a chrome piston tight enough while I turned the nut.  Got some wonky wrenches from Sears, but they didn't work.  Eventually took the damn strut (with spring compressors, to boot) into Sears to hunt for that elusive tool that would help me remove the stubborn nut.  I had tried sanding the nut off, but a dremel is no match for that kind of thing.  Eventually, I found an angled head box end wrench that fit PERFECTLY.  Got home, got a rag and my big pliers, and got that damn nut off once and for all.  Minor damage to the threads while using the pliers, but it came off.  Yay!!  Sunday night around midnight I finally finished putting the rear end together.  Took her for a nice shakedown around Fort Oglethorpe.  When it gets warmer, I'm going out there to make sure everything is nice and tight before I put the back seat in. 

The front will have to wait, though.  We need the money for other things, and I am currently planning on buying 2 more boots and bumpers for the the front.  Better to have the parts beforehand so that I am not carless for a week again...

In other technical news, I got my a new (to me) Minolta X-570!!  You know, for a digital guy, I sure still do love using my 35mm stuff.  Something really basic and primal about it that appeal to me.  Got it for $10 (plus some old beat up lenses and a Canon FTb that looks pretty but won't open) since it would power on, but not fire the shutter off.  Found a guy that will pretty much refurbish it for $40, so yay!! The 570 was a higher end model, so I don't feel bad about spending that to get an almost new camera.  Besides, my XG-1 cost about $40 to begin with.  If he does really good work, I'll send in my XG-1 as well, since it has a problem that I haven't figured out yet:o( 

Day 1 of the Pearl battle is complete.  Pearl 1, me 0.  Got the rear seat removed so that I could get access to the rear strut towers.  Very odd location for them, but whatever.  After wondering whether I suspended the car properly, I was able to finally break loose the driver side rear strut.  I was supposed to disconnect the brake line, but that damn nut was on there too tight, and I could have easily damaged the brake line.  So, I took my trusty dremel, and cut the metal bracket that held that brake line.  Might do that on the new one so that I don't have to risk breaking the line.  I was paranoid at first at using the spring compressors (new to me), but once I saw that I didn't have to compact them so much since they are so soft now I felt a bit better.   The new springs will probably be a different story, though.  The old ones I can compress with my hands; the new ones BARELY compress when I stand on them.  Yay for stiffness!  But I did hit a snag that has put a hold on the project.  The bump stop for that shock was extremely deteriorated.  This is what protects your shocks when you bottom out, otherwise the shock gets damaged.  This one is totally rotten.  Since I am getting new shit installed, I should get a new set, but I don't know if it is part of the strut mount, or a separate piece I can order.  But all work stops for the time being, thus I am carless for a while....

Well, been a busy busy week around here.  Tuesday I got Val's mother's day present installed.  Been planning it since Sunday, and Tuesday I stole the car to pull it off.  Got up early (couldn't sleep), showered myself and Sam, and head out to Val's work.  Pulled her car out, and parked Pearl in its place.  Went to Best Buy and had the new CD player installed (the old one was poo...couldn't play Cd's).  Then I realized I didn't have any Cd's with me, so I got back to the house when I left.  Since now I had a car with a good stereo system, I took Sam out for lunch, and then drove up to Craven's House up on Lookout Mountain.  Had a fun photo shoot with Sam.  She was being nice about it, and as a result, got some really nice pics of her.  Returned the car to Val's job, and took my ever so lovely Corolla back home in time for Tabby to get off the bus.  She says she loved her present, and as usual, was overly surprised.

I can't remember what else I did for the week. 

Today I am planning on swapping the suspension in Pearl.  Just need to go rent a spring compressor before I take the wheels and shit off.  The girls are gonna be gone all of today and some of tomorrow (my mother in law's house), so it seems like the best time to get this done.  Besides, I need to get in there anyway.  She definitely has something loose.  Hopefully I won't have to buy any other replacement parts.  HOPEFULLY, spring won't come loose and cave my chest in, lol.  Of course, that is not my track record...  Should be a bit of fun, though.

