Alfa Laughter

[GeePig]

Well, I am nearly back.The end of November is always a nightmare in Poland because the tax you pay in that month covers December as well. whatever, it means we get a stupid amount of work in November, especially the last week and overflowing into December. So I have done nothing on my bike for about two weeks now, and it is like leaving a dark tunnel.

Now where did I get to?

 

[Greg and Sammy]

Bikes before taxes!!!!!

 

[Ulu]

Polish prisons are very cold…

 

[GeePig]

Polish prisons are very cold…

Well, it just so happens that the guy from two farms up who feeds are cats while we are away is a prison guard...

 

[GeePig]

Looking at the forecast, we will have a lot of snow this weekend, and it is going to last for at least two weeks, which is going to be a problem...

 

[Ulu]

It looks like we have a schedule of rain coming up this next week, which is highly desirable. Every drop we get helps to end the drought.

But it means I won’t be disassembling the mini to clearcoat everything.

 

[GeePig]

We might have some rain next week, but we have a ton of snow at the moment, we had to dig our car out to leave for the city on Sunday - 18 inches of snow, and I had to reverse the car out. Then when we got around the first corner, wifie remembered that she had left her phone in the house...

Anyway, I have booked two weeks off over Christmas, so I will need to get all the bits together for one last, final build session.

 

[GeePig]

What with the weather and other things, it seems that my bike is being stretched between two locations.

I was worried that I would not have a suitable crank set, but I found that I had one non-Romet set left with a small sprocket. I am not keen on the plastic covers that it has fitted, but I am more worried at the moment what I might find underneath them. The arms probably have a dimpled as-cast look, but I would rather like to know what they do look like...

Other than that I have the seat post I might use, and the 'rod' that I might be able to use to make the rear support for the seat.

'Might' is a good word.

Anyway, I have booked two weeks off for Christmas. Well, I have booked the period up until New Year's eve, but the lazy 'people' in the office at work haven't organised the booking system for next year yet.

Here's the view from our yard before we had the big snow, and that is one of our friends in the village with possibly the last horse and cart in the district. while he has officially retired from farming, he still has enough to continue, along with his wife, doing the things he obviously loves to do. Which includes keeping the last horses in the village. We also have a wagon like that in one of our barns, and if he ever needs a replacement tire then we have a few of those as well in another barn.

Anyway, at the moment we are in the city, and I have loaded up everything for the project other than the actual frame, to take to our village home on thursday evening.

Well, we might have to stay on friday, if one of the dopey lecturers who don't wear masks get sick.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

The horse and wagon picture is pretty nice, considering that it's the eastern view of a west bound horse

 

[GeePig]

The horse and wagon picture is pretty nice, considering that it's the eastern view of a west bound horse

... of west bound horses


These carts are mostly drawn by one horse, but they do, like here, have a 2 HP capacity.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

of west bound horses

2nd horse's scenery was obscured...

 

[Ulu]

That’s a lovely photo Gee Pig,and I stole it to print on some Christmas cards.

 

[GeePig]

Ah well, Ulu, I never thought that any of my pictures would end up as that...

Here is another one, but this time without any wagons or horses - but now the snow is over half way up our fence. And that is our car, which is usually parked up opposite our barns, but that was as much snow that I was going to dig when we arrived back on Thursday evening. All the bike parts that we brought back with us are still sitting cosily in the car, which now lies under a quilt of snow.

Now we are back to digging paths in the snow so that we can get at our stock of wood in the middle barn.

The cats also find our paths useful, even if they cannot always see over the edges.

Tomorrow I will be shortening some of our wood from our stock so that they fit our stove - and then I might get a chance of digging my way to my Warsztat so that I can get something done on my bike.

Well, the frame is still in our city garage, but I can still do something - like working on my seat.

 

[Ulu]

As lovely as that looks in pictures, I don’t miss shoveling snow. Not for one minute.

Most of my life I lived along the US Canadian border.

Now I live where it looks like this all year round, and if you want snow you have to buy a snow cone or drive up the mountain. Just think, in 20 years I have never touched that driveway with a snow shovel.

 

[GeePig]

ah, and I think I am going to have to survive snowy whiteness all my life...

aarrgghhh!

 

[Ulu]

I certainly do enjoy the memories more than I enjoyed the actual experience.

 

[Ulu]

While I was out Christmas shopping, I ran into the local trolley.

I hadn’t seen it in so long I forgot that her name was Dolly the Trolley.

It has been cold here and you can see that all the leaves that are going to fall have fallen. The trees in the blossom trail all look just like this: bare.

 

[Ulu]

I got my Christmas cards back from OfficeMax today and the printing came out alright.

My wife was a schoolteacher and I have sharpened her old paper cutter several times in the past 30 years.

 

[100 mile howie]

As lovely as that looks in pictures, I don’t miss shoveling snow. Not for one minute.

Most of my life I lived along the US Canadian border.

Now I live where it looks like this all year round, and if you want snow you have to buy a snow cone or drive up the mountain. Just think, in 20 years I have never touched that driveway with a snow shovel.
View attachment 219794

I live in the mountainous Canadian west and my ancesters lived in Scandinavia. I have been shoveling snow about every other day for a month now and sometimes I imagine how they would laugh if they could hear me complain about the snow and cold. I don't think I would do very well in a climatic zone that didn't have four distinct seasons. I enjoy a hot sauna but I head for shade on a hot summer day. Last night it was -28 celsius here. That's cold enough that your boots sqweak on the snow as you walk and the snow turns to powder. This feels natural to me.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Last night it was -28 celsius here. That's cold enough that your boots sqweak on the snow as you walk and the snow turns to powder.

I know that sound. Styrofoam snow.