2.12.23
It is a chilly 20 degrees outside at half past four this morning, but I will take it over the single digits and below zero nights of a few weeks ago. It would be nice to have some snow on the ground as it has been a very dry sort of winter so far. In fact, Mother Nature can’t quite decide if she wants to put Old Man Winter on the back burner and herald in that child of Spring or keep us guessing on how many layers to wear when one heads outside for morning chores. Yet the hint of spring is out there. As the days slowly lengthen, a glint of green can be seen in the fields and on the hillsides, tree buds are swelling, and the wild turkeys are dancing and starting to court. Just when we think we are heading to warmer days I know Mother Nature will remind us of who is really in charge!
December was a busy month and January passed in a blur. Now here we are in February. January was a challenging month… a very challenging month… but we got through it. I found my urge to write waned, hence the lack of Sunday stories, but the stirrings have begun, and I find myself once again waking in the wee hours of the morning with the desire to get up and write.
As I lay in bed this morning, all snug and warm beside my dearest Darrell, I almost put aside the inclination to head into the chilly living room to write a Sunday story. The moon was streaming through the windows, the house otherwise dark and silent, but the compulsion to write can be a very compelling master! So here I sit, first cup of tea of the morning by my side, the fire blazing away in the stove and my thoughts wandering.
With the weather being cold enough to make outside chores just that, a chore, we have been busy in the shop working on Darrell’s latest project, a 1951 Chevy coupe. This car, to put it bluntly, has been a challenge. The old adage “Beauty is skin deep” sure applied here! From the outside, with her shiny paint and plush blue and white interior – a tad garish to us but very appealing to those who see her – the car does look sassy and smart. Unlike my Pearl, who is also a 1951 Chevy and is a true original, Darrell’s car has been given an updated makeover in many respects. Turned from an original into a somewhat modified hotrod by the previous owner, she has updated front and rear suspension, came with a small block Chevy 350 V-8, power steering and numerous other “modern” upgrades. Can you tell I am partial to “original” cars?
The gentleman we bought her from up in Washington State gave the impression he was quite the mechanic and old car restorer. Oh dear, that has turned out not to be the case! The engine was tired and as we discovered, from an old truck. Normally, the engine compartment of a fancy car is just as spiffy as the rest of the car, but this old girl needed a good going over, fancy as she might look from the outside! So, Darrell got cracking, installed a brand-new crate engine to replace the old one, the transmission was gone through and reinstalled and the sprucing up under the bonnet began.
What at first seemed like an easy chore to bring this car up to snuff, has actually turned into a pretty major project! It turns out the chap we bought the car from was far from being a good mechanic and even less of what one would call a restorer of old cars! Instead of taking a wee bit more time to do this or that properly, we have found some pretty shoddy cobbling that has taken time and effort on Darrell’s part to rectify! The wiring was a nightmare as a fancy Hot Rod style wiring harness had been somewhat installed but definitely needed work! We dug into that and between us got it all sorted out. Boy did I learn a lot about wiring a car! The more Darrell tore into the restoration the more he discovered needed to be done but bit by bit it is coming together. Yesterday, I finished installing the new carpet. This was quite a challenge because of the modifications – by the previous owner – that had been done to move the shifter from the steering column to the floor of the car.
Next step is to find top dead center on the new engine and get the car ready to start. Darrell has done a bunch of work under the car, replacing fuel lines, dropping the old cobbled together exhaust pipes and mufflers, which will be replaced by sparkling new ones. There is something incredibly rewarding working side by side with Darrell on one of his projects. I have learned so much from him over the years. After a few hours working together in the shop, it is good to walk hand in hand back to the house, our hands grubby, our clothes dusty, our hearts content.
As I sit here this morning thinking about what we accomplished on the car these past few weeks, it warms my heart. I think about our old cars and the tinkering we do on them and find it makes me, not for the first time, compare those old automobiles to us human beings. So often the outside of a person can look beautiful, giving the impression of someone confidently in charge of their world and life. Yet if we could look inside that person, lift up that bonnet and have a peek, pull up that old carpet to see what lies beneath, maybe we would be surprised and even a little sad at what we find. But just like with these old cars, there is hope. With some diligent work, lots of understanding that some things that can’t be changed, just modified for the better, everyone can shine both on the outside and within.
January was a hard month, full of challenges and yes, a goodly share of sorrow. That is the way things are occasionally both on a farm and life in general. However, a new month is upon us, the days are getting longer, a sense of spring lies ahead. On those blustery, chilly days I am sure Mother Nature still has in store for us, you will find Darrell and I in the shop, working side by side, chipping away at the many things still to accomplish on his old car. Bit by bit as what lies beneath is exposed, we will examine, scrub and clean and repair. Soon, what is on the inside will shine as much as the outer shell. Yes, it is a work in progress, but isn’t that what life is? A work in progress?
