Weekend update-

The weatherguessers had predicted early in the week that Friday was going to be the last day of warm weather in a few days and this time they got it right. Friday it was 70 degrees, on Saturday it was 40 degrees, raining and snowing all day. Today, though dry, the temperature only reached into the 40s.

Why was the weather so important? Well I had Loc's truck in my carport with its transmission on the ground, waiting for us to install a new clutch. And, we chose to do it on Friday, based upon the weather. We made a good choice. The new transmission jack was a huge improvement to the effort and after I got the transmission strapped down securely, almost made the alignment and installation automatic. Literally, from the time we rolled the transmission under the truck until we had it bolted to the engine took no more than 15 minutes! It went in so easily I thought I might have left the clutch plate out, but we just got it right and the transmission rolled into place like it wanted to be put back into place.

Bolting all the other parts back on the truck took up most of the afternoon but we were done by 3:30 with the tools put away and the truck ran perfectly when we started it up. I think Loc was surprised at the truck's performance with the new clutch working as its uspposed to.

But, we got it done. And done in time for me to get a good shower before my anniversary dinner with my lovely spouse. I made reservations at Rickenbacker's, a ritzy new restaurant out at the airport. I had flowers waiting for her on our table, we had a view of the mountains as the sun set and we had a terrific dinner. The food was just wonderful, expertly presented and tasty to perfection. I had a delmonico steak that could almost be cut with a feather that was juicy and so delicious it could only have come from a very contented cow.

The bride is so pleased with her new ruby & diamond ring, (sorry, no pictures yet) but the framed picture of our wedding day that I surprised her with made her cry, just a litttle bit. It was the same picture from Friday's post that I had enlarged and then put into a frame to compliment it for our bedroom. She wasn't expecting that little present and I was really pleased that she liked it like she does. It put a nice touch on the entire dinner. Jimmy's Flowers did a terrific job on a lovely bouquet for her too. It was huge, beautiful and pleased her as a much as any flowers I have ever purchased for her.

All in all, it was a lovely and romantic anniversary dinner night out.

Today I spent half the day getting my kerosene heater tuned up for fighting the cold temperatures in my workshop. I tried to buy a new wick but apparently my heater is old enought that nobody stocks the right size. So, I ended up trimming a bit and cleaning it some and reinstalling it. The heater seems prepared now to do its part in keeping me warm while I'm in the shop this winter.

So that's what's been happening with us this weekend. We did buy a few groceries this afternoon and yesterday we saw The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Its a western movie- duh, its got Jesse James but its not the typical western. Its a rather complex tale of the story of these two men and how their paths and stars crossed. Some of the tale gets a little bogged down in the middle as some of the minor characters tales get told (and they get shot), but otherwise it was a pretty darn good movie. The period clothes, houses and firearms are interesting and add to a really pretty well told story.

This week, 2 physical therapy appointments and plenty of work at the job before taking off for Florida and the Caribbean. I can hardly wait!