Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium

[ajohno]

That's a big staghorn Bob.

 

[Grizz1963]

That looks soo nice Bob

I do miss Africa when I see a good garden.

 

[Guster]

Wow, that Staghorn is massive! What are you feeding that fern Bob? Is that were all the squirrels go when they fail their swimming lessons?

Probably doomed to grow larger now it has a sedentary lifestyle.

 

[taumac]

Wow, that's a big Staghorn. We have one about size of your other one and it's heavy. Heavy enough that I couldn't lift it to bring it in during hard freezes. I ended up getting a pillow system from harbor freight.



It said working load of 445 lbs so I would lower it to cover it and raise it back up and tie it off to the trunk.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Bob, it take a lot of TLC to get a Staghorn to grow that big in our climate here in Victoria.

Done well..

 

[Bob Heine]

B, I think I heard somewhere that you put 2 banana skins between the tree and the staghorn and this helps it bind to the tree.

Terrick, I heard something similar, using bananas to feed the staghorn. The plant seems to thrive on a half-dozen thrown in the top opening twice a year.

That's a big staghorn Bob.

Aaron, it started out as a fern-sitting job when our daughter moved from Florida to Ohio in 2001. I hung it and another smaller one in a tree on the side of the house. I could lift it by myself then but three years later I needed a little help. Here it is in 2004 (the smaller one is closest to the camera).

That looks soo nice Bob

I do miss Africa when I see a good garden.

Thank you Rian. My South African friends who moved to Australia have to go back every once in a while to see the beautiful gardens again.

Wow, that Staghorn is massive! What are you feeding that fern Bob? Is that were all the squirrels go when they fail their swimming lessons?

Probably doomed to grow larger now it has a sedentary lifestyle.

Guster, I hadn't thought about squirrels as food. They seem to do very well with benign neglect and the occasional banana.

I don't know exactly where a staghorn fern's *** is located but I'm sure it's going to broaden out on the bottom. I wouldn't be surprised if it swallows up my tripod.

Wow, that's a big Staghorn. We have one about size of your other one and it's heavy. Heavy enough that I couldn't lift it to bring it in during hard freezes. I ended up getting a pillow system from harbor freight.

It said working load of 445 lbs so I would lower it to cover it and raise it back up and tie it off to the trunk.

Gerard, I had wondered how you moved your monster into the garage in the cold snap. I am tempted to buy one of those pulley hoists but I made the mistake of buying a small racing sailboat that needed structural repairs. My repairs failed so I sold it but kept the extra hardware, which included quite a few small pulleys. Last time I had to move it (2011) I used this setup with the pulley system on a higher branch. I would have asked for help but figured one injured person was enough. It actually went pretty well.

The fern was quite a bit smaller almost six years ago, as were the two Barrel Palms.

Bob, it take a lot of TLC to get a Staghorn to grow that big in our climate here in Victoria.

Done well..

Steve, I rarely see others this large even here in Florida. I do as little as possible to care for it and it seems to like that.

Thank you all for your visit and kind words. It gets me out of the chair every once in a while.

 

[Toolfool]

I missed some of the activity here, stopped in , and I see everyone complimenting your huge staghorn !! What has this thread come to ?!!?? (never heard of a staghorn on LI or WI ).

 

[Bob Heine]

I missed some of the activity here, stopped in , and I see everyone complimenting your huge staghorn !! What has this thread come to ?!!?? (never heard of a staghorn on LI or WI ).

John, thanks for stopping by and I'm afraid I didn't know what a staghorn was either. I think the GPS on this thread said something like "Turn Right off the paved road" so I'll see if I can get back to some real garage stuff -- six saw cuts and twelve screws to make a fern tripod is a stretch.

 

[Bob Heine]

About five years ago I was having a couple of small problems with the '87 Corvette. This is the story of how I fixed them and sometimes it got ugly.

The first problem was the car starting with a puff of blue smoke after it sat long enough to cool off. I've owned the car for 25 years and I couldn't tell you when it started doing this but the cloud was getting bigger, to the point of being embarrassing. It was obviously an oil burning issue but it was only on startup and I never needed to add oil between changes. On the other hand, I was changing the oil annually, not on the basis of mileage. I was driving the car less than a thousand miles a year.

