Looks pretty passable to me! Nice job!
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Looks pretty passable to me! Nice job!
Very nice work on it all! That deck looks so nice but those stairs are great! That chest is very nice. I can smell that fresh cut cedar now! :LOL:
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".......I can smell that fresh cut cedar now!......"
:LOL: So can I. The area in the shop where I did the cutting and fitting still smells like a cedar chest.
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What's really nice about cedar is years later when the smell goes away you can lightly sand it and its back again. we just did 2 of our closets after 24 years smells just like it did then
The move into the new house has been moved up. :eek:
Most of our stuff is now in and hopefully the last of it will be done by the end of next weekend.
The big change in plans is being done mostly because of my granddaughter. She’s normally a B+ student but is really struggling with the on-line learning…..it’s currently 100% on line now but at the end of fall break (the 19th) they will be going to 2 day a week in class which will still probably be an struggle for her. When they move over she’ll be in a different district and they are already going 5 days a week. The youngest grandson is doing great with the on line stuff and he will continue that for the rest of the school year. Cade is doing Cade…he’s got in class 2 days a week and that will be picking up to 5 days on the 19th. Hopefully he’ll be able to scrape enough credits to get his diploma this spring.
My daughter already has a renter lined up for her house so she’ll be able to keep up with the mortgage payments on that.
Anyway I had to figure out what to do with the car junk I collected over the years (not enough room in the new house). I did some re-arranging out in the shop and it all ended up around the desk in the shop office.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9fb408e5_z.jpgoffice by M Patterson, on Flickr
I even went ahead and framed up the bag of dash plaques to display them.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e796cb03_c.jpgDash Plaques by M Patterson, on Flickr
One of my favorites is the ticket cup. Every ticket, warning, fix-it order etc from the time I got my learners permit is in there (and it is REALLY full). This is the “Cade do as I say not as I did” conversation piece. Oh well as they say bad decisions make good stories. :LOL:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0be52b42_z.jpgticket cup by M Patterson, on Flickr
The new house will not be a completely “automotive free zone”. This arrived in the mail today. My Sister runs a quilting business from her house and made this for me out of all those Car Show and Bike Run T-shirts that had been taking up space in the closet. She had been working on it off and on for the last year or so and I’m really pleased with it.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...674d36fa_z.jpgquilt by M Patterson, on Flickr
Well back to packing up stuff for storage.
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Mike, very nice and glad to see everything is going well there! I've heard of a lot of kids struggling with the virtual learning. It's a mess.
Thanks Ryan. The move's done now and except the wife deciding where little stuff should go (usually a good time for me to hightail it to the shop) both us and our daughter and grandkids are pretty much settled into our respective houses.
The Granddaughter is doing a LOT better going to school full time and her grades are coming back up. The youngest grandson is still doing full time on line and is one of the kids that does well with it.
I'm cautiously happy with Cade......he's a Senior this year and doing 3 days on-line and 2 days in school a week. He's also getting about 15-20 hours a week at his job in a restaurant. He knows that the job (and car) are both reliant on keeping his school work up and graduating in the spring. He's not an honor roll student by any means but he is keeping up and may be able to test out of a couple of his make up classes this winter.
He's saving a decent part of his pay checks hoping to be able to move out on his own after he graduates. He went to Lowes with is mom yesterday to help her get some things and discovered the tool department which happened to have some Craftsman tool sets on sale. He had picked up a set of deep sockets and a few odds and ends and came over to tell me about it. I had to chuckle a bit and told him that yes he had finally discovered the big kids toy store. :D
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First off, happy Easter to everyone.
I still check the site about everyday but virtually everything automotive has been put on hold for a while as we get some other priorities taken care of. If anybody has caught the news that involves the illegal border crossers down in Cochise County AZ……well that’s where I live at. We’re about 25 miles from the border so we’re not right down there on it, but close enough to be wary about what’s going on. My daughter and I have been working on getting the place a bit more self sufficient. Her and the grandkids are putting a garden in, we’ve started on a backup water system and hopefully sometime this summer we’ll have a backup generator for the new house.
Cade didn’t finish HS……yeah, I’m pretty disappointed. Maybe if it had been a regular school year he would have, but who knows (I refuse to let him use that as an excuse). On the bright side he has had a job of the last few months and has moved out on his own. He seems to be doing pretty well and finding out what the world of adulthood is like.
Missy and the other 2 grandkids are all pretty well settled in now. My granddaughter is going to school 5 days a week and the youngest Grandson is doing 100% on line learning. Both are doing well in their classes so that’s something.
