Comfort Food

Tonight I ate fried chicken tenders with cream gravy and spicy wedge fries, purchased from the deli counter at H.E.B.  (I had to make a third trip to the store for Thanksgiving groceries, so I had a good excuse to visit the take out counter.)  I also had to have a Shiner Bock with my dinner.  And just to round things out, I had apple pie with whipped cream for dessert.  The pie was from the H.E.B. Bakery (buy a pie and get a free whipped cream).   I'm tired from a two day work week *grin* and have to keep my strength up for a couple of days of standing around in the kitchen cooking.

Here's what's on the menu for Thanksgiving Day.  Everything is cooked from scratch except the broccoli (Green Giant Steamers) and rolls (Sister Schubert's).

• Turkey, dressing, and gravy
• Cranberry sauce
• Mashed potatoes
• Sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping
• Broccoli with cheese sauce
• Parker House rolls
• Blueberry gelatin salad
• Iced tea, beer, wine, coffee
• Pumpkin pie
• Carrot cake
• Apple crisp 
• Andes creme de menthe chip cookies

All the boys will be home, plus the oldest is bringing his girlfriend.  My daughter is hosting her in-laws, so this will be our first Thanksgiving without her.  I'm really going to miss her.  But I can't wait to hear her stories!

I ♥ Thanksgiving!

The Sweet Sound of Success

This is my 14 year old Honda Harmony 215 mulching mower, subject of an older post in July when we were in a serious drought condition.  Three weekends ago it just quit running, so I let it sit, thinking it was just something minor.  I knew it needed a new air filter, as I had been mowing over a lot of dust and dirt this year.

Two weekends ago, I started up my 26 year old Snapper and mowed the wild garden.  I was pretty amazed that it started, because I don't think I used it last year.  But as I was finishing up the 3rd tank of gas, it, too, died and wouldn't start again.  A friend came over and put in a new spark plug in the Snapper, but to no avail.  He tried to start the Honda but broke the cord.  Still two mowers down.

Last weekend I worked on both mowers, draining the old gas, refilling with new gas, and installing a new pull cord, new spark plug and new air filter in the Honda.  Both mowers eventually started and ran for about 5 minutes.  That was it.  I decided that I would take the Honda in for service, as it's my main mower, but the man I had been using wasn't in business anymore.  Plus, there's the problem of living alone and not being able to lift the mower into my car.

I couldn't find the Honda manual, so I did some internet research and convinced myself that the carburetor was messed up from using old gas (plus I had to take the Honda in for service twice in the past for the same reason).  Dummy me, when will I ever learn?  One situation that I uncovered in my internet research involved oil getting into the carburetor from tipping the mower too far onto the carburetor side or upside down.  I knew this had been done while emptying the old gas, so I tried not to worry, and I approached the problem from the simplest solution to the most complicated solution.

Today I bought gas stabilizer, oil, and yet another spark plug in case I had ruined one last weekend.  I had found the Honda manual during the week, so I decided to drain the carburetor before I did anything else. You're supposed to do this before storing the mower for the winter, and I had NEVER done this. I figured it was a good first step.

   

This is what came out, a dirty mixture of water and gas and gunk.  The drain bolt is only partially loosened.

This is what the carburetor looks like with the drain bolt removed.  It looks clean inside.  All the linkages were working properly.  I flooded the chamber under the carb with gas to flush it out, and more rusty gunk drained out.  I put the mower back together and put in today's new spark plug, but it still wouldn't start.  I was so frustrated by this development that I finally decided to take the carb off and clean it.  After all, I'm at least as smart as the average guy.

It was hard to get the carb off the mower, because the linkage controlling the throttle wouldn't come loose easily.  I couldn't find any info about removing the linkage, so I finally resorted to using needlenose pliers to twist it, and it worked.

This is what the mower looks like without the carburetor.  I looked inside the engine, and there was no oil up near the carburetor.  What a relief.

This is what came out of the carburetor, more rusty-looking gunk.   Click to zoom on any of these photos.

