Thursday, June 29, 2006

The Lucy Saga - Part 3 - Seats

My job was the seatbelts...they were really faded and stained. So we bought a couple bottles of Rit dye and cooked them on the stove for a half hour. These are the back seatbelts before dying.

Here they are after being dyed. They are almost dry. As you can see, some dyed a bit darker than others...but they are much much better than before. There was nothing wrong with the seatbelts, so we decided not to purchase replacement ones. The biggest deciding factor was we couldn't find replacement ones with the same buckle/latch style...and, well, I'm a bit of a purist and wanted what belonged in there!

Here's the bottom of the seat, you can see the seat rails and the adjuster lever. The seat rails were broken on this seat and needed replaced... Before you can recover a seat, you have to remove all the chrome trim and hardware from the seat.

Here's the seat taken apart...this upside down one is the seat back...the other one, with the slits in the seat, is the seat bottom. This is the driver's seat...the only one with upholstery tears. The chrome trim and the seat rails have been removed from the bottom and it is ready to remove the old cover.
Seats...here is one of the seats...this is the back of the seat, with the old cover removed. There is a wire down in that groove of the foam, you have to remove this wire (it is hog ringed to a part of the frame, I think) and thread it through the little pocket on the new seat cover. Why in the world the new seat covers do not come with their own wire installed is beyond me! This was by far the hardest part of the seat covering. This new seat cover is ready to be hog ringed into the groove.

Driver's seat is all done...you can sorta see the chrome trim on the side of it.

Here it is again with the back folded down, like it would be for the person to get out of the back seat. You can see the seat stop thingie in this picture. These seats were famous for that breaking off and the seat back falling into the back seat. Apparently this seat never had that problem because these are fine.

Here's the driver's seat, installed in the car.

Because of our time schedule for want the car on the road, we didn't recover the back seat. It is the easiest to get out and we will finish that sometime this summer. And the upholstery wasn't that bad in this car, only the driver's seat...so, here's the old back seat put back into the car... Notice the newly dyed seatbelts? The one laying in the center of the seat...was ready to be attached for the front seat.

In Honor of Becky's Garden

Cardinal Flower

I can't remember what...but it's a type of Geranium

My favorite lily...Stella

Fuzzy bumble bee in the comfrey flowers.

Comfrey plant fallen down after a rain storm.

Sour Cherries starting to get ripe.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

The Lucy Saga - Part 2 - The Floor

The New Floor
Passenger's side...welded in place and primed

Now remember...my husband said he never wanted to replace another floor in a vehicle...well, Lucy had a couple of holes that he wanted to "patch" for a year or two before we completely redid the floor. Nice thought...however, one thing lead to another and he ended up replacing most of the floor! I didn't get the bright idea to take pictures until he had installed the floor pans. And, from these pictures, apparently he primed them as he put them in. They were nice and shiny metal when he brought them back from CJPony! Now, it was pretty un-nerving to watch him take the cutting torches and just cut out the rusted out floor! Even more un-nerving to watch him take the tin snips and just hack away pieces that the cutting torch left behind! I drove him nuts asking questions...so I came back in the house...probably for the best! LOL It was pretty cool to see the car with NO FLOOR at all...kinda Fred Flintstone-ish!

Driver's Side...with seat risers in place
The driver's seat riser was shot so was the seat rails...both of these replacement parts came from the boxes of stuff in that truckload of free parts Bill brought home from Pittsburgh. In this picture you can see the seat riser (right under the steering wheel), the back seat floor, the place the back seat should be (has the white whatever that stuff is laying where the seat bottom would be), the back seat panel is missing (that would be just to the left of the door), and the trunk area is the opening you see in the top left side of this picture. The cat loved it before the floor pans were put in place. She would go under the car, up through the floor, and go back and sleep in the trunk on the new trunk matting! Bill and her had quite a few comings-to over that!

New Carpet...laid out on the messy basement
This is a horrible picture...don't know what was on the camera lenses, didn't notice it until the pics were uploaded and by then the carpet was in the car. When we ordered it, we had no idea that it was formed to the contour of the car's floor. That was a big relief! The cutting, trimming and fitting was still a bit tedious...but much easier than either of us had anticipated.

