February 2019

February 1- Susan and I cleaned up the house a bit in preparation for a furry guest named Mel.  Mel is a pug whose parents are moving to South America for work and needs a new home.  A coworker of theirs and our high school classmate Paul Hitzges reached out to Susan to see if we could take on the little feller.  Susan scheduled a time for Mel to meet Bella and Pebbles after work.  Mel is fawn and a bit larger than we’re used to.  She’s also pretty fat but seemed sweet enough.  As expected the dogs largely ignored one another and all was well.  It sounded promising that the little lady would be joining our household though the date for the transition has yet to be determined. 

February 2 weekend – Saturday began with me waking up Susan just before an 8:00 alarm clock.  We fed the girls and had our morning coffee as per usual.  Then we packed up a few last items and hopped in the Suburban to drive out to HPR for an open lapping day.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the truck’s gas tank to be full so we only had to stop to fill up our three five gallon fuel jugs.  I was perplexed when the gas pump at the 316 exit didn’t produce any fuel.  Moments later Susan came out from buying her morning donuts to inform me that the station was completely out of gas.  Whoops!  The tanker truck had just arrived but we decided to try the other station in town.  Hilariously that station was out of gas too so we came back to the original station which was then in the process of getting filled back up.  Happily I was then able to fill our jugs up and we were on our way again. 

We arrived while the drivers meeting was in progress and headed to the main temp building to check in.  I had paid for season passes for both of us and they had laminated cards waiting for us.  We soon found out that there were no run groups for the day due to low turnout.  This was great news as it alleviates some stress as we can come and go from the track as we please.  Once we had Scrappy unloaded we belted in and headed out. 

Unlike previous lapping days we now had a passenger seat replete with a five point harness.  While not comfortable to be in the setup sufficed in meeting the track’s safety requirements.  Susan and I both got in many laps throughout the day and both made great progress.  A fellow rallycrosser and friend Brian Cather arrived with his new 1991 S10 pickup truck.  He purchased it from a local Lemon’s team for use in the upcoming season.  He had some braking issues and only put down a few laps on the track.  I did give him a ride in Scrappy during my last stint which was fun.  I drove the Suburban off the track property at 4:00 and we made good time home.  Dinner was Dick’s BBQ delivered via Door Dash and we enjoyed their meats. 

Sunday we strangely woke up earlyish.  The plan was to be productive but we were pretty tired from the track day before and thus were largely inactive.  After coffee we sat on the couch so I could edit the open lapping day videos while Susan perused digital books on Amazon.  I made us an egg brunch at some point which was yummy.  Once back on the couch it didn’t take long for Susan to nod off with Pebbles and I took the opportunity to play video games for a couple of hours.  Susan eventually joined the awake and we got dressed and backed Scrappy out of the trailer and into its corner spot in the garage.  As per our tradition we went out during the Super Bowl.  First we stopped by Costco for wine and then we ate a fantastic steak dinner at Long Horn Steakhouse.  Holy smokes they make a great fillet.  The food made me think of Mom as we always eat at the Long Horn by her house when we visit.  After absolutely stuffing ourselves we went home to finish the evening vegging on the couch with the pups.  What a great weekend!

The February 9^th weekend started on Friday the 8^th for me as I took the day off to take Scrappy up to SCR for a “racing” alignment.  This was the culmination of a few busy evenings when I swapped out the entirety of Scrappy’s suspension components for lower-mileage parts and installed new coilovers and outer tie rods.  As the cost for the alignment was not cheap and the drive over an hour north I wanted to have Scrappy’s suspension upgraded as much as I could before making the trek.  I arrived at SCR’s shop a bit before 9:00 with Scrappy in tow and had a number of enjoyable conversations with the staff there as the car was worked on (through racing and whatnot I knew a few of the people there).  As was no surprise they managed to upsell me on a few things which both lengthened my visit and increased my bill by a few times.  All was well when I finally loaded Scrappy back in the trailer for the drive home. 

