Each evening when I come in the house, Janis asks how my day went. I explain that things went well and that we got a whole lot accomplished. She then asked if we had finished a particular piece we are working on. I tell her yes, it is finished. But Janis knows me well, and finished isn’t always totally finished. Today it was the Downey’s tractor. My goal was to finish the sculpting - which I basically did… except for the hat band and boots, which are relatively small details. She, of course, insists it isn’t done. But, as always, I tell her it was practically finished - ‘cept for those little bits which I would do first thing tomorrow morning. It seems we keep score just a little differently.
Ducked!
It’s no secret I love owning and driving my Jeep. It is a throwback to my much younger days, when I loved four-wheeling adventures with family and friends in my ancient Land Cruiser. Eventually, as our family grew, I sold the off-road vehicle for something more practical and suitable, but I never forgot my fun, old, heavily modified vehicle. A little more than ten years ago, with Janis’ encouragement, I purchased my beloved yellow Jeep. It was a basic model, but it wasn’t long until I fabricated new bumpers, sliders, half doors, a full custom roll cage, and added new suspension seats, among other improvements. It doesn’t see much off-road use these days, but it does still bring a huge smile to my face whenever I use it to run my errands.
There is a saying that it is a ‘Jeeper' thing, which means few other than Jeep owners understand what it means to own a Jeep. They ride rather roughly, are definitely noisy, and they are aimed rather than steered. But they are fun. It is a long tradition to give a Jeep wave whenever you encounter someone else driving a Jeep. I’ve heard that etiquette demands that the newer Jeep’s driver be the first to wave. There are other Jeep traditions as well.
"Jeep ducking" is a fun tradition where Jeep owners leave small rubber ducks on other Jeeps to spread cheer and build community. It started in 2020 in Canada when an owner left a duck on another Jeep with a note to brighten their day, and the idea spread globally. To participate, you simply place a rubber duck on a parked Jeep and, if you find one, you keep it and continue the tradition by ducking another Jeep.
I’ve seen a few Jeeps with the dashboard lined with ducks, and it made me wonder what was up. I did a Google search a few weeks ago and discovered the meaning of these little dicks. Today, I was shopping for a few groceries, and when I came out to my vehicle with the buggy, I had to laugh. Perched on my Jeep was a little rubber duck. I had no idea who placed it there. Although I’ve had many admire my modified Yellow Jeep through the years, this was my first time being ducked. Jeep tradition requires me to place him on my dashboard. Next time I am in a dollar store, I’ll buy a few and tuck them in the glovebox to return the favour. This will be one more way to enjoy my Jeep.
Light 'er up!
It is a bit difficult for me to already embrace the Christmas season. I prefer to slowly slide into the celebrations around mid-December. But this weekend is light-up in Yarrow, and we, of course, love to support our community. We keep our giant lighted wreath hoisted to the ceiling of our steel storage room in the shop. We gently let it down, dusted it off and began the annual refurbishment, replacing a few strings of lights as needed and making sure the rest were tied on nice and neat. Then we carried it out to the front yard and carefully hoisted it into its place in the giant round window of our house. Tonight, we lit the wreath for the throngs of townsfolk who were enjoying the light in the park down the street. Merry Christmas!