A lot of my time has been spent patching the old stable and putting in some new fencing for the horses Missy bought (she’s had horses off and on for several years).
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...eefd9e3839.jpgDC by M Patterson, on Flickr
Besides her horse she also ended up with one that’s for the kids to ride.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...386e3a4c59.jpgelise by M Patterson, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2a9d05f474.jpgaustin by M Patterson, on Flickr
With my other 2 grandkids right next door now we get to work on some projects now. The current one is building a rabbit hutch. Elise is turning into a fair artist and got an art tablet for Christmas. I asked if she wanted to help me draw up the plans for the hutch. She readily agreed but was a little taken back when I told her we would NOT be using her new computer!
I drug out the old drafting board and T square I built back in High School along with my old drafting set, triangles etc. She actually got into using “the old stuff” and it was a pretty enjoyable afternoon for both of us.
She enjoyed that part…….. not so much the cutting, grinding and welding to start turning the plans into the real things. Fortunately her brother Austin does like that part and is turning into a pretty good shop helper. To give Austin something to do and keep him interested in the project I gave him a squirt bottle of water to cool the welds……that pretty quickly devolved into a water fight between him and his sister. I tried to tell their mom I had no idea that would happen (I don’t think she believed me ;) ).
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5025df69_z.jpghutch by M Patterson, on Flickr
While I haven’t done anything on the Poly/Hemi project in quite a while now (the engine is still sitting in pieces over in the machine shop) I did get the 46RH back from the transmission shop a couple of weeks ago. It is built by the same guy to the same specs as the one in my 37 Dodge which I’m very happy with.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6ff68e9a_z.jpg46RH by M Patterson, on Flickr
I still drive the 37 dodge and 57 Plymouth out every couple of weeks but boy it’s a bit harder on the old billfold now.
And that's pretty much what's happening around here.
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Be safe Mike, unfortunately you're pretty much on your own for security.
Cades' out on his own!?!?! Just doesn't seem possible that it's been all that long ago he was tootin' around on his homebuilt go cart and then getting the Mustang II going and fixed up.. wasn't that just like yesterday? Or maybe last week???? HMmmmm..
Oh well. Nice to see the next crew likes being with you in the shop.
Mike, I see why everything automotive is on hold now..... Hay burners. :LOL:
It is crazy to think Cade is out on his own. It seems like you guys were just fixing on the MII to get it going for him. Stay safe. Are you done travelling to your home town now or do you plan on going back this year?
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Missed your post somehow Ryan.
The HS reunion got cancelled last year because of the virus. Supposed to be rescheduled again for this year.......tentatively for August 2021 now.
Still planning on driving the 57 Plymouth back (provided the county's not on fire then)......may be the last time I do the cross country thing. With mom gone not a lot of reason to keep making the trip.
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Mike,
You're likely way ahead of me but you might ask your tranny guy if you need to put 3 or 4 quarts of fluid in the pan to submerge the valve body. Had I done that it would have saved me $350 getting valves replaced that rusted in place due to condensation. Of course mine had seven years to rust....
It's a thought Roger......something I hadn't thought about and truthfully I'm not real sure when it will get put in service. We do get a bit of humidity for a couple of months out here, I'm wondering if I could get by with bagging it and throwing a couple of the big bags of desiccant in with it.
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Mike, if you do make the drive, let me know. Maybe we can have you over for a meal or some laughs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike P
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It may not be an issue with the 46RH tranny, but I learned the GM 700R4, and I expect the 4L60e, have tight tolerance spool valves that tend to stick if not submerged, and apparently it can only take a couple of months. You might ask your tranny guy what he recommends. The bag & dessicant may be the ticket!
I finally got one the “last” projects checked off the list for the house. Our local power grid has been pretty reliable for the last 30 years since I’ve lived here. On average we usually lose power for a couple hours or more just once a year during the summer for one reason or another. Normally that’s not a big deal but if I or my wife ever become house bound (invalid) it could potentially become deadly if/when it happens. Installing a backup generator has always been on the to do list.
We did a backup generator for my mom’s house several years ago….it was pretty straight forward. Call the dealer up, order the generator, have it installed…..about 3 weeks total.
Not so much here :rolleyes: A bit over a year ago I noticed the prices on the Generators starting to go up, so I figured it I better jump on getting started on it.
First problem I found was there was not a dealer within 100 miles from here (someone who could provide warranty or repair services) the cost of service calls for estimates and installation was exorbitant so that pretty much eliminated that route.