Saturday began late when we rolled out of bed at 10:00 for coffee.  Soon enough we had unloaded Scrappy and it was in its place in the garage.  My goal was to finish Tuna Bean’s timing belt install while Susan cleaned and masked Scrappy for paint.  Susan had to come to my rescue as one of the belts I’d purchased was too small.  She went to two different parts stores to get adequate assistance which was annoying but eventually she returned with a new belt.  Of course, this one was also too small but I managed to perform some mechanic kung fu and get it installed regardless.  Finishing Tuna Bean’s work took so long that I was afraid something would be amiss but it started and ran smooth when Susan turned the key while I stared at the motor looking for any catastrophic failures.  From beginning to end changing Tuna Bean’s timing belt and water pump took almost two months (to be fair much of the delay was due to a stuck crank bolt). 

Then we moved on to Scrappy.  We’d already purchased paint and other supplies so physically applying said paint was the next step in the painting process.  We decided to brush on the edges first and then I rolled on the remaining areas.  It took longer than expected and honestly looked rough but we finished in the nick of time to change clothes and head out for a night of comedy. 

Our evening plans were to attend some standup comedy at the Comedy Works up in DTC.  After finally figuring out where to park we were sat in the far right corner of the first row of general admission seating.  Not exactly ideal but that’s how it works out sometimes.  I actually didn’t mind the location as much as the seats themselves as they were so packed that the stranger who sat next to me brought some extra bulk which intruded onto my chair.  I felt like an unlucky airline passenger.  Oh well.  The show itself was great and we received some additional entertainment from the couple sitting in front of us.  Nothing dramatic but sometimes an awkward couple is entertaining in its own right. 

Sunday we were up much earlier than we probably needed to be.  Pebbles was restless and being her hilarious self, yapping at us out of the corner of her mouth and rolling about crazily.  Once coffeed up Susan harnessed Bella for us to take a quick trip to Lowes for sandpaper blocks which we used to clean up the previous day’s efforts on Scrappy.  This time we sanded with water which greatly reduced the generated dust.  As the weather seemed warm enough I rolled on another layer of paint and we headed inside to while away the rest of the day on the couch.  At least that was the plan until a few hours later when I became restless and dragged Susan back to the garage to help me apply a third coat of paint.  Scrappy was looking better at this point and Susan was a bit further away from bursting into disappointed tears which I counted as a minor victory.  We had ordered Domino’s for lunch and Susan reheated a few slices in the oven for dinner which was delightful.  The weekend was concluded on the couch with the pups which generally makes for a pleasant experience, this time being no exception. 

On Wednesday, February 13, 2019 Flo stalled on Susan’s commute to work.  The unfortunate incident occurred on I25 in the middle of rush hour.  Luckily Susan felt it going and had the presence of mind to immediately pull onto the shoulder and out of traffic.  She called me and managed to get the car started again briefly to move it further off the interstate and down an exit ramp.  I came up to hang with her until a AAA tow truck arrived to transport Flo back to our house.  We’re pretty sure the motor is cooked as it knocks terribly.  Decisions will soon have to be made on its fate. 

The February 16 weekend began on Saturday morning with coffee.  We had a busy day planned and left the house around 10:00 to get to it.  First was a trip to Discount Tire to drop off a trailer tire.  It is the second one to go flat in six months, this time with a screw being the culprit.  Then we drove up to The Subie Doctor to pick up a used motor for Flo.  Todd wasn’t there but one of his techs was able to help me load it into the Suburban and onto a spare tire we had grabbed at Discount (apparently such requests are not too uncommon).  After stopping by a fueling station we had lunch at Jay’s Grille and Bar.  The food was good but the prices a bit higher than I think was necessary.  On the way home we stopped by Harbor Freight for another engine stand, Walmart for food stuffs at Discount to pick up the, now fixed, trailer tire. 

