Day174 - How do you like these apples!

Sunday, June 22, 2008: Allen & Yana's: Stuff and things.

Yesterday we took the truck for it's first drive out of the county to visit Jen and Derek. Today we took it for it's first ride over 7 Mountains to Yana & Allen's. It made it back and for succesfully. I mean things may have actually fallen off of it and water may have flooded in it, but you will have this.

Yana made super fucking good food. This pizza being one, the roasted red pepper stuff in the background being two. Yana, I think we need to have an Iron Blonde Chef cook-off.




Here is a picture of the Mr. & Mrs. with Troy going for a ride after dinner. I got to chill out with some dogs and cats. It was an even trade off.




Right after they got back it rained like cats and dogs. They very graciously let us park her in their garage. I think this maybe the last time that happens. Foolishly, they let it slip that they know where to "dump our bodies." Yes my friends, the truck is so bad ass that we have been threatened with death - by OUR friends! If we go missing, please check their garage.


Later, we played Apples to Apples. It was really fun. The only person who is more of a sore loser than me is Allen and that is comforting. Troy and Yana are pretty relaxed about winning or loosing. Oddly, their relaxation is not comforting.

We stayed super duper late. Crazy late. If we didn't have a crap load to do in the AM, and I didn't have a need for my own pillow, we would have stayed til morning, which was only a few hours away. To you both, thanks for a great night - it was much needed. Next time we are playing Pictionary. I feel like some blood may spill.

Day170 - Again with this?

Wednesday, June 18, 2008: The garage: Door handles.

Yep, another day here. I think that I'm a little burnt out on newness and kind of coasting a little here. Well, whatever. I had to install the handles because Troy was freaking out that we lost one or two.

You basically have to jam this little thing into a smaller hole. It's one of those "applied skills" meaning that it takes 10 tries to finally get the knack. I know have the knack for both installing and de-stalling? I mean "uninstalling." What the hell?



He also bought these new knobs that are just a slightly different color than the originals. Oh, and they were a total bitch to install.

Anywho, everything is starting to look better. Everyday we get a little closer to awesome.

Day168 - I'm thrifty.

Monday, June 16, 2008: Thrift shopping: St. Vincents and Goodwill

Since Troy has been working from home, I definitely have been going on more joy rides. My blinding paleness may be a thing of the past if Troy drags me into the sun this summer. I'm more that content to sit and work all day, but that guy has some kind of illness that makes him unable to sit still.

And it's been like that since we moved in together. I would go to work and expect him to be there when I got home. Well he was, but during my shift he would sometimes drive north to the NY state border from Williamsport. Or west. Or east.

He has ants in his pants.

Back to the task at hand - we went to the thrift stores. I must still be in shock from spending a bunch of loot on the truck because I didn't want to buy a thing - except for a sweet ass bowling ball that I absolutely don't need.

And I kept banging my arm off the racks of clothing. Not awesome. My guns are looking a little rough these days.

St. Vincents was skewed a little old-ish. The only thing I liked was the bowling ball. The Goodwill had too much shit in it - I was easily overwhelmed.



Today was the first day that the truck went for a ride without me or Troy. Kyle and Carla went for a ride together. I made him promise to go for atleast 15 minutes and he did. They have the hot rod fever now too.

Day167 - A picnic. Well, why the hell not.

Sunday, June 15, 2008: Mint Chocolate Cake.

Today at a Father's day picnic I had this totally yummy crazy cake that Troy's uncle Butch baked. Check it out and weep my friends:




It is chocolate with a peppermint icing topped with a hard chocolate shell. It is something like a large peppermint patty. So freaking good. I was too full, so Troy had to finish it. I think if I finished it all, bad things would have happened. This proves that Troy's family is littered with talented bakers. I am a lucky girl.

Today was also the first day that I got to take a ride in the finished truck. Yep, it took awhile. This is me checking out Troy pumping gas.



This guy wanted to go for a ride too.




I think Troy's pap was probably the happiest for the ride. I think he loves it more that I do.

Day166 - I think we won anyway.

Saturday, June 14, 2008: Bellefonte Car show

It took me a while to wake up this a.m. I wasn't feeling exactly that hot. Wendi made the most amazing breakfast for us. I can't thank her enough for rocking so hard. She made this potato and cheese casserole that tasted just like a perogie. I could have died it was so good.

After breakfast, members of 329 headed into a 2.5 hour meeting. We got a lot out of the way and their was no off-topic nonsense thankfully. After about 2 hours our guests that were still here and those that were arriving started to get restless, as did the group, and we called the meeting to the end. I mean, look at these guys:




My dad, sister and Nick showed up. We all took a walk down town to check out cars. Unfortunately, because of the rain there really wasn't a lot going on. It was probably 60% of people/cars that are usually there. Also, we were hostage to intermittent rain.


