At some point in the near future my mother is selling her place. Her health has deteriorated quite a bit this year. Ann and I have pulled most of my stuff from her place, though there is one last big item … Lost Biscuit. To bring Biscuit home, finally, we’ve purchased a new trailer as seen below.

It’s a Great Northern tilt trailer with dual 5200 axles and an 18ft bed. It’s arguably overbuilt for carrying a jeep, but we felt that there’s every possibility that we could 1) take another trip to Alaska, which can be a rough ride at times, and/or 2) take a jeep with us cross country for a show or two. In addition, we wanted something capable of carrying our tractor, which weighs around 4500lbs.

Unfortunately, the slowing of the global supply chain combined with the pandemic has hit several trailer manufacturers (according to several dealers I spoke with while researching a trailer). Basically, these companies lack crucial parts to complete trailers, so they are waiting on any parts they can get to assemble trailers and get them to dealers. Multiple dealers told me they couldn’t say when their next delivery of trailers would be or even what models they might get.

The nut of it is, we didn’t have much choice on what we could purchase. But, we got what we could and it should serve us well.

So, on Thursday we’ll head for Seattle and pick up Biscuit and its various parts.

Biscuit from 2013 ….

We’ve been extra busy here tending to Ann’s mom. She’s in home hospice and is bed ridden, so Ann and I are trading off evening shifts, with some help from family members during the day. She’s somewhat lucid, better during the day and worse at night and in the morning. We don’t know if she has a day or a week to live, but she doesn’t appear to have long. She’s kept us fairly busy throughout  most of the pandemic (since about Nov 2019). Hopefully, she passes soon in her sleep. This is part of the reason eWillys continues to be on hiatus.

I wanted to give a brief update on things. I know posts have been limited, but I’ve been putting my time away from you all to good use.

Firstly, we bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. We did it because our GC had hit 110,000 miles, yet was still worth about $20k (thanks to the recent jump in used car prices). We decided to take advantage of the hike and strike while we could. We feel we saved about 10% overall (our jeep jumped $8k in price over the past few months, while the new GC jumped about $3k from pre-pandemic prices).

However, the process wasn’t without a hitch. The first local Jeep dealership we stopped at tried to stick us with an extra $5000 market adjustment fee that wasn’t disclosed on their website. They claimed all the dealers were adding that fee.

That turned out to be a half-truth … some were doing it and some weren’t. Those folks were a little surprised at how quickly we walked away from their offer.

The next day I called Bud Clary Jeep in Moses Lake. I talked with a sales guy, Jeremy, and outlined what we had, what we saw online at their dealership (in particular the price), what we were willing to pay in cash, and that we weren’t willing to pay some kind of market adjustment fee (at least not a surprise one that wasn’t included with the online price). True to his word, there was no adjustment fee and we pretty much made the deal on the phone. Ann drove up and closed it. We are satisfied customers.

On Friday we got word through a neighbor that the local high school was giving away a parking lot full of furniture. So, we high tailed it down there and snapped up about 10 desks, three rolling cars, and a tower magazine rack (perfect for my 50 or so issues of Four Wheeler Magazine). About the only downside is that I’m having to scrape gum off some of the desks.

I finished up our garage-turned-workout gym. Having abandoned workouts during our move, I can now return to them, which should help me avoid the local ER, lol.

My progress in the shop has been less impressive. Still much work to be done.

As far as I know, the Epic Willys Adventure still plans to visit just before Labor Day Weekend. We are looking forward to hosting them for the evening.

We are gearing up for Ann’s surgery on the 29th (stomach surgery). She’ll be recovering most of August and likely won’t be fully recovered for several months.

My hope is that as the weather cools and the work around the place slows, that I’ll be able to return to more consistent updates. But, we’ll see….

I apologize for keeping everyone in the dark over the past week, but I felt it necessary so I could give you the best information I have.

But, before I begin, I just have to say that I greatly appreciate all the kind comments that were attached to the last post.  They were a wonderful counterpoint to an article I read while laying in the emergency room’s hospital bed (for 12 hours). The article stated that men are losing close-male friendships at a greater pace than ever before. So, as each of you added comments, I was a warmly reminded at just how many friends I have, even if we have never seen each other face-to-face.

