Back at The Fly Barn for more. One thing that's for sure is that fall has arrived in the Lowcountry, at least this week. I woke up this morning to, believe it or not, a chilly 61 degrees.
I know it has a lot to do with the Northeast winds coming from the storm that's hitting New Jersey as I write. The last I heard it was going to hit Ocean County, with of course, heavy rain along the Delaware River in Titusville. People are either thinking this will be another Sandy or just a storm with some beach erosion. Like I'm said earlier this week, I think it's going to be bad for a lot of people.
Yesterday was go-time to cut the side fence down. I was a little nervous because once it was cut down it is what is it is, there's no adding height to it. It would change the look, and the view that the neighbors would have everyday.
It all went as planned and the fence's new height sits around 48 inches which is in compliance with the Town's requirements. It also changed the view the neighbors have, now looking more residential, in my mind, rather than a storage yard, or a place where a serial killer, or a hoarder, hides things.
In the end I just straight cut the height and may revisit possibly cutting the tops for that scalloped look. But that'll be for another time. Inside the yard looks like a yard and is ready for Luke to run free, a space to practice casting with a fly rod, or a place to have a killer party. At some point I'll have to construct a fire pit, get some Adirondack chairs, and hang some yard lights.
The only things I have left are to cut down the large and small gates that give access to the yard. There's a small fence section, above, that needs to be cut down and I think I'll tackle that when I re-side the house with Hardie Board and batten. That big old air conditioner, which no doubt has Legionnaire's disease in it, will get removed and in its place maybe a mini-split or a wall unit for some consistent climate control inside.
Above is the new view we have of our neighborhood. I think we have definitely improved the corner and added value to this place. In the end it'll be a good investment, I just wish the "house" was a tad bigger. It's a cross between a tiny house and a studio, one where a single person could live, or definitely where a buddy or guest could stay for a while.
I am going to try and stay focused and complete one thing before moving onto the next, but my brain doesn't usually allow that. Above is one of two 12 foot sections of rotted boards that will get the board and batten. On the flip side of one is an old farmhouse sink that I'm getting rid of which will clean the place up a bit. I wish I just had a dumpster and a delivery of all the Hardie products I need to just bang it out and get it done in one shot. But I'm doing pretty good taking things to the dump in the Suburban and buying a piece or two of material at a time from Lowe's or Grayco. But soon I'll need to buy those 4 x 8 or 4 x 12 sheets of Hardie Board, one's I don't want to load into the Suburban. If I only had that pick-up truck... I know, enough already. But this continuing saga is interesting to somebody out there as yesterday 14,978 people checked in to read the blog.
And then on the way home I had to pull in and see about the pick-up. Not the big monster with the bad radiator, but the one with high miles and recently replaced transmission. In the end I guess it'll come down to the lesser of two evils.
I know I'm driving Theresa, and Julio the salesman, nuts, and yesterday I did more of the same. I purchased a code reader off Amazon and plugged it in. I ran the truck, checked the fluids, and inspected every inch inside and out. As Julio and I were sitting in the cab Theresa called and opened with, "Don't even think about it...."
But earlier in the day when she was picking up her dress for the upcoming weddings she sent me a text, "... Clearview Automotive from the seamstresses husband". Now that to me is a mixed message. But I took it as if you are going to continue this insanity at least have a mechanic look it over. So I called and made an appointment and at 11 am on Tuesday it'll be up on the lift. If the owner of the lot was trying to pull a fast one he would have said no, but he was like go ahead take it.
So buying a used car from a car lot, it's gut wrenching. Just look at what happened with the Duramax the other day when the radiator let loose. It's kind of like adopting a dog from the pound. "Oh, he's great with kids and other dogs......", until he bites little Johnny or tears up the neighbors poodle. Sometimes th pond will take them back, used car lots, yeah not so much. So I did what I could just short of tearing the engine and transmission apart, I went detective mode, and getting the VIN number was my starting point.
I broke down each number in the VIN to make sure I knew what make and model I was really looking at. She was born in Mexico in 2010, had the better engine, and was four wheel drive. It has the Z71 package which is better for off-roading, you know I like that,
and is better for towing. That gave me a starting point to work from. Then I hemmed and hawed about spending the $49.95 and running a CarFax report. In the end I just had to and learned
some things from there as well. It was originally sold in Jacksonville, Florida in 2010, and then over the years had stops in Georgia and South Carolina, where she is now. There's been two previous owners. There's been no accidents and there's no salvage title. I also ran it through the GM VIN database and that just confirmed the specs on the original build at the plant in Silao, Mexico. That 26 million square foot plant builds most of GM's trucks and is located pretty much dead center in Mexico.
So what to do if the mechanic gives it a decent bill of health on Tuesday? It's 16 years old. Has 205,000 miles on the engine and body. The rebuilt transmission has 140,000 miles with a 3,000/3 month warranty. My early thought is take the Suburban off Marketplace and keep it as my daily driver since I own it and it's low mileage and good, and keep the truck for work, fishing, and towing. Doing that will reduce the daily driver use on a high mileage pick up and give me the opportunity to live in two worlds like I like to, one in the bubble of Sun City and the other in The Fly Barn. I've noticed during my life I always needed to have an alternative life going on, there must be something mental about that. It's kinda like Clark Kent or Superman, or David Berkowitz to the Son of Sam.... Relax, I'm no serial killer.