Talking About Health, Mental Health & Recovery

October 2009Monthly Archives

Time For New Light Truck Tires for the Chevy

Today, wanting to fix it up a bit, I took a look at my light truck.  Tires and the windshield need to be replaced.  My Chevy has over 200,000 miles and she is starting to show it.  While the engine is rebuilt and still functioning, due to my diligent up-keep (fear of breaking down on the freeway at Midnight) and regular oil changes.  However, I noticed that these two aspects, the tires and the windshield, have been safety aspects on my truck that I have been overlooking.

The windshield was cracked when I bought the truck, and the crack is slowly getting bigger.  This was something I had considered all summer, as the heat of Phoenix has been known to shatter perfectly fine windows.  I, like some people, tend to let these things go on their cars, I think that a problem with a car or and engine is just too big to understand.  But a windshield?  Really, I just simply need to have it replaced.

And, the heat is a detriment to tires in the desert as well.  As I drive on the hot city streets in my truck, wheels turning cause friction between the road the tire, which will in and of itself, heat up tires, regardless of the outside temperature or environment.  I need to invest in new tires that will be able to sustain the weather conditions, and ensure that safety isn’t at risk.  In college I had a VW Bus.  I sold it to take a trip to the UK, and I hadn’t noticed until the day the man came to buy it, that the tires were so worn.  Not only was there no tread left at all, I could see the fibrous threads, it was as though my tires were fuzzy.  This is not good.

If you can see that the tires are bald and that the metal threads are poking through, replace them.  This sounds expensive but many cheap tires are available, and they are of good and safe quality.  If there is still tread, a great way to check it is the simple “penny test” my dad showed me years ago.  Turn a penny upside down, so that Lincolns profile such that when you insert the penny into the tread, if the tread does not reach the top of his head, then there is not enough tread, and it’s time buy new tires.  My truck is there.

Lisa
October 8, 2009
Automotive
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A Night in Austin Under the Congress Avenue Bridge

The first time I went to Austin, Texas was last summer.  The city has the reputation being the Live Music Capital of the World.  The first thing one does see upon exiting the plane, is a live band.  Music is all around in this city in Central Texas.  I was visiting a friend of mine, a musician.  It seems that just as almost everyone you meet in Los Angeles is an actor, almost everyone in Austin either is in a band playing music, or has been involved with music at some time in their lives.  Purpose of my visit was to spend time with my friend, but it was also a painting vacation.  I was to stay at one of the best Austin hotels, and just paint non stop for five days, without my phone, without needing to go work.

When my friend found out that I had booked a hotel room he refused and said that I would be staying with him.  So, with that said, he took me on a mini-tour of Downtown Austin.  We drove down the famous 6th Street.  Here there are venues lining both sides, bars and restaurants with live music every night of the week.  Many of the patrons of these bars are from the nearby University, and the nights surrounding the weekends are usually packed with rowdy college students.  When my friend was younger he played in those bars quite a bit, and had a very big following.  Now though, he plays in the cities surrounding Austin, in bars that are a little calmer.

We hadn’t really planned out the trip, and I thought that we may take in a live show, however the night he had planned was very different.  We dropped off my bags at the house, and went to buy some food, for a picnic he said.  We took our groceries and a blanket to a grassy area beside the Congress Avenue Bridge.  Nice, I thought, the weather was perfect.  And as the sun went down, something happened that I was not expecting at all.  It seems that the construction of the underneath part of the bridge is perfect for a species of bats, the Mexican free-tailed species.  When they come out at night, clouds of them can be seen miles away, and when you are sitting right under the bridge, it is a bit terrifying and also strangely beautiful.  The bats provide the city of Austin with the service of eating more than four million pounds of insects throughout the summer.  If you are not afraid of bats, and find them fascinating, you must head to Congress Avenue Bridge and witness this amazing natural event.

Lisa
October 6, 2009
Travel
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New York State in the Fall

I love to drive into the rural regions of New York state this time of year. Driving north from New York City is a beautiful dive anytime of the year, spring, summer, winter and of course fall! We always book a room at a boutique hotels New York in the mid to late October range, depending on the year and when our time off falls.

Some years we have taken the commuter trains out of Grand Central Terminal north ward along the Hudson River through all the little hamlets, towns, villages and cities along the river. We were able to get off the train and shop in the pre colonial village of Cold Spring walking every where. In Poughkeepsie we had dinner river side before heading back into New York City. Another year we did virtually the same thing taking the train on the CT line along the north shoe of Long Island Sound. Although beautiful, I recommend the Hudson River line for its spectacular beauty.

Other years we have rented a car and driven through the rolling hill sides along the Hudson Rivers east and west banks. We  particularly love the views from Storm King Highway as it hugs the shear rock cliff face over the Hudson just north of West Point. At the base of the mountain is a beautiful sleepy little hamlet of Croton on Hudson. We always enjoy shopping for antiques there and the pre colonial houses and buildings.

One year we decided to take an over night trip from New York City and headed to the legendary town of Woodstock, NY. We stayed over night enjoying the shopping and dining and took a drive into the Catskill Mts. before returning to New York City. That was a particularly memorable trip. The Catskill mountains looked like they were lying down. These ancient mountains so worn by the glaciers and time are an amazing site to see. That year the fall color was particularly nice and the Catskills were on fire with yellows, oranges, reds and all shades in between.

Lisa
October 5, 2009
Travel
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