Since son Eric has generously allocated a slot in his Traditions Mexico tour schedule to provide for my Oaxaca photography trip, the least I can do is pound the social networking pavement to hype it up.

Tony at work hyping up his photo trip

From SuburbanSnapshots.com

10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor in every room. Three are in the bathtub.

9. There's always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner.

8. It's best not to assume that the person closest to you has any control over their digestive function.

7. You sneak off to the bathroom knowing that as soon as you sit down, someone's going to start banging on the door.

6. Probably 80 percent of the stains on the furniture contain DNA.

5. You've got someone in your face at 3 a.m. looking for a drink.

I hear them before I see them. A thin, but distinct, gargling cry. Squinting into the sun, there they are, high in the sky, circling to catch a thermal, the sun catching their wings flashing white against the blue as they turn.

Sandhill Cranes

I was lying under the car ready to bolt the oil pan back onto the crankcase using the newly arrived gasket, when I wondered if perhaps some sealant was also necessary. Before installing all 23 of the bolts and spring washers, I decided to consult The Complete Official Triumph TR6 and TR250, 1967 - 1976, Comprising the official driver's handbook and workshop manual, published by Robert Bentley, Inc., Cambridge, Mass, otherwise known simply as "The Bentley".

The cleaned and coated fuel tank is back in its place in the front of the trunk, a new fuel filter has been inserted in the line - the fuel system is buttoned up. Today I dropped the oil pan. It had several ounces of gasoline in it - hopefully the renewed carburetor float valves will deal with the problem of fuel leaking thru the carbs when the rear end of the car is elevated.

The TR6 restoration momentum had ground to a halt while life moved in other directions for a while. Good directions - finalizing plans for adding a third bedroom to the little house in Cool, entertaining a parade of contractor bid walks, preparing for and enjoying a family visit. But now things are picking up down in the workshop again.

I like to lay the greasy stuff out in order immediatly after dis-assembly for a portrait. Aids the memory when figuring out how it all goes back together. This stuff is the support for the accelerator linkage.

Moving on through the fuel system, I pulled the fuel pump last night, intending to replace it with a new one I had on hand. I unwrapped the new one, and although it was smaller it seemed made well, sufficient to its purpose, and certainly shinier.

The fluorescent shop light that I installed above the engine together with the fancy fluorescent "drop light" provide plenty of illumination to see by. But there is a certain spirit that emanates from my Dad's 60-year-old tungsten drop light that hopefully will help guide the next move.