Category: wife

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Bigfoot Talisman (Post #510) 8/30/2014

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I saw this fused glass Bigfoot at the Midsummer’s Night Fair a couple of weeks ago.  I was there to see the Oh! Johnny Girls.

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They were as awesome as I expected them to be. But the Bigfoot Talisman haunted me on the bicycle ride home. I told Mr. Fisher that it was imparitive that I get one for the Big White Bus.

So I checked with Mrs. Fisher who had very adepty stalked them and hooked me up with them on Facebook. I found out they were setting up at the Oklahoma City Arts Festival. I dragged Mrs. Okierover to the festival to pick up a fused glass Oklahoma necklace for her and my talisman.

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They both look great and now when go down to Southeast Oklahoma to cruise the back roads like outlaws, we won’t have any trouble with Bigfoot due to the supreme mojo of the talisman.

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I urge you to check out Jim Shelley’s work. I know you will see something you like. And if you want protection from Bigfoot while in the bush, this is the only place you can get a fused glass Bigfoot Talisman.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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The Perfect Wife (Post #225) 12/1/2010

I know I read this line somewhere but I can’t find the reference.

Its a rare thing and when you find it, you should grab it with both hands and hold on to it.

Maybe its a paraphrase of something I heard in my youth. I found some lyrics to a song by Outkast that come close. Some where around the 3:20 mark you’ll hear the prophetic lines…

So if you find one, I beg you, hold her tight
If you spot one, good sir, treat her right

Some of the comments on the video are funny.

Kinda old song, but I like it and i feel a lot of people need to hear it.  – dh2130, June 28, 2008

According to Wikipedia the album was released September 23, 2003.
Kinda old? 
That’s funny. But dh2130 is right, a lot of people do need to hear this.

You will encounter things your entire life that will hopefully fit in to this “hold on to it philosophy”. It could be a Camel Trophy vehicle, it could be a classic motorcycle, it could be a rare photograph or painting that really speaks to you. And it could be a lady.

I got the following text from my good friend JagGuy today…

So I’m laying in bed with my wife last night and she said to me the most wonderful thing,
“I think you should buy some more army trucks.”
I love my wife!!!!!

My best friend has been working on a new venture and he enjoys the work and turns out a product people really want. It would seem at first that his wife is happy with it and he should do more of it. How awesome is that?

My response to him was skeptical, mostly because I know his wife. In general I would say I “know” most people’s wives…

Is this after you gave her the Tiffany tennis bracelet?

It turns out I was close, this was actually in response to him selling another of his Bobbed Dueces. I’m pretty sure JagGuy is going to hold on to Mrs. JagGuy, as you can tell above, she’s a keeper.

But what if this was due to the fact that they both had a hobby they enjoyed….together? 

They may have a hobby they do together, I don’t know. But that quote got me thinking. Besides the obvious hobby couples share and usually both enjoy, only a few of my friends have hobbies their wives enjoy with them. A quick survey of my closest circle of friends produces only a few things some of the couples have in common. Kids, sports, grand kids, movies…kinda bleak.

I know my hobbies. Let’s see if any of them line up with Mrs. OkieRover…
Land Rovers?…not a hobby of my wife.
Living History?…again not a hobby of my wife.
Firearms?...nope.
Soccer?…not a chance.
Camping…not YET a hobby of my wife. I hope to change this in the coming year.

We both love to go on road trips.
We both love staying away from home.

Now all I have to do is combine road trip with staying away from home in a tent and BOOM we have a hobby together. I think I can add bird watching and swimming in the ocean to the package and sweeten the deal. Mrs. OkieRover doesn’t do cold weather.

See when you have a woman, like Mrs. OkieRover, you hold on to her. She has put up with a lot of my crap over the years. She has allowed me to have hobbies and spend time doing stuff I LIKE for 20 years. We played competitive softball for a few years together, but our bodies have not allowed softball since we gave it up to watch our kids play sports.