I keep forgetting to write here.  When you have a best friend that listens to all your weird ramblings, well, blogging is not that important, lol.  It has been a pretty uneventful week for me.  The usual cleaning, putting stuff away, laundry, etc etc.  Saturday, we went to the South Pittsburg Cornbread Festival.  It would have been a good time.  Well, except for the over crowding, ridiculous heat, too many whiteys (lol), and a stupid long line for cornbread, it was fun.  Seriously, it would have been better if it were later in the afternoon or evening.  It started at 9am and went to 6pm.  It was 90 that day.  People everywhere.  Yeah.  At least I got to tour the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet Factory, though.  That was actually cool.  Both in the fact the shit was cool, and the fact that the factory where they melt iron at 2K degrees F was cooler than outside.  Went home, recharged our batteries, then did a bit of shopping.  Val wanted some more work outfits (she wants to look more professional) and I need more shorts (90% are all too big.  Yay!!).

BTW, I accidentally wore Val's belt last week.  It looks almost like mine (black, same brand and all).  I got dressed and put it on.  I noticed it fit well, so I didn't think of it.  Doing my routine cleaning, I found mine.  I put mine back on and it was loose at the waist.  Ok, no biggie.  I tell Val later, and she laughs at me, calling me a dope.  Then I told her that her belt fit me well, so no loss to me.  Her face just sank, haha. 

Sunday, Val and the kids went to the Aquarium, while Jessica and I went down to the bottom of Signal Point.  I was originally gonna do a zombie thing for some movie they were gonna be shooting in Smyrna, TN, but after the baking I got at the Festival, plus the fact I had to be up at 5am to get to Smyrna on time, I just stayed home.  Then I found out Jessica would have some time (and since her birthday had been the previous week), I thought I'd go hang out with her.  We never did see the damn main waterfalls, grrrr.  there is no set path to get there, so we lost a lot of time forging our own path.  this time, she ended up in the river while I didn't, lol.  I didn't get home until like 10 pm or so.  Helpful hint:  heavy physical activity is not recommended after only consuming a cup of coffee for the whole day.  Tore up my tripod bag, and got myself covered in all kinds of scratches.  Fun times!

My father in law is gonna be here this weekend, so I need to find some escape!!

My new toy arrived in the mail on Monday.  A new lens for the Minolta.... Woo!  It is a 400mm f5.6 lens.  Why did I get it?  Cause I could, lol.  This thing is MASSIVE!  Pics don't convey the size of it properly.  It has its own tripod mount.  Of course, since I can, I mounted it on the camera, and then the camera on the rifle stock.  The thing is so heavy that MY ARM WAS SORE THE NEXT DAY!  Frickin' awesome! Right now, I have the 2X teleconverter attached to it as well.  I can now shoot the moon and get a good amount of detail.  Yay! I'll try and get a pic of the whole set up soon.  Maybe I should dig up a Minolta MD /Nikon adapter...   

This week has been busy. Since Val had been practicing for her dragon boat race, the girls and I would meet her at the lake and watch her practice. The kids were happy chasing the birds, while I was working on my shooting technique. I had the opportunity to properly break in the 70-210mm lens. BTW, this lens is a constant f3.5, so yay! Anywho, since this is an older AIS lens, it is ALL manual. And since it has no electronics, I have to meter it the old fashioned way: sunny 16 rule, lol. As soon as I got over that minor hurdle, I got busy with the shooting. Tuesday I just had the Nikon. On Thursday, I had both Nikon and the Minolta. The new Nikon lens was not giving me enough reach to where the boats were gonna be, so I had the Minolta on the tripod and used the 300mm lens with 2X teleconverter. It was bright enough that I was able to get very good shutter speeds as well. All that shit gets heavy FAST, though...