When I removed the bottom chamber (on the right) and took it off the carburetor, here's what I found.  It was filthy inside, and more water/old gunky gas came out.  The orange plastic thing on the left is the float mechanism that keeps the gas at the correct level in the chamber.  The tube projecting out is the main nozzle that delivers the gas to the carb.  It has a tiny pinhole passage into the carb itself.

I proceeded to clean the gunk with gasoline, because that's what I had on hand.  Everything I read said to buy special carb cleaner, but I had grown up watching my dad work on old jalopies, and he always cleaned parts in gasoline.  Guess if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me.  I know it's not a smart move, but I worked outside and worked carefully.  I used long wooden cotton swabs to scrape and clean the gunk, and I used a syringe to squirt it all down.

Here's the cleaned carb.  It's not perfect, but compared to what it looked like when I took it apart, it's clean.  I also used a very fine gauge nichrome wire to probe the nozzle leading up to the carb, and there was no obstruction.  For good measure, I used the wire in every opening I could see, and on the bigger openings I used a 24 gauge copper wire.

Here's the evidence of the cleaning.  Nasty, huh?

This shows mounting the carb back on the threaded posts and reconnecting the three linkages.

Next the air filter housing got reinstalled.  I used a 10 mm socket.  Honda is nice to design things so that you can use a 10 mm wrench for all the bolts and a standard spark plug wrench on the spark plug.

Next goes the air filter.

Then, the air filter cover.

Last but not least, the sweet sound of success!!!  Put on choke to fill the chamber with gas, pull gently, and voila!  It runs like new.

Was it worth it?  Yes, on sheer principle.  It took about 3 hours, and part of this time I was on the computer finding information.  I learned something new today, got a valuable lesson in self-sufficiency, and saved myself about $150 in service charges, plus the inconvenience of having to take it in and wait  a couple of weeks.  I really impressed myself.  Is there an award for this?  Hit me up, someone!

I'm giving myself a gold star, and tomorrow I'm changing the oil.

Teachings on Love

Last night I just finished Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh. It was published in 1998. Thay, as he is affectionately called, is a Zen Buddhist monk who has written over 35 books presenting the Buddha's teachings, yet this is not a "religious" book. The teachings are universal. Hahn offers Buddhist practice as a means to heal, reconcile, and reunite with your blood and spiritual families, in order to re-discover and strengthen your own traditions. Buddhism does not oppose other spiritual traditions, and it's been practiced for 2600 years.

In the first chapter, Hahn introduces The Four Immeasurable Minds of Love, and he gently expands on this theme throughout the book. Briefly, Love (Maitri) is the intention and capacity to offer joy and happiness. Compassion (Karuna) is the intention and capacity to relieve and transform suffering and lighten sorrows. Joy (Mudita) is present if the love is true love. Equanimity (Upeksha) is nonattachment, nondiscrimination, even mindedness, or letting go.

Some of these teachings are not unfamiliar to me; they are a continuation of things I've read and studied, things that have helped me be a better person. I think that my eyes were most opened by the chapters on Beginning Anew, The Five Mindfulness Trainings, and Touching the Earth.

I would like to offer these thoughts from the book in light of the tragedies at Fort Hood.

Beginning Anew is not to ask for forgiveness. Beginning Anew is to change your mind and heart, to transform the ignorance that brought about wrong actions of body, speech, and mind, and to help you cultivate your mind of love. Your shame and guilt will disappear, and you will begin to experience the joy of being alive. All wrongdoings arise in the mind. It is through the mind that wrongdoings can disappear.

We need to use our understanding and love to embrace even those we consider to be our enemies.

When we touch the present moment deeply, we also touch the past, and all the damage that was done in the past can be repaired.

Do not be afraid to love. Without love, life is impossible.

Westerners have been following a path of such extreme individualism for so long that many people have isolated themselves from their parents, ancestors, and society.

You pray for all those who have caused your family and country to suffer, including murderers, thieves, profiteers, liars, and despots, to be transformed by the merits of the Buddha, bodhisattvas, and ancestors. You see how their suffering has extended throughout many generations, and you do not want to hold on to hatred and resentment.

