The good news thread

After 40+ years of silence, I updated the shell of an old Victrola that my Dad had "liberated" from an abandoned asylum in 1968. It now has a Bluetooth phonograph, as well as a Bluetooth AM/FM and CD player. The radio/CD player sounds fantastic when using the unit's speakers (instead of external Bluetooth speakers), as all the surrounding wood provides a nice, rich tone. Also, as the pics show, I formed a nice modern looking "tunnel" in front of the unit out of .060" stainless steel that I put a brushed finish on. I cut, finished, and formed it myself, and am fairly pleased with the results. Pics show that I haven't cleaned the stainless yet of smudges, but I'm still tinkering with it all. In the meantime, I listen to it nightly, and am really enjoying this piece of family history.
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I haven't posted much about Owen lately because I have been traveling for work since Jan 8. 13K in the air and 2K of windshield time. I managed my second week of working from home so Owen and I are sitting in the living room watching Tom & Jerry while grandma is at the dentist. At least the kid has better taste in cartoons than his his brother.

In order to improve on Owens' mental growth and maturity, I moved his butt out of the baby prison seat and into a toddler seat that just happens to reside in the back seat of the LJ. He pitched a bitch about it when I picked him up this morning but after about 2 miles he was fine with it. He decided it was time to ask grandpa 20 questions about his Jeep.
Why do you move that stick on the floor?
Why is your Jeep so noisy?
Why doesn't your Jeep have four doors like Daddys' had?
Will you take the top off?
These are what I remember.

My answer to 1, 2, and 3 were, "Because it's a real Jeep.
My answer to number four was, "When Daddy ever gives me back my winch because grandma and grandpa are old and weak."

By the time we got to Cheesy Manor, he was in love with the seat.
 
A little bit more of Owen.

We had the boys for an overnighter Easter Sunday. They actually did stuff beside screens. Eli ran my ZT mower without hanging it up on the garden fence and Owen rode with me on the smokey tractor while I aerated the lawn. So, get the guys ready for bed and Owen wants a story read to him. Grandma gets a book to read to Owen, but Owen tells grandma that I have to read it to him. That's a first. Read him the book, he curls up and goes to sleep.

I'm always the first one up in the morning, anywhere between 5 and 6AM. I roll downstairs Monday morning, aka the first day of vacation, and make myself a cup of coffee. I turn around and there's Owen standing behind me, rubbing his eye with one hand and holding the book I read the night before in the other. I ask him what's up and he just hands me the book. We wander over to the couch and he snuggles next to me. I read two pages and he's out. He stayed like that for almost an hour and a half. Enough so my arm fell asleep.

Grandma comes downstairs about 7:30, just about when Owen wakes up. She asks him what he's doing down here. He told her that he wanted grandpa to read to him again because he does it better. ;)

There's going to be a lot less about Owen and Eli for a while. Today will be the last school day they spend with us for the foreseeable future. Owen starts back a pre-school full time on Monday, which he really needs. Eli finally got his act together and will be doing his remote learning from home.
 
A little bit more of Owen.

We had the boys for an overnighter Easter Sunday. They actually did stuff beside screens. Eli ran my ZT mower without hanging it up on the garden fence and Owen rode with me on the smokey tractor while I aerated the lawn. So, get the guys ready for bed and Owen wants a story read to him. Grandma gets a book to read to Owen, but Owen tells grandma that I have to read it to him. That's a first. Read him the book, he curls up and goes to sleep.

I'm always the first one up in the morning, anywhere between 5 and 6AM. I roll downstairs Monday morning, aka the first day of vacation, and make myself a cup of coffee. I turn around and there's Owen standing behind me, rubbing his eye with one hand and holding the book I read the night before in the other. I ask him what's up and he just hands me the book. We wander over to the couch and he snuggles next to me. I read two pages and he's out. He stayed like that for almost an hour and a half. Enough so my arm fell asleep.

Grandma comes downstairs about 7:30, just about when Owen wakes up. She asks him what he's doing down here. He told her that he wanted grandpa to read to him again because he does it better. ;)

There's going to be a lot less about Owen and Eli for a while. Today will be the last school day they spend with us for the foreseeable future. Owen starts back a pre-school full time on Monday, which he really needs. Eli finally got his act together and will be doing his remote learning from home.
Love it. A child can make you feel like your the greatest person that has ever lived. Of course, they can also make you feel absolutely worthless, if the mood strikes them, but we don't need to visit that place just now... ;)
 
I got two pieces of news. One is bad, one is good. I start from bad.
I have sitting work and because of I often drank coffee. I used to drink espresso, 5-6 cups a day. But then the doctor told me, that I have erosion in my stomach and if I continue the same nutrition, it will develop into an ulcer.
And a good piece of news.
So I bought a handheld milk frother for work and now I only drink 1 cup of coffee a day. Not more! Health is more important! But I learned to be cheerful in a different way. For example, pranayama. This is a breathing technique. Google it. A useful thing!

Yes, the news is not global, but I live modestly, so the news is the same...
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booked a long overdue vacation to the Caribbean, got scissored out of two trips last year due to the pandemic so this'll be extra sweet if it all goes to plan. I'd say when it all goes to plan but so many things disappear before our eyes anymore that it does make planning things hit or miss. Not complaining, I wouldn't trade the above issues for how some others have fared during this mess, just saying... we've hit a point in history where so many things that used to be sure things are now moving targets with more variables that we can even comprehend.