The carpet laid in the car
The carpet is just laid in the front. It was quite a bit wider than we anticipated. We ended up cutting three or four inches off each side to get it the right width to fit under the door sills.

The back seat carpet
Hmmm, where does the carpet go? Behind the panel or in front of the panel? You know, I don't even know which Bill decided. I'll have to ask him! This is the back seat area. The rust colored primer is where the bottom of the back seat goes. This pannel is the side of the back seat area. You can see the back corner of the front door in this pic...this is the passenger side of the car.

New carpet...front and back fitted in
Ahh...looks nice, doesn't it? I took this picture last night...The car is almost done! Well, almost done for the 4th of July (my *need it drivable by* date). We still have a lot of little things to do...but we can do those while driving *enjoying* it! Oh, almost forgot a couple things...this is a new shifter boot that is actually attached to the floor. The old one, well, let's just say it gave me the heevy-geebies to look down under it and see the asphalt whizzing by under the car! And the CD player? It was in the car...the guy we bought it from ran it for one summer...and he needed TUNES! The stock radio is still in the car...so are the dash speakers. Along with the CD player are two normal car speakers on the back dash...they are staying! :) Hey, I like tunes too! Although, sometime in the future, we are planning on hiding the cd payer in the glove box. And, by the looks of this picture...I need to get myself a key chain!

Fourth of July Socks


...almost done...up past the heel and looking good! I have about 7 or 8 rows left to go. I'm not doing a cuff on these...just letting it roll down a bit...going for a "bootie" or "footie" look to wear with clogs.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

The Lucy Saga - Part 1 - Happy Anniversary

~Lucy~
1966 Ford Mustang

Meet Lucy...my 20th anniversary present! This is my dream car...always wanted one, for as long as I can remember. This is how she looked the day we brought her home...in fact, I took this pic minutes after Bill unloaded her from the lowboy. We missed a great deal on a local Mustang by a few days...so the serious search began on ebay. Yes, Ebay! We found three different cars within fairly easy driving distance...and this one in Gettysburg fit the bill perfectly. Well, almost perfectly! The auction ended and the bids did not reach the reserve. We talked to the guy on the phone a couple times and decided to make the trip to look it over...and we took the lowboy with us. My sister lives in Harrisburg and her hubby grew up in that area and has relatives in Gettysburg...so we had great directions.

The asking price for this car (the ebay reserve) was $4, 000. All he could/would tell us on the phone was it ran, he drove it the previous summer, needed a tune up, and it had some floor rust. After a four hour road-trip, a lousy breakfast, and an alternate route (accidents on the interstates in Harrisburg) we arrived at the place. Bill only had one stipulation on getting a Mustang...he was not EVER replacing a floor in another vehicle...not ever! After much debating, pounding/tapping on and under the car with fist and hammer, shaking the daylights out of it, and close inspection....he decided it was too much money for the cars condition...and it needed or would soon need a new floor! Hmmph, me was not a happy camper. We thanked the guy for his time and went to get a drink. I think it was 110 degrees in the shade that day. After cooling down a bit (sitting in the truck with the AC on high, drinking bottled water and ice tea); Bill got out, walked around the car again, shaking his head the whole time...walked over to the guy and asked, "what is the lowest you will go on this car?" The guy hemmed and hawed a bit and said, "Look, it was on ebay, the highest bid I got was $2,200. That, plus tax, title and transfer and I'll help you load it."

Sooo, that's how we found Lucy... First thing we did was take the cheapie (and quite shot) mag wheels off the car and replace them with stock Ford 5 bolt rims and brand new whitewall tires and Mustang hubcaps. The original rims and 3 hubcaps came with the car...so that part was easy! Well...actually the first thing I did was learn how to drive it! I've driven a stick shift my entire life...but this car...it had a mind of it's own. By the end of the week she and I came to an agreement...she was a cantankerous redhead...hence the name of Lucy! But the clutch is much easier now that it's been driven a bit... Let's see what else did we do last summer...a glove box insert (there was none) and a new steering wheel.

