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This past week I've been working on a plan to get a new shed for the lawn equipment. Seemed simple enough with step one to grade the corner for a base, step two to order the unit I want and step three start laying out shelves for car parts. It's never that simple... I started moving things I had placed much earlier for a visual and measurement trial as it just doesn't work out for me sometimes when put on paper. As normally happens one thing leads to another and this time was no different. Just as I was about to place an order for stone and renting a machine doesn't my long time neighbour come over and tells me he needs to rebuild his fence as the 4x4 posts were rotting letting water down into the bricks and pushing some of them loose due to freezing over 30 years of winter months.... Sure enough the next morning (Tuesday) a crew starts at 8 removing the fence. By the end of the day all the wood fence was all removed and they started taking out and cleaning up the loose brick. I cancelled the stone and machine order for this coming weekend as the next thing was a concern about my eaves trough drain. When the brick wall was constructed we put the drain at the bottom of the footing since it was easy with the ground opened up. It runs out behind the backyard fence into an open ditch but had some concerns with the flow seeing some dirty water coming out when testing with a hose. Scratch any plans I had thought about as now I have to remove all the garden, rocks and pathway paver stones to allow a backhoe to dig it up for inspection and or replacement. THEN.... The idea was kicked around of moving my portable (not really...) tent beside the house (and the things in it...) for access with a bobcat plus materials. As of last night I just had to sit down and relax since anything I had planned was totally wiped off the board and I'm about wore out. I'm doing this alone much like MrEarl is with his Buick Gardens project and can attest to his question about helpers and their work ethics. Meantime I have exactly one month to get ready for my sons wedding which has been delayed for a year so far. She is even more disappointed than he is with this go around as the Provincial Lock Down has events limiting them to a maximum of ten people. The place for the reception cancelled on them saying they would not cater to only 10 people for dinner but would be returning their deposit... To quote a famous line, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get". To be continued. (no real choice is there?)

This past week I unloaded and placed the third trailer load of sod which is going to help raise the ground. Unfortunately I had to do it in the rain which was really fun... I now have a sore forearm which looks like I have hurt the muscles pretty good. It sucks getting older. Being never to old to learn, I will take my son's lead and be renting this unit he has done for his backyard project.

Just Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. For me this captures my thoughts anytime I'm behind the wheel of the Overland dad bought back in 1966... He got to drive it till loosing his license and then I was able to take him to shows which were on weekends.

Ain't that the truth buster!

One FINAL report on the old garage... Went by yesterday and took this shot. It's gone all but the fireplace at the back which originally was a screened in room separate from the garage. I never used it as, fire and gasoline are not a good mix for automobile preservation.

Due to Canada's history as a British Colony, today is a Holiday known as Victoria Day which is a day off to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday. I find myself really appreciating this as it is the first day I'm really able to enjoy the morning after the 5 month marathon getting moved out of the old garage! I still have much to do to get organised around home before the cars come into play but can now try to get it done on my time table again. One of the first projects I mentioned in my last post was getting the yard ready for a shed. The issue is that with the construction of a new wall and fence two years ago we waited to grade it knowing the back fill was going to settle so nothing was planted or landscaped, just keeping the grass/weeds cut, but now is the time to move on this. With my boy cutting up the sod at his place to put in a gazebo and patio I told him I'd take what I could get to use as fill. Naturally last week has been the hottest days of the year but started with this first load. Rolled up on the lawn it didn't look like too much but... After putting it down went back on Saturday to get a second bigger load. I can attest that loading it up in the trailer is easier than unloading and rolling it out... However, it is going to do the job and the price is right so going to stop complaining. I'll most likely get a load of top soil to dress the final grade but have to figure the easiest way to get it back there as it will have to be dumped in the driveway I guess. This is what has been done so far raising the ground 5 inches along the wall and have a third load to gather up yet. I'll get that load this week and it will go down on the right of the picture where I want the shed to be. I'm looking at something in the size of a 12x14 with barn doors to get my lawn equipment in & out easily. Once that is built I will build shelves for car parts that can survive the unheated spaces. As has been said, 'There is no rest for the wicked'.

