Friday, May 13, 2011

Date night food run!

Tonight is date night, so Sally and I made our weekly visit to the Taco Shop. It is not a place filled with romance and atmosphere but they sure have great Mexican food! Tonight was the first time in going there for years that the proprietor asked me if I was going to have my usual. I was surprised! I didn't think he was paying any attention. We wanted to drive the Spitfire which meant that Sally's dad would have to meet us there. He usually picks us up at our house and we go together, but tonight we wanted to drive around after. He is 80 years old now and it's fun to go with him and get his perspective on life on this big ol' planet earth. He is alone since his wife died unexpectedly 8 years ago. After we downed our food we said goodbye to Harold and putted around town for about a hour. We cruised the tree streets while admiring the architecture of those cool houses. Some are run down but most have a charm about them you don't find anywhere else in Provo. Some day it would be fun to live there but I don't think I could be happy among all those students again. We had enough of them at our old house. We made our way to campus and looped around lower campus. You have to be careful driving on campus because most of these kids are just a few years out of diapers and looking both ways before crossing the street is a concept that has not quite fully sunk in! This area will always have fond memories for me when I was a young kid at BYU. I think I flunked out of a class in everyone of those classy old buildings! Later we found our way down east center to have one last look at the Turkey vultures perched for the night in the Sycamore trees, being really careful not to drive right under them because that could completely ruin a fun night out. We then turned the Spitfire for home. Now for some British comedy before bedtime! I love Netflix!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

First good drive

Today Sally and I just couldn't help it, we had to get out and enjoy the sun and take our first good drive of the summer season. We headed south towards Springville to get some supplies for Sally but when we got there  they were just turning the key to lock the door. It was one of those awkward moments when they don't want to see you because they are afraid you might ask them to open back up, so they walk away with their head turned and don't make any eye contact. That's ok, because we can use that as an excuse to come back on Monday on another drive! We then headed south and ended up west of Spanish Fork out in the farm country, by Lake Shore, Benjamin, and Palmyra. It's a great drive if you just want to take in the sights and smells of the country life! That area has special memories for me as it was the old stomping grounds of one of my best friends, Steve Davis. I found myself out there on countless occasions, helping with his house, building the barn, working on jobs together, or just to say howdy. We were inseparable for 27 years until he got colon cancer and passed away three years ago. I can't go in that area of the county without thinking about my old friend Steve. After our drive in the country we came home and I made my famous dish, "Saturday Night Special" for dinner. After we cleared up the dishes Sally had to mail a card to my nephew who is getting married, oh darn, we had to get in the car again because it was out! So we went on another hour drive out by the lake and the west side of Provo. Gas is cheap right, so why not? I was fun just being with Sally and taking in the cool night air. See you on our next ride.

Friday, May 6, 2011

"All tuned up"

I know you are thinking that I have been under the hood getting out the winter bugs and checking the oil and such, but you would be mistaken. I am playing on words! Yesterday I made a stop at "rip off Ralph's," as he is called, and purchased a new stereo for the Spitfire. I didn't want anything fancy, just to be able to listen to the radio or play my ipod as we roll down the road. That would be just great. I had a little problem because the person that owned the car before me cut a big hole for the stereo. Probably had a cassette player in it. This made it hard to get a smaller one to look good, and let's be honest, isn't looking good what this is all about? I had to insert a piece of wood to take up the extra room, this was a hassle to say the least. I had to remove the center console, not fun, and try and figure out the mess they did with the wiring under the dash. Needless to say I was 'til after dark getting everything hooked up, and at the big moment....... it didn't work! My first thought was "rip off Ralph" sold me a piece of junk, or I should have picked one from further down in the stack. You know when you go buy something and there are 20 to choose from and you bring home the one that is broken or doesn't work! So I took a deep breath and decided to go against my better judgement and look at the instructions! I know, I hate to have to admit this publicly but it happened ok and let this be the end of it. I found that I had a wire missing and as soon as I got that done, WOW!, the tunes came blasting out! I was so excited, and the "Bose" speakers I have I bought at a yard sale for $2.00! What a score! Well that's it really. So if you see a tiny little red car coming down the road with the music cranked, tell them to turn it down, unless it's me of course! See ya soon.