Shudder

I noticed recently, only on the highway, that the brakes on our 2001 Civic were shuddering and I could feel it through the brake pedal.

It felt fine in city driving but at highway speeds, there was definitely something wrong. I needed to fix this before we went on our road trip.
So for the first time. I'm trying to service my brakes without my brother around.

It started off easy enough. I got the caliper and cradle off easily. But the lower slider pin on both brakes were seized. Not sure if you can tell, but the brake pad tapers toward the lower pin. And that's because the lower pin is seized so it won't allow the pad to move away from the rotor. So it is staying against the rotor and constantly rubbing.

Getting the pins out was a pain. So I called on my Maltese mechanic Sam.

He will work for coffee or a smoke. And if it's dinner time, he'll work for coca-cola. Original recipe, not the new one.
I thought that it may be necessary to just get a new cradle, but the guy at partsource said I didn't need one. I just needed to find a way to get that pin out. Either torch the cradle or something.
Eventually with lots of elbow grease, Sam got it out.

I had to order a new boot kit to replace the boot on the slider pin. I actually needed to replace the slider pin bolt, cuz it broke. I think I did that when I was removing the bolt. I had turned it the wrong way and then realized that, But it broke on Sam. So I will blame him. Ha.
Luckily it didn't break in the slider pin. But there is a slider pin bolt kit that I had bought anyways so I have a spare bolt and spare slider pins now.

When I compared the upper slider pin insert and the lower one that was seized. The upper one was so clean. The lower one was rusty. That's what happens when you don't drive it often.

Actually it was easier than I thought. After replacing the caliper on the Subaru, this was a piece of cake. But there always seems to be a catch in everything I try to do.
Just gotta remember Lefty Loosy Righty Tighty.


Click me for pictures of my brakes

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea

Sponge Bob Square Pants!

It was Kieran's last art class and he made a ton of stuff.
This is aliens on the moon. Ignore the Zhu Zhu's and the toy cars, they were just there on his table.

There are some other neat and creative stuff too, like these masks on plexiglass. And a train game he made up.

Happy Father's day!
And he actually made me this surprise last week. And I was impressed. This boat is so cool. It put a big smile on my face.

That little flag actually moves on the string there.
There's a cork in the bottom that holds the mast. It was so neat.



I like Bronwen's class. He makes all sorts of surprisingly interesting stuff.
In order to get my surprise he made me a treasure map, but told me exactly where it was any ways.





Click me for more art stuff

The Last day of Casa

It was graduation day for Kieran and some of his Casa 3rd year classmates.
It's been 3 years of growth for this kid who was doing everything in his power not to go to school and instead go back to daycare.


But I think he realizes it somewhat that he's grown beyond daycare now. Environment is everything. The environment has a direct correlation to the adults it outputs 14 years down the road.

There's been enough studies done to show this.


The next three years will be about more development and growth. More independent type work and projects with his buddies.
Higher level play time too. Ski trips, skating,



And I'm not sure if the ratio of boys to girls is higher.
These two are sisters. Believe it or not, the one in red is 2 years younger than the one in white.
She's off the charts!



So long to his favourite teachers aid. Koustanca. She was/is the motherly figure of the class.
Most of his early Casa time was spent with her. She only speaks french to the students, and she said that he and Ilyas would translate for the rest of the other kids in the class.
He tells me he understands her. Hopefully we can keep it up with him.

Click me for more photos

Guy in a Hospital bed reading a paper

That's what it is.

Kieran started this art project last week and brought it home today.




It is a guy in a hospital bed, reading a newspaper.




His hair is made of pipe cleaners.
Check out the back of his head.





I don't know what the blue pipe cleaner is suppose to represent on the guy's leg. Maybe it's broken so it's to hold it up or something.

It De-Pinned

It was Day 38. And it was Pin Extraction day.
Tresa's been looking forward to this day and not looking forward to this day.

She's been nervous and anxious. Unable to sleep, because how will it feel pulling a 6 inch pin out of your second toe?

Will it be painful? Probably.
But it was time for the sucker to come out.
Dr. Lau said it was looking good. Still lots of swelling. Her foot is still very swollen compared to her left foot. But she can now start soaking the foot in hot water to aid the healing process.
Being a hospital worker has it's advantages.
For one knowing the staff can make life so much easier and less stressful.

Karmen came to hold Tresa down while they yanked the thing out.
I thought one of the male techs would come and do it. The male techs said they usually turn it to loosen the pin and then yank it out. Lucky for Tresa they were tied up or went on break. Because this lady was gentle, her technique was slightly different, she turned it as she slowly pulled the pin out.

She asked me if I wanted the pin as a souvenir. I just took a pic instead.

In preparation for the extraction, Tresa had to wriggle her toes so it would loosen a bit.



Next was the procedure. In the back of my mind I thought. Hmmm maybe they should use some straps to tie her down. But it wasn't necessary. Besides Karmen was there to hold her down in case Tresa went postal. But in the end all went well. I was grateful for the tech's gentleness. She said the turn and yank way, hurts a lot.

Click me if you dare!