Frugal finished Friday 4-wheeler

My dear hubby has been begging 4 a 4-wheeler 4 nearly all his life. Well, at least since he was 4. Finally, near his thirty-4th birthday, his wish came true. Rick's grandpa left a little inheritance 4 him and we decided it would be nice to get something to remember him by. Do you have any idea what they want 4 these things? Well, it's more than we wanted to spend, so we spent many hours on craigslist and finally found this piece of junk. I could just kick myself for not getting a before picture, so you are just going to have to use your imagination. The price was right though, and it was mechanically sound. Rick and my dad did some maintainance work on it and I made a new seat and cushion for the back rack Rick's 4 girls to ride on. Rick ordered several new plastic parts 4 the ones the previous owner had cut torn and chewed on (yes, I did say chewed). Rick took all the rusty metal parts off and sanded them and then I primed and painted them a new shiny black. The pet hair was nearly imbedded in the paint, but with a lot of scrubbing with scotch brite and mop and glow, it now looks great! They also found some sort of rodent living in the oil filter...or some filter...I'm not sure of all the particulars.
Of course, a 4-wheeler is no good without something to haul it with, so that began craigslist hunt # 4, 444. Rick and my dad went together and bought the trailer, since it will haul two, and dad has a 4-wheeler as well.

Here is a little bit closer up of the shiny paint and the new seat. The search for fabric to apholster the seat was the first time Rick has willingly and happily gone to JoAnn's with me. We got the fabric off the clearance table too!

It has already been on one outing with the dad-in-law and one with the wifey (pictures here) and several rides with Rick's 4 girls who all love it! Kaite was not impressed at first, but now she begs daddy for a ride! When it was all said and done, we estimate that he is just under half the price of a new one. Yay! Paint and elbow grease and patience (something I don't have nearly enough of) paid off on this project!

Silver City, Idaho

Silver City is a ghost town in Owyhee county Idaho. At the height in the 1800's it was a gold and silver mining town with a population of around 2500. It was here that the first daily newspaper in Idaho territory was printed. The mines began to play out around the time Idaho became a state in 1890. Most veins are believed to have 'played out' but some mining has continued over the years and recently even more is being done in the area. Silver City is quite remote. It is 25 miles southwest of Murphy (a small lonely town itself) on a steep, winding, dirt road. I LOVE the church, and was so thrilled with the picture I got of it!
The cemetary is chocked full of history. It is so sweet/sad to imagine the lives of these pioneers. My heart breaks for them reading the many tombstones of mothers and young children.
From above the city looking down. There are probably 75 buildings including both houses and businesses. The old hotel is still operating and some of the houses serve as 'summer homes.'

Rick and I drove up on Labor Day and explored the town and surrounding area on his 'new' 4-wheeler. We also enjoyed a picnic lunch on the banks of Jordan Creek.

I love this sweet little home!

An old mine shaft.

You can't see it in this picture, but the sign at the top of the outhouse says, "Shown by appointment only!"

The area is high desert. 6,200ft. elevation in the city and the surrounding mountains up to 8,000ft.

If you listen close, you can almost hear the land and houses speak the history they hold.

And finally...here is the long-awaited photo of the 4-wheeler. This is the one that I painted all the metal parts on. Rick replaced many of the plastic parts and I made a new seat for it! It's a little dirty here, since we had been riding all day. Rick got a great deal on it, and even with all the work we put in to it, we are far ahead of brand new price!

I hate spiders!

Hypocrites & Spiders....

....both give me the creeps, but I had never really compared the two until the other day reading in Job. "So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off and whose trust shall be a spider's web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand. He shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure." Job 8:13-15

Spiders seem to think they are pretty cool don't they? They love to flaunt their 'stuff' in the face of my broom--being so bold and brazen as to build their creepy webs right in my front doorway. Have you ever seen a 'saint' like that? They seem to love flaunting their spirituality in your face and should anyone happen to question or threaten them, they dart out of sight. Maybe like the hypocrite, they are fearful and defensive because they know they have no safety in that slight little web of theirs. The Bible speaks of the spider taking hold in King's palaces even. May we compare that to the church-going hypocrite? So close and yet so far away from God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sin is not so sinful as hypocricy" Francoise d'Aubigne de Maintenon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How little the light and slender thread which a spider spins would avail a man in time of danger! So frail and unsubstantial is the hope of the hypocrite! The spider takes great pride in his web--he thinks it is the most beautiful thing. He relies on his own strength completely spinning his web from out of his own bowels. Like the hypocrite, the creation is his own, formed merely from his own conceit and self-suffiency. "I this", and "I that" building quite a reputation for themselves, at least in some circles. Desiring to be known as a saint, a real Mother in Isreal. With their super-spiritual thread, they can also cut certain people out--deeming them to be worldly, shaking their head and muttering a "tsk, tsk".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ostentation is the signal flag of hypocricy." Edwin Hubbel Chapin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The spider (and the hypocrite) build not only for themselves, but for the enslavement of others. They are dangerous, and their bite/tongue is often deadly. A hypocrite builds his cobweb testimony in the alleys of this life hoping to 'win the world'. Many seem to think that the most important thing a new christian can do is something outward. In reality, the most important changes may never been seen by the human eye--for they are the 'hidden man' things. I'm not at all saying that I do not believe in holy standards of modesty, but a spiritual life built only on your clothes, will soon be swept away. The hypocrite/spider also builds his web in the church, hoping by it's lying tongue and obsession with rules, to cause divisions and dispair rendering the church helpless to a lost and dying world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Great hypocrites are the real athiests." Francis Bacon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To be a hypocrite is to lie and to lie is to be a hypocrite. They are one in the same. The idea here in Job, is that when the tempest --or brooms of life--come, the spider works even harder to strengthen his web --in his own strength. How many times have you swept down a cobweb only to find back the next day in all it's glory. Flaunting. They say that each time, the spider will heap on more cording in an effort to fortify it's house. Each time the hypocrite lies, he is heaping on more flimsy webbing and the lie becomes easier and easier to tell...easier and easier for him to believe...until even he himself is deceived.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The hypocrites crime is that he bears false witness against himself. Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is rotten to the core." Hannah Arendt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At times it may seem as if the 'spider' is winning, but this verse in Job reminds us how flimsy that web truly is. God's truth shall one day prevail, the spider will be squashed and the web --his refuge of lies-- swept away with God's judgment day broom!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Live truth instead of professing it." Elbert Hubbard

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me not like the spider, spin my own home,

Trying by works, to do it all on my own.

Help me to see that you've given to me,

All that I need to be joyful and free.

The cross that was built,

A handful of nails,

The blood that you spilt,

Is what truly avails!