Marion's Retirement

[Maid Marion]

I got back from the Asian market and there was a package waiting for me.
Either a carburetor to fix the snowblower or a silk floral blouse. 
I was happy to see it was the blouse I've been waiting for!  XS is my size!  It is crop style so it is the right length for me.  I have a lot of clothes and have gotten picky about how well clothes fit.  I have some sewing machines that were used to hem my guy clothes but now I just spend more time shopping for brands that fit me.

Being retired I can take my time digging out of the snow with a shovel, but the new Chinese made carburetor is only $18.  Probably cost more to clean it and buy new gaskets. 

Just finished wrapping my roses for winter with burlap. The burlap helps them stay dormant during the thaw part of our freeze/thaw winters. I have enough roses to bloom continuously all season long.

I'm still golfing during the winter! I don' hit it very far but I can be very accurate with my irons.  Since October I've been making at least birdie a month!  Didn't one until December 17th but I got one on January 3rd!  Golf is a lot of fun when you can keep it in the fairway and hit greens with your approach shots.

Marion

[TXSara]

Good to have you back, Marion!

~Sara

[davina61]

Sounds like my parcels except the blouse bit!!

[Maid Marion]

Amazon said my carburetor was delayed until Monday so I went to Walmart to get some cleaner to fix the old one.  Then I get home and it says they can deliver it today!  Sure enough, it shows up at 3PM.  In less than an hour I get it installed an now my snow blower is running again!
I guess that is how it is done these days.  Buy a new carburetor for  $18 and swap it out for the old one.  Also came with a fuel shutoff valve and fuel filter.  Project for later.  Latest forecast says we will be having heavy snow in couple hours for our first big snow storm of the season!

When I fix something for the first time I usually need a new tool. This one was no exception, as I needed a fuel line puller!
I rummaged around my tool box and found a cheap 5/16" wrench stamped out of steel.  Bent it in a vise and sharpened the jaws with a file and I had my new tool in a matter of minutes!

[REM.1126]

Keep the original.  They can be rebuilt and rebuilt.  The cheap new ones are disposable.  Go ahead and use the new one, but be cleaning the old one, you'll probably need it soon.

[Maid Marion]

The old one lasted twenty years without cleaning!  And it looks great inside as I always drained the gas. Nor did I run it in a dirty environment.  Most likely there are just a few tiny nozzles that got clogged so it would start easily and stop running.  The problem is the ethanol in the gas that gums up the works.

What I really needed was a new gasket and replacement hoses.  Rubber doesn't age well. Never messed with fixing small engines.  Now I've fixed both my lawn mower and snow blower in a matter of months!  Helps to have spare parts in case something goes wrong.

It is pretty amazing to be able to order something like that and have it delivered in 2 days just before a snow storm!
And then be able to have it up and running when you have never fixed that problem before.

[Gina P]

Its amazing just how cheap these Chinese carbs are. I bought one last year for my generator. I remember the rebuild kits costing around 15 back in the day. I think its the ethanol in the gas that destroys the gaskets and seals. I run Stabil now in all my small engines. Not sure if it helps but gives my confidence I'm doing something.
Gina

[REM.1126]

When possible, run non-ethanol gasoline in small motors. 

[D'Amalie]

Costs a bit more but I can buy ethanol free fuel.  I use that in my 3 vintage ('56 Chev, '57' Rolls and '65 Chev).  I don't seem to have to worry about parking them over the winter.  My Honda mower struggles a minute or more to start in Spring, but a shot or so of ether does the trick.  In my US built mower it was always a struggle to get it going every year.  I had a heck of a time with weed whackers.  I gave up and bought electric.

[Maid Marion]

I flooded my Honda mower a few months ago and found out I could clear that by tilting over the mower!  I looked into getting ethanol free gas and it would be cheaper just to clean and alternate carbs as they go bad. I last ran the mower in December and will likely run it again in a month when we get a mid-winter warm spell.  So it is like I run my mower all year.  The oil in it is amazingly clean.

Also needed to fix the gas cap as it didn't vent properly but all that required was some copper wire to hold it loosely in place so it didn't tighten with the vacuum pressure!  After that it ran great!  Little lady with the big two stage snowblower!  My neighbors certainly noticed as I can help them out and clear the block's sidewalk first thing in the morning. 

[davina61]

I have to run my 68 VW panel on super unleaded fuel as the ethanol in the standard unleaded will kill the fuel lines and carbs, same with the Austin hot rod as the engine is 96 vintage fuel injected

[Maid Marion]

When I first joined back in 2018 I mentioned a target weight of 108lb, which is now my current weight!  My waistline down to 24 inches and my bust has increased to 32A! At the time I had shoulder length hair.  Now it reaches the middle of my back. My hips haven't changed at 34 inches.

