Summer Days..

I always seem to struggle to find the words when I actually have time to sit down and write. Here I am again, a couple of weeks between posts. I have again been busy, as is usually the case in the warmer months because I’m almost always outside doing something either for fun or maintenance. My grandmother’s pool has taken up quite a bit of my spare time in the past two weeks. I’ve been the caretaker of the pool for the last several years because she is getting too old and frail to do what is necessary at least every other day. Skimmers have to be kept clear of fallen leaves, bugs, and anything else that finds its way into the pool.

I was over there doing the regular maintenance on Monday and needed to get in up to my waist in order to aggressively brush the walls clean. That’s always where the algae starts to form and it’s been particularly difficult to keep at bay this year. We took the winter cover off of the pool only two weeks ago and it was pretty clean. Some years, when the cover is removed after eight months of hibernation, it looks like a stock pond with green growth no matter how many bags of shock chlorine treatment are put in before closing. We were lucky this year, but we’ve been inundated with rain this spring and that wreaks havoc with my attempts to keep the chemical composition regulated and keeping the pool crystal clear. A green pool is not a fun pool, my friends. The rest of the week appears to be forecast as rain-free, so that should help me keep it nice.

I know some of you make think it’s nice to have a pool to take care of, but I don’t think you grasp the work involved in keeping a pool. Don’t get me wrong, having this pool to swim in has been nice, but working on keeping that way usually isn’t fun. I’ll probably get back into my groove of going over there on Monday afternoons for a little lounging in the sun and enjoying the weather while a brush or vacuum. The mid nineties we’ve seen on the thermometer lately will do nicely to speed that process up a bit. I need to get into decent shape anyway since I’ve let myself go a little over the winter months. I haven’t even been doing any upper body strength training like I usually do. Of course, the first time I picked up the fifteen foot pole and brush this year, I noticed the extreme soreness in my arm and back muscles the next day. Nothing a summer full of swimming can’t cure, though.

My Jeep is finally running under its own power after a couple years of inactivity. I am now in the process of ironing out the few small problems that always pop up after an undertaking that complex. For those that don’t know, I’ve transplanted a newer, fuel injected V8 from a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado into my old ’82 CJ7. The old and tired six cylinder that was originally in the Jeep is gone forever, as is the manual transmission, and I say good riddance.

Stick shifts are nice in a sports car or classic muscle car, but I’m not a fan of them in off-road applications. There is usually too much going on to also be concerned about the critical balance of gas and clutch. I’d rather let the transmission do this if possible, and in the case of project CJ-LM7, it is going to be nice. Chevrolet’s engine code designation for the 5.3 Liter Vortec V8 is LM7, hence the project name for my Jeep with 300 horses ready to be unleashed. Yes, I’m a geek. It won’t matter when I’m finally enjoying my new toy on the trails and roads. The small problems are absolutely expected since I had to marry a new chassis wiring harness for the Jeep to the computer and engine management harness for the engine. It was quite the endeavor, but there will always be a great sense of accomplishment every time I drive it.

For now, I just have to re-wire the reverse light to take the power signal from my digital transmission indicator panel. Those are the white lights that are in the back of all cars when you put it in reverse. They help you make sure you’re not running over anything in the dark. That should take all of ten minutes from start to finish, but there is one other thing that I’ve been beating myself up over. I neglected to replace my inner brake lines (hard steel tubing) on the Jeep because I was going to replace the outer rubber lines with braided stainless steel anyway. Well, when I got down to trying to complete this minor job on Monday, it turned into a major job when I discovered the 27 year old fittings on the original inner brake lines wouldn’t come apart easily. No amount of lube and verbal coaxing on my part got me anywhere except for being left with a fitting that is now roughly rounded-off.

Unfortunately, I will likely have to destroy the lines to facilitate removal, so I decided to do it right and replace the entire brake line system with new, stainless tubing. It’s better to do it right the first time and never worry about it again. Unfortunately, it will have to wait since they have to be manufactured. It will likely be two weeks before I can get started on replacement, but I’ll be leaving for vacation at that point anyway, so it’s no big deal. I’m just ready to drive my beast and I can’t do that until I get brakes!

Speaking of vacation, K and I will be leaving for Pennsylvania at the end of the month. We’ll be in Pittsburgh for a few days, make our way across the state to visit her Alma Mater, some friends, and the rest of my family. It will be a great time and I’m really looking forward to several days off. I’ll try to come up with something more exciting for blog material when we’re having fun in the homeland.