Amature suggestion here... Save as many frame clips as you can, if you can. Bag and tag them as I'm sure they might be hard to find?

As long as everyone can avoid contracting the virus this pandemic has indeed provided the time at least to put into our cars. The 'Lock Down' is a bit of a conundrum though as I believe I see more cars (regular traffic) on the road now than I did here in Windsor anyway, than even last summer. The Buick is looking great Gary! Had our first shots - wishing every can Stay Well also. Doug

To say I'll be more condensed is a pretty good description of things right now Lance. Organized? That would be a bit of a stretch but it will indeed happen with more effort. I'm short on space here at home for the lawn equipment and planning on building a decent sized shed (or having one built) to get things out of the weather as they should be. Yard surface prep is the first order of business since the backyard has settled a lot since the new wall/fence was put in two years ago. I want to put in as big a unit as I can not only to house the equipment, but be able to build shelves for some of the car parts I have kept. Out of sight, out of mind is what will work for my wife. 😁😍 Meantime my boys must have been waiting for the move out to be finished as they both have put me on their call list for assistance lately. The oldest needed my help adding a paving stone addition to his patio which took all day. It came out better than he expected so is quite happy. (I put him on the ground placing the stones which made me happy.) The other one asked if I could help him by picking up some rental equipment he needed to bury a gas line and electric cable out to his garage, heavy enough to run a welder, compressor and other equipment. If I could I would buy him a trailer for all the miles mine has had put on it... I met him at the rental place at the prearranged time and was somewhat surprised to see him driving a 2021 Ram figuring he was able to log it out from work as he does development testing on new and future vehicles working in Auburn Hills and I have been privy to seeing and riding in some of them. What really surprised me was that he said it was his!~ 😱 With his employment there is an incredible lease program which can't be beat for the regular Joe. After we unloaded the rental equipment just had to bring it by to show his Mom who was equally impressed and truly happy about his success. However, The one disappointment she found with it was not having any running boards! With my daughter-in-law behind the wheel insisting she wanted to take Cindy for a ride I went and grabbed one of my work stools for her to be able to climb in.😏 I heard Paulina say, "Make sure you're buckled up as we are going to test this puppy out!" Gawd I love her. She loves Marks Mustang and enjoys the fast ride! Cindy didn't comment on how the ride went only saying what a beautiful truck it was.... Hopefully the boys can repay the favours for 'dear old dad' helping with my yard work and think by June 1st can get this thread back to the Buick's again. Likely will bring out the Nash first to continue getting things in order to put her up for sale though. Time is going to tell....

Have had an interesting turn of events this past week. With the small lawn cutting work I seem to be doing more of, I have been cutting the lawn across the street from the old garage for a few years which is keeping me aware of the progress being done. It wasn't too long after my last load that a bin was placed in the driveway and two days ago there was a young worker on the roof removing the shingles. Yesterday I went by to see Mom and stopped in to find this; Knowing the plan all along was for the owner to demolish the garage and separate the lot to build a new home, it wasn't a big surprise but like most changes, not always a easy pill to swallow... It was home to the Special for over 16 years as I rented the garage before I bought the place out of the Estate. I did a lot of work on her in there getting her back on the road. What the interesting part was, while I was there taking these pictures the owner came by and we had a good conversation about his plans. He looked at the front yard and mentioned he had to make some arrangements to get the lawn maintained so... I mentioned I cut the lady's lawn across the street weekly and I could take care of it for him too if he'd like. We came up we a plan so I will still be around (being paid for the work this time...) to witness the progress. Now on other plans of my own, I'm hoping by the end of May to bring the Nash home to further get her ready for sale. I had a call from a man yesterday that apparently is interested in buying her simply because he was visiting the owner of the place where I have her stored and Fred mentioned I was considering selling her. That leaves me about three weeks to get some things in order around home to not P**s of the wife having another old car around... Wish me luck on all fronts.

