Are we there yet?

Hi 4X4! Good to see you

Ahh so that is why the TPMS light came on a couple of times last 2 days....and did not say which tire was low!!! like it usually does when the weather turns cold (no nitrogen)

When we went on a trip back to Arkansas this year - My wife did not want to go through major cities (Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis - etc...). So I had to co-pilot since the GPS would not go around all of them no matter the setting. So I used the map and GPS in conjunction. While it may have saved some stress it added almost 4 hours to the trip

Davy reminded me of the song by Billy Joel - Piano Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwVjTlTdIDQ

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin

He says, "Son can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet
And I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."

Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling alright

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be

He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As a smile ran away from his face
"Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place."

Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talking with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life

Davy from the Navy - But I did not stay in for life!

And for some reason I like the lyrics - When I wore a younger man's clothes and As a smile ran away from his face....maybe the way they are phrased.

So, in other words, we Americans are getting a fair price for tires and we don't have to cross the border. Did I get that right? I don't have a problem paying my $1200 for a set of tires, alignment included.

That's the going price for the tires I have been buying from my same vendor in different States, for years. Prices really haven't gone up for me. I get 3-4 years out of them.

Good Morning All!

I am trying to be a good girl today, but it's really hard.

I am trying to put my resume together and put it out on the grid and have decided I don't want my name ALL OVER the grid. It's exhausting, depressing and a bunch of BS.

I am not going to go Facebook and Hashtag.

Half of the crap I sign into will just end up sending me spam crap.

I don't get the world today...

Does anyone here want to assist me with the new way (to me) to apply for jobs?

On another note. I wish the sun would come up so I can go release the captives. I let chickens out to free roam yesterday when I got off work. They all behaved and went to bed in the appropriate place. The coop! Counted 19 chickens before they were locked down.

What's everyone else's agenda for the day?

I've have never wore anything that panics a cat.

However, I had a facial mask on and stepped out of the bathroom and freaked Lily out. She barked at me and jumped in Misters lap for protection.

It was a hoot!

Stop lying Davy from the Navy.

You all enjoyed that extra four hours.

I bet Mrs Davy wanted to stop at every scenic look out and hit the antique shops.

Oh no!

I am so sorry.

It's all Beau's fault.

I am counting the days until Spring.

Denny - check out LinkedIn - Its a business and professional site = I'm on it . They help you find a new job if that's what you want and also whats out there to further your career .

For my little sis -- No charge

Holy mackerel, Beau! That's a huge price difference just across the border! I was wondering if he was buying some special high performance tire that cost an insane price...now it all makes sense

Nothing like ice cold dew on the grass...I swear, if Mocha could lift all 4 paws at once to avoid getting them wet, she would. She may have broken her all-time record this morning for getting her business done.
In other news, my smoker is still in its place...I guess it's safe to disarm the booby traps now

We have that problem with our big brave protector, Jasper (the Pyrenees). He freaks out in the spring and again in the fall, when he sees us wearing a different coat, or a hat, or ANYTHING out of the norm. He'll bark and puff himself up and tell us to get the hell off his property, until he hears us say something or he can smell us. Then he adopts that sheepish embarrassed look, you know the one: "Oh. It's you. Sorry..." He's such a precious boy. One day I'll have to tell you all his story. He's not like any other regular farm dog - he was a wild juvenile wolf (in his brain) when we got him, and it took me years to convince him I meant him no harm. He does keep the traveling salesmen off the place, though.

I'm not sure what's wrong with me this morning, but I'm tired and achy all over and just not my normal, chatty self. Plus, I keep missing the keys on the keyboard and having to go back and hit-hit-hit them again. It's very frustrating. Part of it is this hokey laptop keyboard, but some of it is I'm just feeling discombobulated today. The weather has improved, so I'm not stressed about that, but it could be a post-stress crash. I do have those a lot. You should have seen me after Zipper passed away. That one took a couple week to recover from.

Anyway, I'm gonna go have another pot of coffee, I think. I love you guys!

Sorry you had bad experience with RA, but I use only PayPal payments and have never had any problems.
First I go to OEM sites to verify part numbers and get reference (dealer) list prices by entering vehicle VIN into databases.

For Ford I go to Ford OEM Parts Site or Varsity Ford:
https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/shop-parts

https://www.varsityfordparts.com/

For Honda I use HondaPartsNow:
https://www.hondapartsnow.com/

I subscribe to Mitchell Online shop manuals for all my vehicles in use, because they have excellent diagrams, troubleshooting procedures- but no OEM part #'s. You can print diagrams and procedures for use in garage.

After getting OEM part number and reference price, then I head to Rock Auto to enter part number or look at database for vehicle in categories setup.
Then comparison to aftermarket and OEM, also sold on Rock Auto can be made. Also, some aftermarket parts are not shown on catalog for vehicle due to price agreements (Dorman primary cat conv. for instance- only found with OEM part # search)

Rock Auto has mainly engine and mechanical components but few trim & body pieces, which I still get from OEM sites or off eBay if price difference is big.
Many trim pieces on eBay are pulls from salvaged/junked vehicles and work fine vs. OEM new, in most cases, for refurbing older vechicles. OEM p/n's are essential for buying correct item on eBay.