Anyway, I found one on-line at Lowes for the old price and went in to the store to order it. They honored the old price and with the military discount it wasn’t too horrible. The downside……5 month backorder.
I debated on whether to go natural gas or Propane, but the gas company made that choice easy. As the house is all electric they wouldn’t run a natural gas line just to service the generator due to the low usage it would get. In the long run that was OK. The generators are rated at a lower output when running on natural gas. Running on Propane I can get by with an 18KW but would have needed a 22KW on natural gas (the 22K is only rated at 19.3K on natural gas).
Anyway I ended up buying a 350 Gal tank and had it filled last July just before the propane prices started to go up. Buying the tank instead of leasing lets me shop around between the local companies to get the best price when I need to refill.
Smooth sailing now right? Nope, no one locally was set up to do a complete install (yeah 10 years ago I would have just done it myself, but digging 50 foot of trench is just not real appealing at 70 years old). Anyway the one outfit that did the gas hookup keep screwing me around for about 3 months before they finally came out.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...819de02f_z.jpggen tank by M Patterson, on Flickr
Then it was finding an electrician to do the electrical. After a lot of looking, I found a company that had done the installs before. Yeah they were backed up…..a month to come out to do the estimate, then another 6 weeks to do the install.
Anyway, after a bit over a year the generator is finally done.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bebb1629_z.jpggen by M Patterson, on Flickr
The one thing on the generator I’m a bit skeptical of is that it’s WiFi capable. If I understand the instructions correctly hooking it up to the WiFi allows for monitoring the generator over the phone real time (on a subscription service) and auto downloading of software changes. May be just a bit of paranoia on my part but if they can download stuff remotely it can be shut off remotely either by the company or a hacker. There is an option to set it up without WiFi…… guess which one I chose :D
Next on the list is to try to get a wheelchair lift in. Thank God neither the wife or I need one right now but you never know what the future holds. I’m going to try to get that done this year too. I looked them up a couple days ago and the one I’m looking at just went up $400, and I sure to see anything going down in price over the near term.
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It's crazy at how fast prices are going up, and the backorder time on appliances ect!. Nice work!. My next house project will be a battery back up system to my solar panels. Our local power utility in fear of solar owners frying them during outages, and rightly so, shuts off solar to the power meter. With the battery backup, it automatically kicks in. Problem with that is battery banks very quite abit and the technology is constantly changing so for now I have a few gas generators until I can afford to invest in another project! Glad you were able to get the propane backup, smart way to go!
I learned a lot after my mom had her stroke and we had to make some changes to her old house so she could live by herself. She was wheel chair bound the last few years and it was not unusual for power to go out during the winter, sometimes for a couple of days during ice storms.
We originally set her up with a large portable generator. It was electric start but had to be manually started and it had a manual transfer switch. My brother and sister each lived about a mile away and we figured it should be a problem for one or the other to get it going if needed. Inevitably the first time she needed it was during a snowstorm and my brother and sister were both out of town. Fortunately the power was only out a few hours, but it was a lesson learned. Over the next couple of months we had a generator installed that would automatically start and transfer over when the power went out and then shut down and transfer back when the grid came back.
I put the same system in at our place. I could get by with a manual system, but if something ever happens to me it’s one less thing for the wife to figure out.
I’d looked into solar with battery storage a bit but really wondered how much battery storage I’d need to run the heat pump for any period of time.
It’s funny I’d originally looked at this as backup for the rare occasions when the power goes out (usually because of someone hitting a power pole or a transformer blowing). With the geniuses we have in government I may find I end up using it more than I expected.
Right now we’re in an area where the chances of rolling blackouts are only slightly elevated. I talked to my sister who lives in Illinois a while ago and there they are almost guaranteed to have rolling blackouts this summer. Seems their Governor has had all the coal fired electrical plants shut down since he’s been in office (you know before all the magic renewables are on line to take up the slack). I’ll guarantee that his personal mansion and the Governor’s mansion in Springfield all have a power backup system. I also suspect the least affected areas will be in Cook County (Chicago) where the majority of people vote for him.
Oh well I’m just an old man, what do I know? Just thankful the generator is finally in.