We arrived home around 2:30 to a coldish garage.  We had turned on the garage space heater before we left which probably helped take some of the bite out of the cold.  We spent a few minutes applying another coat of paint to the numbers on Scrappy we’d begun earlier in the week before rearranging this and that.  Scrappy went to its corner and we moved parts and whatnot around to make space to work on Flo.  Susan assembled the new engine stand while I installed a shift light into Scrappy.  Susan finished before I did and helped me figure out what I was doing and put the shift light in the right place.  Using leftover tow straps we hoisted the used motor out of the Suburban and attached it to its temporary home on the new engine stand.  It was just getting dark at this point so we decided to wait to do any further work.  The remainder of the evening was spent hanging out with the pups. 

Any grand plans I had for Sunday were thwarted by sciatica pain.  The day was largely spent on the couch with Susan getting to listen to me complain about my ailment.  At some point I made us eggs but otherwise not a whole lot happened. 

I was off the next day for President’s Day which was largely was a repeat of the prior day with much pain but this time without Susan there to listen to me whine (she had to work).  The weekend started productive but quickly petered out. 

On Tuesday finally Mel joined our lives.  It seemed that the process took a long time but that doesn’t matter anymore.  She’s sweet and huge.  Mel weighed in at 26lbs and clearly needs to lose a portion of her mass.  She spent many minutes looking longingly at the door her owner left through which was sad but after a time Mel was hanging out with us on the couch and begging for pets.  We dragged her bed into our bedroom but she slept in the bed at our feet all night. 

February 23 weekend began rather early considering our general lack of plans.  I got up before Susan but not by much and took care of the pups.  After coffee it was decided that the temperature was far too cold to work on Flo so we utilized the morning to further cement the bond we were creating with Mel.  It snowed quite hard the night before and we had roughly six inches of fluff outside.  At some point I made us eggs for brunch and we got dressed to go out.  Besides working on Flo (which wasn’t going to happen because of the cold), the only item on our to-do list was to scope out potential venues for Susan’s birthday celebration.  Ultimately we only went to Bowlero because it checked the boxes we looked to check (bowling, food, adult beverages).  One the way home we made a quick run to Pep Boys to pick up spark plugs for Flo.  Changing spark plugs on a Subaru motor is generally a major pain and Susan thought it would be a good idea to switch them out with the engine out of the car.  I agreed.  I had been slowly working on prepping the old motor to be removed over the previous days and was almost ready to hoist it out if it wasn’t for the pesky cold.  Dinner was Old Chicago delivered to our door and was yummy. 

Sunday had us up early again which was nice.  The forecast called for higher temperatures and I was hoping to finish Flo’s heart transplant that day.  It was a cold morning though so we hung out while the sun did its thing in warming everything up.  Eventually I went out to pry and pull at Flo’s motor while Susan added more coats of paint to the numbers on Scrappy.  I managed to worm the old motor out of Flo without much fuss and Susan helped me place it on a spare tire.  It was at this time I realized the work was about to stop.  One of the motor mounts fell apart when I lifted out the engine and we didn’t have the proper alignment tool for the clutch.  Whoops and dang.  I reached out to our local parts store but they couldn’t help us.  Susan recommended asking Todd and I found out that he happened to be at his shop and had both items we needed.  Success!  It was a close thing but we were able to get the hoist past Flo’s carcass to load the engine into the suburban.  As there wasn’t much more we could do in the garage so we hung out until Kari and Alvin dropped by. 

They needed to get some things out of their camper and we used the opportunity to introduce them to Mel.  Hilariously Mel was very standoffish and barely ventured close enough to be petted.  Pebbles decided to step up her game and adorably played fetch with Kari (something she refuses to do with us).  Cuteness abounded though Bella was tired and kept to herself on the couch.  Soon Susan and I climbed into the suburban to make our way north of Denver. 

The day was to conclude with a CORX committee meeting up at Todd and Valerie’s house.  On paper we’re supposed to hold such things to help run the organization.  In practice we rarely meet and things just keep on keeping on.  With the 2019 season beginning in less than a month I set up the meeting to get us together to talk.  Despite a couple of no-shows it went well and I feel that we got a lot accomplished.  Pizza and an assortment of adult beverages were provided which almost certainly helped.  Todd and I were able to muscle Flo’s old motor from the suburban to Todd’s truck.  I don’t know what its ultimate fate will be but am glad it is gone.  Amazingly we wrapped up after only a couple of hours before we headed our separate ways.  Traffic was crazy-quick on the drive home and we spent the remainder of the evening and weekend with the pups on the couch. 

