Here Thar Be Dragons!

Some Dragons in the park for this week's Chalk Theme.  Not that there is ever a "theme" that I stick to.  Mostly it is just things that inspire me.  Or things that I find a lot of really good pics for.  I have always liked dragons.  Both drawing and just the idea of a flying lizard that breathes fire.  It calls back to the days of playing the "Godless Satan Worship" of Dungeons and Dragons. ( By the way, it was NOT Godless, nor Satan worship!  It was a bunch of nerds and geeks playing out their fantasies of being barbarian dragon slayers.... And saving the world from the undead hordes!) Back in those days, there were no computer games to fret over.   Everything was in a very dangerous place  called "Your own imagination."   A place  parents and teachers did not seem to approve of when we were growing up.  But I digress!

On Sunday, a couple of girls helped me finish the water dragon and the frost dragon.   Even though they were fairly young and a little inexperienced, they did fill out the big stuff quickly and help me finish 4 dragons that day.  

Since then, I have been lucky if I could complete three dragons on my own.  Even the little ones seem to take about the same amount of time.  You would think that I would get faster as I gain experience, but no!  In fact, it seems after three hours of crawling around on the hot concrete, I'm totally spent! If no kids are readily available for recruitment, I have to call it for the day.  

The kids start school next week, so any hope for future apprenticeships in chalk art and design will be gone along with them. I will once again be on my own and racing against the 3 o'clock deadline. ( That is when the schools let out and the kids flood the sidewalks...  With a million questions and no time or intent to help...) 

In other news,  we captured one of the Giant Iowa Spiders in our small apartment a few days ago.  It is getting to be that time of year when they find the inside more desirable.  This guy looked like one of those really big black crickets running along the edge of the wall.  When I saw it was not "jumping" I realized it was one of those giant spiders and about screamed like a little girl!  

Yes!  Forget Snakes...  Spiders freak me out if I am not prepared for them.  Especially the ones without webs.   Webs are up high and out of the way... but those creepy crawlers sneak into your bed  or shoe and give you a nibble when you are not expecting it. I'm not sure if this is a brown recluse ( wolf spider) but the legs looked transparent enough to me, and I know they are here in Iowa. Some guy from the Farmer's market even showed us one of his bite marks just to give us nightmares!  Thanks for the anxiety....

The weather is warming up now that the clouds have moved on.   On clear days, the sun does a great job all by itself.   But the evenings are cooler and there is rain predicted later this weekend.   We shall see if it arrives as planned.  In the mean time, Cheryl is preparing for a run on Saturday, and I am planning on picking up Subie on Thursday.... Fingers crossed he is ready and everything works out.   Thanks for stopping in.

Happy Friday! Enjoying The Cooler Weather...

After an entire week of ridiculous humidity,  the weather has finally changed course.  It certainly is sunny today, but the humid weather is finally gone.  For now...

I have been attempting to draw in the park, with limited results.  First:  the Humidity was unbearable so I mostly hid in the shade and kept things simple.  

Then there were the "rain squalls" that washed my labors away almost as soon as I finished them.  ( My poor dragon...) 

But finally, after a brief shower last night,  the sauna has been turned off... For now...

Our missing vehicle was a concern for the Farmer's Market yesterday, but it should not have been.  First, we secured a loaner car from the mechanic Wednesday, so we could attend!

And second,  even with the cooler weather, the people simply were not there last night.  Add in that it rained about an hour before the close of the show, and whatever few people were left, immediately fled the scene. in all we only made about $30... So even if we had missed it, we would not have been missing much. Fingers crossed that the Market in Kalona does not share the same fate.

But today, I had clear skies and high pressure to do my chalk drawings.  I think it turned out pretty good. 

And lastly,  wanted to show off the dragonfly swarm that has been patrolling our area this week.  I don't know if the gif will show it, but they dart and dash after the gnats and black flies that the humid weather brings.   Basically,  I love the dragon flies!  They are pretty and keep the yard free of biting bugs. They were joined by some Martins or Swallows as well. (* hard to tell in the dim light.) but together, cheer for them to eat as much as they can.  Their dances in the evening are quite a sight to behold.

Dragonflies Swarming in the evening, eating the gnats and mosquitoes.

Hope everyone is enjoying better weather this week.  Looks like next week will be dry, and hopefully, a little less humid as well.  Thanks for stopping in.

Birthday Day... For Me.

 Yesterday was my birthday.  And I skipped blogging altogether.  Probably because I have exhausted all of the jokes about age in a previous post.   I would not want to repeat myself... Year after year... With the same jokes again and again.

We did all the usual "Birthday Stuff":  Cake, ice cream, fish and chips. A few presents and cards in the mail.   Things that I can always use...

There is a threat of rain this week.   Everyday...  Today was supposed to be thunderstorms.   It is currently hot and humid and sunny... but no rain.   It Did say 78% chance.. I guess we got the 22% miss roll.  Lucky us. There is rain and stormed predicted Thursday... again!  But I decided that maybe I would take the chance and chalk anyway.  I mostly stayed near the buildings and eaves.  In case it actually does rain, they will be somewhat sheltered. 