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California is taking it to the extreme. They will ban all gas powered small engine sales over the next few years. First to go leaf blowers and chain saws, I believe in the up coming year no gas powered portable generators I.E. anything you can buy at costco, tractor supply Cabella's ect will be ilegal to sell here. Mind you we have power shut downs when ever the winds pick up , PG&E our power company immediately shuts down huge power grid areas. They know they will be sewed for fires that happen when their decaying power lines snap, because of law suits. So I asked a local Politician want-a-be candidate, "How are we suppose to preserve our food and keep either cool, or warm as these happen all year now, if we don't have gas generators, His response, "Oh we are going to allow electric powered generators sale, which are clean air!" I started laughing at him, to which he felt taken aback. I said how are you going to charge the electric generators when the power has been out for more than a few hours? He looked at me like I was stupid. So I told him about the floods in Petaluma in 1997 or 98, when we were without power for 5 days. I said, you guys don't really think about this when you promote electric vehicles, and generators and heating and cooling systems, or when you ban gas stoves and ovens in all new houses in this State. I had to explain to the idiot that batteries can't power a house unless they get recharged. The short sightedness of electric vehicles alone was painfully felt here in 2017 when the First major fires destroyed over 5000 homes, and killed people who couldn't get out in time. People with electric vehicles found out quickly when trying to evacuate in a start stop traffic jam don't get you to the next safe charging station, and can't run on gas. Every car rental agency ran out of vehicles over the first day. I guess the real point is we can't generate enough power without fossil fuels. A Point of fact, that is not arguable. Our current leaders like to use buzz words to get people who don't think, all righteous and excited for a great future. All a big joke for the blind followers. This last Christmas here, Almost all the gas generators in California were sold out. People are waking up, and I'm not referring to the "woke" folks! I'm part of a Ham Radio emergency communication network locally. We are spread out all over our town. We have served the hospitals, police, and Emergency first responders for years now. Most cell towers can only manage 20% of that networks clients. In disasters they quickly are impossible to get on. So we man local emergency centers and evacuation places like out county fair , etc, and to make sure our neighbors in crisis have a way to communicate to get help ect. Our home radios have big deep cell batteries that will give us maybe 10-14 days of communications with out a recharge.
Well I've ranted too much, point being preparing ahead to be self sustainable is a smart and responsible thing!
“……"Oh we are going to allow electric powered generators sale, which are clean air!" I started laughing at him……”
Yeah Steve it’s laugh, cry or just walk away shaking your head with some of these idiots.
I actually spent a very short period of time looking at Solar/battery/inverter just to see how it compared with a generator. Came out to about $1000 per KW for the system NOT COUNTING THE SOLAR PANNELS. Add to that that the batteries would be drained well before a long winter night was over. The company’s recommendation was to have a standby generator on hand to recharge the batteries.
In my mind a big part of the problem with the politicians pushing this stuff is they are either too rich to care about the cost or too stupid the realize the technology is not advanced enough to really make it a practical solution, let alone the infrastructure for it is just not there.
“…… Well I've ranted too much, point being preparing ahead to be self sustainable is a smart and responsible thing!......”
Yeah I’m about thru ranting too Steve. We do what we can and hopefully it will be enough.
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As has been said many times before, you can't fix stupid. I would love to take all the liberal idiots out in the woods, give them a good sharp knife and then turn around and walk away saying SURVIVE
Papa always said , you can't fix stupid . All you can do is duck tape it to a tree.
Yup I agree. Funny note same guy,(politician candidate) walked up to our Ham Radio both with his wife. I guess he thought everyone is on board with getting everything for free, and anything you want because your entitled movement. His Wife starts up about her husband running for a county supervisor or similar position. She goes on to say how great Petaluma is and how they want to get a home here to raise their children but can barely afford an apartment. Then says if her husband is elected he will assure that any person who want to live here can, by providing affordable housing and financial breaks so everyone can live here in this wonderful community, not just the wealthy. I stop her and say I'd like to live in Tiburon on the edge of the ocean because it's a safe wealthy community and have my own boat dock, but I just can't afford it, would you address that issue too? She doesn't get it and says your so right it's time to share the wealth in this country. So I say "you know it took me until I was 36, working 70 hours a week to afford my little run down first home. I learned carpentry, while working to pay for my college tuition. I worked side jobs once I was a teacher and saved up. I bought an old car and fixed it up, and yes, I coupon cut for food. Point is I worked hard and was rewarded by being able to purchase a home. I said it doesn't sound like you work, and your husband doesn't make enough to buy a house so my suggestion is get a job, don't buy everything you want, only what you need, and in 5-10 years you guys may find a fixer upper to build into your new home. But if you think all the people here will embrace a life time of hard work establishing a financial stability are going to support to pay for people who have never worked, to live along side them in this community, and embrace getting taxed more than they already are, to pay out money to people who aren't interested in democracy, but only socialism I think you'll find the only people who support your ideas are the ones who want something for free, and not the ones who will pay for your new home. Needless to say she didn't have a response! ;)
Paddy stood as a candidate for the Mayoralty of his small village. He said that the rich people of the village must share their wealth with the poorer folk, and he, as Mayor, would enforce it. Murphy interrupted him.Quote:
Originally Posted by stovens
"If you had two houses Paddy would you give me one?"