Through the remaining summer, I ordered an interior kit (carpet, headliner, seat upholstery and door panels), and a set of armrests. We went to a couple car shows...at one of them a guy approached us saying that his wife's brother had a barn full of Mustang parts that he was throwing away, did we want them? So, a few days later Bill took off...on another four hour drive for this truck load of parts. Lucy's front windshield was starting to fog in the corners and this guy had glass for the whole car...which is why Bill went after the stuff. Glass for the entire car, a door, some sheet metal and boxes and boxes of miscellaneous stuff. Stuff I can't even identify. Good thing I'm married to a mechanic's son. Bill prefers body work and restoration over mechanical stuff. I can't believe how many parts we've used out of these boxes and crates of free parts!

In January Bill started on the floor. He took a day trip to CJ Pony in Harrisburg and got the floor pans and a bunch of other things he thought he would need (hog rings for the seats, door clips for the door panels, window gaskets and felts, and some new chrome pieces). We've since ordered three more times from them...this job keeps snowballing! :)

OK...I'm done for now...more pictures and less words next time. :)

Bungee Run

OK, here it is...just remember Becky asked for them! This is Billy doing the Bungee Run...it was the band booster's fundraiser. I really needed a video camera to get the best shots of this. You are strapped into a harness at the back of the thing...the harness is connected to a big bungee cord. You run as fast and hard as you can and stick a velcro pad to the center wall...whoever gets the furthest wins. OK, sounds simple enough...but what they don't tell you is you got to get the pad slapped down before you completely stop and the cord yanks you back. I mean it yanks you back...you go flying backwards...
sometimes doing sumer
sults and what not! The kids loved it. When only one child wanted to do it, one of the band kids would *race* with them; this is what Billy is doing. One of the football players holds the record...29 1/2 feet! We were talking with the folks who rent this "ride" and the record for this was 27 1/2 feet...so he set a new ride record! It was pretty easy to get out to 17-20 feet; most of the kids were getting in this range. I think the farthest Billy got was 24 or 25 feet.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Gender of non-living Things

You may not know this but many non-living things have a gender.

1) Ziploc Bags are Male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

2) Copiers are Female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again.

3) A Tire is Male, because it goes bald and it's often over inflated.

4) A Hot Air Balloon is Male, because, to get it to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under it, and of course, there's the hot air part.
5) Sponges are Female, because they're soft, squeezable and retain water.

6) A Web Page is Female, because it's always getting hit on.

7) A Subway is Male, because it uses the same old lines to pick people up.

8) An Hourglass is Female, because over time, the weight shifts to the bottom.

9) A Hammer is Male, because it hasn't changed much over the last 5,000 years, but it's handy to have around.

10) A Remote Control is Female. Ha! You thought it'd be Male, didn't you? But consider this - it gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know the right buttons to push, he keeps trying!

Friday, June 23, 2006

4th of July Scoks


These are knitting up pretty fast considering I'm using size zero needles! Actually I've been kinda obsessed with knitting on these...everytime I sit down I knit a bit. These are only going to the ankle bone, then then a tiny rolled cuff...kinda like those footie socks from the late 70's. Come on, you remember...the ones with those little balls on the back!!!

Wanna have some fun? Go grocery shopping in the middle of a huge thunderstorm! Beaver Drive flooded (I think the correct term in "water ponding on roadways") and...the best part...the electric went out in Martin's grocer store! Yup, there we were standing at the deli counter and all of a sudden we were in the dark! Yes, I'm serious...total darkness for about 15 seconds...then their emergency lighting came on. I was impressed...no one screamed! Two cash registers were working, so everyone kept on shopping. Boy was it ever quiet! The employees were joking around, so were most of the customers. It was a hoot!
I was doing my grocery shopping and Cathy was tagging along...Martins was my last stop and then we were going to get gas and eat. Well, now, where do you eat when the electric is out???? AND...important lesson for the day...gas pumps need electric to work! We decided to go to Eat and Park to see if we could get the salad bar. Well, we get out on Beaver Drive...get up to the Pontiac dealer and notice lots of lights and signs all lit up! Yup, that half of the Boulevard had electric...so did the entire mall side of DuBois...just the west side of town was out! Soooo, we ate at the Italian Oven! AND, I got gas at the Sheetz on the B-line! Yup, an interesting payday!

