Working in the Shop ...

April 18, 2017

The icepack cover that Ella finished knitting ... was for my knee ... I had knee surgery April 11th ... Ella was my lttle nurse maid ... and she took care of me ...

 

Ella went into the shop and approached Grandpa ...

She figured I needed a cane to use outside ...

Grandpa helped her gather the supplies needed ...

he also guided her on the construction of the cane ...

A padded handle and a cane cap was put on ...

then the finishing touches of painting it white ...

I was delighted to have this cane made especially for me ...

It worked really well for outside ...

I could keep my inside cane clean ...

Thank you Miss Ella ... I luv it ... !!!

 

Craig took a selfie showing his fat lip ...

after he wipedout on the BMX track last week ...

He is doing much better now ...

He was happy working on an old ary tank model in the shop ...

James was busy outside getting the little quad running ...

Ella gave Grandpa a hand with sanding ...

the new stand that Grandpa made for the FM radio ...

Once she was finished with the sanding ... 

she came in the house to check on me ...

and help with making icing for the chocolate cake ...

Of course having a taste from the spatula before adding sprinkles on the cake ...

The gang went out to inspect the new track that James had built ...

taking his R/C out to test drive it ...

It'll need a little adjustment on some of the curves ...

Some elbow grease and time will make it better ...

Grandpa gave Ella a hand to make sure her dirt bike was ok ...

(I think Grandpa might be a little too big ... yikes ...!!!)

She was ready to go ... and so was James ...

They were headed down to the neighbours for a visit ... 

and see how long Grandpa was going to be working on the trench ...

It was nice to see Tag and Travis again ...

The kids enjoyed visiting and the treats that Bonnie had given them ...

After a short visit ... we made our way home ... for a nice relaxing evening ...

 

 

 

Truck Box Addition ...

January 14, 2017

Mike finally had some time to go to the shop ...

and work on installing his new BedXtender for the truck ...

He took out all the parts out of the box and set them out on the bench ...

Then reading the instructions on the procedure for installing the rack ...

He needed to take the tail lights off to install the brackets ...

It took a bit of work measuring ... taking the template to mark the drill holes ...

for the bracket ...

Once the brackets were installed and the tail lights put back together ...

Mike then started to assemble the rack bars ...

then attached it to the brackets ...

Mike completed the installation ...

and was delighted to have it done ...

Now items will no longer slide to the front of the box ...

or fall out of the truck with the tailgate down ...

 

 

Secret Activities ...

December 10, 2016

Well ... remember that extra GT racer ... ???  

I know how it magically appeared ...

and grandpa and Craig took some pictures to prove it ... 

Apparently when Mike and Craig went to pick up Nathan last weekend ... 

they just happened to stop and pick one up ... so that each of the kids could ride ... behind the quad ...

No wonder the kids wanted to go to the shop after dinner ... 

They were busy beavers putting it all together ... to have it ready for sledding ...

Craig just loves bombing around in the snow ...

on the little quad ... whenever he can ... 

 

Nathan had brought the new parts for his R/C car ... and spent some time fixing it up ...

Craig also did some tweaking on his ... 

Craig sure has learned a lot watching and helping daddy ...

It amazes me how he can take them apart and put them back together ...

He just one of the guys ... 

 

 

Switching Car Body ...

November 23, 2016

Mike had been talking to some of the guys in town ...

They all think the value would be more ... and he should still restore the original body on the VW ... I totally agree ...

Sooooo ... Mike moved the gold body out with the quad ...

taking it back up to the storage site ...

I came up with the tractor ... Mike attached the straps around the body ...

then I proceeded to lift it up off the trailer ...

and Mike helped with walking it over to set it on the ground ...

We then went to where the original body was ...

Again Mike attached the straps to lift it off this trailer ...

It was then lifted and walked over to the little trailer ...

I then started to lower it onto to the trailer ... very carefully ... stopping when Mike asked me to ...

so that he could make sure it would be set down where it needed to be ...

 

Once the blue VW body was on the trailer ...

we picked up the gold VW and moved it over to be set on the trailer ...

Mike then hooked up the quad to the little trailer ...

and brought it down to the shop ...

Upon visual inspection ... this one is going to require ...

a lot more work ... !!!

 

Removing Parts ...

November 21, 2016

These pictures were taken before Mike moved the VW ...

Showing the gas and brake pedals are on ... along with the gear shifter ...

The motor all installed ... now it just needs the body ...

Mike started to remove some of the parts ...

taking a closer look at what needs to be done ...

It's going to take some time to get the work finished ...

 

 

Headers on the 32 Ford ...

