What da Heck going on?
Well got up today early to get ready to go to Eugene and set up our Holiday Market booth. Went to wash the dishes.... and the hot water was gone....
I was frustrated.... but maybe to really understand just how frustrated you should know that Everything seems to be breakin down lately. We had our car in the shop for a week while they finally figured out the reason it would not run..... was the computer.
That episode in itself was...... drawn out. They called us and told us the car was fine," just maybe needed a tune up. Maybe it was just flooded."
This was after a weekend of me trying to figure it out and checking all known systems involved...except the computer.
What is a freaking computer doing runnin a car anyway. Keep it Simple. Gimme a Break.
Anyway so we had it towed, they called and said it was fine... elated I told them to go ahead and do the tune-up. (though it was 4 times the last price I paid for a tune-up.) So we had to bum a ride with our wonderful friend Allison..... Well as soon as I got in and started it....it barely turned over, chuggin and missin.... not driveable. So they took it back in and it took a week to figure out it was the computer...... minor monitary addition to a tune-up, that I could not really afford at this time we owe Saturday Market 400. and Property Tax, 300, and electric bill 200, etc. etc. etc. But a modern miracle recently occurred....In fact just days before the car broke down a credit card company increased my limit.... and within a few more days, another one did... Good timing. So we were so happy to have the truck back, we needed supplies, hadn't been to town for a week or more.... So Yay, our new computer in the truck.... a tune-up, and we head over to Eugene. We picked up stuff for our Salve, ran all kinds of errands, got an amazing amount of stuff done, found a big Manzanita bush that had been thrown there, all cut up in nice little bush's... Got that for buttons.... Anyway so coming home off the back side of Eugene, goin up the hill.... the car quits.... I probably already ranted about this. Anyway the full truck of food and supplies for the month, and the truck quits moving. Towed home, at great expense........ then towed to the guy who put in the new computer. It was a week before he said it was beyond him really and would cost a lot. Basically the transmission was toast. So after being there for maybe a week and a half we were able to get it towed to AAMCO in Springfield.. ( he had by far the best price....In Florence they wanted over 4000, to do that. But even with all the credit increase I got on those 2 cards...... there wasn't enough. We had no option but to get our wheels back, we depend on Holiday Market to get us through a few months before Saturday Market starts again. So I did a lot of calling around, pricing rebuilds, and used..... AAmco was the best deal. It took 3 weeks to get our car back, and $2100 that we didn't have. But the total of the credit card increase, if we used both cards was almost exactly what we needed , we'd have a new transmission, the engine was practically new, so we'de have it made.(though deeper in debt) Happily we did chores....OH, our wonderful friend Star gave us a ride over there.... We did some town chores, and gleefully headed home. Very happy about having a new transmission. Our friend Fred who is a master scrapper gave us 4 new tires and wheels. We were cruising. I put the new tires on. The heater hasn't worked in a long time.... sounded like it was going to explode when you turn it on, didn't blow out air, and the defroster wasn't working..... Thanks to Fred pointing out the simplicity of removing that particular fan (they can really be a .... bummer) so I thought to take it out, maybe lube some bearings or something and gain some heat. Well a mouse had built it's house inside the fan housing and that's why it didn't work. Fixed it.... NOW we were really cruising.... In a kinda last minute get ready mode....our electricity went out for a day, lost a lot of creating time.....
So Got up today to no hot water.... Checked the fuse, OK.... Moved the adjustments listening for change....none...... Checked the power going to the heating coil..... none....... checked the power coming in, 240 volts..... HMMM, it's not even making it to the element, so the element's not the prob....
AHHHHH, a reset button.........CLICK, HUMMMMM, it's workin.... YAY.
I went and did the dishes, ( I heated up water on the stove) made breakfast and built the fire and this and that and got ready to go set up our booth.
YAY We ate and hit the road. (we had loaded up the truck the night before.)