Tomorrow night I'm helping the Band Boosters with their fundraiser...I'll be running the Bungee Run at the Independence Festival in town. I'll lay out my camera and see if I can get some pictures...of the kids being idiots! :)

Billy's car...the saga continues

We're having a heckof a time getting Billy's windshield fixed. Apparently Saturns are a PIA when it comes to having glass replaced. No place wants to do it except for the super expensive few; we're talking upwards of $500! If you own a Saturn and don't have glass coverage...get it now! ;) The junk yard in front of where he hit the deer...they are going to be putting the new glass in. Go figure! So, they are doing it...and Bill has already read them the riot-act...and they know they are working with a body mechanic, not just "some guy" who doesn't know about these things. With any luck...the car will be fixed by this afternoon.

Oh, and Bill found a mirror for the kid...all he has to do is go to a different junk yard and take it off...and pay them ten bucks! It's one of these big junk yards that things are just hauled in, coded into the system and sat there. The person wanting something has to go find it and take it off the car. It's called "you pull it"...dirt cheap stuff but you gotta do the grunt work of getting the piece you want off the vehicle. Soooo, next week's lesson is going to be "junk yard scavenging 101" and "how to take off a door mirror without using a deer" LOL

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Billy's Adventure -- not really, but still!

This is Billy's car...1994 Saturn...just a few days ago. Below is a pictrure I took this morning of Billy's car...after hitting a deer! He did this yesterday, on his way home from Scout camp. As you can see...the only damage to the car is the missing driver's mirro and the windshield. The deer ran across the road, and...I'm guessing...jumped right into the side of Billy's car.


If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can actually see deer hair around the molding near the missing miror. The windshield is pushed in so far the inside layer of glass broke and is scattered all over the interior of the car. The kid did good...kept a cool head, kept the car on the road, got slowed down and pulled off the roadway safely. No one was hurt, except for the deer. The new windshield is ordered and the car has an appointment with the glass guy on Thursday afternoon. The kid has had his driver's license since May 31st...has gotten stopped for a burned out license plate light on MY car...and now this deer. He's learning fast!

AND...in case you are wondering about my knitting... :)


Here's those 4th of July socks I'm working on...I really don't see these being finished before the 2nd like I want...but, they are still fun! This yarn is Fortissima 1776 and has a folk-artsy look to it; hence the pinkish white part of the yarn. These are done back to the beginning of my arch...so maybe I will get them done in two weeks...you think???

And then there's the silly cat...I was dyeing seat belts today (don't ask, that's another post!) and she stole my pile of towels. I was picking them up and using them one by one...when I tried to grab the last one she growled at me! Yup, she had made a nest out of it...she's still sleeping in it!

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Soap Making

As some of you know, I make soap...and I've been making soap ... Saturday I made several batches. I've been making a spa-like bar for my sister, and did this in two different scents. What's in my spa bar, you ask? Well, sea salt and moore mud...you know, the *hot* items in spas! :)

Here's the spa bars for my sister. The three lighter colored ones, with the prettier color distribution are scented with an essential oil blend, the other two are a suntan like scent. The whiteish part is the salt soap and the gray part contains the moore mud. Salt soap is very hard and needs cut while it is still warm or it crumbles.


I also made my sister a coconut scent for her birthday present. Cold Process soap takes 4-6 weeks to cure after making it...so I've got just enough time before her August birthday. These are done with a scent called Island Coconut from one of my favorite suppliers; Brambleberry. This swirl is much nicer and cleaner. I colored part of the soap with bronze mica and swirlled it into the white. This smells wonderful! I wish they made scratch-and-sniff blogger! :)

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Another Walk Around the Yard

AC lounging around on the porch...

Mountain Laurel --- the state plant

Sweet Williams --- one of my favorite perennials; I know, Becky...it's really a biannual, right?

Babby apples on the Ida Red apple tree.

OK...I know this is a daisy...and English Daisy is what sticks in my mind...but I'm not sure. I just think it's really pretty!

Plain old green hostas...in dire need of being divided

The varigated hosta plant, this is one of the divisions of my grandma's hosta.

Peony bush...this one came from my mom's house.

AC --- stalking the camera person. She was much cuter before she popped out from behind the Alberta Spruce!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Socks That Rock are DONE!