On Monday, February 25 I finished swapping out Flo’s motor.  I did have to ask some questions of the internet and Todd to get over a couple of hurdles but for the most part everything went smoothly.  As I expected once the new motor was in place the rest of the installation was quick.  The old motor was toast at just a hair under 176,000 miles and the “new” one has an estimated 160,000 miles.  This swap might seem nuts as the mileage is similar but the old motor was brutalized for years before it was done (heck, it had rod knock the day we picked it up).  The newer motor runs well and I expect to get a lot of life out of it. 

February 28^th was Susan’s birthday and we both managed to take the day off work to spend together.  Mel and Pebbles decided they wanted up at an early hour and our efforts at ignoring them failed so we out of bed before 8:00.  For the last several years we’ve made a habit of buying cars around this time of year and thus we often have several registration bills to pay at the same time.  This year we received three different registration bills and all required emissions as well.  In my wisdom I suggested we take care of all the emissions testing.  I drove the suburban and Susan Tia to the Parker emissions place to find an atrocious line and wait time.  We briefly discussed trying another location but decided to stick it out.  It took close to an hour but both vehicles passed fine.  Hilariously the guy inspecting Tia asked Susan if it was for sale.  Nice Miatas like that one are becoming harder to find.  After we were done we stopped by the house to grab the Evo to continue our emissions plight. 

The plan was to stop by a different location in the Evo and then have breakfast at Breakfast on Broadway.  We accomplished the steps but the Evo failed emissions due to a couple of check engine light codes we’ll have to take care of.  We hadn’t eaten at Breakfast on Broadway since we moved to the Dogwood Estate and found the restaurant as pleasant as before.  The coffee was still good and the food yummy.  When we were full and happy we headed to Home Depot on the way home.  At Home Depot we bought plexiglass for Scrappy. 

While we didn’t exactly plan for it the prospect of working on Scrappy was alluring enough that we spent the afternoon doing exactly that.  I thought myself smart by ordering yellow tow hooks for Scrappy just to discover that the yellow color was a horrendous neon affair.  In a bid to save the day Susan painted the tow hooks to match our preferred shade of yellow and also masked and painted arrows and the word “tow” near where the hooks will be installed.  I spent some time fruitlessly pulling apart the ignition wiring before deciding we needed to make another trip to the store for supplies.  This time we went to Lowes to buy wire and electrical tape.  Susan insisted we harness up Mel and bring her along so we did.  Mel was nervous about the whole thing but did fine in the end. 

Once home with the necessary supplies Susan and I set about wiring in switches and a push-button.  The switches were for the two ignition wires and the accessories and the push-button was for the starter.  There was much discussion and eventually we resorted to drawing out the design on paper before we felt ready to start.  There were a couple of almost missteps but our plan was sound and the finished product worked on the first try when I sat down to start the car with the flick of a switch and the push of a button.  At some point in our efforts a fellow rallycrosser Eric Phillips dropped by to borrow our transmission jack. 

Dinner was to be at Saltgrass Steakhouse which we’ve grown to love.  With a lack of foresight I didn’t bother making a reservation as I’d never seen the place busy.  This was a mistake as we waited for close to an hour to be seated.  In my defense the restaurant actually wasn’t full or particularly busy.  There were many open tables but we think they were short-staffed.  I can’t imagine any other reason as the poor hostess was clearly distressed about the ordeal.  Our patience was rewarded as our food was fantastic and we enjoyed each other’s company.  Lesson learned though – make a reservation!  Susan’s birthday and the month of February ended with us bundled up on the couch with our pups. 

February felt like it went by fast.  Between car problems/solutions being busy at work and welcoming a new pug into our home it was a blur.  The temperatures were up and down and the Denver area blanketed with snow at least once a week.  The snow would almost melt away before we would get socked again.  Mel has nestled her way into our hearts and is getting used to our routine.  We love her to pieces already.  What a great month!