theboondork's RV blog

Grandkids are the best

6/22/2021

Roses are red, violets are blue, I think grandkids are best, how about you.... Clicking the pics will make the grandkids bigger.

Bouquet of roses growing in the garden.

I took my truck to the emissions testing place today, and with my new windshield, I could actually see the road this morning. And much to my shock and awe, the old oil burner passed with flying colors. I'm always amazed when it passes, because Denver has some pretty strict emission laws. I think one of the reasons is most of its long drives are on an interstate highway so it gets plenty of time to clean itself out and burn everything out of the particulate filter. I also use a synthetic oil but I don't know if that's got anything to do with it or not.

Now that the grandkids are back home again, I've come to realize that grandkids are the best. Regular kids are a pain in the butt. They're expensive; they take up all of your free time, they complain constantly, they're never satisfied, it's always... Please buy me a coat. I'm cold, buy me some food. I'm hungry; buy me some shoes; it's snowing outside, it never ends, they're a bottomless pit of need.

But grandkids are different; you seldom have to spend any money on them. You only have to see them when you want to. And if they start acting up, you can just drive off and leave them standing on their parent's front porch; grandkids are great.

We need to find a way to do away with regular kids and just have grandkids instead. It would be better for everybody, grandkids seem happy most of the time, and grandparents are a lot happier because of it. So I think the next time I do this, I'm going to skip being a parent and go straight to being a grandparent because I think the world would be a better place if it was full of grandparents and grandkids.

Theboondork

My granddaughter.

My grandson.

12 Comments

OFM

6/22/2021 04:29:15 pm

You have me curious now, what year is your truck? My diesel only made 300,000 miles before the exterior parts were worn out and needing replacement.

Tom

6/22/2021 05:35:54 pm

It's a GMC 2007. In 2007 General Motors made a drastic design change mid-year which thoroughly confused everyone, so my 2007 was known as the new model, as opposed to the 2007 that looked exactly like the 2006 model.

I've been buying black four-wheel-drive General Motors pickup trucks since 1988, and trading them in every three years after they had pretty much depreciated out as a business vehicle, and they would usually have 60 to 80,000 miles on them. Most of my trucks were gas, but my last three trucks have been Duramax diesel engine trucks

I've owned this GMC truck longer than any other vehicle I've ever had in my life, and it has 191,000 miles on it. So I'm not sure how long they last before things fall apart, but I've had this one long enough I may start finding out.

Tom

6/22/2021 06:29:46 pm

The fan belt idler pullys on mine was the first stuff to go out at about 250K. Then after 290K the injectors, turbo and something else outside the block started acting up. The transmission started showing signs of need to be opened and fixed soon. So parts and repair were over $20k and I really did not need diesel for the Castle. So I bought Sierra and went away happy. The mechanic said that the block and heads tested to be in excellent shape so the engine did not need to be opened. I feel the Duramax was an excellent engine in my 2004? truck.

6/22/2021 07:34:18 pm

That's good information Barney. At the leisurely rate of 6 or 7 thousand miles a year I put on my Duramax that would give me about 10 years before it starts falling apart. I think I'll fall apart long before that happens, so I won't worry too much about it.

Tom

Judith

6/22/2021 08:13:13 pm

Aha. Guys doing vehicle talk. All I ever wanted to know about a vehicle was where to check the various fluid and air levels, and how to replace if need be, and who locally was a good mechanic. Otherwise......vehicle talk can be a pleasant hum in the background. And I kind of like hearing it.
Meanwhile, there are those ethereal grandchildren of yours again...if I'm alive in 7 years, and you're still posting, it will be very very interesting to see those kids.

6/22/2021 08:34:19 pm

Unfortunately a lot of us guys had to learn about auto mechanics because, I for one, didn't have the money to pay somebody to fix my raggedy old cars when I was a teenager, or a young man. I either learned to fix them, or I walked.

Seven years will make me about 82 years old, so yeah I'll still be writing my blog, what else would I be doing? Now I'll probably be writing it from an old folks home, but I'm sure I'll be taking pictures of the grandkids when they come visit me once a year, and I'll make sure I post a few...... And yes I was going for the ethereal look.

Tom

6/22/2021 08:52:41 pm

According to the SSA website https://www.ssa.gov/oact/population/longevity.html

we have a 50/50 chance of living until age 87.

6/22/2021 10:16:52 pm

In less you get between the old boondork and a Chinese Buffet, and then the chance of you making it past your current age is zero.

Tom

Linda

6/23/2021 03:08:05 pm

We have only one child who cannot have children so no grandkids. That means I get to enjoy yours and Barney's more.

As to age, I was recently told I have a fair chance of developing cancer within 12 years. I replied, that's my whole life expectancy so I'm not going to worry about it.

6/23/2021 03:38:51 pm

Then you can be an Internet grandmother.

12 years is a pretty long prediction, I can understand a doctor saying you might get it, but I don't know how they can say it could be 12 years from now. I try not to worry about things that might happen tomorrow, but I've never been a worrier, I've always figured you either fix it, or put it out of your mind and don't worry about it.

Tom

6/24/2021 01:02:51 pm

Within 12 years. They actually said 5 months to 12 years but I still decided not to worry about it. And I am a practiced worrier.

6/24/2021 02:25:18 pm

I think one of the most difficult things to stop is, worrying. Worrying is built into us, and for good reason, it forces us to pay attention to things that could get us into serious trouble. But some folks seem to be born with an extra worry gene.

I always thought it would be kind of neat to be a dog because they never seem to worry, they only think about things as it's actually in the beginning stages of happening to them, such as getting a bath, or going to the vet. And actually I worry about those two things myself.

But I've tried my best to banish worry from my life, and I've done a pretty good job of it.... Registered letter from the IRS? Don't worry about it, if it's important they'll write again. Truck making a funny noise? Don't worry about it....pickup trucks last forever. Haven't had a job in 20 years? Don't worry about it..... I just spent our last hundred bucks on lottery tickets, we can't lose!

Maybe I've become too good at not worrying

Tom

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Grandkids are the best

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