Today's greatest accomplishment

[Basil]

So I worked all day on the Jag and got quite a bit done. Got the windshield wiper mechanism cleaned, re-greased and installed, along with the wiper motor. I got a good start on getting the accelerator linkage that runs across the firewall cleaned up and installed, etc etc. But my greatest achievement for the day was fixing the stupid door knob on our utility room door! The outer part of the knob had come loose and detached from the rest of the door knob. In order to get the outer half of the knob screwed back on, I had to get the rest of the knob assembly off the door! It took me three attempts and lots of language under my breath that would embarrass a sailor, but I finally broke the code and got the darned thing off so I could re-attache the outer half of the knob! Sometimes what should be a simple task can end up taking half your day!

 

[drooartz]

Finishing up those simple projects can really be a good thing! Funny how much a fixed door knob can brighten your day.

 

[DrEntropy]

but I finally broke the code and got the darned thing off so I could re-attache the outer half of the knob! Sometimes what should be a simple task can end up taking half your day!

I hate home maintenance. Good for you, Sir. Noble effort rewarded.

 

[drooartz]

I hate home maintenance.

One of my least favorite things to do -- yard work being the ultimate low. We're trying to sell our current house right now, just so we can get something smaller with a much smaller yard.

An hour doing house/yard work is an hour of my life I'll never get back.

 

[DNK]

All that door knob business was a way to keep you away from the cars in the garage.
Now get back to work .

 

[Brosky]

Golf this morning and got the pool ready to close up this afternoon. Moved all of the pool furniture/inflatables/chemicals into the basement and hauled the fridge and microwave back in there as well.

Now all the pool company has to do is get the heater and filter bled out and winterize it. Oh and they get to put the cover on too!!

 

[JamesWilson]

An hour doing house/yard work is an hour of my life I'll never get back.

though not nearly so bad as taking the wife shopping.... :frown:

 

[judow]

Or begging the husband to get a haircut!

 

[Banjo]

Lesse.. my day off was like this. We had a campout in the back yard the night before, so we dragged all the stuff back in the house, then I went a bought a new-old mower to harvest, I mean, cut the yard. that done, off to the parts store to get exhaust pipe and clamps to fix a rotten pipe on my friends 91 Corolla, refit the back bumper and cleaned all the bondo dust off of, and out of the same car so it's ready to go back (did a 1/4 panal over the weekend). cleaned out and folded up the pop-up camper so it's ready to go this weekend, then grilled out some chicken and corn on the cob to end out the day.
Today was taking advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program and gleaning (leagally)a trailer hitch and some other goodies after work for my soon-to-be Chevy truck. (pictures soon)

 

[tony barnhill]

Well, I spent the day at the endocrinologist & came away with a prescription for giving myself a shot twice a day, every day!

 

[DrEntropy]

I got a clean bill o' health from my retinologist.

 

[Andrew Mace]

My greatest accomplishment today actually isn't so great and isn't yet done. Son called in a panic this morning on his was to his first day in college. Stuck on the side of a toll road with white steam bellowing up from under the hood of his '92 Toyota Paseo, and the "battery/ignition" and brake warning lights on. Hmmm....

He got the car towed to a local shopping center parking lot, and the tow truck operator noted the small crack in the plastic header tank of the radiator. OK, a plausible scenario, although the crack has been there for going on four years and never caused more than an ever-so-slight weep on very rare occasions. Anyway, while me ex- (his mother) got him to school, I got some stuff to temporarily plug the dreaded crack and topped off the radiator (less than a quart, so not too bad).

But it wouldn't start; battery dead. Hmm....cables ok, etc., etc. Snooped around a bit more and then discovered, deep down where it's really hard to see, that there was no no longer a drive belt for the alternator or water pump. (or so I thought....)

Got a belt from my local NAPA and went back to install same. Naturally, it's the belt BEHIND the one for the power steering pump, so that had to come off. Then went to loosen the nut on the adjustable bracket atop the alternator, whereupon it starts to swing merrily about. aHA! Apparently the real cause of the lost belt was the missing lower mounting bolt for the alternator. Not cool, but something that can be dealt with...except that the NAPA belt is far too short.

By this time, I needed to head to the college to get my son. But I stopped first at a long-time Toyota dealer to hopefully obtain the correct belt, but the nice man informed me he could get a belt by Thursday. Geesh! You'd think a Toyota dealer would STOCK at least belts for older Toyotas (I mean, it's not like it was a '59 Toyopet).

One other local independent parts store had the same belt I'd already determined was too short. Grrr....

Picked up my son and went back to his car, where we determined that it was likely that the power steering pump belt would be the correct length...and my NAPA store will have it tomorrow noontime. And thanks to my dead '90 Corolla, I've got a bolt that should hold the bottom of the alternator...as soon as I make the THIRD 40-mile round trip in two days to where the car is.

Forty years of driving Triumphs, and only twice did I have a problem requiring a tow: one was a seized differential, the other a front-end crash (my fault) that folded the radiator well over the fan. (Both on the same car, both times the car was repaired and lived on, and both happened in 1970! I've somehow managed to limp my Triumphs home or repair them quickly where they died ever since, but I've had Fords, Volvos, Hondas and Toyotas all towed in the years since!)