Lost weekend

Or maybe Blogging on Percocet.

I had three teeth pulled on Friday. I'm only in it for the drugs.

I have been fighting bad teeth for about ten years now. One of the past conversations with the periodontist, and dentist concluded that I had about a 75% chance of losing those particular teeth. We tried to save them, but it was a losing battle. Everything we tried failed.
So the last resort was to have them pulled and have inserts put in, a long, painful and expensive process, which includes a bone graft using vacated bovine bone matrix. Yeah, you saw that correctly. Bull Bone. I will truly be part animal when this is over. Jokes could be made about being full of bull, but in reality I will be only a very small part full of bull.

I have been alternately napping on the couch, trying to read and watching the boob tube. I have accomplished exactly nothing, and this short post will be about as ambitious as I will get.

Time to go take another Percocet.

Under pressure

After we got home from the ocean, I figured it was time to break in my birthday present, the pressure washer.
It's a manly tool. Gasoline powered 2500 PSI three pages of warnings and dangers, may result in serious injury or death. Oh yeah!
I pressure washed 420 sq ft of deck. The pressure washer did a great job.
That still leaves the patio and the driveway.

Vacation? What Vacation?

We spent most of a week at the ocean. It will not go down in our personal history as one of the best vacations ever.
Where to start?
I guess I should start by saying that the number one objective was to quit smoking. I have a round of oral surgery coming up, and I need to quit smoking to increase the odds of success. I really don't smoke a lot, usually three or four cigarettes a day, so you would think it would be easy to quit. You would be wrong.
Mrs A also smokes, so if we are going to quit, we need to do it together.
Two people in a small room, both quitting smoking. Yep.
Throw in the fact that the matress on the bed was made out of bricks wound in barb wire, so neither one of us was getting much sleep.
Plus, one of the reasons we chose the Chateau Westport was that in April we spent a weekend there and the complimentary breakfase was exceptional. Fresh waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, juice, toast.
Gone. All gone.
Instead of fresh waffles, previously frozen pancakes.
Instead of scrambled, something that might have at some time approximated an egg, except harder and tasteless. Kinda sunny side petrified.
No biscuits and gravy.
We came home early.

Oregon Trip

We packed up ourselves, the dog, and my mom on Saturday and set off for Coberg Oregon, Population 996. My cousin Ginger and her husband Pat live there.
The occasion was a family reunion of sorts. My Uncle Ben and his new bride Virginia were up here on their honeymoon from Morelia Mexico. The special occasion has reeled in a couple of my cousins that I had not seen for over 40 years.
It was a wonderful time. Lots of food and remembering and storytelling. And food. And storytelling. And food. Not just any food. Grilled beef, fresh salad, Uncle Ben's special guacamole (secret ingredient: top drawer tequila) home made huckleberry pie, berries from Idaho. Marionberry pie, home made pickles. I provided egg rolls and Jambalaya. Microbrews, special wine, and a few shots the Mexican firewater.
The new addition to the family is a vivacious, outgoing, intelligent woman who we are more that happy to welcome to the family. She doesn't speak a lot of English, but we managed to communicate with our little Spanish, and her little English.
What a wonderful weekend.

Car Show

My car goal for this year was to get Frankenhealey to the annual Boeing Employees car show. I have talked to boring lengths for a year and a half about my journey of restoration to anyone who looked remotely interested.
I promised people that it would be there for the show.
Sunday, I rebuilt the brake system. The first time I have had brakes that actually worked, except for the emergency brake.
Monday I got the car running. To the point that it would start and continue running. I was having problems with the throttle linkage sticking. Worked until dark
Tuesday, got the plates on the car and took it for a drive. The timing is off and the carbs are not synced. The throttle linkage would stick. It would stick at 3000 rpm and you would have to blip the gas pedal to get it to go back to idle. But some times it would stick at 6000. This is the farthest I have driven it since I bought it. I finally figured out that the cable was binding because the mounting bracket had been bent, causing the cable to bind up. Worked until dark
Wednesday, installed the hood holding rod and latch mechanisms, the top closeout cover, the badges and cleaned up some areas. Worked until dark.
Today, started it up and drove it to work for the car show. It is still not running right. The carbs have not been synchronized, the timing is still off, the wipers don't work, I have no turn signals, the marker lights are not installed, the interior is a shambles, and only one headlight.
But I won a trophy for third place.

Jensen Healey Pictures

Here are some pictures of Frankenhealey, reassembled, and looking good.

I still have lots to do, but it is now running and licensed. I drove it around a little yesterday, but was having problems with the throttle linkage sticking. It would rev up to about 3,000 RPM and stick there. I'd have to blip the pedal to get it to return, and a couple of times, it revved up to 6,000 RPM and stuck there. Very nnerving, but I sorted it out by the end of the evening. The timing is still off and the carbs are not in sync yet, but it is driveable.

The wipers don't work, and it has only one headlight, no turn signals. But it is good enough to take to the car show tomorrow. It is entered as a "work in progress".

Seconf Step

Frankenhealey runs!

Well, it starts and continues to run after it starts. It idles real rough, but will spool up to 5,000 RPM real good. I will have to get it on the road to see how it does under a load. But indications are positive.

Tonight I need to install the bumpers so that I have a place to hang the license plates. Then I can actually drive it. Sure, I have driven it around the block, but never on the road. If I want to take it to the car show on Thursday, I will need to get the windshield wipers working, as there is the possibility of rain, and need to get the top checked out, both do-able.

I am starting to get excited about the possibility of having it on the road, and a bit anxious. There are still a thousand things that can go wrong.

Soon. Soon.

One Step Forward

Frankenheakey has brakes!

It took me all day and a series of setbacks, but I was determined to get the brakes done today. The weather was fine, except it did get up to 89, a little warm for manual labor. One of the wheel cylinders I cleaned and reinstalled proved faulty. It leaked hydraulic fluid like crazy, so I had to salvage a part off of the parts car and clean it up and install it.

But it works.

Mrs A spent most of the day Friday, and all day Saturday down at her sisters, taking care of her. She is getting better rapidly, but they still don't have the results from the tests, so we won't really know her prognosis.

Rs significant other is still in the hospital. He will require extensive face reconstruction surgery once things settle down enough they can do something. I don't have any idea when that will be. He is young and healthy and will most likely recover fully. Meanwhile I will remember him in my prayers.

Next weekend we are going down to Coberg, Oregon to see my Uncle Ben and his new wife. I will get to see a bunch of my cousins I haven't seen in many years. I am really looking forward to the trip, and to getting away for a couple of days.

Then the following Friday, we will be leaving for a week at the ocean.. I REALLY, REALLY need to get away and recharge my batteries.