Day: October 19, 2025

My wife’s vehicle has one tire that keeps going flat, so in the spirit of the season I’ve decided to put her winter tires on, about two weeks early, so that I can get a clearer look at the tire, and see if I can patch it.

After removal I see it has a screw lodged inside the tire between the treads. I pulled it free and then the air started to blast out in my face. Lovely. I used the rasp to clean up the hole, and hopefully size it to take the ultra sticky fibrous plug. Rasp moves in and out with ease after a few several reams of the hole.

Whoo boy getting the plug in the needle is a struggle all on its own. That was a process. I don’t hold out much hope that this plug will sink into the hole all nice like, and be an easy fix. I must prepare my wrists for maximum efforts.

Yeah that was a bitch. I got worried the plug would get stuck only barely into the hole I widened with the rasp. I thought about whacking it with a hammer, but if I break the tool then 8 really can’t fix this tire — at all. So I basically had to sit over the top of the tire and pour my entire body weight into the needle to get the patch to pass through the hole 2/3 rds of the way and then pull only the tool out, leaving the patch behind. Luckily enough it worked out.

I used my Knipex flush cutters to remove the excess patch material, filled the tire up, and then sprayed it with soapy water to watch for bubbles. Looks all good so far. We will know if it took, if come spring time when I go to put it back on the vehicle and the tire is still at 40 lbs. If it’s completely flat I know I failed miserably and we should buy at least two new summer season tires.

Weather was 20°C, a tad windy and the rains have held off. A successful Sunday morning. Only needed one trip to Canadian Tire for parts, and now I’ve washed the tires and can put them away after I finish lunch.

I would wager that a fair percentage of the last fifty posts here had something to do with splitting wood, as it was a pretty major update to my regular daily life in most recent days. That, and discussions of my splitting mauls, work boots, and mini sledge hammer that pairs with my Fiskars wedge. I nearly bought an Estwing nine inch long wedge to go along with the new hammer, but I held off for now. I’m not supposed to sink more money into this endeavor, as it was to keep me busy, get some exercise, and to take my mind OFF of on-line shopping out of boredom. Oh well! Win some, lose some. Ha.

But on the bright side, here we are at day 550 of the writing streak, and I am still going strong. Due to whatever item took off in Germany this July I am having THE best year ever on this blog, both by way of total views, and unique visitors. The likes on posts are way, way down. I’m not really producing any creative short story content so I’m well below the 1,000 plus likes I got when I was posting micro short stories multiple times per week. I have no idea how I will ever be able to top this year’s numbers. I don’t even try to these days, I just write what I want and hope it finds an audience that can relate, or is amused by my mundane musings. Again, I have zero inkling of what caught fire in July, as the only label showing views was Archives. So yeah. I don’t know what you found, or were seeking out, or were drawn to, or repulsed by (but felt you had to check it out for yourselves) I don’t know. It’s a mystery. One that nobody felt compelled enough to comment on, so that I could weigh in myself. So it couldn’t have been that disdainful, since people love to moan about awful things. If it was truly bad I think somebody would have posted to that effect.

We are drawing ever closer to winter. You can feel it in how cold the mornings, and evenings are. I’m sad to see Spring, Summer & Fall go for the year. Though work was quiet for long stretches this year, I got to spend a whole lot of time with my kids, and see them do their thing(s) that they are passionate about. Well, mostly. Of all the days available we still had multiple events on the same day,  several cities apart. So I did not see everything, but I did see a decent chunk!

Not only that but this year I took the kids to Florida by myself (we met up with my inlaws, so not totally by myself I admit) and I took my kids out west to British Columbia to see my brother’s, their kids, and my parents for a four night long visit by myself. My father is in various stages of being unwell. He has vascular dementia, which is slowly taking his short term memory, among other ailments. So we thought it best to head over and see them while his memory isn’t too badly impacted — yet. We had great weather for both trips, and I enjoyed myself a great deal. I believe the kids did too. Five of the six young cousins were there to hang out, and get reacquainted, so my kids had a peer group their own age to play with at times throughout the trip west.

Soon the weather will turn ugly, and I’ll become an indoor hermit, whom stays out of the cold for as much as possible. November is a grey, dreary lonely month around these parts. Fog, freezing rain, flurries, heavy dark clouds, and a severe lack of sunlight are all things we have to look forward to once Halloween is done. If I catch one good day I will erect the Christmas lights, even if it is prior to Rememberable Day. I just won’t turn them on until after the 11th. Our Christmas tree typically goes up late in the day on November 11th out of respect for the soldiers, vets, and those that sacrificed for us.

May you have either a productive Sunday, or a restful one. Whichever you prefer. Ciao Bella!