@EmTee, I appreciate what you are saying sir and thanks for the understanding. From my point of view it's that old saying, Hindsight is 20/20. I don't regret having the good things I saved/accumulated but realise that having them is one thing, but not doing anything with it is another. Today is the first week of actually not having to commit time towards the moving out and yes indeed feel the relief. However, I see a list posted on the fridge this morning from 'She who must be obeyed". Have to move on that soon or ??? 🙄 😘

OK @EmTee, at the risk of totally embarrassing myself, here you go. At this point there are just four cars and parts inside as I had the Nash parked in the carport covered up. It really was the start of the bigger "slippery slope" as once I moved the Whippet out, found I had even more room for "stuff"... like that rolling work bench for example. It did get used for a few projects before it got to this point but as the saying goes, Any flat surface needs to have something on it... my bad. I'll limit it to this as my back (and mind) starts to hurt just thinking about this! 🤕 Thirteen years later I think I might have learned this wasn't a good way to go and hopefully won't put my boys through the same trouble when my time comes but...still plan on enjoying some of what I have left before that time comes. Trusting anyone viewing this will learn what NOT to do to one's self.

Nice Roadmaster Lance! (but then I'm somewhat bias 😁) My Special came from Flint in that colour and while yours looks great as a survivor, think I'll keep her red coat. I think yours makes the car look lighter than one in black paint. Was it a norther car all it's life? It must have been kept in a good garage to be as nice as it looks. The really big question: Just how many large Buick's can one get into one's garage? Happy Motoring Lance.

While these Riv's are not mine my friend has gone through them both. We are in the most southerly part of Canada, Windsor, Ontario. Point Pelee National Park is that actual place being along the same line as the northern boarder of California. 1ST car: All numbers matching other than the tires and rims (which he has). And his other one.

Scary for sure! I didn't go any further taking the other head off to see just how scary that was but had to load it up to get it out of the old garage since the crew were hoping to start tearing down the garage in the next day or two. Spent the afternoon Wednesday getting that done. I set up my ramps supporting them as this thing is HEAVY! Attached my trusty block & tackle and slowly worked it up into the trailer. Had one very scary moment when I went to lengthen the blocks... I placed a 2x6 across the bottom wheels which appeared to be holding and as I stretched out the blocks (still attached) the unit started to roll down the ramps!! By the time I grabbed the block line the one wheel rolled over the edge and I had to put all my weight into pulling the unit back so it would not fall off onto the ground. (Two people would have avoided that) Saved it and slowly lined it back up tying another line to hold it in place while I finished repositioning the blocks. The rest went smoothly and once on board was able to relax. So to make a short story long, the next day I wanted to go take it to the scrapper and called to be sure they would assist in taking it off. The girl said no problem but make sure to drain the oil before hand. Oh Joy! There wasn't much room to get my oil drain container under it so ended up with a large aluminium 4 inch pan. Once I got the tight drain plug loosened, what starts to come out but WATER! This thing for sure had to have gone in a river or lake so didn't feel bad for sending it to become a part in a new vehicle. Even with the water taken out of the pan it wasn't big enough to hold all the oil so naturally made a mess but... Off I went. Hit the scale and the truck, trailer and load weighed: Not bad for a 1/2 ton F150. Went back to the old garage to gather up loose garbage even though the destruction will make things look bad while in progress but didn't want stuff on the floor for them. This is my parting shot and the final results of roughly 5 months of work. Soon this will look very different from what I was used to seeing when I pulled up...

This week will be the last efforts needed at the old garage. The last and final thing to move is the engine/transmission unit that most likely will end up in at the scrap yard. Since I had a bit of time left to officially be out decided to take apart as much as I could not only to lighten the moving but also was curious to see what the pistons looked like. YIKES! That was fun... Fortunately all the head bolts came loose quite easily. No way is this thing going to going to loosen up to be able to get at the transmission bolts so once I pull the other head, drain the oil pan, out it goes.