RockAuto shipping is a bit high for Fedex ground for small order so best to order batch of parts to distribute costs. I've also had expedited items sent by DHL, on occasion.


Price comparison example for 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid 1.3L 4L

OEM Catalytic Converter/Exhaust Manifold (bare)
$1400 Honda Parts Now
OEM Secondary Cat NOx Converter $1292
OEM Air/Fuel rato Sensor #1 - $328
OEM Oxygen Sensors #2 & 3 - $674

Dorman Primary Cat Converter Kit (w/ hardware and Exh manifold gasket)- $310 Rock Auto (same Dorman item O'Reilly Auto - $453)
Walker Secondary Cat NOx Converter - $156
NTK Air/Fuel rato Sensor #1 - $131
NTK Oxygen Sensors #2 & 3 - $90


I will purchase OEM if price difference is not substantial and for certain crital parts. Some sensors I will only get OEM, like the MAP sensor on my 2006 Escape, as this is a crucial part for determining engine running performance via the PCM (computer). Same goes for fuel injectors, spark plug coils, spark plugs- always get OEM Motorcraft or Honda.

Example for 2006 Escape 2.3L L4 EGR Valve:
Ford OEM List $116, FordParts OEM $76 RockAuto OEM $63 A/M $40

In this case- purchased Motocraft OEM Ford Parts because had free Fedex shipping over $75 orders. Unfortunately, Ford Parts stopped accepting PayPal earlier this year.

Also A/C condensors, I buy OEM because they have same stone resistant construction & flow type/volume to keep charge amounts same as original. Many aftermarket condensers are flimsy and don't take stone impacts well.

If you do join LinkedIn, do your friends/coworkers a favor. Don't also submit their email addresses, or they will be bombarded with LinkedIn invitations daily for next two years and will stop being your friends.....

Hello.!!!!!!!!.....go bucs????........someone come untie me......and who idea was it to throw me in the back of this truck😎took me all morning to type this SOS ......

Having fun......waiting for lunch....wavy chips all gone so he has to buy me something soon!!!!

While almost half the day is gone - plan is to be lazy...We did clean out some stuff out of the garage and take to good will and drop off. Then grocery shopping was next. Finished lunch now the Mrs is taking a nap. Mila and I are in the computer room trying to be quiet

Yesterday while Mila and I were outside - I heard honking going on in the sky....Mila heard it as well and started looking up and prancing. I told her hold a sec they will come over. Within a few seconds they flew over the house / yard in their nice V formation and honking away. Mila was protecting the house and chased them away

And just before all that we scared away a ton of crows from the trees....wasn't sure what they were doing there...typically they don't do that.

Di --------- I can't stop laughing ! Thanks

Waiting...just waiting...




Till the opportune time...

Now we have had 2 companies look at our crawl space...."arm and leg" required to fix.

To correct the "issues" - a few doors will not close during summer months when the humidity goes up. One door is already able to close completely again. Shimming hinges or shaving doors wouldn't help.

The fixes would be using a jack system of sorts on the various floor joists.

With early years of standing water and the humidity- we do have some slight mold growth.
Total encapsulation with dehumidifier and sump pump is in the $15,000 range....2 arms and a leg...

Researching as always raises number of questions - how much or little can one do and be ok?

Main question is if humidity is the issue can I reduce that and not worry with the jack systems....I will be able to tell better when late fall/winter come along.

And of course I can reduce cost by doing some of the work myself!

The Birds - Hitchcock

Headed out to start cutting beans !

See Ya all later

The humidity sensors I ordered came in today.... It is a 3 remote wireless sensor and main unit system. So 4 places to monitor temp and humidity. The humidity accuracy is +/-5%

Thus I will track over the next few weeks and see how they change the doors in the house. Will take the readings 4:30 - 5:00pm when I get home from work.


Example -
Main - in the kitchen = 75.2 ^F and 46% Hum
Master Bath(#1) = 73.9^F and 49% Hum
Crawl Space (#2) = 74.8^F and 59% Hum
Crawl Space (3) = 74.8^F and 58% Hum
Outside air = 81^F and 51% Hum

We have the inside AC on at 74^F....was working a bit and got hot will turn back up to 75^F at some point....the temp sensor is closest to the Master Bath just outside the Master Bedroom

So all in the ballpark
The humidity being higher in the crawl space makes sense....One foundation person had it at 60% as well.

EDIT - FYI ---according to which site but these seem to be the best humidity ranges:
30-50% with 45% being the best
Mold can begin to grow 60% or higher.....

Mila got me up around 2:30am!!!! After a number of go to beds...and noses on me I got up and took her out. Didn't really need to I do not think but now I am awake!!! So making coffee and reading DT. But no new CT posts hmmm. Maybe I will read back a bit and see what I missed in past years