The second problem was an intermittent "Service Engine Soon" light on the dash. It only happened on startup but it didn't matter if it was cold or hot. The engine ran terrible and I would shut it off. When it first started doing this, I could re-start the engine, the light would go off and the engine ran fine. Over time it got worse and it might require three or four re-starts to get the light to go off. In addition, the car was getting harder and harder to start. By harder to start, I mean it took three or four revolutions like a carbureted engine. With Tuned Port Injection, the car used to start instantly every time. I had replaced all the fuel injectors (turned out for no good reason) in 1995, when the car had 65,000 miles on it.

I was convinced the oil cloud was caused by worn valve seals and that's not a terribly difficult or expensive job. All I have to do is removed the valve covers and remove the valve springs. Piece of cake. I even have the valve spring compressor in my tool chest. I found the tool and then had a flashback to an earlier attempt at using it. It is easy to use on an engine sitting on a stand but a real challenge to use on an engine sitting in the car. The solution is to buy a new tool!

The old tool cost me about $5 decades ago and the new one was $45. To remove a valve spring using the old tool, you have to mount the tool on the rocker arm stud and lift up on the arm. While holding the arm in the lifted position you have to remove the keepers from the spring retainer.

The new tool is a two-piece item that also mounts on the rocker arm stud but it has a lever that compresses the spring and once it is over-center, it stays in place and you can go have a cut of coffee before continuing with the removal of the retainers. The tool can also work at different angles, which is very handy at the rear of the cylinder heads where firewall-mounted stuff gets in the way of the old tool. The new tool is the top two pieces in this photo.

I know this only happens to me. Whenever I start a repair, I look for ways to expand the scope. For this project, all I really needed was the new tool, a set of valve guide seals, a pair of valve cover gaskets and some braided nylon rope [FONT=&quot]costing around $100:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Intake seals (Fel-Pro SS72527 $7.83)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Exhaust seals (Fel-Pro SS72877 $12.25)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Valve cover gaskets (Fel-Pro VS50088R $12.39)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]EGR tube clamp (Ecklers 27006 $14.99)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Head-on spring compressor (Summit SUM-906784 $44.95)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Total to replace valve seals: $92.41 (plus shipping & handling).

[FONT=&quot]If I'm going to remove the rocker arms and valve springs to replace the[FONT=&quot] seals "I might as well" [FONT=&quot]install fresh new GM performance springs and roller rocker arms. The roller rocker arms are bigger than the stamped steel ones so [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]"I might as well"[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot] replace the stamped steel valve covers with taller ones.

[FONT=&quot]I'm going to[FONT=&quot] [FONT=&quot]have to remove the [FONT=&quot]spark pl[FONT=&quot]ugs so "I may as well" put new ones back in[FONT=&quot], along with new spark plug wires. [FONT=&quot]Since I have to remove the new wires from the distributor cap, "I may as well" replace it along with a new rotor.

[FONT=&quot]I also suspect th[FONT=&quot]at there may be a problem with the catalytic conver[FONT=&quot]ter because the exhaust has a developed a strange sm[FONT=&quot]ell. As long as I'm taking the exhaust system apart,[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] "I may as well" replace the exhaust [FONT=&quot]manifold with stainless steel[FONT=&quot] long tube headers.[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [/FONT]

 

[Toolfool]

John, thanks for stopping by and I'm afraid I didn't know what a staghorn was either. I think the GPS on this thread said something like "Turn Right off the paved road" so I'll see if I can get back to some real garage stuff -- six saw cuts and twelve screws to make a fern tripod is a stretch.

Just bustin' your chops, buddy. Your thread is always entertaining. Don't change a thing. (just had to give you a taste of the old neighborhood)

 

[sublime68charger]

How far does the I may as well project get you Bob?

great story!

 

[Falcon67]

I apologize for my cryptic response. I was alluding to the fact that we don't expect any IBM employee to actually have useful skills. But it was just good natured sarcasm. In all honesty I have great respect for IBM.

