Sheesh....yesterday sucked.

Things didn't go too smooth yesterday. In fact, they sucked.

Ya see, I tole ya I was gonna make a trip to Port Aransas. Well I did that...bout a hunnert mile a hour down the road, sit'n on 70.

This is how ya get to Port Aransas....ya ride on a freak'n ferry boat. Many many years ago, the ferry boats only hold 9 cars. They were upgraded to 20 car ferries. There are now two new big suckers what hold 28. 

At my mail pick up place, not the post office, there weren't no license plates, registration an' title for the "billy jeep". It's been close to 4 weeks.....where the hell is my stuff? Over at the City Hall, they got a office that takes care of stuff like that. I ask the nice lady....."where my stuff"? She go clickity click on her computer, punch'n in numbers, my name.....the paper work from the dealership ain't been received at the DMV. Ok, that the first of two problems. I asks her where my stuff will be mailed to. She tell me "at the address listed on my temporary license tag". Well shoot, that ain't gonna never work....I don't live at that address no more. ( I just use that address for the purpose of renewal of registrations) I don't live there. I live at my PO Box number. Here in a bit, this morn'n, I'll be mak'n a phone call to the dealership I bought the "billy jeep". Ask 'em...."where my stuff"? Will let ya know how that turns out.

Then me an' Sadie may heads off to Walmart in Aransas Pass. Pick up some items I got on my shop'n list. Well, that was work'n out pretty dad gum good. Cruis'n the aisles in a different world....relaxed. Basket is bout half full of stuff I probly shouldn't be eat'n.
I gets to the bread aisle.....Oh Oh, I don't feel right. Light headed an' a bit dizzy. Time to exit Walmart.....sit down, fresh air....stuff like that.

Right outside the entrance doors, I decides I'm gonna sit down on that curb for a bit....the "billy jeep" is right over there. But I can't get down to sit on that curb. An' I'm try'n awfully hard.

Bout that time I feels somebody grab holt to my arm an' help me back up to a straight standing position. As straight as I could. It's a nice lady. Not quit as old as I am, an' she weren't no chick-a-baby if that's what you're think'n. I would rekon maybe in her early to mid 60's. She says, "where's your car"? With my arm in one her hands an' my cart in the other, we go for a short walk. She loads all my stuff in the car an' bids me a nice day. I thought that was some kind of special.

Here it is a few minutes later.....I pick up the phone....
Dial'n numbers...stuff like that. "Hello Al....where my stuff". Oh, listen to this...."I was just get'n ready to call you Billy Bob". You believe that right? Anyhows, this afternoon he will pick up my plates and registration from DMV in San Antonio. Tomorrow he will mail them to me in Port Aransas. I should get them by middle next week. Then Austin DMV will mail me the title.....when ever they feel like it. All he needed was the "physical" address I no longer live at....Texas requirement. They got a name for that, but this morn'n, I don't even remember my middle name.

Speak'n of remember'n stuff. I mentioned a few days ago in a blog post....if my memory is correct, I was losing my memory. Ya see, I was pay'n for some stuff I bought. Don't remember where or what I bought, but had to use my debit card. Ok....what the hell is my numbers I got to punch in there? That was quite embarrass'n to forget 'those' numbers. That's twice in 12 years.  

Success....I got water

Another beautiful day....although yesterday weren't as beautiful as I had said. 59 degs was the high temp yesterday with a pretty good breeze a blow'n. How do I know? Well shoot, I was out there work'n on stuff.

This is what I did early yesterday.....
Test #1, house water pump. The fuse is good. That's all I did.

Test #2, Alternator charging system. The alternator voltage with engine running...14.75 volts. That's good. With engine still running, chassis battery voltage....14.75 volts. That's correct too.
But now we are to the question of why the dash voltage gauge only shows 13.80 volts. 

Yesterday afternoon, I went back to work'n on the water pump. Check this, check that, the pressure switch is bad. I dig around in the back of "that jeep" an' hauls out a replacement pump. The one I use for water transfer while boondocking. Hook that sucker up, turn the power on....and "we got water".