"For sure I would!" said Paddy.
"And if you had two horses would you give me one?"
"For sure I would!' said Paddy.
"If you had two cows would you give me one?"
"For sure I would!" said Paddy
''And if you had two pigs would you give me one?"
Deathly silence.
Then: "Begorah ye know I have two pigs!"
Bureaucrats/politicians are all hat and no cattle (pigs in this case,) when it comes to the crunch.
And anything that is 'free' or is an 'entitlement' is paid for by someone who works.
I know a house is never truly done (just ask my wife ;) ) but I got the last big project I wanted to do on the house finished.
Watching mom lose her mobility the last few years she was alive was hard but I learned a lot from going thru it. One of the hardest things was getting her in/out of the house when she became wheelchair bound. Like most of the old farm houses hers’ was a couple of feet off the ground which necessitated a ramp (I tried to talk her into a chair lift but she wouldn’t have any part of it).
As our house is about 30” off the ground we would be in the same boat if Donna or I end up with mobility issues. New lifts are pretty pricey and the one I’ve been looking at went up $700 since spring plus the shipping costs going thru the roof. I’ve been keeping an eye out for a good used lift for the last couple of years and as luck would have it one finally turned up in Tucson.
These things are heavy and awkward but we managed to get it on the trailer and home.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...aac2a384_z.jpgWCL 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr
The real fun was redoing the stairs, adding a gate, and wiring to power it, but I finally got it in place and working. It works good and for what I paid for it I can live with a couple of scratches and dings.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...513db5b7_z.jpgWCL by M Patterson, on Flickr
Hopefully Donna and I will never need it (it sure would have been nice when we moved the furniture in though :D ). At least it’s there if we ever do.
All and all it’s been 3 years from start to “finish”. Donna and I have been living in the house for 2 years now and are happy in the new place. I’m finally comfortable that even if I’m gone Donna will be able to live comfortably there.
With the projects done I can get serious about finding a body to wrap the HEMI in :3dSMILE:
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FINALLY! :LOL::eek::D:3dSMILE::)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike P
It's been about 15 years since our last dog passed away. A while back I decided I wanted another large outside dog. I've had good luck with Rottweiler mixes in the past so that was pretty much what I wanted this time. I narrowed it down to a rot/boxer mix if I could find one.
I spent the last year or so waiting for the right one to come along and about 6 weeks ago I found this one. Her dad was a Boxer and mom was a Rottweiler.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6ed8dba7_z.jpgZuul 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr
I'm a Ghost Busters fan so she got tagged with the name Zuul. :D
She's 4 months old now, about 50 pounds and still has a lot of feet to grow into LOL. I'd almost forgotten how rewarding doing the training is.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7cd5501d_z.jpgzuul 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr
Anyway I figure she’ll worm her way into a few pictures down the road (She loves to “help” in the shop) so I’d introduce her now.
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Nothing like a good companion than a dog!
Hmmm. Makes me wish I had time to raise one.
Now I'll have to google Zuul! She looks so calm in the pics.. I'll bet she "grows into" that name. HA HA HA. 8-)
Good on ya Mike.
I've had dogs all my life, mainly working dogs, eye dogs, but mainly huntaways. (Huntaways will bring cattle in from a long distance, a good huntaway is said to have a 'bark at every bounce'.)
The best dog I ever had was Ivan, a purebred mongrel, a mixture of almost every working-breed dog out there. But he could muster a mob of cattle through a 100 acre block of standing bush (forest,) and not leave one behind. He'd bring them to me so long as he knew where I was. All I had to do was to keep calling.
I must admit there were tears when we buried him.
And I miss not having a dog.
But we've retired, moved off the farm, and a dog where we are now would get bored with nothing to do; and that's when they get into mischief.
I couldn't take him for walks, there's a State Highway 45 right outside our gate, with trucks and cars shooting past at 100 kph. It's too dangerous to even ride a pushbike on these roads, let alone to walk.
So while I'm envious, I completely understand why you're getting a dog.
Good on ya.