LOL, somewhat - my dad was Quarter Century. Service tech, based in Fort Worth - tape machines, card sorters, all that big iron back in the 60s. Also build his own shop, added on to the house, did plumbing, built nice furniture, cabinets for the new kitchen, built his own ham transmitter - a pretty serious "hobbyist" as it were.

 

[Bob Heine]

[FONT=&quot]I started the project by unbolting the A/C compressor, which is in the way of the valve cover on the passenger (right) side. One of the 5-inch mounting bolts is next to the hard lines and I couldn’t get a socket in there so I [FONT=&quot]used [/FONT]my recently acquired GearWrench ratcheting box-end wrench[FONT=&quot]. [/FONT] It was going so smoothly I failed to notice I was running out of room. Suddenly the wrench was hard up against the rigid line and I couldn’t get it off the [FONT=&quot]bol[FONT=&quot]t[/FONT][/FONT]. I also couldn’t reverse the ratchet. This [FONT=&quot]photo [/FONT]is a re-creation and doesn’t show the mounting frame or the actual situation [FONT=&quot]because [/FONT]I was in no mood for photography at that moment and it would have been hard to see [FONT=&quot]because the area was [FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]covered[/FONT] in [FONT=&quot]my frothy spittle[FONT=&quot].[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] I think you can see how quickly this goes south.

[/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]I Sawzalled the bolt head off and ordered a replacement bolt from BoltDepot.com but this one is a socket-head cap screw so the next time I take the compressor off there won’t be a repeat performance. I’m chalking this up to getting old, not to fancy-schmantzy tools.
[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]The [FONT=&quot]a[/FONT]lternator [FONT=&quot]b[/FONT]racket came off the other side of the engine with no problems and[FONT=&quot] o[/FONT]nce I had the valve covers off, [FONT=&quot]I removed the rocker arms on cylinder #1.

Before I remove a valve spring, I need to [FONT=&quot]keep the valve from falling into the engine. I [/FONT]tried using a [FONT=&quot]compressed air adapter to pressurize the cylinder and hold the valves in place but I have the wrong adapter -- i[FONT=&quot]t screws in but[FONT=&quot] it doesn't seal. In addition, I am having a real hard time getting the quick-connect air fitting on the adapter. I need to remove the get the exhaust manifold.[FONT=&quot] Rather than put that ol[FONT=&quot]d manifold back on, [FONT=&quot]"I might a[FONT=&quot]s well[FONT=&quot]" [FONT=&quot]install stainless steel long tube headers. [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [/FONT] [/FONT][/FONT]

Instead of waiting for the right adapter, I used the shade tree mechanic trick of stuffing braided nylon rope into the cylin[FONT=&quot]der through the spark plug hole. Rotate the engine until the piston gets close to top dead center and the rope [FONT=&quot]holds[FONT=&quot] both[/FONT] val[FONT=&quot]ves in place.[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=&quot]
[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]My new valve spring compressor wo[FONT=&quot]rks great![/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] The valve guide area looks great and there is almost zero play in the valve stem. There's just one problem -- there is no sign of a valve guide seal!

I had placed the spring, retainer and clips on a towel on the work bench and after a little searching I found the valve seal. OK, it isn't a seal anymore but is what remains. I'm overjoyed because this means the blue cloud was a result of not having seals on the valves.

 

[Bob Heine]

Just bustin' your chops, buddy. Your thread is always entertaining. Don't change a thing. (just had to give you a taste of the old neighborhood)

John, please believe me when I say I love having my chops busted. I taught all six of my grandsons that I was up for a good tease and gave as good as I got. My three granddaughters prefer to dress me up and put bows in my hair. It was hard to go out in public when they were younger. Now they give me the smile a cat gives a fat old mouse.

How far does the I may as well project get you Bob?

great story!

Sub, I'm an amateur, with inexpensive (relatively) bolt-ons. But this project turned out to be a success.

LOL, somewhat - my dad was Quarter Century. Service tech, based in Fort Worth - tape machines, card sorters, all that big iron back in the 60s. Also build his own shop, added on to the house, did plumbing, built nice furniture, cabinets for the new kitchen, built his own ham transmitter - a pretty serious "hobbyist" as it were.

