Thanksgiving at my house was fairly typical. We had a turkey. I managed to get most of it off the bones and onto the tray. We opened a can of cranberry sauce and age two tablespoons worth. We had three types of potatoes: potato salad, mashed potatoes and then potatoes that were cooked in the roaster with the turkey for three hours. Those are the best.
And there was pie: homemade Granny Smith apple, pumpkin made from pumpkins grown in our own garden, cherry, blackberry, key lime, banana cream, coconut cream, gluten-free cherry and apple. There may have even been some that I missed. In total there were 12 pies. And there were 10 people. There are always more pies than people. It’s a family tradition.
Tomorrow morning we shall have pie for breakfast, another family tradition.
What is not a tradition, or at least if it is, this is the first year of it, is bench pressing a truck. That maybe needs a little explanation. My truck is broken. . . yes, again. The diferential was making strange noises. I decided to rebuild it. It’s not a repair I’ve done before. But, earlier this week I had it towed home and we started tearing it apart.
The problem was that I already had a car in my driveway. My daughter’s car was still being repaired from an accident she had a couple weeks ago. I parked the truck behind the car and worked on both.
To rebuild the differential, you have to remove the rear wheels and the axles. Eventually, it became clear that I could fix the car quicker than I could fix the truck. I put a halt to the truck rebuild and focused on the car. I finished it up this morning as the rain started.
But, how to get the (now working) car past the truck and out of the way? I could drive on the lawn, but the truck bed and canopy were in the way.
So, this afternoon after the rain had stopped, and we had eaten the turkey and sampled the pies, I announced we were having a work party.
Everybody outside. We have a short work project. Welcome to Thanksgiving at the Bliss House!
My sons, daughters and fiance put on shoes, boots and gloves. We surrounded the overturned truck bed and moved it out of the way. The canopy soon followed. Now, some back and forth jockeying with the Honda and I managed to get the Honda on the lawn and out to the street.
The truck was another issue. The front wheels were fine, but there literally were no rear wheels. Nor a bed. I assumed we’d be able to balance it on the front wheels and then push/pull it up close to the garage.
Even with our family and a neighbor from across the street all lifting together, the truck refused to come off the jackstands. Fortunately, I have a wheeled floor jack. placing the jack under the trailer hitch, we push/pulled and very carefully guided the truck up next to the garage.
Okay, that’s what we needed. Thanks for your help.
Yes, welcome to Thanksgiving at the Bliss house.
Hope yours was great.
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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