Enjoy.
Yeah we’re pretty happy with her.
“……Hmmm. Makes me wish I had time to raise one……”
Yeah that was one of my considerations on getting her. I have the time now which helps give me the patience needed when working with a 4 month old pup. I’m pretty much just keeping to the basics; Come, Sit, Down, Stay, Quiet and walking on a leash. Then there are a few rules like no digging, or barking at the horses just to bark at the horses.
(from the Halloween thread) “…..Nice! My buddy loves going for rides with me..although the T Bucket seat is a little small for him. He has to be careful not to fall off, lol…..”
We’re going to be working on that in next few weeks. So far her experience with riding in the truck is coming home with me and 3 trips to the Vet that ended with a shot……needless to say she’s not real wild about getting into a vehicle right now.
“……Now I'll have to google Zuul! She looks so calm in the pics.. I'll bet she "grows into" that name……”
Yeah Mike once she gets older I’m hoping this is the image anybody who considers jumping the fence comes away with.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5efd823e_z.jpgterror dog by M Patterson, on Flickr
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Zuul will be a year old in a couple of weeks. Her training went/is going well but she’s still a puppy at heart.
She got spayed a week ago so one more week for the cone (she’s on her second one). She’s not real happy right now, her world has become being shup up on the deck with me or out in the shop with me. Funny thing about the cone ……she seems to be able to maneuver around everything with no problem, but seems to keep accidentally bumping into me with it.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ee0073bf_z.jpgZuul 83 by M Patterson, on Flickr
She’s up to 83 pounds now and will probably put on just a little more height and fill out over the next year. All in all though she’s pretty good company.
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I’ve been debating for the last few months whether to post this or not….. I finally decided to. I’ve been coming here for close to 21 years now and during that time feel I’ve made several virtual friends that probably should know what’s going on.
Last fall I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. It’s stage 4 (spread to other places in my body) and will be terminal. I told the Doctor when I was diagnosed that the most important part for me for the time I’ve got left is quality of life not quantity of life.
I was referred to a cancer center locally and convinced by the Dr to undergo Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy. I was told that it should not only increase my life by a couple of years but also improve the quality of life I had left. The Dr and I had a difference if opinion as to what quality of life meant. After 6 treatment I stopped the therapy. Frankly I’m not sure if I was a patient or jut a paycheck.
Anyway I’m in at home Hospice now. Not a big deal, at this point a nurse visits once a week to take my vitals and see if I’m getting any worse……. knock on wood so far I’m not noticing any symptoms from the cancer.
The biggest problem I’m having is with the degenerative arthritis in my lower back. It is really the biggest limiting factor I currently have and the reason I’m hoping to be able to get the current project done.
I have a wonderful family surrounding me and all have accepted my decision. As I told them “I’ve had a longer life than I ever expected and a better one than I probably deserved”.
Now that I’ve stopped the therapy no one can tell me how long I have left but for as long as I do have I’m going through it at least feeling normal and able to do and enjoy things again.
There were naturally some things that needed to be taken care of prior to my passing and as far as I know those have all been handled now.
On the car front nothing has really changed. The Valiant project was purchased and the 37 Dodge sold prior to my diagnosis. The 57 Plymouth is currently up for sale, but that would happen anyway due to my back issues. Whether I get the Valiant finished or not, It’s nice to be working on a project again.
I’m not writing this for any sympathy, I and the family are good. I just thought some of you would like to know what’s been going on with me.
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Mike,
I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and that you're having to deal with the issues, but after going through a year of "treatments" with my wife's Stage 4 situation, and living the journey I believe that I would be taking the same path that you have chosen. I'll be looking forward to your progress on the Valiant, and seeing a post of your "First Drive" with lots of smoke!!
Take good care, my friend, and thanks for the many years of great posts on CHR!!
Double Post - Damned Software!!
I'll echo Roger's sentiments and add a couple. That diagnosis is a bummer at best.
I would like to say that folks like you are the epitome of hot rodding, if it can't be found or too expensive, make a new one or modify something that already exists.
Sure wish I was closer, all the best to you Mike.
Not good news, but our thoughts and best wishes are with you.
Thank you Mike for including us in the ups and downs of your life, I've valued your posts both on the car stuff and on the adventures with your grandkids. I share your sentiments about forming a cyber family here.
We each face these challenges in life, or will in time, and I've no quibble with your choice to ride out the process rather than go through what can be a frustrating series of treatments. We'll be here to share whatever progress reports you want to post on the Valiant, you're a champ.