Chris, I entered the Quarter Century Club the day before I left Florida for my assignment in Australia. My first year with IBM I worked on those same tape drives and card machines (1964-5). I think our pay back then required us to become serious "hobbyists!"

 

[Bob Heine]

I carefully removed the old pushrods, expecting to re-use them. That idea turned into another "I might as well" replace them for two reasons. First, the pushrods had been in contact with the hardened guide plates (a couple of them were only worn on one side, indicating they were bent. Second, the new aluminum roller rocker arms have a 1.6 ratio and probably need a different length pushrod to properly align the roller on the valve stem.

I determined the correct length pushrod from the pattern in the magic marker on the valve stem (I have since upgraded to Dykem marking fluid). Here's a close-up of the roller tip on the rocker arm. The two flanges on the side of the roller keep the rocker arm aligned with the valve stem.

The new roller rocker arms are self-aligning so you can't use a guide plate (it's one or the other). I removed the old rocker studs that also hold down the guide plates. The new studs screwed it with only one slight problem. The stud bottomed out in the hole before the shoulder contacted the head surface. I used the brute force approach to fix the problem but it was a bit scary because these are aluminum heads. I then used the working brain cell approach and removed the stud to measure the depth of the hole. That's when I discovered the helicoils GM installed in the head. The tang on the bottom of the helicoil was still there (I thought they were removed as a final step in their installation.

On one of my visits to Harbor Freight I found a helicoil kit. Although I had no immediate need for it, another "I might as well" buy it had it waiting in one of the toolbox drawers. The kit included the helicoils and installation tools, which makes it easy to turn the helicoil. A full turn of the helicoil in te head and the rocker arm studs bottomed nicely on the head surface.

As I tightened the stud, I realized I had another problem. The aluminum surface was being galled by the hardened steel stud. Those hardened steel guide plates had served as washers. My quick fix was an almost rust-free plain washer from my collection. These are not very carefully made pieces of hardware and they are almost as soft as the aluminum, deforming under the specfied 50-foot pounds of torque. I was reluctant to use them for fear the studs woudn't be perfectly perpendicular to the boss on the head. Amazon had a box of hardened 7/16" washers delivered to the house the following week (didn't have Prime back in '012).

Here you can see the first cylinder is done and I have installed the new studs on the second cylinder. Did I mention that the hardened washers were too big? Well, a few minutes wit a grinder and I had 16 custom washers.

My new spring compressor came through on the last driver-side cylinder. It was impossible to turn the tool down onto the rocker stud so I had to disassemble the tool, screw the shaft onto the stud and then re-assemble the tool. There was no way I could have used the old tool in that location.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Wow! My stomach hurts just thinking about all the "might as wells". You make me tired, Bob!

Can't wait for the next installment.

 

[Grizz1963]

Necessity and Mother of invention springs to mind.

Your various builds, fixes and General keeping busy makes me smile every time I look in here, which is obviously quite regularly Bob.

 

[dlcwent]

"Did I mention that the hardened washers were too big? Well, a few minutes wit a grinder and I had 16 custom washers."

Your Yankee ingenuity is shining through there Bob.

I took a few days off from the GJ and now it seems like I'll never catch up with all that you guys do everyday (you never cease to amaze me)............Off to make another worthless post on someone else's thread.

 

[oldironfarmer]

I meant to mention, I didn't know the rope trick was shade tree mechanic. I thought it was good practice! In the manual on my chain saw, by the way, to use a piece of rope when removing the centrifugal drive.

Great work, and several potential disasters avoided.

 

[bolensboneyard]

Bob When I get a gear wrench stuck which I cannot reverse I have found that a pop with another wrench, or if you have it at the bench give it a rap on the bench, it will free it up and work fine. Fine clicks can't take a lot of pressure.

 

[Bob Heine]

Wow! My stomach hurts just thinking about all the "might as wells". You make me tired, Bob!

Can't wait for the next installment.

Andy, I actually started out just buying the seals but every step of the way it seemed like a lot of effort for one little repair. In the end it worked out OK. Yes, I'm afraid there's more to come...