October 1, 2016

Ian finished up the headers ...

it took him a bit of work ...

to convert them from a big block Chevy ...

to the small block Ford ...

Love seeing the pictures ...

of the progress on this restoration ...

From Garden To Shop ...

September 16, 2016

The day after we returned from our fishing trip ...

Mike spent part of his morning...

picking plums and apples ...

while I headed into town for appointments and groceries ...

It was my turn in the garden ... to pick tomatoes ... cucumbers ... lettuce and zucchini ...

before leaving for Alberta ... to spend the weekend with the grandchildren ...

September 17, 2016

Mike decided to flip the axles to add a lift to the travel trailer ...

as it was too low to the ground ...

It would often scrape the bumps ...

He jacked up the trailer and put the supports underneath ... then removed the tires ....

Mike then removed the axels ...

using our trusty tractor ... he was able to move them onto the sawhorses ...

and welded the support brackets ...

on the top of the axles ...

The axles were then installed ...

under the springs ...

then the u bolts and plates installed ...

The electric brakes were reconnected ... the tires were then put back on ...

The job completed and now the trailer has better clearance ...

We're ready to roll ... !!!

Always Something Going On ...

September 4, 2016

Ella helped in the kitchen for our breakfast this morning ...

She put out an arrangement of fruit ...

while I was making waffles ...

After breakfast ... Ella went for a long quad ride with Grandpa ...

the boys were riding the little quads and then Craig decided ...

to get the little trailer of Opa's ...

but there was an issue with the tire ...that needed to be dealt with first ...

 

Nathan had a look at the tire ...

he discovered that the bearings were seized up ...

so ... Craig helped out to get it fixed ...

 

After Ella and Grandpas long quad ride ...

she made her way down to the field ... to say hello to Whiskey and Juno ...

Ella had also husked a bag of corn on the cob ...

and fed the corn husks to the horses ... 

 

 

Ella and James came to help me gather some vegetables ...

for our special dinner ...

James was surprised how big the squash plants were ... and was excited to find the large squash ...

hanging on the trellis ...

 

They also picked some yellow zucchini and lots of carrots ...

Mason came down to the garden later ...

he had been busy riding the little quad ...

 

Once again I had my kitchen helper ...

cleaning up the carrots and munching on a few ...

  

 

Our Little Mermaid ...

September 3, 2016

It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day ... perfect for our little Mermaid to go for a swim ...

Ella couldn't wait to try out her Mermaid Tail ... in the pool ...

James and Grandpa went into the pool as well ...

and then the race was on ...

between the two ...

who could swim across the pool the fastest ...

I can tell you that the Mermaid Tail really did make a difference ...

on getting to the other side quickly ...

It wasn't long before all the boys were out in the shop ...

working on the VW restoration ...

Mason was thrilled to be in the shop working with the guys ...

They also spent time playing outside and riding the little quads ...

After working in the shop ... and playing ...

James and daddy needed a soak in the hot tub ...

before dinner ...

Nathan stretched out on the floor ...

one by one ... the kids started falling in line ...

It was quite comical ... James figured that daddy was a little softer to stretch out on ...

I can tell you ... this peacefulness didn't last long ...

it was still too early in the evening to crash ...

just too much to do outside ...

VW Motor Assembly ...

August 10, 2016

Mike was busy in the shop ...

the motor reassembly now in progress ...

pedals and carburetor cleaned and painted ...

and new brake lines installed ...

Continuing the assembly of the engine ...

Parts from Brazil do not fit perfectly ...

so adjustments took a bit of time ...

The new flywheel was installed ...

as well as the clutch and pressure plate on the motor ...

The motor was installed back on the pan (chassis) ...

plus the brakes were adjusted ...

and ready for wheels ...

Won't be long now before the tires will be put on ...

and it will be ready to roll out ...

in order for Mike to work on the car body ...

 

Moving The VW ...

April 14 & 15, 2016

Mike & I worked on getting the VW body mobile ...

using the tractor to lift it onto the little trailer ...

so that we could move it in and out of the shop ...

Mike backed the VW into the shop ...

he is going to start tearing it apart to work on the body ...

and get it ready to be painted ...

Nathan and the grandchildren arrived the evening on the 14th ...

they wanted to go in the hot tub ...

then sit around the campfire and roast a few marshmallows ...

before going to bed ...

The next day we met up with Peter and Carolyn ...

they wanted to take the kids out for lunch ...

before Ella had a dentist appointment ...

to have a baby tooth extracted ...

as her permanent tooth was coming in behind it ...

She was a great helper with helping the dentist do his job...

The Tooth Fairy had to come to our house this night ...