Nice Ride - 1968 Chevelle

Helping out a neighbor is easy when they have a ride this nice.

When Jeff came over and asked for a bit of help rebuilding his big block Chevy engine, it was no trouble for Jim to take a look and give some prudent advice.

Together, they spent four days working on reassembling this 454 cubic inch Chevy, bored thirty over with flat top pistons.

With its Pro Comp aluminum heads with oval ports along with a Pro Comp intake, a nine and a half to one (9.5 to 1) compression ratio was attainable.

The engine had returned from the machine shop in pieces and needed to be completely assembled starting with painting the block. They chose Chevy orange finishing it off with a clear coat containing a heavy gold pearl. This gave the engine block a similar appearance to the car's exterior without the five hundred dollar a gallon price. The pistons were already on the rods, so they assembled the short block, added the heads and Jeff went home to install the oil pan and the intake manifold.

Jim uses a makeshift stethoscope to detect odd noises in the engine

The guys made an appointment with Randy at Wayne Calvert Precision Engines in Denton to test out the performance of the finished product. The dyno session turned into a ten hour Marathon because of small problems that would have taken months to troubleshoot had the engine been installed as is in the car. They were able to achieve horsepower at four hundred seventy (470 hp) with torque of five hundred sixty pounds (560 LB/FT).

Salad of the Day

All week I've been eating salads for lunch. This one started out with a bed of organic baby spinach and Iceberg lettuce.

Then sliced strawberries were added along with strips of orange bell pepper. 

Then I added a diced Roma tomato and some Garbanzo beans. I like to open a can and run cold water over the contents to drain the beans. I use the lid as a strainer or sometimes break out my colander. Then, transfer the washed beans to a covered container for use during the week. I do the same thing with organic black beans.

To top the salad off I added a boiled egg and served it with Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.

Baby Spinach leaves and a sliced strawberry

Strips of orange bell pepper and Garbanzo beans for protein

Diced Roma tomato

Topped off with a small amount of shredded Queso Quesadilla cheese and a boiled egg, this was truly a filling lunch.

Spinach Salad for Lunch all Week

It's what's for lunch this week - spinach salad. Crisp salad greens, sliced strawberries, a spoonful of rinsed black beans and a boiled egg make this a hearty meal.

Since the Christmas holidays, I've been struggling to drop the extra ten pounds that I gained with all the wonderful meals and gifts of cookies, candy and treats. Now I'm paying for my over indulgence.

I don't really mind eating healthier and not eating my own baked goods to drop the extra weight.

The produce came from Aldi where I found a beautiful head of iceberg lettuce for eighty-nine cents,  organic triple-washed baby spinach for around two dollars, a dozen eggs at a dollar twenty-nine and a pack of fresh strawberries for two twenty-nine.

Their store brand organic black beans are ten cents higher than the non-organic ones so I splurged and paid the seventy-five cents. Lemons were just a quarter each. I squeezed the juice from half of one over the top of this salad and then topped it off with some Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.

Roma tomatoes were six for sixty nine cents so I topped Tuesday's salad with one and shredded a carrot to add color along with a spoonful of leftover canned corn. A bit of Quesadilla cheese over the top of the salad the second day added a bit of protein.

All together, the ingredients for my lunch all week made each meal reasonably priced at about a dollar per salad.

Red Dawn in Texas

Today held another spectacular sunrise in North Texas that rolled in with the early morning fog. It's rare to see a dawn as brilliantly red as this one was and it lasted for only a few delightful moments.

Before the skyline had a chance to brighten, I grabbed my trusty camera and ran outside in the cool mist and snapped a few photos.

The scripture describes it well, "The Heavens declare the glory of God" Psalm 19:1

He painted a wondrous morning greeting today.

Spring is popping out at an amazing rate with the Bradford pear trees, for the first time, covered in white blossoms. Within days, the green leaves will outnumber the blooms, but at the moment, it is the sure sign of warmer days ahead.

I nearly lost my sense of humor when calling the Medicare Replacement Insurance to get the phone number for Mom's hearing evaluation doctor. Their HIPA rules are more a barrier to progress than a protection against identity theft.

After a tense few minutes of denying me any information, I finally advised the representative that I was not seeking any top secret information on my mother's health or coverage, I simply need a phone number for a doctor who will take her insurance for a hearing test.

"Ma'am, this is the number to fax your power of attorney as her representative so that I can speak with you," she kindly informed me.

Grandma at lunch at the facility today.

I told her after ten years of faxing the power of attorney into what might as well be outer space, that I was quite frustrated that no one could keep track of this information, and by the way, isn't this a violation of privacy not to be able to maintain a patient's information?

We were assured when we signed up for this coverage that this would never be necessary, as the proper forms were submitted with the application, however, this has not proven to be the case.

We did eventually come to terms and she kindly provided me with the phone number for two doctors who promptly informed me that they do NOT take this insurance, despite repeated attempts at trying to remove their name from the insurance company's list.

I said, "Good luck with that, would you like their fax number?"

Birds in the Snow

The snow is gone now and spring is on the way. Last week was a different story with ice and snow completely covering the driveway and front porch.

I finally got out and cleaned the window that overlooks this bird feeder so that I can get a clear shot of Mr. Cardinal and his beautiful face.

They were flocking to the Audubon mix of seeds that were placed outside for them. I've never seen so many varieties sharing the same perch. It was fascinating to watch them come and go, resting for a few moments on the branches of the Bradford pear tree nearby. Soon they would take flight and resume their voracious feeding during the worst of the storm.

Winter Moves in Overnight with a Texas Style Ice Storm

Two o'clock this morning our heater stopped working. Wouldn't you know it? Last week we had temperatures in the seventies, but today we're in the twenties.

I'm not complaining, though, compared to our counterparts in the northeast that had an Arctic blast of deep freezing snow, we've had a mild winter. This is, after all, Texas. If we don't like the weather we can be sure it will change in a couple of days.

The birds were delighted to have an ample supply of bird food and were making a feast of it all morning. I was able to catch a few of them at the buffet.


They were taking turns at the bird feeder with Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, a few sparrows, a dove and one stray blackbird who seemed to have lost his flock.

The best shot was when Mr. Cardinal decided to hop on the ground and scout for fallen corn.

When the Internet decided to take a short break this morning as well, I decided it was a good day to do some baking.

We purchased one of those huge bags of triple washed broccoli crowns from Costco last week.

After serving it a a couple of times steamed, it was time to put the rest of it to good use in a broccoli and ham Quiche. This was the perfect day to use the oven.


Here's how the Quiche came out. We had this for lunch today. Yum.

It turns out the HVAC compressor unit just needed to defrost a bit. Jane at Ross Air Conditioning, the service company that has taken care of us for over twenty years told us to turn it off for a few minutes.

After we turned it back on, we were delighted to get warm air out of the vents once again. Their company was iced in by the weather as well, so it's a good thing the heater is working. It's a nice warm feeling...

Back to bird watching.