10.28.2026

What a gorgeous sunrise to start the day...

I was gone until early afternoon, doing errands from a haircut, to getting my flu shot, to going to the grocery stores.  

Jim is still doing some tweaking on the car - once I got home and Jim schlepped all my groceries upstairs, we got the hood lifted back onto the car...

All in place and hooking up fluid hoses...

 

High 51.9/Low 30.5

10.27.2026

Jim had to start the day doing blood work in advance for his physical next week.  The best news is that his PSA was still 0!  So incredibly grateful.

Jim continued buttoning things up on the 4Runner and getting the tires back on.  It's back on the ground!

Then we took it out for a test drive around the block, minus the hood.  It ran great!

 Doing some diagnostics...

Tonight was the Mug Club party - perfect because Jim and I had much to celebrate!  Once a year, you have to pay for your mug for the year.  In exchange, you get a free t-shirt and the party, which is all the food and beer you want - or have room for.  We stayed for our fill and then left but it is always fun to head into Saratoga.

High 53.8/Low 34.7

10.26.2026

Jim spent all afternoon tying up loose ends on the 4Runner.  He got the radiator installed...

Using his vacuum system to fill up the brake fluid...

Battery is back in, complete with its new cover...

So now there's nothing left but to try and start it.  Every single system in the engine has new parts and pieces, so if something doesn't work, it's going to be a diagnostic nightmare.  Jim doesn't have the seats in the car, so he had to sit on the floor to start it...first crank and it started!

Now Jim is doing checks to make sure there are no leaks or issues...

Checking underneath...

This has been months of work culminating in this start up!  I'm always confident that Jim can do anything so I'm never surprised, but just very happy!

I had an eye doctor appointment this morning, and the turkeys weren't even bothered as I backed out of the driveway...

High 70.2/Low 33.4 - gorgeous!

10.25.2026

Jim has continued to work on finishing up connections and hoses in the engine.  He got the new studs put in and torqued.  Here he's putting in the fan...

Everything looks so good!

Cleaning the radiator...

He was supposed to meet someone for a Craigslist sale but the guy postponed it so he just got home as I'm typing this.  

10.25 - High 58.4/Low 29.9
10.26 - High 63/Low 30

10.23.2026

 Jim finished cleaning the windows and got the Bobcat ready to reinstall them...

Finishing up inside the pole barn...

Jim's been waiting for hardware for the 4Runner and late this afternoon the studs finally arrived.  They've been a tough part to get - Jim originally ordered them through a Toyota dealer south of us and that didn't work.  We ordered them from the dealer in Saratoga, waited over a week, only to find out that Toyota canceled the order because the minimum order was 10.  So Jim found another source online and hopefully all will be well.  

These oak trees on the west side of the house outside the auto bay are just glowing with color in the sunshine...

High 57.3/Low 35.4

10.22.2026

Jim started putting the inside of the car together - working on connecting the 4WD shifter... 

Time to finish cleaning the windows of the Bobcat.  These are the side windows that are hidden behind this grated steel, so they aren't accessible for a good clean...

Scraping concrete splashes off the windows.  Then he sprayed them both off again before leaving them inside to dry...

High 64.9/Low 31.1

10.21.2026

 Jim got the other drive shaft on and all 16 of the bolts torqued.  

In the afternoon, we decided we needed some fresh fall air and went outside to do some clean up.  Jim cut down our two dead pines.  This is the perfect time to cut down any rogue trees trying to grow in the pines, because you can easily pick out the yellow leaves.  So we went along the edges and did that cleanup.  We assembled our first fall chipping pile.

A pre-winter job is to get the Bobcat ready, including cleaning the window and getting it installed.  Jim sprayed it off but there are a few concrete splashes he'll need to work on tomorrow...

High 62.4/Low 35.5