We left early Saturday morning to the races. Had to be there around 7:30am, and her first race was at 8:30 or so. Cold! Btw, carrying so much glass, a tripod, and making sure your kids don't drown is HARD work. I got a few good pics of the first race, but with the sun behind them, I was having a few flare issues. Time for a hood I guess. Race 2 I had better luck with, and so did the team. I learned an important thing: people really like to dress weird, lol. Some of the drummers were just dressed in the most off of fashions. Anywho, the second race I shot with the same lenses, but no tripod. Pretty much amounted to two huge cannons hanging from my neck (yeah, that hurt), shooting with the Nikon until they were too far, then switching it up to the Minolta to continue the shooting. The moving back to the Nikon when they got closer again. I actually had a blast doing that. My new lens on the Nikon is super sharp. I was doing REALLY well, too, given that I had to focus manually, plus adjust the aperture and shutter speed manually as well.  Shot everything in RAW so that I didn't have to worry too much about the exposure adjustments until I got home.  PS took care of the rest.  We left around 3pm or so.  There was gonna be a 3rd race for the top 12, but by that point most of Val's team had left, so there was no point in staying.  We were beat!!  Val got her face a little sunburned... and so did I!  Hell, my arms still burn.  But at least I will have a nice tan here in a bit, lol.  Dropped some film off at Target, then came home, and more or less crashed.  I really enjoyed it a lot, though.  Maybe next year I'll volunteer, assuming I can swim or something....

Well, got invaded this weekend by the in laws. These are the ones that I like, so it's all good. They always give me a reason to smile. They got here right after we went thru some REALLY bad storms. We hid in the basement, whereupon the power went out. Glad we had a wind up radio to keep us informed of the wacky weather. It was a silly day over all. Earlier in the day, I went out on the front porch in a towel to pick up the package the UPS guy left me. It was worth it, though, lol. My new lens finally arrived!

Yeah, the lens is a 70-210mm manual focus zoom. Since damn near any AIS lens will fit on the D40, my lens selection is, um, huge. I wanted something fast that wouldn't cost a firstborn, so this was a good compromise. It is a Tokina RMC 70-210mm monstrosity. It weighs almost as much as the D40 itself. It works.... well, like an manual focus does. Since it isn't chipped, I have to do all the exposures the old fashioned way: guess!! Seriously, gotta set the camera to manual and guess the appropriate aperture and shutter speed. So far, I have done rather well. Need more practice, though. Looks like fun, though :o)

Just got finished editing and cleaning up all the pics I took at Noccalula Falls. Amusing how many more pics you take when you don't have to worry about film developing :o) I still LOVE the absolute simplicity of the Minolta, though.

Well, time to put my money where my mouth (er, fingers) is. Just ordered the whole spring and shock set for Pearl. Let's see if I have as much game as I hope I do. For once, I shall be operating on a working live vehicle, not a dead one like Rose was. Of course, the chance of injury is really high, too, lol.

And of course, a "Welcome Back" to a certain friend who finally returned from the land of... the undead, maybe? lol

Since Tabby was going with friends to Dollywood, and Val was gonna be at work, Beeper and I decided on a road trip. It was a good way to break in Pear properly. Been working on her the whole weekend, so I thought I'd get her out and strut her stuff. By the way, I officially once again have 100% emergency brakes. Woo!! Can't wait for the road to get slick so I can play around with J turns and whatnot. Anyway, I decided to go to Noccalula Falls in Gasdsen, AL. Never even heard of that town but what the hell. My friend Jessica W. had recommended it before, so figured I'd give it a shot. Took the scenic route down there. Sammy rode shotgun for a change, so she was all cool. I learned that I can undo a double know while driving stick in the city (Rome, GA)... Some of the things that stood out:

--Alabama is kinda creepy. Some of the towns I drove thru I had to sweet talk Pearl to make sure she didn't break down in. One house was rather proudly flying its Confederate flag from a huge flagpole...