When you really see the suffering, hardships, and wrong perceptions of a person who has made you suffer, you are able to love and forgive him. At that moment the stream of love and compassion fills your heart. Your heart is refreshed and soothed, and you are the first person to benefit from peace and joy. Afterwards, the way you live your daily life will have the capacity to transform the other person.

If you think you are alone, that is an illusion.

So, please smile. Take my hands. We will be with each other always, in one form or another. That is the insight of interbeing, the insight of no-birth and no-death, the world of nirvana here and now, the kingdom of God.

You are life without boundaries.

I've heard of people who have been able to forgive the unforgiveable, and I know that they have the ability to live deeply in the present moment, in interbeing, in true love and happiness. I want some of that.


Teachings on Love

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Happy pigs

Natural chickens

Chipotle came to Temple!

There's even an App for that!

♥♥♥

Whoop!!!  Free food and drink Thursday night.

Food With Integrity

One Year Ago Today, 11/4/2008

One year ago today, late at night, I got the call that no parent ever wants to hear.  "I have some bad news. Your son has been in an accident.  He's unconscious and probably has a concussion.  He's being airlifted to the hospital."

There were a lot of things about that day that were unusual.  I had voted for the first time in years, and I was watching the election returns when I got the call.  My son had wanted to drive his big brother's car that evening (a 1992 Nissan 240SX), but it wouldn't start, so I told him to take my car and pick up his girlfriend to go to her soccer game.  I had been to a satellite campus to deliver anatomical models to the new anatomy lab that morning, and all my paperwork for the big project was in the car, as well as a very expensive model.

My son's twin brother drove us to the scene of the accident.  He held it together even though he was visibly shaken.  We couldn't get very close, but I saw my car spun around in the intersection, and there were papers and debris all over the road.  There was nothing we could do.  The helicopter was getting ready to leave. We went to the hospital emergency room. It was a long ride, and I couldn't stop crying. My 18 year old son drove fast but carefully; he never lost his composure.

In the emergency room, we found out that my son had dropped off his girlfriend at her car before attempting to come home.  She could have been in the car with him, and she could have been injured also.  Instead, she was driving behind him and saw the whole accident.  My son was trying to turn left and was broad-sided by a Suburban.  His girlfriend called 911 immediately.  She held it together, too.  They're still together, even though they are attending different colleges in different towns.  Her whole family met us there at the emergency room, and we all clung to each other and cried and waited for some news from the doctors.

We eventually got to see my son, who had regained consciousness and couldn't remember the accident.  He needed plastic surgery to repair his face.  He didn't have any other broken bones, just some bad bruises and embedded broken glass in his left arm and face.

I stayed with him in the hospital for more than 48 sleepless hours before I left to go home and take a shower and change clothes.  He was in a lot of pain before and after the surgery, and he asked for it when he needed more morphine.  He came through the surgery just fine.  He has 3 titanium plates in his face, to repair his cheekbone, his upper jaw, and his sinus on the left side of his face.  He also has a plastic implant in the lower left eye orbit, which was shattered.  Miraculously, his eyesight is fine, his sinus is fine, and he's a handsome young man with no lasting complications.

It could have been much worse.  If he had been driving his brother's car, he might not have survived the accident.  I've thought about this many times, and I've thought that someday I could write about it.  There is much more to tell about that night, but for now, this is good.  It was hard to go back and look at the pictures of the car.  My son had to be cut out of it.  The pillarless design of the Honda Element called for a lot of extra reinforcing at the place where the front and rear doors meet.  I feel like this strong design saved my son's life, and he agrees.

I bought another Element, same year, same color.

And I thank God that my son is alive and well.  I'm so grateful that he got a chance to live his life.  That night changed my outlook in several significant ways. I'm also grateful for the people who touched my family's life and gave their love, support, encouragement, and abilities, to heal my son and minister to my family.

When I reminded my twins today of this anniversary, they wrote this:

:D [Twin A, who was in the accident]

oh, man, was that a year ago?  time flies ... jeez. [Twin B]


You know what?  They're fine and so am I.