Nick showing his ninja moves to Troy and Kelly.





In the end, we didn't win an award although I don't believe that their was a car their that was more "Antique - custom" than ours.

After we all ate, and ate some more (including the best chocolate peanut butter cupcakes that I've ever had in my entire life) and after all our friends and most family left, we took the Gypsy home. I still have not ridden in the cab since it's been done. I'll get around to it sometime.

Sundown and the Gypsy. I kind of love this picture.




I found this frog on the way to Erin and Ryan's. He peed all over me.




After she was tucked nicely back into her garage, we went to Ryan and Erin's for a first shot at Wii. Here is my character - I think a very close representation.




Not a very flattering picture, but I don't have the concern to photoshop the shit out of my pot belly. It's filled with Macaroni salad right now.




Ryan and Troy going for the gold.




Troy won obviously.





I'm not a fan of Wii boxing, although Erin is pretty much the undisputed champion at boxing. I spent most of my time telling my girl to "STAY DOWN." She didn't listen and part way through I thought I just may have a heart attack and die.

I am a complete fan of bowling and tennis. I love tennis. I am no master at it, but I loved trying to figure it out: how does this arm need to move, what if I do this, etc. My brain can always use that kind of exercise.

So thanks to Erin for getting us addicted to Wii!

Day165 - Wow! Just what a day!

Friday, June, 2008: Open Cruise: Bellefonte Cruise

Tonight, Jerm, Yana and myself rode in the back of the Gypsy truck for the first time while Troy and Steph drove in the cab. It was fantastic. Truly. On of my favorite and best moments of the year. It was hot out side and even hotter in and on the exhaust. But we all loved it. I mean loved it.

Troy, Jerm, Me, Yana. Picture taken by (and taken from) Steph. Thank you for many, many things Steph!




It started out a rocky morning though. We were pretty sure that their was no way to get it inspected, which was said to be a requirement of entering the cruise. (Surprise! It wasn't. There were many other cards not inspected, some of which won awards and others that did not even have windshields.)

I sent out an email telling people what happened and that set off an amazing set of events. In the end, the truck was inspected, friends were at our house, food was cooking and the night began to go way too fast.

I can't even begin to express how exhausting the day the previous 24 hours were. I had every emotion and am only wishing now that I had written it all down just so I have a better record of it. EVERYTHING from depressed to hopeful, hopeless to ecstatic. I wasn't on a rollercoaster - I was the rollercoaster.

I barely - barely - got out of bed in the morning. We were so depressed and exhausted from being at the garage until 2 am. It was about 1 am when we saw our dream slip from our hands - the new tires and rims would not fit on the truck, the vent windows were not installed properly and the exhaust was too short.

But we got it all done and inspected, and by "we" I mean Troy. He left the house at 9 am on Friday and I didn't have conversation with him again, alone, until around 6 pm on Saturday. I have no idea what he was feeling or thinking or holding up. And for us, that is abnormal.

Let me just start off by saying thanks to Wendi and Gayle for helping me get food ready while I was trying to talk to Tre about helping to birth 3 babies (yeah Tre!), greeting people, keeping track of Troy and every other visitor and taking my first shower of the day. Wendi pretty much did everything that I wanted to do and got just about everything set up. I mean it when I say she is the best thing to happen to Jerm. And Yana… well hell… she helped me laugh. I needed some of that when I was near tears and super down, so thanks to her.

At around 6 we got everyone down to the Cruise. I was wearing me awesome new dress. Steph and Troy rode up front. Steph did us the greatest kindness and gave us this amazing rug for the interior. It was nicer that I could imagine getting. Jerm, Yana and I all rode in the back while Wendi, Gayle, Ryan and Erin and Jess watched and cheered.

My dress looked something like this. Thanks to Jerm for the pic.



Jerm, Me and Yana.





We said it was awesome many, many times and how the truck was probably the coolest thing in the world. Maybe the best car/truck ever. And the look on people's faces - ha! Raised eyebrows everywhere.

After we came back to the house. Steph and Yana set up dinner, Allen cooked and everyone else kept everyone else entertained. The food was great, the people were great and the night ended up being great. I'm sad Yana didn't feel so great and it sucks that Bill didn't get there until most of the fighting was over, but I hope they both still had a good time.

This is the first time I made macaroni salad and pasta salad. They were both really very good. I officially love macaroni salad now.





