7/15/13

We have begun the move to the new shop.  Pat had texted me asking about his KA-24 engine and transmission and I told him he needed to come pick it up if he wished to retain ownership.  He asked when we were going to be at the shop Saturday so I told him the plan.  John picked me up at my house and we loaded the tool box into the back of Fifi.  I managed to smash the crap out of my right hand pinky finger while loading the ramps back into the truck.  It bled quite a bit until I wrapped it in a paper towel and some duct tape… then it just throbbed.  The nail is all purple and striped and there is a big bruise on the pad side of the finger.  Oh, and it hurts when I hit it on anything… but I'm not going to complain.  When we were done at my house, we rolled to the shop to hook up the trailer.  Pat texted to ask our status as we were rolling down Old Granbury Road.  We assumed that meant he was at the shop but no, when we arrived he was not there.  We hooked up the trailer and made sure the straps were tight on the Mini then waited for Pat.  John finally called him and arranged that we’d meet him at the Mobil station on OGR and the Dam Road.  Yes, I shook my fist in the air right after I typed “the Dam Road,” both times.  Anyhoo, we drove past Pat and he tucked in behind us.  It was a damned good thing he did follow us to the new shop because only MOST of the Mini made it there.  About Campus Drive the bonnet blew off and landed in the middle of the freeway.  Pat called and told us so when we took the Forrest Hill exit, I jumped in his truck and we went back for it.  It was sitting on the line between the second and third lane of the freeway… pretty much exactly in the middle.  We pulled up and I waited for a gap in traffic then ran out and got it.  It was a bit tweaked but wasn’t destroyed.  I dropped it in the back of Pat's truck and directed him to the new shop.  John was ready to roll the Mini in when we pulled up so we gave it one little shove… then a whopping great shove, and rolled it off the trailer into the “small” bay.  John jack-knifed the trailer and removed the tailgate so we could unload the tool box… which we did next.  We had to put it in the “small” bay as well because our landlord, also called Pat, was breaking up and disposing of the furniture left behind by the last tenant.  We left to go back for another car at the old shop.  We loaded Lil' Wiggly onto the trailer and pinned the hood down.  We also removed the loose fenders and put them in the back of Fifi.  It is easier to get a new hood for a fifty year old Mini than it is to get fenders for a thirty five year old Datsun… and hopefully we’ve learned our lesson about tying off loose body parts.  We helped Pat load his engine and transmission into the back of his truck then arranged to call him when we were headed towards Wasabi so he could join us for lunch.  John and I rolled to the new shop.  We stopped at the office and bought a lock for the “small” bay’s door on the way out of the old facility.  At the new shop, we dropped Lil' Wiggly into the “small” bay and locked it up.  What we did not do was roll up the windows in Lil' Wiggly though.  Hmm, I'll bet there is evidence of critters in the car next weekend.  That will irk me a bit.  Oh well, what are you going to do?  We headed back to the old shop and dropped the trailer before alerting Pat and heading to Wasabi.  We ate and then John took me home.  Sunday I hung out and waited for mom to get home from church then we went to Black Eyed Pea for lunch.  After that I took a nap then went for a hoon in Fiona in the rain.  When I got home, mom and I ate some dinner and I wasted the evening in front of the TV.  So, y'all are caught up with the weekend.  Hopefully I'll have stuff to say as the week progresses… but don’t hold your breath.