--No real planning for this trip. I looked at the directions the day before, but never printed them out. Just used the Force or some silly shit and found our way there, though I overshot it once we got to Rainbow City...

--Riding the train in the park is REALLY fun. I mean, more fun than it has a right to be. We used it to see the many things there, and then just for shits and giggles.

--The animals they had there were rather unique, at least compared to our zoo here in Chattanooga. The lady lion stood out, but she was just chilling. Sammy got to pet a few critters at the petting zoo. Was better than I was expecting.

--I got to pet a deer! There was one that was running around the premises. Friendly fucker...until he tried eating my camera bag. Not bags or deer were harmed in this...incident, lol.

--The waterfall was AWESOME! Probably the biggest drop off I've seen. I wanted to go to the bottom, but Sammy was tired by that point. Then again, with all the spray i was getting at the top, I probably would have gotten the cameras wet.

--I took too many pictures. Seriously. Going thru them is gonna take a while.

--Taking 2 cameras+tripod gets HEAVY! Especially when the film one has the 70-200 f2.8 on it. That is a heavy combo right there. Worth it, though :o)

--The botanical gardens were not set up yet. I guess it is too early in the season still. I'd like to see it when it is in full bloom, though.

--Sammy makes a GREAT travel partner. She was good company, very sweet, and when she got tired, rather light to lug around, lol. She got grouchy when it was close to nap time, but after a 5 minute power nap on me, she was all set to go. Riding the train made her feel better, too ;o)

--I-59 sucks!! Good lord, felt like I was driving in Michigan or something!! It didn't really get better until we were almost to TN.

I think that is all. I'm tired, sore, but pretty happy. This combined with all the little work I put into Pearl over the weekend has me a in a good mood:o) Speaking of which, Pearl got done:
-=painted the steel wheels. They are now a nice silvery finish instead of the nappy looking rusty look
--painted the windshield wiper arms. The original paint was gone and was rusting a bit
--installed the new door seal to Tabby's door
--cleaned her out from the inside
--changed the oil
--fixed the parking brake once and for all

Today I worked my ASS off in the garage. It is generally a mess, since we have boxes, tools, cars, and whatnot down there. I started cleaning out the workshop area, so that I can, well, work in there. Put away 3 tubs of tools, hardware, and other shit. I got to put up my Vanderbilt peg board (it was on sale, leave me alone!!) and the mounted all the fun hardware on it. You know, I didn't realize I had 3 drills. Sheesh. But, having all the power tools mounted freed up a LOT of room. Also, I don't think I will EVER have to buy another nut, bolt, or screw. Ever. I have so many it isn't even amusing to a cheapskate such as myself... I'll be rearranging some wiring as well so that it is far more user friendly. The current set up is just..... odd. Plan to replace the halogen lights with fluorescent ones so that I don't cook myself, plus can draw when the urge hits me. Gonna make that my little sanctuary:o) All I would need would be a router and a laptop and I'd have my "office back, lol.

Tomorrow is Pearl day. For starters, I plan to change her oil and other assorted fluids. Was supposed to do it today, but didn't get around to it. Also, I plan to paint the windshield wiper arms, the front tires, and hopefully fix the rear drums once and for all. That is the only thing I have been unable to fix on her. I know she won't break any speed records, but I am determined to improve my driving experience. Besides, hopefully I'll beat Lorelei in a race;o) After that, then the next project will be getting the truck running reliably again. I'm rather stumped as to what is wrong with her... I have my theories, but nothing solid yet. Soon...