Kyle and I had 3 rounds of bare knuckle boxing. I call it a draw even though I look worse for the wear. I don't think that most people realize how I can rumble - there were quite a few oohs and aahhs - but those that have known me longer were not surprised. Best part - the cops were NOT called. Everyone won!

Wendi giving me advice.



I've been in the chicken wing before… many times actually…




My favorite picture. Thanks Jess!




Second favorite picture. Thanks Jerm!




Love this as well. This will help me out for my future PFA.




Can I get overly earnest right now and say I love my friends. Really really love them. The best compliment that I got the entire weekend was from Gayle. Basically, she just listened to all the conversations all night and was just really entertained. "They are all funny!" she said or something like that. What better compliment can you have?

Some people left, some people came (like Bill), and eventually we all went to bed - some of us loudly (sorry gayle!), some of us at 4 a.m.

But it was such a good great day. I am so happy I got to live it.

Day164 - Safety is no accident

Thursday, June 12, 2008: The garage: Seat belts.

I installed the new seat belts tonight. I also got this really rad cut on my forehead when I reached underneath to hold the bolt. Yes, that is how low the truck is! My head, although larger than most, does not fit under the truck. That may not be the best thing in this hill-ridden town of ours.

No pictures and nothing else to report. I just installed seat belts for safety. You know, click it or ticket!

Day161 - Half of a half of a half

Monday, June 9, 2008: It's half ours.

We went to Log Cabin Motors in Bellefonte today to have the truck finally registered. Imagine my surprise when Troy asked me to be added to the title. Wow! I had to sign some papers and show my i.d. and then walk out of the office with a shiny new plate and a bright pink slip.

I've never owned a truck and certainly never had a co-signer for any vehicle so that feels weird. The fact that Troy chose me to sign with him is even weirder, especially for two people so committed to non-committal, it is a big step.

I'm so happy I could burst. What a day.

Day160 - It rattles like your momma!

Sunday, June 8, 2008: The garage: The first ride!

It has been hot. Hotter than you can imagine the past few days. I think Kyle said that it was 100 on Friday in Lewistown and he had the added joy of watching people lay asphalt. In the garage it was probably 5 degrees warmer than outside. When you are in the cab of the truck it is probably 3 more degrees warmer than the inside of the garage.

And it's humid. And miserable. And these freaking locusts are deafening. They drive you to madness, or very close to that edge, and only stop when the sun finally goes down sometime around 9. It's more than miserable, it's close to hell actually.

Yesterday, we were here all day and worked near non-stop. I drank a half-gallon of water atleast. I just got so hot, I sat down and fell asleep. I looked over at Troy and he was sprawled across the floor, so I fell back asleep. It was just that hot you didn't want to do anything else.

But the deadline is close. Really close. So you do what you have to do and that is not giving up.

Although I wanted too - I told Troy I was many times. He would tell me to go home in this really weird tone and I would end up staying and working harder, pushing myself the extra 10% that comes with working 110%. I think that I may be developing character.

The first thing that we got done today, a miracle in itself, was to get the back window to fit. I think in all over the past 3 days, it has taken around 10 hours to get it to fit. In the process of installing a window, you first must wrap the glass with a rubber gasket, then use a special too to install a locking strip that keeps the gasket in place. Then your supposed to use rope and soapy water with some pulling and tugging to work it in.

That didn't work. And worse than it not working, it chewed the very expensive gasket to hell. This was Friday. Kyle was inside holding the slippery glass with this glass vacuum holder we bought somewhere. It's cool in a I'm-going-to-rob-some-daimonds kind of way.




It is hot in that cab. After a while your arms shake and your palms sweat. As well as your back and neck and legs. Your gross when you come out, not to mention that fact that your dejected that it failed again, probably for the upteenth time.

So we watched "Trucks!" again and looked for any tricks that could help us. We ended up getting a different brand of spray lubricant and that worked awesome. We also reversed the process: I sat on the outside and Troy pulled the rope from the inside. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am - 5 minutes later we were done. This is me right after we finished. It was around 11 am and I was sweating already. It was another hot, hot day.




The rest of the day was spent installing other stuff, like vent windows and trim. The vent windows are not going well already. That is going to be another pain.


The best part of the day is when we got to drive it for the first time. I let Kyle and Troy go for the first ride. Kyle put up a fight, but he deserved it. He's worked on the truck as much, if not more, than I have and has just been awesome the past two years.

It was no surprise that on her first trip, when Troy and Kylecame back to the garage, that Kyle was now driving. Here is me in the front seat on my turn up the alley. Keep in mind that this sucker isn't titled, registered or inspected in anyway.




She is loud, rattles like a fucker and is scary as hell to ride in. It was amazing.

