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| Gas Hog |
Wednesday morning. I
have today and tomorrow to get my safety inspection done on the van,
affectionately known as "gas hog".
Gas Hog is a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan that has served us well in the
last decade as we made the move down here, and is still running well enough
that I don't want to trade it in for a more fuel efficient model.
My other vehicle is a 1995 Chevy ½ pickup
truck that usually gets less than a thousand miles on it a year. It is also a gas hog, but not nearly as bad
as the van. I don't really need a pickup these days, 'less it is to haul
a skunked doggie to the groomer. The van
will haul almost as big of things as the pickup.
But owning a pickup is a visceral thing. A man is only half a man without a pickup in
his driveway. I have to keep what is
known as a trickle charger on it to keep from buying a battery for it every
year. The trickle charger puts out a
very small current, about ½ of an ampere, and allows the battery charge to
"float" at full charge until I am ready to use it.
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| Ain't she purdy? |
Most of the time the bed is full of tools that are being
used for whatever the current projects are.
Right now, the current project is removing limbs from the trees that
were heat stressed during the relentless droughts we have had over the past
three years. I don't have to put the
saws and such away, I just leave them in the bed of the truck until the project
is over.
Next month is its month for the yearly inspection and registration,
and I'll clean it out before taking it to the inspection station. A man who has a cluttered bed in his pickup
has a cluttered mind. The State of Texas knows the deep seated need for men to
own pickup trucks, and taxes them at about half of the value of a new car.
Snookums is pushing the big green trash bin out to the curb
for the Wednesday pickup. She
brilliantly decided to take the dogs with her.
Two puppies with minimum leash training, and an older dog that is
valiantly holding on to her status as alpha female. Linda moves the bin 20' … untangles the dogs,
then another 20' and untangles the dogs.
It is 280 long feet (80 M )
out to the highway. Do the math!
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| The exam is not finished |
The annual digit in the rectum day went flawlessly this
year. The blood sugars are all in the
target range, the cholesterol is good, the heart beats at a strong resting 70
beats. A tad high, but still acceptable
for a sedentary old man.
And finally, the weather.
A brisk 45° (7C )
greets us today. The killer storm blew
off to the north of us. I heard a
smattering of rain last night, but the porch railings are all dry as is the
ground. It probably wasn't much help to
us. So this week I need to put deep
watering the shrubs and trees on the calendar.
It is good to get out to help shake the winter blah's, the seed
catalogues are calling to me, challenging me to more work that I wish to
perform. But some things you just have
to do because they need doing.
Good morning!
~r
Good Morning. Glad you survive the dreaded finger! That Pickup makes for a great traveling tool chest doesn't it! Sorry to hear the rain missed you. But then so did the tornado!
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