Recent example, following my daughter's wedding this past November they delayed their honeymoon until May 1st of this year due to work related commitments at the time. Two weeks ago in advance of the verdict in the police officer's trial her & her husband's Guard unit was activated which was scheduled to last at least two weeks so they had no choice but to cancel their honeymoon. Don't you know that a few days later the activation orders were cancelled due to the outcome of the trial and things remaining relatively calm. By then it was too late to re-book their chosen destination. She was bummed out of course, but this is how things have often been rolling lately
 
Got another bicycle today. No pic because it's really nothing special, a 85-87 Schwinn Sprint, but kind of special how I ended up with it.

A good friend and former coworker is having a garage sale. She offers me the bike for free before she has the sale. I figure, what the hell, I can give it a tune up, new tires, and flip it for a few bucks. I throw the bike rack on the Ural and ride the hour to her place to pick it. We haven't seen each other for a year, so there's the usual catching up.

She asks me if I knew about her uncle passing away and I did. There has been no love lost between her and her dad for the past 40 years, so her uncle filled that position for her until he died. She told me that the bike was her uncles and that if anybody would take care it, it would be me. Kinda hit me in the feels.

Yeah, don't think I'm flipping this one.
 
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It's been awhile so here's little bit on Owen and the rest of the grandkids.
Oldest granddaughter goes to a small school in Maine. The school is so small that she is on the boys track team. Last week, she had the best split time in the 1600M relay and pasted the entire school and competition in the 200M.
Her little sister is Owen with longer lighter hair and has taken to collecting bugs. She can also do splits that hurt to watch.
Eli has been in Masters' Tae Kwan Do training. He and Mom were in a competition last week and both scored 49 out of 50 points.

Here's Owen. Owen has a band aid on his head. There are stitches under that band aid. Owen and his buddy Milo were running amok on the playground. Milo ran one way. Owen ran the other and, POW, into a post.
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He told me that he "Broke his head".
 
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I got a pretty fair job offer for part-time employment to start a semi-retired second career back in the US. My teenage daughters were excited when I told them I was leaning to taking the job and moving home (Oregon). However, my wife (likes the overseas paycheck more than having me home) was quick to remind my girls I would have lots of free time to keep an eye on them, and their enthusiasm waned quickly.
 
My wife dared me to post about the latest Owen incident. After almost 47 years years she should know better. Also, I raised daughters, not sons, and there was no hand book. It's good for a laugh.

We'd been out earlier to get new MC helmets for the boys and myself. They out grew theirs, mine was five years old. When we got back to the car and left, I really had to take a leak. Along I-88 in the Chitown west 'burbs during a raging downpour ain't the place to pull over for a call of nature pit stop. We get back to the house as I am seeing things in a yellow tint. I run into the downstairs potty and, Ahhhh. But only for about ten seconds.

Owen barges in and says, "Grandpa, can I pee with you?" Before I can say "No" and "shut the damn door", Owen has his wang out and starts to challenge me. Then Owen says, "Grandpa, my penis is tiny but your penis is big. Will my penis get big like yours someday?" At this point, I'm past being embarrassed. I'm now coughing and trying not to laugh. I hear grandma giggling in the kitchen. Owen runs out of the bathroom, into the kitchen, and tells grandma that he has a tiny penis but grandpa has a big one. Grandma is now in hysterics. When she can finally breathe and speak, she tells me that Owen is why she locks the bathroom door.
 
My wife dared me to post about the latest Owen incident. After almost 47 years years she should know better. Also, I raised daughters, not sons, and there was no hand book. It's good for a laugh.

We'd been out earlier to get new MC helmets for the boys and myself. They out grew theirs, mine was five years old. When we got back to the car and left, I really had to take a leak. Along I-88 in the Chitown west 'burbs during a raging downpour ain't the place to pull over for a call of nature pit stop. We get back to the house as I am seeing things in a yellow tint. I run into the downstairs potty and, Ahhhh. But only for about ten seconds.

Owen barges in and says, "Grandpa, can I pee with you?" Before I can say "No" and "shut the damn door", Owen has his wang out and starts to challenge me. Then Owen says, "Grandpa, my penis is tiny but your penis is big. Will my penis get big like yours someday?" At this point, I'm past being embarrassed. I'm now coughing and trying not to laugh. I hear grandma giggling in the kitchen. Owen runs out of the bathroom, into the kitchen, and tells grandma that he has a tiny penis but grandpa has a big one. Grandma is now in hysterics. When she can finally breathe and speak, she tells me that Owen is why she locks the bathroom door.
That's classic, brother! :ROFLMAO:
 
Had another annoying rattle. This one stumped me for a good 4 months or so. Seemed to be coming from the drivers side windshield pillar/door area. Would rattle from first to third gear and subside as RPMs climbed. I'm thinking i'll have to take the damn door apart to find it. Seemed like it was the drivers side door glass. I keep pressing on things, pushing, banging, trying to duplicate it or make it stop. No it was the damn window knob since it sat straight up with the window full up. My knee touched it and the sound immediately ceased as I was shifting and heading to the store. Sonofa.