A Great Day for Catching Up!

     Had a great weekend, getting a chance to shoot down for a quick trip to Buses at the Brewery down in Springfield, MO! Great day talking with friends and meeting new ones! Making it back, I ended up taking a little bit of down time, enjoyed just getting things done at home and spending a bit of time with my son.
     Finally grabbed a shot of the finished crocheted pineapple vest, thinking the color is just not doing it for me though. Believe in the next few days I will be dying it to a darker brown or even burgundy. After wet finishing, it left it a little large, but thinking the dye process should shrink it up just perfect. Other than that, fairly happy with it and look forward to getting a chance to wear it out. My camera help is not so experienced, but you can at least get an idea. I am a size 14/16, but this pattern on a G hook would easily have suited up to a size 20.

     Update on the engine rebuild - got a bit further, but not by much. Had an issue with the cam shaft not lining up well with the gear, but I am lucky to know some wonderfully talented people! A friend was able to get it to line up and we are keeping our fingers crossed that all will be well with the timing. Should be fine! Last I was at the shop, was able to get the crank and cam shafts in the case, still fighting with one of the cam shaft bearings, so still need to do a bit of adjusting before it is ready to close up (more grease needed on the center crank bearing and gears as well), but went in well for a first shot. Looking forward to getting back to work on it tomorrow! Not the best pic, but this is what it looks like now. Trying to take my time to double check, but sometimes it is hard. Nice to have someone checking behind just to make sure I got it right - it has been a good 20 years since I have messed with engines, and have had a few too many hits to the head to remember much! LOL

     Will have to make sure and post some photos from the event this weekend, had spaced on grabbing the XD card before heading out, so only able to take a few photos while I was there. Looking forward to getting more done on the new sweater tonight - will be helping out in a friends' shop for a bit this evening and figure will be an excellent time to get some knitting done. Looking forward to getting far enough along to have a photo to post on it! For now, time to get moving on some pumpkin bread I have promised for my son and a few others. They adore my mad baking skills! 

What a Busy Weekend!!

      This has been a crazy and hectic weekend, but it was great as well! Family came in to visit, which was absolutely wonderful! While my daughter came up to attend homecoming, here in Kansas City. Really glad now I was able to get those Mums in - the perfect backdrop for quick homecoming photos! Amazing how fast the kiddos have grown! I really am so lucky to have such great kids! They may not be perfect, but they are definitely showing some promise!

Richard and Rhianna ~ Home Coming 2013

     Also attended a VW parts swap on Saturday morning, and was able to pick up some great deals! Some brand new CV boots for the '73 bus project for just $3 ea, some bumper guards (much better than my current ones!) for my '68 convertible for just $2 ea, and a 2.0L T4 engine for the bus for just $50!! The engine will need to be rebuilt, but for the price, will be well worth the effort. Looking forward to making arrangements to pick that up in just a couple of weeks! Also will be picking up a used center mat for the bus this week, along with a new odometer and cable for the bug! It has been a great month for parts, the odometer and cable are being given to me (actually included in the price of the center mat), along with a brand new back bumper (still in plastic!) for the bug and an oil cooler for the 1600cc engine rebuild, that was also given to me free of charge! I am so thankful for all of the blessings that have come my way lately, nice when the good karmic debt catches up with you!

     Busy day today helping out a friend on the remodeling of his home to get it on the market. It came about as a trade for helping me to get my floor pans fixed in my convertible bug. She is really running great now, much less vibration! Great trade, though I am thinking they are getting many more hours out of me! LOL I still enjoy helping just the same! I really needed the assistance, and they had the tools and knowledge to help. Happy to assist wherever I can to make getting his home sold for offering the helping hand! I find baked goods are also great trades and use trades (usually massage) very often to accomplish what I am unable to do myself, or what I do not have the money to pay someone else to do for me.

     The current plan of attack is to get the little bug snug for Winter use, then finish stripping the bus, all new seals, new paint, new wiring, new tires, engine rebuild, etc. on that bus and get her running. Once the bus is up and good, the bug will get stripped down for new paint, new wiring, new seals all around, all new floor pans and heater channels (current are only patched), and eventually I will save for the new canvas top. I had decided to switch back to the old VW vehicles, as while they do need more maintenance than modern vehicles, I can do almost all of it myself...and annual taxes are only $10 ea per year!! Woot!  Perhaps I am odd, but I find something soothing about breaking things down and putting them back together fixed (alright, make that most times). LOL Finally have all the parts together (beyond a few small top end bits) for the 1600cc rebuild, and hoping to get started on that next week! Would love to have the new engine in before the weather turns too cold! All in due time. Much on my lists, and so little time it seems these days!

"Serendipity" ~ 1968 Convertible Bug