Necessity and Mother of invention springs to mind.

Your various builds, fixes and General keeping busy makes me smile every time I look in here, which is obviously quite regularly Bob.

Rian, you are very kind and I am truly honored that you and it looks like quite a few others do look in.

"Did I mention that the hardened washers were too big? Well, a few minutes wit a grinder and I had 16 custom washers."

Your Yankee ingenuity is shining through there Bob.

I took a few days off from the GJ and now it seems like I'll never catch up with all that you guys do everyday (you never cease to amaze me)............Off to make another worthless post on someone else's thread.

Dan, thanks for that! I agree that a few days off sets you back but even when you check in every day there are are a ton of things being posted. It seems I used to be able to go back a few posts in most threads to find where I left off reading but now I have to go back several pages to get back.

Just my personal opinion but I don't recall ever reading a "worthless" post from you. If anything, I begin to worry when I don't see you posting and I for one really enjoy your sense of humor and positive attitude.

I meant to mention, I didn't know the rope trick was shade tree mechanic. I thought it was good practice! In the manual on my chain saw, by the way, to use a piece of rope when removing the centrifugal drive.

Great work, and several potential disasters avoided.

Andy, I'm thinking it's belt, suspenders and rope now. Most of my automotive knowledge is from reading Hot Rod and lots of other magazines and they often showed the low-buck solutions.

Thank you for your kind words and I'm always thrilled when I avoid the really expensive mistakes.

I don't want to offend you but you do know many of us are getting nothing done because of your Can Do Smelt and Pour Foundry saga. I don't want you to stop but don't be surprised if a bunch of us have nothing new to post for the foreseeable future.

Bob When I get a gear wrench stuck which I cannot reverse I have found that a pop with another wrench, or if you have it at the bench give it a rap on the bench, it will free it up and work fine. Fine clicks can't take a lot of pressure.

Bobby, that's great information. It never occurred to me to give the wrench a whack. My solution was to forget I own the non-reversing ratchets.

 

[Guster]

I had placed the spring, retainer and clips on a towel on the work bench and after a little searching I found the valve seal. OK, it isn't a seal anymore but is what remains. I'm overjoyed because this means the blue cloud was a result of not having seals on the valves.

This marks the exact point where I would have stopped and thanked all higher forces. You are a brave man for proceeding further Bob! Brave or fueled by deep seated sense of persistence and too many "might as well"s!

I have had the exact same forehead slap moment(more like forehead against the crossmember) using my newly gifted gear wrench to take the starter of my old V6 Nissan Terrano to swap out brushes. They used those flare hex head bolts and the 10mm bolt had maybe 2mm to clear the crossmember to drop out. The head of the gear wrench takes up an extra 3mm because of the flare on the bolt head. So guess who finds out that the bolt wont come out only once it is fully backed out... sigh!

Luckily nothing but the bolt was harmed in the gentle application of a zip disk.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Any moment, Bob, I'm expecting a moderator to let me know I am being banned for posting nothing at all about garages. Or would you call it being canned? I'm very glad to hear that even though you are offended by my poor pour posts you are not yet voting for me to be can canned.

 

[Bob Heine]

Any moment, Bob, I'm expecting a moderator to let me know I am being banned for posting nothing at all about garages. Or would you call it being canned? I'm very glad to hear that even though you are offended by my poor pour posts you are not yet voting for me to be can canned.

Andy, long before you are banned for posting about your foundry shop, my fern tripod thread will be locked. Also, you and I are family so I would never vote you off the GJ island.

 

[Bob Heine]

This marks the exact point where I would have stopped and thanked all higher forces. You are a brave man for proceeding further Bob! Brave or fueled by deep seated sense of persistence and too many "might as well"s!

I have had the exact same forehead slap moment(more like forehead against the crossmember) using my newly gifted gear wrench to take the starter of my old V6 Nissan Terrano to swap out brushes. They used those flare hex head bolts and the 10mm bolt had maybe 2mm to clear the crossmember to drop out. The head of the gear wrench takes up an extra 3mm because of the flare on the bolt head. So guess who finds out that the bolt wont come out only once it is fully backed out... sigh!

