(written on the 3rd)
Once again, I had grand plans for what to do today, but I just couldn’t get myself going. Well, I got myself going, but after hitting roadblocks, I gave up on the things that had roadblocks.
I was supposed to get plastic put down on the greenhouse area in the lower fields and get the greenhouse building materials laid out on the plastic and out of the grass, so that when I came back from my trip, the grass won’t have grown up all around the greenhouse stuff, making it much harder to take care of.
That’s what happened in the upper fields. Don’t really want it happening again.
A few days ago, had gone up to the upper field to get the huge piece of plastic, but it was so huge and heavy that I couldn’t lift it myself and didn’t want to damage my spine further trying to lift it.
I don’t have a clue how I got it home last time. Maybe the guy came over with his tractor and helped me load it? I remember fighting and fighting to get super heavy plastic into my truck and trailer, but I remember for sure.
Anyway, so today I tried to use a bunch of the smaller torn pieces that were already in the lower field, but the wind was blowing, and the pieces were so oddly shaped, and I need to get a whole bunch of rocks to hold everything down that I just ended up giving up because it was such a pain in the butt. It was a pain to do anyway, let alone by myself.
So I spent a bunch of time on my van, figuring out why my rear door wouldn’t open (more busted cable ends that Ford was known for for like 15 or 25 years). So I ordered a large repair kit.
I drilled new holes and put in metal screws to hold the top on my van. Since I didn’t get everything done when I should have, I’m having to deal with the rain.
Super powerful storm last night / early this morning. Tornadoes reported in different parts of arkansas, but none nearby, I don’t think. Lots of strong wind and heavy rain, though.
Flood warnings coming the rest of this week because we’ve got so much water coming.
Fun stuff.
I probably won’t be here to see it.
Anyway, so I worked on better securing the top. I tried to figure out what to do with the rusty parts that are resting through where the top is attached. Some parts hand rusted so much that there are holes in the metal where the metal has just rusted through.
The question is: will the van last long enough for the rest to be a problem? Or will the rest beat out the longevity of the rest of the van?
It’s an old van with gazillions of miles on it. Looks nice, and I’ve grown rather fond of it, and I’d be quite disappointed if it blew up, but… At some point, it’s going to die for good, and I have to be ready for that, and I have to decide what’s worth trying to fix or not.
There’s enough rust underneath, that it’s not worth trying to fix engines or transmissions if they go. It might not even be worth trying to fix suspension if it goes. 😅
We’ll see. It has survived one large road trip. Maybe it can survive more. 🤞
Anyway, so I drilled new holes, put in new screws, put in some rust dissolver in the hopes of reducing the advancing of the rust. Most of screw heads and screw holes with gasket maker to seal them from leaking water into the van.
I wish the people who customized the vehicle had sealed it all up in the first place. Or maybe they did and you just can’t tell anymore because it’s been so long.
Anyway, got that sealed up.
Spent a good while cleaning out and organizing stuff in the van. Trying to get enough stuff squared away that I feel good about leaving on my trip. I don’t want to leave messes for other people to look at or deal with, and I don’t want to come back to projects that are three times as challenging because the vegetation has gone nuts and made everything much more challenging.
Spent pretty much most of the day just listening to YouTube videos–sports, politics, technology…
Talked to one of my sisters for a good long time.
Broke down and bought some more comfort food.
Finished watching a movie and headed to bed. Apparently, I managed to get myself some poison ivy somewhere, so I’ve got that on my face and nostrils.
Joy.
Kind of feels like it might be starting around my eyes as well, but I’m hoping not. 🤞
So tired of poison ivy.
Not sure where I got it, but there’s that other Vine around here that I react to like poison ivy as well, so it could have been that one.
🤷
Gratitude:
- I’m grateful to have family to talk to and spend time with, even if it’s just digitally
- I’m grateful for the progress that I did make on Rover.
- I’m grateful that it has cooled back down to spring temperatures. It hadn’t gotten really hot, but there were a couple of days in the ’80s already, I think.
- I’m grateful that despite all the rust, Rover keeps going.
- I’m very grateful for the flexibility that I have in my life, being able to go where I want, when I want, and work if and when I want. That’s so huge.
Success:
- I think I stopped myself from saying bad words at least once maybe twice? I’m sure I still failed a gazillion times, or maybe I didn’t today? I don’t know.
Improvement:
- I want to improve my resilience to obstacles.
Lift the world.
~ stephen
Lift the World 