We are just a few short years from being what is known as “empty-nesters”. Our nest, which we have built over the last 20 plus years is going to be a few bodies short in just a few years. And until now, we haven’t thought much about it. But with only teenagers in the house the last few years we have been able to steal away a few trips. And we like it.

Our future is coming at us faster than a K5 Blazer without brakes on the Lion’s Back in Moab.

Now we are looking at have what might appear to be years and years of time to entertain ourselves. We have got to find something we both like to do…together… other than play backgammon. We need to find something to do away  from the house….together.

The obvious is travel.
Lots of couples travel together.
I have a Land Rover. Hey! you can travel in a Land Rover, I’ve seen it.
My wife has a … ummm, uh, a love for my company! Yeah! Well most of the time anyway.

My wife loves my cooking, for the most part.
I love the way she moves her mouth when she eats.
See we are perfect for each other! Perhaps we can enjoy cooking and eating in the wilderness together.

Cooking is a very popular activity in the off-roading magazines. It seems lots of foodies love off-roading. Expedition Exchange used to have the Iron Chef Showdown. Teams would compete by cooking a gourmet meal. We are not gourmet meal people but we both enjoy a nice steak and a baked potato. I know I’ll enjoy cooking us some nice dinners while we are camping.

Or perhaps we can get the grand kids and take them camping and fishing. Maybe we can throw in some board games and some swimming or surfing, maybe some star gazing and some bird watching and make a good time of it. I’m sure the grand kids will love it…at least they will until it begins to interrupt what ever hand held gaming system they will own and what ever cell phones are like in the future.

The possibilities are endless. Well, not endless per se. We just have to find something and try it. I’ll have to have patience as we work out what we like to do together and Mrs. OkieRover will have to adjust to not having a roof over her head and waking up in a hotel every morning.

I can’t wait to see what the future will be like. I hope it is filled with lots of mornings waking up in some remote place and spending lots of time together.

Like my quote above, I’m going to put her in the Range Rover and hold on to her with both hands. Wait, she usually fusses at me when I don’t drive with both hands. She always says something like, “I can’t believe you are driving with your knees and eating a cheeseburger.” Okay maybe I’ll hold her with just one hand, I’ll use the other to steer.

As the famous Geritol commercial from the 1970s says, “My wife, I think I’ll keep her.”
I wish I could have found that clip online…and you thought the internet had everything.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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Oil Change and O2 Sensors for the Disco (Post #93) 6/8/2008

Today I was able to get the 81000 mile oil change done. It was uneventful as always. I did have to get some oil and a filter from O’Reilly’s as I didn’t have enough. Got the Wix filter and another 4 quarts of Castrol 20w50.
As I was under the Disco I noticed that I’m loosing what can only be transfer case oil. This might explain the recent noise coming from that unit. So I guess next weekend I’ll be getting some additional synthetic transfer case oil and once again getting it filled up.
I also installed the new oxygen sensors. It was also an easy job. No major snags. You can read about that here.
And some additional good news…Janie got a 100% on her ACLS test this weekend. So a hard week of studying and cloistering herself in the bedroom and tying up my computer studying paid off. Good work dear.

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November 4, 2005 (Post #63)

November 4, 2005
Gas mileage down, Disco search halted
EGD stated that the BWB has a nasty odor coming from her. Coincidentally the gas mileage has dropped to 13.5 from the 14.5 and 15 mpg I was getting. I expect she is running rich and will need the oxygen sensors replaced, again!

Discovering a Discovery
My dear wife, oh how I love her so. After she watched me work on the BWB for 3 straight weekends, said we needed a new car. I told her I wanted to get another Rover. Her concerns were all valid. You recite them with me being as you are probably a Rover Owner too. Reliability, warranty, etc…

She did have a few guidelines.

  • little or no maintenance: She doesn’t want me working on it “all the time”.

  • So that eliminates an older Disco I and another Range Rover Classic

  • she wanted 7 seats: Sweet! I’m thinking Series 109inch. Man how good would I look
    driving around a 109 or an early Defender 110?!?! Damn good that’s how good.