From one Doug to another, I appreciate your post which explains exactly where my state of mind has had to go into! Having been raised in a modest income family (no excuse) watching Dad do things with discarded objects, it just came naturally to pose what you said, "that may come in handy". Timing is everything in life and this was my time to get things in order. So be it. Yes, I will be happy to return to the Buick's again (plus the other antiques) and thank all of you for enduring my many none car postings. I, like I'm sure many of you, have missed the car adventures both on and off the road... Let's hope this summer we can get back to those gatherings and fun times! 😎 Stay Well, Doug

Don't I realise that John! The "oh no" part was my lame attempt at humour. Maybe should have posted some kind of face to accentuate the point? The patio stones however are going to be used in a pathway to a new shed I will be putting in at the back corner of my property so while salvaged, not going to sit around not being used. My good wife will not allow that to happen or I will suffer dire consequences! 😍

After lunch I went back and cleaned up some of the misc cardboard and plastic from the floor plus put a few things in the trailer. One of the last things to deal with will be that nailhead/transmission you see on the right which I will finish stripping out before it goes to the scrapper. I also made an arrangement with the owner to remove the patio stones on the side of the driveway so grabbed a shovel to lift one at a time, grab the edge and walk it into the trailer. Rain, mud and weight, all in the effort to save a buck...? Hmmm let's see, what else might I be able to salvage? (oh no!)

FINAL DAY for loading up the container as it left around noon! Fortunately with the miserable rainy day it was I was able to back the trailer in the garage as far as I could to get a few more things loaded that I didn't want in the container now. As I kept at it I received a call saying they were 15 minutes out so moved my rig out of the way for them. It is quite the system they have for moving these things. And it is controlled by a wireless unit much like one does with a radio controlled model car or plane. He can adjust this drive unit to keep it level at all times ensuring nothing inside is subject to sliding around. Should have gotten into this business... I have not spoken with the neighbours yet but can bet they are happy to see it gone from view. This will soon be my parting shot as it will be demolished soon along with the green fence and part of the side of the house where the door is to comply with the mandatory 60 lot size in order to "sub divide" the lot. The owner is planning to build a new home for himself and family and re-coupe some of his costs by selling the old totally renovated house. The neighbourhood its a changin'.

As luck would have it my oldest boy has conscripted my trailer and me this Saturday for a patio project he wants help with since his wife and son have gone to Hamilton to visit her family for the weekend. My father used to call it "COD", call on dad and was always ready and willing so happy to carry that tradition on while I can. Besides, both the Special and the Nash are a ways out in storage and the only two that currently run in the collection... There will be time for them yet.

Yesterday the light rain showers were perfect for me to leave the work I contracted and go to the old garage. By mid afternoon I decided enough was put in the container and made the call to have it removed today. There will be small cleaning up of misc things to either go in the other sea can or the trash later but soon, very soon, I can call this effort FINISHED! Time to gather up my rain suit as today is only good for DUCKS!

Really nice work Keith! The car is going to look great. I trust your son is there helping.

Getting near the finish line moving out of the old garage. Two trailer loads like this one with tools and such yesterday. It was by chance a friend said he was going out for a drive to exercise one of his cars asking if I needed a hand. Yup, come on by. This can't be over soon enough...

Well I'm in turn 4 of this horse race and the heat is on! Spent yesterday loading and unloading the trailer twice to bring some things home and out to the sea can. On the first trip home I get a call from a friend saying he was going out for a ride and wondered if he stopped by I could use a hand. Sure I said, meet me at home. This was the first load. After that was completed he offered to help at the old garage so over we went. I didn't mention what he was driving... Said it was only the 2nd time he has had her out in almost a year. (he has 5 other antique cars that run) It's great to have friends with like interests. With the trailer full again and it being almost 6 pm, I thanked him and suggested he head home as I would unload it myself after dinner. With today forecasting light rain showers will see how things go but I'm almost DONE!