Luckily nothing but the bolt was harmed in the gentle application of a zip disk.

Guster, I think you nailed it on the "deep seated something or other." When money was the driving force, there weren't any "might as wells" -- more like "it should get me to work" fixes.

I'm so glad I'm not alone with the lumpy forehead.

 

[Bob Heine]

It has been a "different" week. My cousin called me at 10:30 PM a week ago Wednesday night to let me know "we are 40 miles north of you" on his annual pilgrimage from Wisconsin to Florida to use his time share. He also said "we missed the Boca exit and ended up in Hollywood, FL." That's where his time share is located so it sounded OK. Then he told me they were on Rte 163. I've lived in Florida for 40 years and never came across a Rte 163. I suggested they get a motel for the night and start fresh in the morning. My cousin's third wife died last October so I'm not sure if he has someone new or a friend came along for the ride. Wait, that sounds bad -- he divorced his first two wives and they are still alive.... I'm worried but not in a panic -- yet.

At 11:30 PM the phone rings again and caller ID says it's my cousin. I don't recognize the voice and it turns out to be an Alabama Sheriff deputy. The officer says my cousin has been at a gas station on and off for an hour and the attendant called 911. My Cousin claims he is waiting for his son to come out of the bathroom. Deputy looks in the car (which I think is one of his 2 Jeep Grand Cherokees he normally drives to Florida) and says the car is too full for a passenger. The officer promises to ****** him to a motel.

At 9:30 next morning my cousin calls to tell me he's getting on I-10 for 340 miles, then I-75 for 108 miles and then the Florida Turnpike for 230 miles to Boca Raton. I assume he's reading these miles on a GPS but says his phone battery is low because the deputy made a lot of calls. I'm glad he's OK and expect to see him by 7:00 PM. I call him at 7:30 and he says he's 81 miles from Orlando on his way to Tampa. I try to talk to him but he can't hear me because his battery is almost dead. My suggestion that he get off the road and rest in a motel goes unheard.

From Thursday evening to Friday night I have no contact -- calls go to voicemail and calls to his son and daughter are to out of date numbers. He is supposed to check in to his time share Saturday at 11:00 AM so I plan to call the time share and if he isn't there, have the Florida Highway Patrol issue a Silver Alert (like an Amber alert but for missing elderly folks. I finally get a call from his son and his wife at 10:00 PM Friday and they have me on a conference call with an officer in the Florida Keys. My cousin drove all night and all the next day and made it to Key West, turned around and pulled into a closed weigh station. When the officer asked what's going on, he said he was waiting for his daughter-in-law to arrive for the party. The officer got the phone hooked up and called all the recent numbers back. My cousin's son had also been trying to contact him and was thrilled to hear from the police. We were able to Baker Act my cousin and his son flew down to get his father. I arranged to pick him up at the airport and drive him down to the Keys.

If you aren't familiar with the Baker Act, it allows a person to be held in a treatment facility for as long as 72 hours. He ended up in a hospital in the Keys, waiting for his son to pick him up and drive back to Virginia, where he would take a flight back to Wisconsin.

I picked up his son at the airport next day and we drove to the Keys to get his father and the car. The car is my cousin's pristine 1984 Corvette he bought new that now has just over 50,000 miles on it. Suddenly the car too full for a passenger made sense. My cousin had already given his '63 Corvette split-window-coupe to his son and planned to go home via Virginia and give the '84 to his daughter.

By the time we picked up my cousin and bought his car back from the impound lot ($530) for its overnight stay, it was getting dark. I can't safely drive at night (my opinion) so I sent them back to my house while I drove to Florida City and purchased a room at a Ramada Inn. It turns out that the price they quoted was for one night and not a down payment for permanent residence.

We had moved one suitcase and a few bags from the Corvette to my Cadillac so two people could fit in the Corvette. They spent the night at our house and I returned home Sunday morning in time to make breakfast and send them on their way. UPS is delivering the suitcase to my cousin's son's house -- it was full of my cousin's late wife's shoes that fit his daughter-in-law. Made some kind of sense.

