My next door neighbor is a lovely single mom from South Africa, and we have suddenly become quite good friends. Her daughter is older now, and less shouty. Her dog is lovely. And our yards adjoin and plants mingle a bit, so we have actually seen each other outside and chatted on several occasions.

Then we invited her to a Seattle Seawolves rugby game. She brought her (also a Saffa) mom, and they both had a lovely time.

While chatting the other day in the front yard, loving on her dog, and enjoying the outdoors, she asked if I knew a handyman, because she has some things she needs done around the house.

I said, "What kinds of things...?"

And so now I am fixing a rotting beam, replacing some gutters, repairing a wall in the garage, and removing an old arbor before it falls down.

Not for payment, or anything. Just to help out. To have fun projects to do. And to be the change you wanna see in the world. Crazy, huh?

At the same time, I have pulled the engine from my Mid-Life Crisis Motorcycle, built an engine stand for it, gotten a better service manual (with better pictures and descriptions), and am actually moving forward with rebuilding this beast!

Of course, I need to tear it down, and see how bad the pistons and cylinders are... and then stop.

Because I don't actually OWN the bike. Yet. The title was lost. So I need to apply for a new one. But that is A Process, and I haven't begun it yet. I do have the piece of paper with the instructions on it. Somewhere. Just need to locate it, and plan that part of the project.

But for now, I am stripping the bike, as assessing how bad it is. Before I put any money into it, I will take care of the registration/title issues. But I am getting closer.

Optimistically, I might have something running by my birthday (October). More likely March of next year.

We shall see...