This post looks to include a lot of maintenance items; some done last week and others done this weekend. I needed to take the snow blade off the John Deere lawn tractor and mount the mowing deck, change oil and filter on the Honda, mow the lawn, and work on other around-the-house chores. This is a typical “at home” weekend for us (before Sanderling season, that is).
Pam is baking a pie for our Easter dinner; she has the makings for a pumpkin pie. With my Type 2 diabetes we don’t have desserts as often as we used to and that is a missed pleasure. Pam bakes excellent pies.
Speaking of pleasures…we bought a new recliner for the living room. You might remember we had taken the old chair up to The Lot and used it there but brought it home for the winter. The old recliner will go back up to The Lot and be left there now that I have a replacement.
During the week I did replace our main entry screen door. The old door, original to the house, was beginning to sag as the hinges were getting worn. We picked up a new door at a lumber yard and proceeded to install it. That was interesting as I had never hung a screen door before and the instructions were not all that clear. None the less the door is now in place and working quite smoothly.
The door has a screen section, something Pam wanted, so we get a bit more air flow inside the house. The door looks good particularly after Pam painted the frame around it. This represents one more “update” project completed!
New screen door installed
This last week saw the ATV get a new set of tires. I had been running the original 2011 set until now and they were getting pretty worn. I found a full set on sale on Amazon for $245.00 including shipping. The tread pattern is based on a better-known brand (Maxxis) but this brand (Sun F) was considerably less expensive. I had the tires mounted at Walmart who had the least expensive charge for this work, $32.98 for the set of 4.
Here is a photo of an old front tire (left) and a new tire. (Rear tires are the same except a bit wider.)
Left: Old tire. Right: New tire.
The rear tires were more worn than the front. I will be glad to have the extra traction when on a trail or pulling the chipper or trailer around the lot.
Pam has been working in the flower beds, cleaning them out and getting them ready for the growing season.
Pam working in a flower bed
Of the two of us, Pam is more of a gardener than I am. She works with the flower beds and plantings; my roll is more helper than planner.
This time of year always includes a variety of projects I can work on. Keeps me busy and active, I guess. This afternoon will see me working a bit more on the back deck and, if time permits, getting a little more paint on the chipper.
Happy Easter to everyone!
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in.
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
The appraiser surveyed the property this past Wednesday, report due later in the month. Refinance on hold until results are in.
The Honda, at 410,000 miles, needs $1,000 worth of tie rods etc. This type of expenditure puts us at the point to consider replacement rather than repair. Fields wants to shoot for 450,000-500,000 on the odometer. I’m not convinced this makes economic sense. Perhaps Felicity has the right of it – forget the expense of vehicle ownership and maintenance, and live near adequate public transportation.
Happy Trails.
For Felicity, TriMet apparently works well. Not all that many U.S. cities have good public transportation, so life choices are limited.
For me — my transportation costs would be half of my current expenditures without my car. It would be even less if I lived within an easy walk of a grocery store.
I’d lose convenience & flexibility – basically isolated to where I’m living.
New tires — if the photo isn’t presenting an illusion, the respective tire heights should indicate tread wear. A substantial difference…
I would listen to Jerry on the subject of car parts replacing/different car/etc….I’m thinking he’s thinking all of the time what is the best choice….Also I know about what cars cost being far away from things now…..The Honda Cr-V has 13,000 since Sept…Plus the Versa…And now, big Ford Bertha with the 55 gallon tank…Insurance and Gas are going to kill me!!!! 😉
Pam says – $2000 last year on the transmission, another $1000 this year on tie rod ends and rack boots would equal about a third of the replacement cost for another used Honda sedan (older model). Plus the Honda needs new tires, another $600 plus. At some point, we gotta let go. Trying to determine that point. Fields is looking at the estimate from the shop, seeing what he can do himself, locating cheaper parts online (but not sure the shop will install the non-Honda parts). Also factoring in is how much Fields wants to be crawling around on the garage floor at his age. (Know what I mean?)