A fellow commenter, Ed, has been follow'n the alternator problems I have and I appreciate his input. I don't know if he is familiar with battery control centers on motorhomes, but mine is not do'n what it supposed to do. Like, it don't parallel the house and chassis batteries when a charging voltage of 13.2 volts is reached. A new circuit board is being researched ($170).

Ya see Ed, all my problems started when I left the hood open and the cover off of the control center while it was rain'n cats an' dogs. Before that, I had no alternator problems....dash gauge showed correct voltage an' solenoids went clickity click. By the way Ed, it's pretty easy to remove the gauge thingy to check voltage at the gauge.  

So how much work can a man do in one day? Well, just about as much as he wants to do I rekon. Yesterday I only work bout a couple hours. Got one item off'n my list. It was time to celebrate, so I didn't do nuttin else. Then when I sit down an' think bout it, I had a successful day.

I hadn't mentioned it yet, but for a couple months I been hav'n some tooth problems. Abscess an'.....how do ya say it, rotted teeth. Ya see, bout every two years or so, I got to have a tooth or two pulled. It's been over that time now. Time for pull'n. I ain't gonna have no chew'n teeth left in bout 8 more years. I'm at a point where I chew tough stuff on my left side an' I chew soup an' jello...stuff like that, on my right side.
But anyhows, a couple days ago, them two teeth like to kill me with throb'n pain. Thought I was gonna die. Using mouthwash an' maximum strength Anbesol to relieve the pain. It helped. It got so bad yesterday, I decided to try warm salty water. OH MY GOD, I'm gonna die for sure. Rinsed that salt out my mouth with more mouthwash....an' I ain't hurted since. Slept all night long. Yeah I know, "go to a dentist". I hate dentists!!!

That's it for the day. I got to get ready for a trip to Port Aransas since it's not cold out there.

"Photos Billy Bob, where are the photos"? I ain't got none.

Updated......Mom for a year....gone, pooof, just like that

Yeee ha....want ya lookie here, we got sunshine.

Somehows I got mixed up on my days again. I was think'n today was Tuesday an' it was gonna be cold again. But today is the beginning of bout 6 days or more of beautiful warm sunshiny weather. That make me feel better.

**************************************************************************
Test #1, house water pump. The fuse is good. That's all I did.

Test #2, Alternator charging system. The alternator voltage with engine running...14.75 volts. That's good. With engine still running, chasis battery voltage....14.75 volts. That's correct too.
But now we are to the question of why the dash voltage gauge only shows 13.80 volts. 

And the tests go on........

Do I give a crap.....not today

Before ya get all excitis think'n the old Billy Bob is all happy bout warmer weather for one day, let me tell ya.....it's 39 degs out there an' the day is half gone. Ya see, another front come through yesterday an' drop the temps rather quickly.....like in bout a hour or so. At this moment I got only one thing to say...."this shit sucks".

Speak'n of sucks, I'm at the point in my life where everthing I plan to do or what I do do, it all sucks. Since it's still winter, I'll put all the blame on "freez'n my ass off" in freez'n temperatures. I'm at that point in my life where I just don't care no more bout anything. I blame that on winter an' freez'n my ass off too. Things can only get better.

On the brighter side......*think'n*....on the brighter side......I'm think'n, still think'n. 

Ok, we got all that crap out of the way....."now what ya gonna do Billy Bob"? Well, as soon as this weather clears up a bit, I got a wiring kit to install on the "billy jeep" so when I step on the brakes in "Sally da house", people behind me will see brake lights come on on the "billy jeep".....an' not crash into me an' destroy every thing I have worked so hard at. That makes sense to me.

After that, I can get back to diagnosing the inoperable alternator in "da house". This has been a chore for me 'cause it gets into stuff I ain't too familiar with. Like big ol' circuit boards. Relays an' solenoids what turn batteries on an' off. Control what batteries get charged and when....stuff like that. This is a repair that you can't just take "da house" to a mechanic an' say...."fix it". Even a mechanic in a RV repair center would scratch his head an' resort to "trial an' error" repair. Even with Google search, I have found no solutions for the problem I have. *still have circuit board replacement on my mind*

And of course, I still have a water pump problem with the house water system. Damn thing don't do nuttin. Fuse??? Stuck pressure switch? Burn slap up pump motor? How the hell do I know, I ain't even done nuttin yet. In case you are wonder'n, this is a minor repair. I have a spare pump if needed.

