Some things goings at Casa De Garabaldi

 I have been busy working the overtime so posting isn't as plentiful as before, Like I said before, I like blogging, but I really like sleep.

Well first off a few things that have been going on here, 

 

We went down to Florida and stopped at the newest Buccee's in Auburn Alabama to load up with munchies and I got my brisket  like I always do when we stop at the mecca of Gas Stations, but this one was on the way  to visit my brother and his family and while we were in the panhandle we 

visited a restaurant called McGuires in Destin.  They had $1 bills everywhere! ceilings, columns, bannisters, people figure about $2 million dollars in paper, lol.

  We of course added our $1 and signed it. The pub had other stuff in there and of course their bathrooms had signs also....

And to prove that they are equal opportunity....

According to the staffers, there has been more than one *oopsie* entry but everyone has a good laugh about it.     They ain't cheep, neither the wife and I drink, and we ordered medium entry food and appetizer, but it was close to a "C" note with tip but the food was really good.  i wouldn't make a habit to eat there except as a special occasion because I am cheep by nature.

     Sunset at the beach.   I prefer the gulf waters over the Atlantic, I have never splashed in the pacific so i can't judge that one.

 

My Focus has 85 thousand miles on her and I have noticed hesitation and bogging down when I have had to "Whoomp Down" on the accelerator to  avoid getting creamed in traffic and I had used "Seafoam" to make sure that the injectors are clean, it helped a bit, but then I knew most likely it was time for a Spark Plug Change, with a certain amount of trepidation "After dealing with my truck" that was very difficult and the last 2 in the way back in the truck had never been changed.  So I "youtubed it and it looked easy so I ordered the Spark Plugs from the local Auto Parts store,

I then started removing the bolts that hold the coil plugs in place and then I put the bolts in one place..

by the cowl away from anything.....Didn't want to chase bolts inside the engine block....ask me how I know about chasing hardware inside engines, lol.  The Focus is a 4 cylinder, hence the 4 bolts.

Pulled the boot straight out...popped out with no issues.  I then shot a bit of "Kroil" into the cylinder and waited for a couple of minutes then dropped a specialty sparkplug socket to remove it, here was the moment of truth...will it come out or will it break?...

I of course matched up the model of sparkplug and they were the same, sure the autoparts can say"Sure this will work, but it is up to "YOU" to verify it. Don't take them at blind trust.   

I put some "Never Seize" on it to make sure if I have to remove them, it will not become an issue, having a spark plug snap inside a block causes all kinds of $$xpensive$$ issues and I didn't want that.

  I removed and did the same for all 4 spark plugs,   I than snugged the bolts.

     Way easier than it was on my F150, almost anticlimatic, LOL.    The Focus ran a lot better, I guess it is symmetry...Putting a "Battery in the Focus" was a pain in the ass compared to the F150 whereas the sparkplugs were simple.  

Back in 2021 I reattached the door "On the Mailbox" and put some Corrosion Inhibiting compound on the screws, but the rust was still there, and I didn't remove all of it like I should have...and well less than 2 years later, the door rusted off...so I had to do more extensive repairs...This time I treated it like I would have done a sheet metal repair at work.  

   I cut off the corroded lip, and got some metal from work, bent it and trimmed it and pop riveted

it to the mailbox, I would have used dome rivets but I don't have a compressor at home to run a rivet gun so there, LOL.  I then encapsulated the rivets and metal completely with sealer after making sure it was clean.  I then got a hinge from Ace hardware, and then backdrilled it,

 

 

I had cut a 3rd of the door to remove the corroded metal to make sure that I got the rust, I then got some more metal and pop riveted it to the door, I then encapsulated the rivets, and also sealed inbetween the metal and the edges to keep the water out using more sealer.  

 

I then painted it, inside and out.....I used 5 coats of paint. 

                                        I repeated the process....

                                         Again ...... And again....

                               Outside  of Mailbox....

                                           Inside of Mailbox.

       Remember a while back when I "Got 2 flats on one side of my Focus" inside my subdivision and I had to deal with that?  I sent a polite "Nastygram" to my county commissioner about it....well 

They are finally fixing it!   Yay!   I have been scowling at that thing for almost a year, LOL

On the way home last week, I had picked up a "Hitchhiker" on the way home from work, 

                     I will add a few more pics...

                                  Some more...

                 The little guy hung on for 45 miles at 85 miles an hour in ATL traffic ....I was impressed.. I didn't try to knock him off or hasten his demise, it was totally up the the grip of his feet, LOL

                                     Picture of him in my sub division.