This is her first trip into the open air.




She is low and mean.




We had another set back at one point. The fan is not hooked up correctly so the engine overheated. It was funny to see it spew fluid like a volcano from the trim holes in the hood. Well, as funny as that kind of thing can be.

Day159 - Taking it out on the staples

Saturday, June 7, 2008: The garage: door panels

I've upholstered quite a few chairs with varying degrees of success. Today was a little different: the chair was a door and the fabric was some cheap burlap I bought for two quarters. The foam, of course, was hella expensive. And made me feel really bad about the impact of this truck on the environment.

But, we will leave that guilt for another day. How to build a door panel in a few easy parts.

First use the old door panel for a template to cut out the new door panel. Also, find good thin wood to do so. This actually isn't the wood that we bought. This is the cardboard that I stripped from the walls of the garage. That rent paid off!

I used a saw to cut it out - by myself! After they were both cut out, I took them upstairs and Troy helped me pre-drill holes for fastening to the actual door body.

Now lets start the fun. Bare door.




Hose down with spray adhesive.




Cover with thin foam. This stuff is actually a little thick but we are working with it.




Use meat saw that your very nice aunt got you for christmas but you always forget to use on actual meat. Cut away!




Find some cheap fabric - this cost a half dollar.




Lay it over and pray you get it right the first time so you don't have to pull it off and start all over.




Flip it over and step on it to make a good seal.




Start in the center and work your way out.




Run out of staples and have to go to Triangle supply. Loose your temper a little.


Get back and feel like a dick for crying about not having enough staples. Finish the job.




Do the other and you have two good looking panels.

Day157 - The battle of pine bed

Thursday, June 5, 2008: The garage: Making a bed.

Two monumental things happened tonight. The first was that Kyle and I installed this beautiful wooden bed onto the back of the truck.




Was it hard? Frick yeah it was hard! First we had to have all the pieces routered (thank you Ryan!). Then I had to coat them - both sides - with 3 coats of polyurethane, with sanding between each coat. It is hot as hell out, the locusts are deafening and I killed quite a few gypsy moths while I was at it.

The real pain in the ass came as we were fitting it. Because of the humidity, the wood swelled and no longer fit. Not only did they not fit, but the longer we worked into the night, the less they fit. We were really working against the clock.

After a shitload of pushing, pulling and crawling under the truck (all the bolts had to be tightened one by one underneath) we got it in. Unless you were here, you have no idea who much of a pain it was. It was an "I would rather be at the gynocologist" situation.

But the results are worth it. The bed is freaking gorgeous. Not perfect, but very close to it and may very be the shining jewel of the truck.


The second awesome thing to happen today: Nikko came to stay for a visit. My friend Jess is on a mini-cation with her boyfriend Bill and Nikko needed a place to crash for a couple of days. I'm excited to have a cat without actually having a cat.

And please realize that this cat has a glandular problem.

Day114 - Free labor will never be denied.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008: The garage: Grease monkeys.

I can't believe it is the end of the month -how crazy is that? April is almost gone. Wow.

You know what else is wow? Jess came to the garage tonight lend a hand to the truck reconstruction. Our efforts are kind of slow right now and not very exciting, but she did help set up the face of this sucker so we are eternally grateful.

Here is the sucker before:




This is us trying to get a screw into a hole. Can you get it Jess?




Yep! She got it.




Bam!




If you are eager to crank a wrench on this big beauty, show up after 6:30 almost any day of the week. Free labor will never be denied.

Day112 - You can make anything fit if you hit it hard enough.

Monday, April 21, 2008: The garage: Headlights.

Life and times at the garage are speeding up, which is evident in the lack of pain in my fingers and the ability to taste food and not dust. Today I had the pleasure of rebuilding a headlight. And I wasn't left with any pieces at the end so I know I did it right!


First, let me share this tree. I see this guy when we walk over to the garage and he seems excited to see me every time. He makes my day.




Also, I installed the vent back into the body of the truck. True assembly has begun and I could not be more grateful or happy.





This is pretty much how it started out - old nasty light inside rusted housing.




I had to break off this gromet to get the old wiring out.





New lights go in.




But to do that I have to take more stuff apart.





Then I had to do this to make the headlight fit. It's all very technical.





Bam. You cram everything back together with a hammer.





Then Troy tries to tell you he's renaming the business Weston Inc because he has this bad ass hand sign.





I also painted these. One is the bezel for the headlight, one is the house for the back up lights. Both are now red.







It felt awesome to finally build something with my hands instead of sanding until they near bled. The next couple of weeks should be filled with stories of me building a hot rod. You will have to deal with this.