Not sure what I had planned for next weekend, though. I mean, Tabby has spring break, so maybe I'll drive up to Murfreesboro and hang out with both Amy and Lorelei, and let the all kids roam the green pastures. Plus, I need to go over the camping trip details with Lorelei as well. We are going sometime in May to a HUGE state park north of here. I went there with Jessica once, but apparently it was just the tip of the iceberg. So, I am gonna be in the woods with what has to be the coolest gal I've met (since Val, of course), and hopefully not get lost, eaten by bears, or attacked by vipers. Fun! I've never been camping, and as thoughtful as she is, invited me to go camping. Val doesn't seem to mind, either, which is really cool. I think it is awesome that I have a friend that is actually happy to either see or hear from me! Yeah, I don't set the bar that high anymore... Sometimes I wonder what other people really think of me, or if I even am thought of. Not much that I can do about that, though. I am what I am who I am. Love me or hate me. All I can do is move forward and enjoy what friendships I do still have left :o)

Whoops!! Went off on a tangent there, lol. Well, I'm not right in the head, anywho.

Btw, don't look at the sun during sunset thru a long zoom lens. Ouch.

Seems like i have been doing laundry all week. Alas, such is the life. Other than that, life is going well. Next week is Tabby's spring break, but we don't have anything out of the ordinary planned. Might go see a waterfall or something...

April 1 came and went. Didn't prank Val for biological reasons. Tabby I bugged all day, and Sammy.... Well, you really can't prank a 3 year old. Got Lorelei and Leslie REALLY well; I was quite proud of my performance there. At least I got to prank someone well, lol. Same day, we saw Tabby's gifted teacher, and she said Tabby was doing really well in class, just a bit scatter brained. No surprise there...

Almost over my cold! Woo!! This was my first serious cold in a couple of years, and horrifyingly enough, I am not coughing out a lung! Nose is still wonky, but I wonder if that has to do with allergies as well. Glad I am finally good enough to fight colds off again. Now I must conquer the next battle: HORNETS!

Just signed up for something that hopefully will have a huge impact in our lives later down the road. We will see how that turns out...

Went to middle TN yesterday. Bit of a social call for the girls--my brother in law was turning 30. Gave him grief about joining the club, lol. Since I was in the area, i decided to go to Pull-A-Part in Nashville. I don't have a junkyard near Fort O or Ringgold. So after eating some lunch with them, they went to play some board games, and I took my leave. Drove up to the j/y, and got to work. I was looking for some specific parts for Pearl, so I got to work fast. Well, that, and it was freaking cold, and I have a cold... Anywho, most of the ones I wanted were already raided. I was looking for a instrument cluster that had a tach on it (mine doesn't), a windshield wiper switch that had the intermittent position on it (mine doesn't), a door seal for the passenger side rear door (mine is torn), and replacement parking light lenses for the front (mine are cracked). I only found the last 2. I found the lenses over 2 or 3 cars, and they are clear! They look rather nice, too, I think. Mine are orange, so I'll have to find an orange bulb for them. I also DID find the wiper switches, but couldn't get them out. In my efforts to pack a light tool box, I neglected to take a long phillips head screw driver, which I needed to get the switch out. Argh!! No dashes, as they were all gutted:o( I did get the window seal, though. Took a car's door off in the process of getting the seal off. Well, almost off. It was being held back by that little doo hickey that won't let the door open ALL the way out. I was going nuts trying to get that fucker off of the frame so I could get my seal off. Then it hit me that I can just pull the seal over the door..... Felt rather embarrassed about that one. But I did help a Mexican earlier because he didn't have the right socket size and was trying to unbolt the wrong part, lol, so I think it was a wash:o) Look for a couple of things for Val's car, but they were all broken or taken... I had a blast though. something stress relieving about removing a car's door or ripping something to pieces to get to what you need to grab. Also, I'm kid free, which can be a bit relaxing. Since I was on a time crunch, I wasn't able to go see Lorelei or Amy this time:o( Next time I go up I'll make time for them:o)

Of course, being in the cold made me sicker than I was, so I am paying for it this morning, lol.