Of course, when the weather clears up, I will find time for a round of golf ball swak'n. It's been a while ya know, an' the longer I wait, the worster I get at swak'n balls. Only a couple more days an' we gonna have a few days of warm to hot temps. I say hot 'cause anything over 60 degs, I consider to be rather on the hot side in winter. Summer time, 100 degs is get'n on the hot side.

I Googled a piece of property in Alabama at a reasonable price. But it didn't have no big ol' bass lake border'n it with a boat dock. Nor did it have a little creek run'n through it to turn into a pond. I'm think'n what I want an' what I get are two different things. Kind of like what I got when I replaced my "that jeep" with the "billy jeep". I was want'n a Jeep Cherokee Sport (a square one as my son Robert called it). But there ain't none....thanks to Obama an' his failed "cash for cars". Now I'm stuck with a 4000 pounds Jeep. But it purrty.

I still have a Port Aransas run to make.....bout 70 mile round trip. Pick up my mail, what should contain the registration and license plates for the "billy jeep". Buy me up a few more cartons of them little cigars since I ain't do'n worth a crap puff'n them E-cigarettes. Was down to 10 smokes a day an' now I'm back up to over a pac a day......Grrrrrrrrr. Quit'n smok'n ain't easy ya know.

Ok, I'm out of here....laters.

Grrrrrrrrrr.....my post will not update on other blogs......     

Tow bracket is professionally installed

Today will be another boring post as there is nuttin exciting to write about.

We did jack up the "billy jeep", tear the front end off'n it and install the tow bar bracket. It wasn't near the job I was expecting. For me alone, it would have taken 3 or 4 days. With Joseph do'n the heavy work, it was completed in less than 3 hours.

 

 Many photos were lost in the installation process. This is all I got left.

Then we jack up the rear end to diagnose the emergency brake problem.....it don't work. We come to the conclusion that the emergency brake shoes need adjustment. I'm questioning "why". Nephew Joseph suggested investing in replacement shoes, but the old Billy Bob said "adjust". Ya see, I never use a emergency brake, so it's not necessary to have new brake shoes. Adjustment was made just enough to pass the Texas safety inspection......fingers crossed. 

While the back end was jacked way up in the air, the transfer case lubrication was checked.....look'n for that whine noise ya know. It was fine and the whine is still there.


In the process of the tow bar bracket installation and adjusting stuff, Billy Bob had to be helped off the ground more than onest. I can get down there, but I just can't get back up. I paid last night with back pain and leg cramps.

Going through computer files last night, I found a blog post I had written a while back. Was gonna post it this morn'n. After a second reading, that idea was dropped. It was about my many failures after reaching the age of 70 years old. Kind of sad if'n ya ask me.   

Possible work day

Here it is Sunday morn'n already. Where has the week gone?

I paid dearly for pick'n up that microwave. No, it weren't all that heavy....cheap ain't heavy ya know, but put'n that sucker into my cart an' then hav'n to take it back out to place in the "billy jeep" was just too much. You got to remember, I used to carry a hunnert pounds in one hand. Them days are long gone.

Nephew Frank helped me install the microwave. He did the pick'n up. I did the tell'n him how to do it.

The fit ain't perfect, but nobody gonna know it but me.

Ok, back to hav'n a bad night. It was 1:30am before I finally got to bed. I lay there on the couch watch'n stuff I had no interest in at all. TV in 2014 sucks. My back an' hip feel like hell. I waked up at 6:15 this morn'n, no better off in the pain department. In fact, it was the pain what waked me up. Pain an' them bastard backwards leg cramps radiat'n down my legs. I was also quite grouchy an' grumpy when I got up.

