April 30, 2021 - Friday morning
33 degrees/rain - snow mix/windy
Pentoga Road

It's been a long time since I've been so frustrated as I was yesterday. This backhoe thing has been going on for what, a month now? It's still going on.

Sargie and I were in town early to pick up the coupler that had been milled to the right size. Then it was back to the shop where Mechanic Dave fit it on the motor. All was good.

He was about to apply a tack weld to hold it in place when I said, "Wait!"

It dawned on me then. How would the shaft, almost an inch longer than the one on the old engine, fit with the hydraulic pump? Dave told me to run home and take the pump off the backhoe and bring it back to the shop.

I did as he suggested and sure 'nuff, nothing fit.

I bemoan the day my brain quit making gray matter and am beginning to wonder if I have anything left upstairs between the ears. I have no one to blame but myself for this latest engine debacle. 

Though there was a look of resignation on my face, I was having an internal melt down on the other side of my skin. Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, has gone smoothly with this backhoe/new engine replacement.

In the end, Dave told me to leave the engine, the hydraulic pump, all the fittings, nuts, bolts, and any other paraphernalia, and assured me he'd make it all work. Dave will use a torch and cut a spacer, drill some new holes, apply a weld or two, and in the end, I know my backhoe will work better than ever.

Until then, I'm practicing Lamaze; finding a focal point and doing purposeful cleansing breaths in an attempt to find that happy place.

I haven't been this frustrated since last November.

As a female friend of mine from almost fifty years ago used to quip:

Patience is a virtue

Find it if you can

Sometimes found in women

But NEVER found in man

Thankfully, Sargie has found the secret to having patience, especially with her husband. She's a wonderful listener and has the personality to tame even the most frustrated beast. 

I thank my lucky stars that at least one of us has both feet planted firmly on the ground.

Having talked it all through with Sargie, I put on my big boy pants and finished welding the garden windmill before packing the bearings. There's still one more piece in the base that needs manufacturing before sanding and painting it, but so far, so good. Still, I don't trust my welds on the thin metal and wouldn't be surprised if it all comes apart during the first heavy wind that comes along. 

Today... today's a brand new zippity do dah day and by golly, come hell or high water, it's going to be a good one. Yooper Brother Mark will be out after while for our morning stroll. No doubt, Sargie and I will enjoy our daily ride to town and back. 

I have every intention of PLAYING in the shop, working on a bowl that's mounted in the lathe and continuing to cut and sand the life-sized bulldog, the one whose pieces keep getting in my way.

Ah, the shop. My happy place. It's my Calgon. 

Surely you remember the old commercial:

"Calgon, take me away."

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...