That’s what I am thinking about maybe for the first or second weekend of August with summer vacation most likely being pushed off until the last two weekends of August a week from Friday heading into Labor Day Weekend. That plan is not set in but I kind of like that idea.
I think the bike derailuer is adjusted well enough to get me to work today. 🚴 I hate riding the bus 🚍. The first thing will be to call the shop about the wheel bearing and have them check the rest of the suspension for any loose components. I don’t think there is anything else but it would be good for piece of mind and whatever if it gets fixed, it will hopefully mean trouble-free driving until spring time when I replace the truck. Little nervous about both the truck and bike, but if I leave early enough I can always catch the bus or shuttle at least part of the way. Regardless I’ll get to work and an appointment for my truck.
So I thinking now about the first or second week of August heading up to White House in the Adirondacks 🫐 probably just a quick weekend trip to camp and harvest blueberries and maybe hike along a bit of the North Country Placid Trail back to one of the lakes. Maybe do some fishing 🎣 and just hanging out. I also still want to get out to Schoharie and get the farm stands before too late in August. And then finally summer vacation there after.
I was surprised at Hannaford is open until 11 PM, and I had left Norman’s Kill Preserve early to get there lest they close before I grocery shop. Stocked up but made sure not too get too much to overweight the bike box. Really needed the just the basics and I figure later into he week I can ride down and get more stuff. The thing I cared about the most, apple cider vinger and some fresh blueberries. Made blueberry pancakes this morning along with some of the remaining carrots and whole-wheat flour. Good enough breakfast in my mind.
More clouds and humidity today. I got my truck at least partially cleaned out and many of the lights and accessory wiring issues fixed, I think I figured a fix for the pump jack I broke, I replaced and greased the front derailuer cable on the bike hoping to get shifting working better unsuccessfully.
And spent a lot of time reading and thinking. 📚 That said my unsuccessful repairs to the bicycle 🚲 didn’t work out so great. Slept a bit during the day both today and yesterday, 💤 I’ve been a bit achy and not feeling well with all the stress lately. I knew that rear wheel bearing on my truck was going to fail but I was in denial but I was able to make it home 🏡 safely. I should have taken the truck in month ago but I had nothing solid to point to besides the thoughts 💭 in my head which are often irrational.
This evening I’m down at Norman’s Kill Preserve. Finally some blackberries out. 🍓 Doing some more reading in Mark Kulunski’s Milk, the chapter now about innovation of refrigeration and ice cream. I got thumbing through the ads for condos, then towns houses, apartments on Zillow, not because I’m necessarily interested in moving but I wanted to know what’s out there. Rentals are so expensive these days, relatively speaking I get a good deal on my run-down apartment. But so much these days is about luxury 💰 and faux-stainless steel appliances and not rust-bucket kitchens with cracked floors and warn out carpets and drafty doors and windows like my apartment. People say I should look at town houses and condos if I want to own a place, but I don’t want to spend money on a fancy place I despise where I can’t have livestock or burn things. 🔥 🐐
The whole bike thing is so frustrating, 💢 I almost passed out in the heat cussing myself 🤬 trying to figure out how to properly route the cable and fix it. Spend way too much time, watching woke internet videos and studying forums but I give up. Almost passed out from the heat before drinking some water 💦 and literally passing out in my bed. My eyes 👀 have been so bad lately, I was wearing glasses all day which lead to further frustration. What is it, less then ten weeks until my eyes get the big snip and no more aggreviation with irrated eyes.
I am not going out to the Finger Lakes on Friday. 🏊 I don’t know what my plans for next weekend are – depends if I have my truck back – but I really do not have the energy or desire to go out to the Finger Lakes on vacation next week. I’m thinking about waiting until the end of August for the trip – leave a week before the final Friday of August through Labor Day or maybe cancel it all together. Truth is I’m not really interested in vacation at this point. 🏕️ I want to find out how much the wheel bearing will be – I figure that ain’t that much – plus whatever else is in immediate risk of failure. Truth is kind of like last year at this point, I just want to get through the year alive. If I can make it through this year, I can see better things ahead. I’ll call 📞 the mechanic first thing tomorrow and see how long it will be before I can get an appointment.
I’ve been thinking more about the truck I want to get next spring. 🛻 While I’ll hand over the grand or hopefully half that for the wheel bearing and any other pressing suspension issues this week, I want to replace Big Red while I can still drive it under its own power to the junk yard. 🛠️ I think it’s a good chance I can get it through the winter, do a few more trips and call it good. I am really leaning towards a much smaller but modern Toyota Tacoma next spring time, early enough that I can get a truck cap for it, build a shelf, get the solar, batteries wired up and ready for that trip out to Michigan and Northern Wisconsin next summer. ☀️ Have good vision, 👀 no more awful contacts to deal with and see some new country totally unfamiliar to me, and of course some stinky run down farms with smoldering plastic in the burn barrel out back, lol. 🛢️
The financial blogs are full of warnings ⚠️about owning a new vehicle, about the evils of depreciation and how cars have to be thrown away every ten to 15 years and how they are the path to financial ruin, and it’s a much better investment to buy an enormous suburban house made of plywood, drywall, vinyl and asphalt shingles that costs a small fortune to heat, light and of course cool. Something you have to drive to and put an enormous amount of money into maintaining. 🏡 Be stuck home all the time feeding hogs and goats 🐐 and shoveling manure in the heat and water in the ice and snow. 🌨️
Trump says that Mamdani is a communist. If that is so, maybe he will open a series of free ice cream parlors with across New York City with 26 flavors and 25 combinations of very high quality ice cream like Fidel Castro did. It would make the children very happy and support the Upstate NY dairy industry.
and I had left Norman’s Kill Preserve early to get there lest they close before I grocery shop. Stocked up but made sure not too get too much to overweight the bike box. Really needed the just the basics and I figure later into he week I can ride down and get more stuff. The thing I cared about the most, apple cider vinger and some fresh blueberries. Made blueberry pancakes this morning along with some of the remaining carrots 
and whole-wheat flour. 
Good enough breakfast in my mind.