Yippee! They're done! The very first pair of "for me" socks! And I do believe this pair was the quickest. And, this is my first heel that isn't an afterthought heel! Just don't get me started about the bind-off! I am NOT a crocheter, not at all...my grandma tried to teach me and let's just say it didn't go well! LOL I did a crocheted bind-off that is in the Crazy Toes & Heels book. Sounded easy enough! Yeah, right! It took me over 2 hours to bind these off the needles. TWO HOURS! I felt like it was the first day using a new pair of hands...non-crafty hands! But...just as the book promised, the bind off is stretchy and goes over my fat ankle! :)


They feel so comfy...and I even shaved for the pic! ;)

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

More Socks


Well, the cuffs are getting longer...but the yarn balls are NOT getting smaller! LOL I was going to knit up almost all of this yarn in this pair of socks...but the cuffs are just about where I want them; longer than I orginally wanted them, but they fit very well.


I couldn't stand it...I laid down the STR yarn and picked up the Fortissima 1776 and cast on another pair of socks! I hope to have these done before July 1st. On the 1st, my sister and her hubby will be home and we're having fireworks and a huge weiner roast at our parents...the 2nd is my mom's family reunion and I really want to wear them there. That is also the desginated date for Bill to have the Mustang finished...at least finished enough to drive!

AC in all her Glory!


Sitting pretty on the porch railing. She started out laying down, then a robin flew to the wisteria vine that is up in the porch roof peak. She stood up, looked around, leaned out, looked abover her head and dang near fell off the railing! Too bad I didn't have the video camera on her!


Here is how she looked all curled up before that nasty robin came by. I was out on the porch lighting the gas grill. She paid me absoultely no attention...so I went back in and got the camera! Usually she runs in the other direction when I come lugging the camera!


Ms. Nosey! This was when the robin flew out in the yard, after she dang near fell off the railing. AC stands for Adventure Cat...and that she is! She was the only kitten in the liter that could escape regardless where momma cat put her babies. She sure kept her momma busy dragging her back *home*. She's had a couple close calls over the yars; and after 6 years, is still nosey!

Monday, June 12, 2006

Almost Done!


Man, Blogger is annoying the daylights out of me this past week! Anyone else having problems? Saturday it took me 20 minutes to load those flower pictures. This is my third attempt at loading this one!

Anyway...these are my Socks That Rock yarn socks. I'm doing the never-ending cuff. I guess by the time I get to the cuff, I just want them done. It seems to take forever to finish the last couple inches of the cuff. I can't wait to get these on my feet...they feel so good when I try them on. I bet they'll feel much better once those dangly and pricky needless are out of them! :)

Now that I'm looking at the picture...they seem so small! I guess I gotta remember how small my foot really is! The cuff is about half finished...maybe tonight at knitting I'll finish it up!

Sunday, June 11, 2006

My Kid in Parades

This is from the Memorial Day parade in Ridgway. As usual, my son is being different, he's marching with the High School Marching Band while wearing his Boy Scout uniform. He was to do a reading for the for the Scouts and his band director granted him permission to wear the BSA uniform instead of his band uniform so he wouldn't have to change back and forth. This parade is small, reflecting the true small-town atmosphere. These are their regular Marching Band uniforms...they are nice and warm for football season! The kids just about melt in them for summer performances. Hence, the *summer* uniforms in the picture below.


This picture was taken today, at the Fireman's Parade. Usually this parade is held late in August on the Saturday of the Fireman's Carnival. Due to some scheduling problems, the carnival was held this week...so was the parade! Billy is playing his quads (he's the second in from the left). This is where the parade turns to go down another street...it is virtually impossible to get a good pic without a telephoto lens. This was the best picture, showing most of the band. These are their new summer uniforms, a polo embroidered with the school's marching band logo...and black shorts. We were joking around about the uniforms while watching them march today... Today's high temp was 62 degrees...for Memorial Day it was in the low 90's! Yup, got the uniforms a little mixed up! But...that just goes to show you how weird our weather truly is!

Next weekend is a parade in a neighboring town...I think I'll take my 35mm and get the pics on a disk from Walmart...we'll get some close ups of the kids and the band director! :)