  • air conditioning: Okay so no Series, Discovery has a seven seat option.

What did that leave me. Discovery SE7. Our price range is mid 20s and lower. That would mean a $500 plus car payment and more insurance. But RovErica will be driving this time next year. And Drewster Rooster will be needing an auto in just under 4 years. He is happy to drive the Taurus and RovErica likes the novelty of the Rover as I do. So I’m thinking she can drive the BWB and I’ll have a Disco II.

All sound arguements. Except for these facts:

  • I DON’T WANT ANOTHER CAR PAYMENT. We just got both cars paid off.

  • SE7s just don’t grow on trees apparently. They are out there, but as of this
    writing there are zero, zilch, nada, AKA none in Oklahoma. Not a single one.

I got cold feet not getting to look at the vehicle, in person, prior to purchase. Also some of these vehicles are quite a haul from our location in Central Oklahoma. One nice one was in Jonesboro, Arkansas, it had the built in DVD for somewhere around $23,500. There were a couple of nice ones in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area too. And at least 10 in Denver. But those are long drives for nothing if I don’t buy.

But alas, I digress.
So we said, let’s wait. So I’m guessing in Spring I’ll be looking for a 2003 or 2004 Discovery II SE7. Good news is those 2003’s and 04’s will be another year older and another year depriciated.

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October 14th, 2005 (Post #62)

October 14th, 2005
Charging problems
All of a sudden I have a charging problem. Everything was working fine. I leave my lights on one time at work and drain the battery to zero. So I get it jumped and it manages to get me home and such. So a week later I don’t drive the BWB for an entire weekend. That was nice. Anyway, Monday morning she is dead again. So I jump her and drive her to work. Battery drains over the day and I have to have a jump again.

I get home and have to jump the next morning again. So I take it to the O’Reilly’s they test the battery and the alternator. Thumbs up on the alternator according to the guy holding the tester. So I go in and get another battery, prorated and it costs me $15.05(US). Sweet what a deal.

So a couple of days later it’s dead again. I can’t figure that out. So with a suggestion from EGD I begin pulling fuses while measuring the amps at the battery. That was a tricky deal, because the measurement changes as the devices draw. I’m averaging 1.4 to 1.7 draw. I notice how ever that on a couple of fuses when they are out I’m drawing 4.3 to 5.2. With them out I draw more?

Also depending on how long I kept the leads connected the voltage would eventually drop to .3. I’m guessing that was something to do with the meter. Meters don’t like to be conductive paths and I figure that was a safety feature to protect the meter. That is a guess of course.

Well as I’m testing I notice a very high frequency hum coming from my right. Over near the alternator. So I listen closer and the alternator is humming. That can’t be right I think. Also the 4.3 to 5.2 is on the meter when I hear it. Remove the leads it goes away. Reconnect it is back. Well a few times anyway. I am unable to make the hum start on my own accord. So I am convinced the alternator is toast. All that charging on a dead battery could wear out an old under powered alternator anyway.

Lots of web pages mention the alternator being too wimpy anyway. This is supported by the fact that when you order a rebuilt one, they are 100 amp and not 80 amp like the original.

So I order the alternator from NAPA with a lifetime warranty, five year free towing to a NAPA service center. If the alternator is the reason for the tow a new alternator and the tow are free. What the hell, I say, $290 bucks. Whatever I want the damn thing fixed. The teasing from EGD, Titanium Hitch, and my boss is becoming unbearable.

So I swap the alternator. Two big bolts, remove the air filter assembly, loosen the belt tightener. Swap. Bolt it back up, done. Poof like 30 minutes I’m done. I cleaned off the terminals and the battery cables and even grease them for fun.

I go to start it and nothing. Turns over does not start.

First I’m thinking WTF? Those two things aren’t related, well not much anyway. So I get RovErica to fire her up while I check for spark. No spark.

