Rerun, All day grey, Go out with a bang, Unnecessarily wet, Get it done with spare parts
Friday evening I hit the track for a run. Cindy was able to join me for the run for the first time since our long Thanksgiving session. My body definitely has felt better in the last month or so. Although it is never fun running, it didn’t feel like the near death experience as it has most of 2019. Cindy did very well keeping pace with me despite doing even less running than I have this year.
Despite menacing grey skies I wanted to get the property mowed and weed whacked on Saturday. It had not been touched in at least a month and was looking pretty ragged. Before being able to do this I had to fix the mower. The blades needed to be replaced and the one idler pulley had a bad bearing. I had to remove the deck to do the work. It gave me a good idea of the poor condition the deck is in just like every other mower I have had with shitty stamped mow decks. They wear out way too quick and develop holes. I have one big hole on the deck patched already but the way it is rusting, I no doubt will have more popping up soon.
I am going to have to decide pretty soon if I want to spend $500-$600 to replace the deck or finally get the mower I have been considering for awhile, a Husqervana with a fabricated (welded) deck. These type of decks use much thicker metal and will likely last the lifetime of the tractor. Every tractor I have bought since living at the house has had a stamped deck and every single one of them fell apart.
After successfully completing the work I embarked on 3-4 hour session that included doing all the mowing as well as the weed whacking. Some of it was completed in a light rain which was certainly not going to stop me.
On Saturday the solar company was also sending a guy to complete the hook up of the solar array to the grid. Eric was a very polite guy that had to drive down from Bradenton to do the work. He said they just had their office Xmas party the night before so he drew the short straw, he said there was a lot of drinking going on. The overcast skies made the process take longer according to him, I’m not sure why. It took over an hour but he got me connected. By the end of the day I saw my new bi-directional meter indicate that a total of 3kwh had been sent back to the grid (not much) but I guess with no direct sun that can happen.
Saturday night Cindy and I went out to see the final installment of the Star Wars series, wrapping up the story lime that started unbelievably over 40 YEARS ago. The prior movie in the series was disappointing so I had my fingers crossed they would pull the nose up for the finale. They did exactly that, the movie did a good job of rebounding and putting an exciting and mostly well done bow on the epic series. Cindy and I both enjoyed it. I walked out feeling like I received an early Christmas present. It would have been depressing if the last movie sucked. I’d give it an A.
Sunday was a miserable day with rain basically all day long. Cindy was busy baking so I got the bright idea to do a water resistance test ride on my Kingsong 18XL. I originally had the idea to do a 30+ mile ride to North Collier Park and back. It took less than a mile of riding in the conditions to change that goal. I then thought about riding to Dunkin Donuts to grab coffee. That goal got trashed as well because an exposed face would be a very wet face. In the end I wound up doing a 10-12 mile ride, that was plenty for me to become absolutely drenched. The EUC held up better than I did.
The Eagles/Cowboys game wasn’t until 4:30. I didn’t have much anticipation as I sort of figured the Cowboys were going to roll. Dallas was coming off a big win against the Rams the week before where they looked like world beaters. The Eagles just barely squeezed by two of the worst teams in the NFC the last two weeks and were racked with injuries.
Very early on the Eagles seemed solid, more solid than expected. Statistically they were far ahead but the score did not reflect it. As the second half began it seemed the Cowboys were getting momentum and were setting up the Birds for yet another disappointing defeat after leading the game, something the Eagles have done numerous times this year. Instead the defense made stops when it had to and for the third game in a row Carson Wentz did what was needed at the end to get a W on the board. He has recently done what I called him out for not being able to do, perform in pressure situations. I will be thrilled to have to admit I was wrong if the trend continues. The reality is the injuries that have stacked up make any prolonged success very unlikely. However if they can complete the clean sweep for December and beat the Giants, they will secure the NFC East title and get into the playoffs, a scenario I did not expect to be possible after losing to Miami.
I have one day of work to get through today before getting off for Xmas Eve and Xmas. I hope you and yours has a great Christmas holiday. I am hoping to do the same.