Off we go, la la la la , oh Happy day..... Bracken whining ( he gets really bored in the car these days.... his mind is like a greedy sponge that requires constant new input, and when it's not there....he gets grumpy. HEY sounds like his Dad when he was a kid..
We got to Veneta...raining like Crazy, dark out... And we pull out of the stop light and the car won't shift out of first gear. ( It's an Automatic Transmission)... So the engine is screaming but the cars not moving.... CRAP!!!! Pulled over, called the Transmission shop from a gas station.... They said to drive it over and they'd look at it. We're talkin way the heck other side of the Valley....in Low gear, Jeeze. So we take off..... It keeps acting really weird, won't go out of first...then we come to another light....then it makes it to second....but won't go past.... then the next light won't go out of first again, just crazy like that...... But we go and set up our booth, not like we'd really like to because we're in a hurry, the day before Thanksgiving with our truck breaking down a long ways from home and Holiday market starting in 2 days. Then we head to the Transmission shop. Now the truck is running fine.... we get there and it's running fine..... WTH.....
So he gives us a speal about a clogged valve maybe somewhere but not real sure..... He's gonna put some tranny cleaner in it and see if that helps..... But I watch out the window, and the guy checks the transmission oil.... then puts some in..... then he puts in a bottle of the cleaner....checks the level, puts in more tranny fluid..... checks the level, more tranny fluid.... OH, and I didn't mention, at the gas station I called him from I checked the fluid level.... it was barely on the tip..... but there was a little.....
Now I'm wondering if maybe they just didn't put enough in when they rebuilt it...... Whatever.... It got us home, I made scallops and Lamb with carmelized onions and garlic over broccoli..... and Taryn took Bracken up to bed (after getting the rest of the salve labels stuck) which hasn't happened yet, though he was very tired.... He wants me to come up..... he always wants to be with us, ......soo sweet. He can't understand why I have to do anything except play with him, or carry him around on my back. But so much of what I do involves clouds of dust and other breathing hazards which I wear a mask for. So...... I just needed to rant that out, now I'm gonna go see if he's still awake.
Well, he was asleep.... Taryn and cuddled and talked for a long time...I came down and painted some magnets, then went out on the porch to get some wood for the fire. I bent down to pick up a piece of firewood, and a little bird flew down and landed on the back of my neck, chirping sweetly. That was a rush. It's this little bird that lives around here, hangs out in my shop and on the porch. I'm glad the cats are gone, I love birds, and I've had a few conversations with him...and set him free when he got trapped a couple of times, now I guess he's my friend. I think maybe I have a skunk friend now too. And there is also a very friendly hummingbird in Spring that I saved from being trapped on the porch a couple of times, and now it loves me.. But sorry, no rats and mice. I wish, but they just get too prolific and their poop and pee in the ceiling and walls isn't something we desire..... anyway, so it's been an interesting time of tests....keeping us Humble... and thankful.. You never know how much you miss hot water, till you don't have it... and a car.... and our ovens been gone for a good 6 months, beyond redemption really..... computerized garbage..... I liked the simple old stuff. So we've lived with a crock pot instead of an oven...... And I think one of the lessons here is about keeping it simple. The new fangled cars you can't even figure em out if you are a mechanic...and it's your job.....much less an ordinary Joe..... and computers in stoves...... STUPID. It's a simple mechanism, keep it that way. So we're gonna keep making it simpler, ..... get the old toyota motorhome running...easy engine and, you can freakin live in it..... We got rid of all the animals....gonna focus on each other...and business...... Really want to get that solar well pump soon, we have the panels and some batteries that might work out, and a huge water holding tank..... if we get the pump that's one less thing where we have to depend on paying somebody else for on a monthly basis (elec. company).
It's good to be home..... I'm gonna go carve something really cool.
And did I mention how wonderful my wife Taryn is.....always uplifting my Spirits and reminding me of the important things.... She is a blessing to the world.... and definitely to me. And the worlds best dang Mom...
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