Thanksgiving

This years Thanksgiving was a little different as things are still in flux. Last year we went down to the farm dark and early to put the bird in the oven. This year however we decided to use an electric roaster we had here at the house and so we got up early Thursday and put the 22 pounder in the roaster and went back to bed. We got up around 9am and gave the bird another hour before checking the temp. At 10 am we pulled the lid off the roaster and found the bird had almost fallen apart. The temps told us that the main course was ready. We packed the roaster pan in towels and put it in a plastic tote. We arrived to the farm around 11am and then started on the side. Mashed potatoes, green beans with beacon and cranberry sauce accompanied the turkey along with home made rolls and butternut squash pie. The food was amazing and we all ate our fill. We all sat around the table and enjoyed each others company and before long it was time to head home before it got dark. We observed several deer making their way in to the field for a late evening meal. Overall we had a pleasant Thanksgiving and looking forward to next weekend and gun deer season part 2. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving also.

Just a few projects and repairs.

Over the last few weeks I have tried to keep myself busy with things to do before the snow starts to fly. It started with putting new brakes on the Jeep. While doing so I noticed what I thought was some surface rust but after some inspection I found out that the frame was in very bad shape. After acquiring some metal I had a friend weld the patches over the bad spots in the frame. This was better but I thought the strapping needed a bit more reinforcement. I purchased a flux wire welder from Harbor Freight and after watching few YouTube videos taught myself to weld. I started working on the Jeep and while doing so I cut off the cat and the muffler to better access the frame. After the welding was done I painted the frame and re installed the cat and muffler. Finding the battery was getting weak so I had to pick up one of those. I then moved to Needles truck. Due to overheating I replaced heat sensor and thermostat to find out it was a freeze plug. When we got the truck back from the shop, I decided to do something about the paint. It was in pretty bad shape in a few spots so I ordered the factory paint and prepped the hood and top of the cab. After prepping I painted and finished the hood and several other problem areas. I decided to bed line the top of the cab, front and back bumper, step bars and tops of the bed rails. I think it turned out pretty good. It is a lot better than what it was. After the paint job I slapped four new shocks on it. I then moved back to the Jeep since the bed liner turned out well on the truck, I decided to paint the fender flares and the bumpers on the Jeep. I also drained and refilled the rear end oil and flushed the radiator. Once that was finished I moved back to the Dakota and replaced all four speakers and tomorrow I am replacing the radio. Just in time for deer season. We have spent a lot of money on our vehicles in the hope that they will last us for several more years.