With a suggestion from JagGuy who informs me I must have busted a wire when I was working near the ignition relocation module. Okay so I go back and every wire I touch breaks. Makes me wonder how it was running in the first place. So I wire it all back up with some difficulty. Not completely understanding where all the wires go makes the logic hard to follow. But wired back up it was. Still nothing.

I give up and my wife says it might be good to look for another Rover. “If this one is going to be down three days a week. You’ll need to get to work.” That was bad. I don’t want another car payment right now. And I’m beginning to doubt why I am obsessed with these Rovers. I printed up the testing procedures and got to Test 2 before I find the problem, dead coil. I give up at 11:15pm, send the emails to work telling them to cancel my appointment and telling them I’m dead in the water.

In the morning I call JagGuy again. He says Eric that doesn’t make any sense if you are wired up and don’t have any voltage at the coil, it’s not the coil. It must be something else. I tell him how frustrated I am and that I’m well over my head at this point. He says casually as he signs off, telling me to call him later and to check your fuses and your connections again.

I have half the wiring harness disassembled and am wondering how all this works. I think okay check the fuses. Why didn’t I check them earlier? Well guess what dead 20 amp ignition fuse. Feeling like a complete horse’s ass I fire her up and everything worked. Fun thing happens while I’m reassembling the wire harness…the NEW alternator makes the hum sound.

What is wrong with me? I’m a smart guy, well sorta. I’m no slouch anyway. Why can’t I understand all the concepts related to ignition systems? It’s rhetorical, so don’t email me on that.

It’s a few day later and all seems well and the alternator is working well. The battery is not discharged. I own a new trickle charger. And I can now get to work.

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August 15th, 2005 (Post #62)

August 15th, 2005
More updates.
I fixed the Archive files. They were really screwed up.

Ignition
Had trouble with the ignition this past week. With my back being in it’s current very screwed up state it has been difficult to get in and out of any car. The MRI says I have an L3 L4 compression with pressure on my nerve root. Very painful by the way, the pain feels like my right hip is dislocated. L4 L5 is torn and something is wrong with L5 S1 too. The biggest worry is the first one. With that said I finally figured out that if I put my head in first and then climb in I don’t have to bend my back as much. But this caused me to bump, with my knee, the steering column.

This caused the already troublesome connection on the back of the ignition switch to be in a mostly unconnected state. It would start if I held the key right and jiggled the column plastic. But I had no accessories, lights, or much else.

To fix it I took some time before one of RovErica’s softball games to take the column off and fix the ignition plug more snuggly to the switch. I used two zip ties and just tightened them up to snug the plug to the back. It worked better than I thought it would have. You no longer have to double turn the ignition switch to get the BWB started and the radio and all the accessories work without fault.

Loosing oil
I am loosing some oil past the pan. JagGuy warned me not to tighten and thus
crush the cork gasket too much. But I must have done that. I will need to schedule
a new gasket on my next oil change.

Coolant
The past few mornings the low coolant light has been blinking when I start up. I haven’t had time to check the level but will need to do that tomorrow morning, if I’m not running late to work.

Complaints
My wife complained the other day when I was driving her home that the heat on the passenger side floor board was unbareable. I will have to see what happened there. It has all the padding still, maybe it slipped down. Who knows? I may just get piece of heat pad for below the pad just for fun.

Air Conditioning
Well the AC is no longer working. I got a black light out and sure enough the compressor is toast. Lots of leaks. So I broke down and ordered one. I saw the prices at all the regular places. Atlantic British, Rovers North and British Pacific. None of them could come close to the price of
Oklahoma Auto Air. I bought a new compressor for $295. They had to order it from a supplier because it wasn’t in stock but they had it the next day. JagGuy has used them for years. I will probably have them make my new hoses too. The prices of which were cheaper than the online catalogs too.

They quoted me a price per foot and a price for each end. The exact numbers escape me as of this entry but I’ll give you the details when I’m done.

Tell Don Murphy Eric Stephens from OkieRover recommended you. There will be more
in my write up on the Tech Tips page.

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