And lastly, the Subie is in the shop with a minor issue.  Turns out the "funny sound" that I thought was the fan belt turned out to be the harmonic crankshaft pulley was coming apart. It made it to the Saturday Farmers market but began to squeal on the way home.   Thankfully Wellman is only 7 miles from Kalona, and we no sooner arrived in our driveway when both of the belts slipped off the pulleys! 

Slightly misaligned. 

I had the old belts still. so I was about to put them on when I discovered that even if I put them on, they would just slip off again.  the Crankshaft and the alternator, AC and Power steering pulleys were misaligned.  Lacking a 22 mm socket, and the special tool required to get the pulley off, I figured I would leave it for the Pro's downtown.   The Pulley has to come off anyway when they replace the water pump and timing belt.   I figured I gave them a head start by removing all external belts ahead of time. 

The down side is that we are stuck at home now until next Thursday.  Not this Thursday... NEXT Thursday.  They said they might be able to get us a loaner car to allow us to head to the city if we need to.  There is also the chance that he could replace just the pulley and get us on the road, saving the timing belt for later.   We have all the parts.( they came today in the mail) but he simply requires the time.  And since he is the only game in town, and within walking distance, the ball is in his court. 

But looking at the positives:  This mechanical failure could have stranded us miles away from home.  It didn't.   It could have cost us an expensive towing bill, it did not.  It could have failed and permanently damaged the engine.  It did not.  And I was going to have the operation done anyway, so all of this inconvenience is really just slightly earlier than expected.  In fact, the failure happened in our Driveway!  And I found both of the new belts and they appear to have no damage.  It could have sliced, shredded, melted, or lost the belts that we just purchased.  But I found the power steering belt in Don's yard and the AC belt slipped into the engine but we stopped just before any friction occurred. Bottom line: It could have been much worse. 

So,  Looks like I will have plenty of time to chalk in the park.   Provided it does not rain or melt me from the heat.  There are only a few places that are shaded, and most of those areas lack good concrete for chalking. But, we shall see how things play out.   We still want to be able to go to the Thursday Market in Washington.   Hopefully,  the Loaner car will be available. Or better yet!  Subie will be miraculously healed.  Fingers crossed.

Celebrating 350,000 Miles. Go Go Silver Bullet Subaru!

That is correct!  Subie has passed another milestone by passing the 350,000 mile mark.  Unfortunately there are no badges for this achievement.  So....I will have to brag about it on the blog.  Yeah Subie!

However,  I must acknowledge that pride and bragging often bring small doses of Karma.   Call me superstitious.  (It still does not stop me from saying stuff though....)  Being an "elderly" car, I know that I have to pay special attention to small squeaks and hums now.  For instance,  A minor low sound caused me to finally replace the AC compressor belt  that had not been changed since we purchased the car back in 2012!  How neglectful on my part!   I guess my theory of "if it is not sqweelin', don't mess with it." can only get you so far.  

Did it stop the sound?  Maybe.   I think it sounds better, but Cheryl is not so sure.   After a little research on belts,  the You Tubers tell me that if you are replacing the old belts on the alternator and AC, you may want to think about the Timing Belt that runs the entire engine! 

Timing belt?  Um...  When was the last time?  2015 I think... maybe.  

So I asked the local Mechanic and he said it sounds like it is about due.   So Subie may be scheduled for a "Preventative Check-up" in the near future.   If it gains another 150,000 miles, I'll do it!

In other news,   Cheryl and I checked out a few other Farmer's Markets this week.   We stopped by the Wednesday night one in Coralville. It was small, but it did appear some people were buying things.   We may have to sign up for that one in the future. ( Somewhere, there is a building with my name on it.) 

Yesterday, it rained a LOT in the morning.   We got completely soaked while riding our bikes in Iowa City.  We thought the rain would keep us from going to the evening market in Washington, but it lightened up and was actually a pleasant experience.   We even managed to see over $100 worth of soap!  

The Music was kind of bad, though.  a local female chorus butchered many of my favorite songs.   I don't want to be too mean here, but I think Karaoke night at a Bar would have sounded better.  Ah well, music is an acquired flavor. 

Rain is in the forecast for the next several days, but it is hard to say just how much rain we will get.   I do know that my Mermaids are probably gone now.   So, back to square one once again!  I do tend to want at least a couple days between showers before attempting my next masterpiece.  We shall see how things go.   Thanks for stopping in.

Mermaids in the Park.

 I have been working on Mermaids in the park.  And o be completely honest here, I have just enjoyed a Beer and my typing is a little off.   I guess maybe it is a good idea not to drink a beer if you are a little dehydrated after an afternoon in the sun.  ( By the way. it took me several attempts to get that sentence right.  ( beer. bear.  Drink think.  Sentances sentences.   Thank goodness for Spell check....  Sometimes.)
So... with my typing skills sufficiently  hampered.  I will try to keep the words to a minimum and  show off the pictures.  

The Merms!

Three days to get six mermaids!  And their "lovely Items" added.  Goodness!  The bear is really effecting me!   So without further a due...  The pics. ( I probably should have not let Spellcheck fix my errors.  IT would have been funnier that way...

The Process!

The Surround Panoramic View.

The Lovely Item accompanying the Girls.