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[DnJ]

Good Morning Eagle

My one year anniversary of retirement came and went. Oh my, how quickly I’ve adjusted to living the vacation lifestyle. LOL! I just love it!

Since returning from the trip with my Mom, I’ve been quite busy.

My lawnmower’s hydraulic system poured fluid out while I at my Mom’s place. She lives a few blocks away, just across town, so when I’m mowing my frontage ditch (around an hour into my mowing) I just drive over and mower her yard. At six foot wide strips, her yard doesn’t take very long. Somewhere around ten minutes, including cleaning up whatever garbage may have blown in to her yard, and the moving and returning of down spouts. I then head back home and continue my yard for the next three hours or so.

Well that day, after a couple of passes, I drove across her driveway and when turning around noticed a trail of wet liquid. Never a good sign. I have overheated my machine before and coolant has flowed out of the overflow line; rather unlikely as I now clean the radiator before every mowing. So I stopped the engine and investigated. The liquid wasn’t burning hot, it didn’t look oily or smell like coolant or oil either. So I looked underneath my mower.

There was a broken line which runs from the bottom of the hydraulic motor to the sight gauge. The line broke right at the fitting at the low point on the hydraulic motor. The hydraulics drive the locomotion and the steering, the mower blades are driven directly from the diesel engine, so I was stuck in her yard.

I went over to the local repair shop and they didn’t have any hosing the correct size. So, I headed home and got some correct sized water line and some pipe clamps for a temporary repair. An hour later, and 3 litres (quarts, for the non metric readers) of hydraulic fluid and I was back up and running.

The next day I went in to the city and got the proper line, new fluid, and new filter. I repaired / replaced the gauge line and unbeknownst to me, the breather line too. Flushed the hydraulic system and installed a new filter. Change the engine oil. And then washed all the sprayed fluid and accumulated dirt off. Gosh, what a mess it was.

I’m also designing / replacing my oil bath air filter on my tractor. The big 100 HP unit that I blow snow with. It’s taken a while of measuring and figuring, and I’ve finally ordered the necessary filter unit, piping, couplers and such to get from the new filter to the existing intake manifold. There is no room under the hood, even with removal of the present air filter, so I am mounting it on the passenger side of the loader arm support. Luckily, there happens to be a nice solid flat metal plate already welded onto the stationary beam.

And I’ve finally got back to my living room remodelling. The ceiling tiles are up, and it looks great! Moving around the furniture so I can reach the ceiling was a pain. All that’s left is installing the trim, and putting the pictures back up.

I’ve had two recent stories of XW. One from S21 and one from my Mom.

S21 called last week to tell me that Mom had just visited him. For months now, she has been desperately trying to contact S21. When son was over for the one year wedding anniversary party he showed me his phone and there was like twenty phone calls from Mom. And even more texts. She even asked him when he was going to see her, as she knew he was visiting me. This is nothing new, as every few months she gets antsy and needs to reach out, and after getting her way she fades away again. Anyhow, son did not see her that weekend.

So fast forward a couple of weeks and XW calls S21. Her and OM are in the city and she’d like to drop by and see his place. Son agrees and she arrives half an hour later. Her and OM look around his three story townhouse and make some nice comments. I asked if they had a nice visit, and son tells me they didn’t even sit down. They only stayed like five minutes.

Son also tells me that OM is a racists. What?!? During this brief time, OM went out on the second floor balcony overlooking the roadway. The grounds keepers happened to be out mowing grass that day. The two of them speaking to each other in their native language. OM loudly and rudely stating that if they live here they should speak english and that he’d come down and make them if they didn’t. OMG! S21 could get in trouble with such garbage being spewed from his balcony. XW even reined in OM saying you can’t say that here.

During this five minutes, it is just awkward. Mom wanting so badly to see S21 yet doesn’t have anything to talk about. She brings up that son and daughter tossed out the used Christmas tree she got them back when the two of them lived together. S21 laughed and said oh yes! That tree was trash! It was basically a green toilet brush, with most of the branches bare and the bristles mostly missing.

S21 tells Mom that FB market place is just folks getting rid of their trash. She and he have differing opinions, and she likes finding and buying used things. So son asked her just how many lawnmowers do you have? She has nine. Yes, nine lawnmowers.

It then is revealed that her and OM had come to pick up a project car for OM. They had no trailer with them, so I’ve no idea how they planned on transporting it home. Perhaps they were going to just drive it unregistered, unlicensed, and unsafe. Anyhow, the car was in far worse shape than they thought it was - it had no interior. However, the guy did have an old chicken coop. Which they took. It was in the back of XW’s truck. The guy also had an old lawnmower, which Mom just had to take as well.

Son asked (challenged) her about these mowers. And yes, none of them are in good shape. She only uses the one she has for her lawn mowing business. Son’s seen her collection, they are trash. The wheels are bent and they can’t even push straight. Still, she collects them.

Mom and OM were heading out to go shopping at a store which son was going to pick up some hiking boots in the next day or two. So he proposed they all go there together. Haha. S21 is a big strong guy, and OM is a really big guy. XW’s truck has just a bench seat. So, OM was squished in the middle.

At the store, OM heads off for the ammo, of which XW mentions he’ll be lost over there for hours. Son gets his boots and finds Mom looking about. He asks if they is anything she needs or would like to look at. She mentions knives. And that she can’t go over there, as she buy some. That she got a thing for knives. For sharp things. This did pop up a few warning flags for son, and he did not even ask how many knives she’s collected / accumulated.

So, plants, lawnmowers, knives, the five gardens, and lord knows what else, good thing OM has a big yard. Son told me that OM collect lots of junk too. The sheds are just full of crap.

Son and Mom pry OM away, and he is returned home. XW having had her fill, hasn’t contacted him since. She didn’t ask about university, rent, or other things in his life. As son said, it was apparent the visit was very much for her. Likely back to radio silent for the next few months.

Two days ago, mid-afternoon, my Mom was shopping in the grocery store. Turning at the end of her first aisle she saw XW. She is still skinny and moves about like a squirrel, always quickly. Mom was only there for a couple of things and finished in minutes.

Mom got in line behind a guy with his cart fully unloaded upon the conveyor belt. The cashier was finishing packing the prior customer’s bags and would soon be turning her attention to this guy. So, the guy simply returns his cart to the line of carts, fifteen feet away (I don’t know the metric equivalent, I deal with imperial for distance and weights ). During this mere seconds of delay, XW walks passed my Mom, by all the groceries about to be rung in, and hands her items over to the cashier. Literally handed them, as there was no place to set them down.

Of course, before XW’s transactions could even be started the guy returns to his groceries and his place in line. He just shakes his head. The cashier, and most folks around town I suspect, know XW. She just rings in her items, and packs her groceries. XW hurried out of the store, jumped in her car, and burned away. That’s how my Mom said it, XW actually pealed away.



I’ll pop over to your thread and talk more.

D