Success!!! Part one of many of Project Pearl is complete!! I installed the fog lights today, and they look good. So far, no blown fuses or anything of the sort. Wiring was done a bit more professionally this time, though i need to secure the wires to the body today before I go out. Thankfully I delved into the lighting system of the car, because I almost made a mistake. I was gonna originally have it wired to the bottom orange lights (just like I did with the Z). Turns out those do not turn on except as blinkers or hazard lights. That would have been embarrassing... Ended up creating a small harness that shoots down from the front side markers, so I have the fogs on even if my high beams are on. So, yay!! Of course, me being who I am, something had to go wrong. When I moved the windshield washer tank out of the way so I could play with those wires, I knocked something lose, because it is leaking now.....

I can see clearly now....

Haha, the drugs I took last night as finally starting to wear off. FINALLY. Took them last night around 8pm or so, and I still feel the wooziness from them. The things I do to fight off a cold. Yep, got a cold. Hopefully this won't turn into a 3 month bronchitis battle.... Got 10+ hours of sleep, and I still am super groggy.

Yesterday, as sick as I was, I was able to be rather productive. Tuned up the lawnmower, so we could mulch some leaves. Changed the oil, filter, and got new blades (mulching wood is a big no no...). Just cleaned out the air filter though. Trying to find cheaper alternatives for the tune up stuff, since that shit gets pricey really fast. $10 for a new oil filter? Wtf! Didn't change the fuel filter either. I mean, it is a sealed system, so I shouldn't have to be replacing it every season... As far as oil, starting next year, she will be getting nothing but 5W-3o like Pearl and every other car. Also mowed most of the back yard before that pesky choking feeling took over. Allergies+colds+mowing the lawn=nice young body to bury or mulch. Got of the mower, and changed Val's oil and oil filter. Her car is nice and purring. I also fixed the broken door handle in Pearl, so now Tabby can get out of the car, lol.

Gonna install the fog lights on the Corolla today or tomorrow, depending if I am sober enough. Then I'll start planning the intake for her as well. I plan to use the cone filter I had for the Z. That should be good for.... 1HP!!! lol. I just don't wanna buy a new filter, and this one is reusable. Plus, it is kinda cute.

Worked on Val's bike a bit more. She has access to all speeds. She just needs a new rear rim, though. It has a dent that affects the normal operation that I didn't notice when I bought it. No matter. Got her a new seat, that she seems to be enjoying. Also tuned up mine as well. I know have 15 speeds available!! Yay!! I'm getting better at this stuff....

Been listening to a lot of The Beatles. The library had a few Cd's, so I have been educating myself a bit here. Hell, when I went to bed night before last, all I had rolling in my head was The Ballad of John and Yoko, lol.

Been in a pretty good mood lately, though. Between the weather getting nice, being able to get out and see nature, and talking/seeing to friends, I've been a rather cheery bastard:o)

Well, I had an impressively BORING weekend. Kids were at the grandparents' house and Val went to go see one of her friends in the Lewisburg area, so I was home alone. I was going to go see some park, but it was cold and rainy. Most everyone I know was busy or out of town, as well. So, I just stayed home and played on the computer, lots of Street Fighter, and watched pretty much all of Season 2 of Angel. I ended up cleaning, doing dishes, and untold loads of laundry. Pretty much the only highlight of the weekend was getting Val her "new" bike. Now we can all go riding:) It needs a tune up, but it is in better shape than mine was when I bought it. I'll probably do it this week while it is warm.

Last night Sammy had nightmares, so she slept for a little while with us. then she got rambunctious, and at 3 am, that just don't fly.... Put her back in bed, only for her to cry a bit later. I just went to her, cuddled her for a bit, and then passed right the hell out. Don't know if she cried anymore, but I was dead to the world.

Up really early thanks to Tabby. She blurted out yesterday that she and her accelerated class are gonna be doing some singing that is gonna be on TV... Of course, she doesn't know what station or what the program is, except that it is the morning show...... Yeah, not too helpful. Been scanning stations for a while now, but I haven't seen it. I'll have my revenge on her later....

Guess I should go shower and whatnot. Meeting Jessica this morning.

We are now officially on the envelope method. Hopefully this will end well...