My cousin and his son took a couple of days to make it to Virginia and Thursday night they called to say everything was fine but my cousin wants to drive the Corvette back to Florida to use his time share. I thought Ground Hog Day was long past.

 

[Bob Heine]

Had a nice late lunch with my wife to celebrate our anniversary today. I am feeling a little confused, like my cousin, because according to the calendar and my calculator, this is our 55th anniversary. I verified the number several times and bought a small emerald ring (Emerald is traditional for the 55th but Turquoise is the modern gift [I'm far from modern]) a couple of months ago. Fearing I would forget, I gave her the ring as soon as it arrived in the mail. Lucky me, she forgot I gave her the anniversary ring so a quick finger-pointing today and it was like a second present!

 

[zmotorsports]

Had a nice late lunch with my wife to celebrate our anniversary today. I am feeling a little confused, like my cousin, because according to the calendar and my calculator, this is our 55th anniversary. I verified the number several times and bought a small emerald ring (Emerald is traditional for the 55th but Turquoise is the modern gift but I'm far from modern) a couple of months ago. Fearing I would forget, I gave her the ring as soon as it arrived in the mail. Lucky me, she forgot I gave her the anniversary ring so a quick finger-pointing today and it was like a second present!

Sounds like a heck of an ordeal that your cousin went through but glad to hear he made it home with his son.

Congrats on your 55th anniversary Bob. That is a long time and I hope to be at that point with my sweetie one day.

Mike.

 

[Bob Heine]

Sounds like a heck of an ordeal that your cousin went through but glad to hear he made it home with his son.

Congrats on your 55th anniversary Bob. That is a long time and I hope to be at that point with my sweetie one day.

Mike.

Thanks Mike! My cousin hasn't shown up and he hasn't called so maybe he's doing what his son asks. He's a retired Navy Commander so I doubt suggestions are going to work.

You are in for a real surprise at how fast the years fly by! My 1987 Corvette was new the year we celebrated our 25th anniversary and I still think of it as my "new" Corvette. Then again, it qualifies for Antique plates this year so new is kind of relative.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Bob, congratulations on your 55th anniversary. Well done..

 

[Bob Heine]

My diversion with my cousin did have a benefit. I had my phone plugged into the charging port in the car for the whole trip. When I got to the Keys I called home to let my wife know we were all OK. After our 5-minute conversation, my Samsung Galaxy S4 said the battery was low. I plugged it back in to use it but decided to order a new battery when I got home. Good thing I did because the old battery was swollen and not just a little. At least it didn't burst into flames and next time I need to remove it from the car the phone will work more than a few minutes

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob, congratulations on your 55th anniversary. Well done..

Thank you Steve!
I'm amazed that she has put up with me this long.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Thank you Steve!
I'm amazed that she has put up with me this long.

Bob, you must be doing something right..

 

[Craptain]

Happy anniversary Bob. I don't have a wife but I my girlfriend of 20 years fills the role. We celebrate as if we were married. It is a good and comfortable feeling.
I also understand the sentiment of "putting up with me"

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[ajohno]

Happy anniversary Bob.

 

[HOTFR8]

That battery looks scary .

Bob, you must be doing something right..

I agree.

 

[jp828108]

Glad to hear your exciting week seems to have worked out for the best. I'm glad to hear your cousin has family that cares for him, and is able to take care of him. My sister in law is the Guardian for an elderly gentleman. His son originally got the guardianship, but is MIA and doesn't seem concerned at all with how his father is doing. He does have a couple of brothers that write him, but I'm not sure he remembers them or even knows they exist. It's a very sad situation.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Sorry to hear about your cousin! The tough part is when a person does not know he is in trouble. My son in law gets confused and lost, but he knows it and stops to call and ask how to get home. It can be a fun conversation.

Congratulations to you on 55 years, and sympathies to your wife.

After all these years she is still having to train you...

I wish you many more

 

[bj383ss]

Congrats on 55 years Bob. If my wife keeps me that long it will be a miracle.

Bret

 

[bolensboneyard]

Congratulations on your 55th Bob. Hope you have many more.