I retired back in April and have been living by myself in a small house since my wife passed from ALS back in 2014. As there is no cure for ALS, she went on hospice for the last half year.  Medicaid paid for everything.  In the USA going quietly via the hospice option is a way to preserve any assets you have for your loved ones versus opting for costly live saving medical procedures and drugs.

[Susannah]

Good to see you back. 

[Maid Marion]

Is HRT and surgery needed to transition?  I've transitioned socially in a very accepting community but have yet to start HRT.  I don't see the benefits of HRT as outweighing the disadvantages. A loss of  height and strength is often reported.  I can't really afford to lose any of either as I'm now 5' 2"
My hair is thinning but for some reason I don't have male pattern baldness like my father. I have a big strong neighbor next door who is the manager for a chain auto repair place who I can call on for any help.  I have a very feminine hourglass figure, a female speaking voice with excellent modulation as a result of professional speech therapy, and female mannerisms.

I like competitive activities, like competing in flower shows and playing golf.  It is impossible not to notice who grows the better flowers or who has the better golf swing.  Especially when you win all the top prizes.  I also like to share what I do and get feedback on what works and doesn't work for other gardeners.  When I play golf I get to talk and share ideas on how to play better golf.  There is an art to helping your random partners play better golf.

We only got five inches of snow in Connecticut.  Then it warmed up to 50 and the warm rain melted the snow.  Not much need for a snowblower in weather like that but it is nice to have just in case we do get a nasty blizzard.  I remember when we used to get blizzards. I recall my big noisy snowblower distracting a squirrel, allowing a big hawk to grab lunch and fly away with it.

[D'Amalie]

You look too young to retire!  Transition is faceted.  Where you are comfortable and dysphoria well controlled, there is no need for the HRT or surgeries?

[Maid Marion]

Yes, I'm younger than the "age of invisibility."  When I walk across parking lots people will stop and wait a minute for me to cross in front them!  As a short guy I'd consistently get ignored.   Now it is totally different. My hair has been too long to be practical for over a year but I figure that this is my last chance to have really long hair so I just let it grow. 

I am very well off as my investments have done very well.  Sort of like when you don't worry about losing your balls and the other guy blinks first! 
I was married long enough to collect survivors benefits when I turned 60.  So I can wait and then collect my own benefits later on.  I have enough cash flow that I don't have to touch my investments.

[Oldandcreaky]

MM, I know you enjoy connecting with people as you tell your stories of chatting with this stranger or that in parking lots and at the golf course.

And I know you love sharing how you're extra-small and have an hourglass figure and you're wealthy and "win all the top prizes."

However, sharing and resharing and resharing all your points of self-pride might lessen your connecting with others. For example, I have praised Allie for her wit. I have praised REM for taking a stand against racism. I have praised Danielle for having the courage to move thousands of miles and begin a business and new life. If you share what you admire about others, you might find yourself connecting more.

[Maid Marion]

But I'm not looking for connections here.  I connect with plenty of people.

I would like to show that you don't have to follow a particular path because you are transgender.

[Maid Marion]

A big issue with most girls is getting acceptance from a partner.
I told my partner before we got married.  She observed me carefully and concluded I was in fact transgender based on stuff I routinely did.  That is a big issue with many relationships.  They are based on trust and keeping secrets will erode that trust.  A hidden secret can blow up a relationship.
I'd talk with her about all sorts of things but of course that only was her viewpoint on gender issues.

I used to build electronic projects but that changed when I had a stroke.  I decided I needed to get out of the house and do stuff that would help my mobility.  So I returned to my childhood and built many of the exact same models I constructed as a kid.  Except that this time I built them to much higher standards.  I also re-engineered them to function as I thought they should!  I can still do electronics construction and repair as I have kept  all my tools and junk I've accumulated over the years.  Back when I was in rehab the consensus was that  nearly all of your recovery was in the first six months.  I found that to be incorrect in my case as I learned to throw darts a decade later!  And it took another decade before my balance was good enough to walk and play on golf course that was anything but flat.

[Maid Marion]

I was shoveling snow last night at 9PM!  I timed it just right so I was able to scrape the sidewalk clean of snow enough for it to sublimate or disappear without snow melt.  Today I had very good paths for walking!  Totally avoided the danger of black ice.  It seems that every year I know someone that has a very nasty slip and fall accident that requires weeks or months of rehab.

I do a lot of my cooking from basic ingredients.  I am very good at picking out choice cuts of meats and cutting it up when I get home into single serving portions.  This helps me manage my weight I only cook one meal at a time.  It is a great way of saving money as raw meat and seasonings isn't that expensive, especially when you compare the cost of home cooked meals to take out.