So here I sit, a cup of coffee in one hand, a smoke in the other an' a couple 500 mg. aspirin do'n their thing. It's still too early for the sunshine an' temps to get higher. I need to go outside....this sucks.  Oh, did I mention there is a couple more "cool" days in the forecast....an' a few buckets full of rain water?
This is why I have no plans in my mind for "hit'n the road" any time soon.

Checked the Falcon lake fish'n report. It ain't look'n too good. Water temps are in the 50's, what bass don't like at all. Very few fish are being caught. I'm think'n I should just go buy me a bulldozer.

If we get the "billy jeep" tore apart today, I'll update an' show you some pics. I'm think'n there's a possibility the "billy jeep" could easily turn into a "that jeep". Find'n some broke stuff an' that whine noise. Oh, did I fail to mention, the emergency brake don't work? What the hell, I thought I bought a brand spank'n new Jeep.

Updated....A warmer day.....almost

Where has this morning gone? My god, it's 10am already an' I ain't done a thing. Well, I had'nt planned on doing a thing this early anyhows. Read blogs, Facebook an' news are a priority.

I was sit'n over there on the couch last night. Weren't a thing on the TV I was want'n to see, so I turn the sucker slap off. Which led to a period of some serious think'n. What am I gonna do???

Well I got problems ya know. Broke stuff. One being a major problem. I ain't never head off down the nations highways with the alternator not charging the batteries. That would be kind of silly don't ya think? Anyhows, I sit there an' thinked the situation over....."why don't my alternator charge my batteries"? Wrote down a list of "tests" to do to the system. A long list. Research on the internet was of no help. Come on sunshine an' warm weather, help me out here.....I got test'n to do.

My plans for today was to go outside. Fix some stuff. The weather forecast calls for a nice day. Well guess what? Everything is wet out there. It's still a bit too cool to be out there (49 degs). There ain't no sunshine. That leaves but only one thing to do.....Walmart.

Well, I ain't got no Walmart shop'n list. I don't need nuttin but my meds....been out for two days now. But I feel fine. Or at least I think I feel fine. Ya see, when ya get cooped up in "da house" for a long period of time, ya don't know if'n ya feel fine or not. You sure as hell ain't gonna find me sit'n outside in my easy chair, sip'n up a cup an' think'n, when it's 30 or so degs out there. I been called crazy many times in my life, but I sure as hell ain't no idiot. You do understand what I'm talk'n bout....right?

Yesterday I mentioned old folks an' get'n grouchy. One commenter disagreed with my analysis that when ya get older, ya get grumpy an' grouchy. Of course he based his assumption on less then 10% of the population. I fully agree with him on that 10% number, but the other 90%...yup, they be old grumpy an' grouchy people. Here is a plain spoken example of what I was talk'n bout. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/aug/05/were-grumpy-for-a-reason/ 

Ok, it's get'n later an' I still ain't done a thing. I'm out of here for the day. Laters.
*********************************************************************
Small update:
Ok, I was sit'n here an' got to think'n....bout that alternator. I turns on the key....show something like 13.4 volts on the dash voltage thingy....coming from the batteries, converter an' solar panels. I cranks up the engine. Voltage goes up to bout 13.8 volts (should be bout 14.4 plus volts) and the solar controller amperage drops bout half a amp (from 3.3 amps to 2.8 amps). This is a indication that the alternator is putting some "charge" into the battery system. But it's the first time I have seen the voltage that low with the engine run'n. I'm figger'n that a fresh pot of coffee an' more think'n is necessary.

Ok...Walmart. I had the choice of two Jeeps for the trip. One, "that jeep", being legal, an' the other, "billy jeep", being illegal. I took "billy jeep". "What the hell is that whine noise"?
I got to Walmart an' drop off my med thingys for refill....."come back after 4pm" the nice lady says. Well crap, another trip to Walmart. Then I go look at microwaves. They all a bit too wide to fit in the hole (20 inch). Oh wait, lookie here....a West Bend 900 watt with a inch to spare each side. That the one I bought. Anybody ask' I'll just tell 'em those spaces on the sides are for ventilation. Or I could break out a roll of duck tape.