S'mores

Over the weekend, we went to a cookout at a good friend's house. We had good bratwurst, sweet corn, and s'mores for dessert.

The Boy really enjoys sugar. Thus, he really enjoys s'mores. He doesn't just enjoy the mix of chocolate, marshmellow, and graham cracker, but I think he also enjoys the mess it makes.

This s'more got in his hair, shirt, and shorts. Nonetheless, he really enjoyed himself, and wanted more after the first one was gone.

Furniture Jumping

When my wife left for an evening of peaceful grocery shopping, I taught the kids a valuable lesson in how to jump off the furniture.

We moved the mattress from the Boy's room out to the living room, and progressed to jump off a coffee table.

They had a blast.

The Boy could really achieve some height. The Girl squeeled and giggled through the entire lesson.

I'm sure my wife will appreciate the skill learned in this lesson when I am away at work, and she is trying to calm the kids down.

Dinner Conversation

Tonight at dinnertime, The Girl announced, "It's easier to run down the hill than it is to run up the hill."

At that, I replied, "Of course. What you experienced is gravity. Do you know what gravity is?"

The Girl: "Sure. It keeps your feet on the floor."

Well, that kind of blew me away, so I forgot the rest of my scientific lecture.

A New Bumper

I have taken the old rusty bumper off the 1964 Chevy, and given it a coat of paint. It was 100% rust, but very solid. The bumper probably weighed 60 pounds, but there were no rust-holes going through. As I was grinding it down with my wire wheel, it appears to have been painted many years ago. Years of neglect caused 100% coverage in surface rust....

I cleaned it down to bare metal, primed, and painted white.

I found it interesting that old trucks such as this did not have rear bumpers as standard equipment. Bumpers were an option in this era. Furthermore, bumpers were not chrome, but painted from the manufacturer. In the case of this old truck, the bumper was an advertisement from the Chevy Dealership. That is, if a truck was manufactured without the option of the rear bumper, the dealership would install one for you that usually had their name or logo on it. In this case, you can see the text:

"Capital Chevrolet, Inc. Austin, Texas"

I think cleaning up the bumper alone makes a huge difference in the overall appearnace of the truck. Next on my list is to paint the front bumper and grille. I think it will only enhance the contrast in the truck. I hope to add a few more pictures in the next week.

A New Project

This past weekend, I picked up an old truck I plan to use as a summertime daily driver.

This is a 1964 Chevy C10 half-ton short bed step-side pickup truck. It has an inline 6 cylinder engine with a 1 barrel carburetor producing a maximum of 140 HP. The "3 on the tree" is a fun feature you don't see too often anymore.

The engine was recently rebuilt by the previous owner. It also has a new radiator and brakes. It is very mechanically sound for being 46 years old.

My plans are to continue to make a few mechanical improvements, and perhaps give it a paint job a year or two down the road. I'm not looking for showroom paint - just a paint job that I can do with the tools I already have.

Just tonight, I checked timing and corrected it by more than 4 degrees. We'll run it like this for a few days then check it again.

A Visit from the Sheriff

We stayed home from church this morning because the girl had a little fever. Mid-morning, my wife decided to walk down the road for a bit of exercise. I stayed in the back corner of the house reading while listening to the kids playing nicely in the front room.

After a few pages of reading, I hear the girl calling for her brother. I didn't think too much about it. Then she came in to the bedroom looking for him. I, too, started looking for him at that point. I looked in all the usual hangouts - behind the couch, in his sister's room, in the basement. On one of my trips in search of him, I happened by the large front window and looked outside to the road. I found it odd there were 2 cars stopped on the road, and people walking around.

It sunk in pretty quickly at that point.

I ran down to the road, and there was our Boy all safe in the arms of a nice lady. She said she was driving down our road, and noticed this little boy walking down the center of the road. (Yes - the center!) The other car that had stopped had the sheriff's office on the phone, and their call ended when I showed up. I thanked everybody for their very kind assistance, and took the Boy back up to the house.

Of course, a few minutes later after the shock had worn off, a sheriff's car rang the doorbell to follow up and make sure everything was alright. At that time, my wife walked up the drive from her walk with a very concerned look. I explained the Boy had followed after her.

I find quite a few things amazing about all of this:
1. He put on his shoes by himself to go outside.
2. He closed the door behind himself as we went outside.
3. He was safe.

I can imagine the surprise of the friendly driver who found this boy walking down the center of the road dressed in a bright yellow pajama top with a monkey imprint, red shorts, white crocs (sandals), and carrying his stuffed piggy that was wearing a diaper (the piggy wearing the diaper). At least he wore bright clothes, and the sun was shining brightly.

The sheriff understood our story, and simply said, "This happens."

I also think of other more spritual parallels to this story. Is my story not so different? Do I leave the safety of the Lord in search of things I should not, only to be shepherded back to His house once my sin is discovered?

All in all, the Boy is safe and I nearly had a heart attack.

Back to it

Wow - how the summer is flying. I can't believe it's been nearly 2 months since my last post.

Yesterday, the boy had a rough day:

1. Bonked his head on the rocking chair at church -slight abrasion on his chin.

2. Bonked his head on the cement floor of the barn - a big bump on his right temple.

3. Drank some bubble solution behind the couch. Coughed and spluttered the rest of the night.

I have also stumbled upon a way to entice the kids to go to bed on time: We put on our capes (actually, just the kids), and go for an "adventure walk" outside right before bedtime.