So, why was I in the ER? The most important reason was to determine whether I was having either a stroke or a heart attack, as I was feeling some numbness along my face, arms, and hands, along with some light chest tension (there is also family history with both strokes and heart issues). Moreover, my ability to control my blood pressure had subsided, meaning when I laid down to rest, it was still high. All this had been preceded by several days of feeling odd.

The initial tests in the ER indicated that I was not having a heart attack (that was a plus), but the EKG suggested I might have had one a few days before.  Skipping over most of the drudgery and boredom that consumed my visit, eventually the next day they had me perform a stress test.

For those unfamiliar with it, imagine a very large ipod strapped to your side, affixed with multiple cables, along with body-hair-wrenching stickers attached to various parts of your body. Then, you climb on a tread mill and fast-walk it (in my head I thought I would be sprinting on it) as the heart tech raises the treadmill’s incline mode.

By the end of the stress test, I didn’t care what the results were: I felt great. It was the best I had felt in a couple weeks; I finally felt normal again. After that, I returned to my room and, while waiting for the results of the test, fell asleep.

Several hours later, I awoke to the nurse telling me I was going home. I guess the results were good enough that the doc didn’t bother to explain them to me. Besides, I had an appointment scheduled for July 1^st with my new primary care provider, so I figured he would delve into the results with me.

At home I put myself on bedrest. I felt that if anything was a principal cause of all this, it was EXHAUSTION. So, that meant No eWillys, no computering (though I have been using my phone), and no physical labor for the near future. I am taking a long needed break from life, as best I can.

While waiting for the July 1^st appointment to arrive, I also started some blood pressure medication. Unfortunately, that seems to have some side effects, but I can’t tell if it is the BP meds or some other issue causing them. After this third day of taking the meds (and feeling wierd), the first request I planned to make to my new doc was to remove me from the new med so I can establish a baseline of blood pressure and health. I need to know if there are lingering effects from this “Exhaustion” or if there was another factor that is causing some of the issues.

On positive side, my new doc explained to me that he felt I did not have a heart attack. Though he and I may have some debate over the state of my cholesterol (don’t get me started on that topic) and my blood pressure, overall he didn’t seem to have any worries about my health.

And, if you have any wonder as to why I was exhausted, not only had I been working my butt off for 4.5 months (getting the house ready to sell, packing, prepping the new house, then making changes to the new house), but I also stopped exercising (lack of time) and eating more poorly. Add to that, another cancer diagnosis for Ann’s mom (and the general friction we have with her). Then, there’s my own mother’s recent stroke(s) and the need to get her in a better situation, and the result is that I may have become overwhelmed by it all.

So, the plan of action is to get some rest (meaning keep ewillys on Hiatus for longer), start exercising again, start carefully tracking my blood pressure to establish a baseline, and do a sleep study. Hopefully, all this reset’s me back to my ol’ self.

Perhaps in another week or so I can add another report. Until then, I am doing my best to take care of myself.

Best wishes and again, sorry to worry you all (I have certainly been worried) and hopefully all this will work itself out just fine.

– Dave

I am sorry to report that, until further notice, ewillys is on hiatus. I will provide an update in the next few days when I learn more about my health situation.

Thanks for your support, interactions, corrections, and, in many cases, friendship. It has been a most interesting journey.

-Dave

No updates today.

Thanks for everyone’s suggestions on the Allen bolts. I greatly appreciate them.

I made progress on the shop and garage-gym yesterday, and entertained Ann’s family. There may not be any Saturday morning either, as I need to mow, fix a few sprinklers, then drive Ann to Walla Walla this afternoon for dental surgery, the other guests arrive tonight.

Temps have been adjusted upward. High will now be 116 degrees.

Just a couple updates for Wednesday.

Looks like none are drivers.

https://boise.craigslist.org/pts/d/nampa-willys-collection/7333201496.html

“Selling my Willys collection. Two-1953 and One- 1952 Aero cars.”

UPDATE: Still Available.

(03/04/2021) Looks solid.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/748416486101560

“Old school Jeep Great condition Great interior”