Saturday Smiles

Things I miss

What with being homeless and all, I've been taking particular notice of the things I miss. We're still in a hotel, coming up on three weeks now. Snowmageddon really mucked things up further with its ten feet of snow. The cleaning company can't get a dumpster up to the house to start throwing stuff out, so we do nothing. They don't want to handle the items twice, which I understand, but if anything could have been saved it is certainly ruined by now. The smell is just soooo nasty and has permeated everything.

I miss my fabulous zebra print trench coat. And my superfunktastic leopard print dansko clogs. That I only got to wear thrice before they became funkified in a not fantastic way. (btw, I did not wear the trench and the clogs together) (but I thought about it)

I really miss my lapdesk. This actually putting the laptop on my, well, lap top, sucks. And gets burny.

But mostly, I miss my Keurig. I'm so zombified in the morning that I just can't face the whole filter, coffee, measure procedure and I usually end up with some swill that's barely palatable. Just when did I get too fancy to hold my own damn computer and measure out coffee grounds?

This whole ordeal may just humble me yet. (don't count on it.)

Well, I've had enough of THIS happy horseshit

And so has Pickles. Although she loves the snow when it's not over her head.

The big lump up there? It is the husband's truck.

And that? up there? That's my new car I was fixin to tell you about before my stupid house burned. (not linking, too sad. scroll down, it's the last post)

This is what it looks like when it's not hiding out in a snow drift.

Not my picture, obviously. Since I have no HOUSE, or CAMERA, or GARAGE for it to live in and not get a billion tons of snow on it. Did you know that with a convertible, you have to go out and sweep the snow off the roof every five seconds or the roof will collapse from the weight? True. Snow sweeping aside, I lovelovelove this car! It's the bright spot in my otherwise dreary existence of looking at rental after rental after rental. I thought having the dogs would be the problem in renting a house. But noooo, it's that no one wants to do a six month lease. My thinking is that six months worth of money is better than no money, but they'd rather let the house sit empty and get nothing. Me no unnerstand.

What I do understand is that I MUST get out of this hotel or I will pull a Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I've got a few more to look at on Monday, providing we're dug out by then. We've got 7' drifts out in the parking lot, but the roads are clear. I guess that's one bright side to not being at home. If I were at home, I'd have no power (it went out at 9pm Friday) and I'd truly be stuck because they won't get to our road until probably Monday night. So see? Bright side to everything!

I'm going to go sob quietly in the bathroom now. Please don't tell anyone where I am.

Have I got a 'before' for you!

Unfortunately, the 'after' is going to take 4 to 6 months.

Anyone have a spare room? or 5?

We think the cord to the reading lamp that sat beside the sofa short circuited. Thankfully, I was home and was able to awaken SweetieDarling and get her and the dogs out. Everything on our main living level is lost, but other than a bit of smoke inhalation on my part, everyone is fine. They tell me it was less than a minute or two from flashpoint. We would've lost the entire house if that had happened. So there's that.

We're in a motel, one of the few that allows pets. I've boarded the labs, but kept the little ones with me. We'll have to find a place to rent until the repairs are done.

I'm tired. I really just want to go home.

Here comes the rain again

We had just a wee bit of rain this week. A gullywasher, if you will.

Below is what it looked like from my kitchen door to the bottom of the driveway. The river is across the road from my drive. My neighbors get the pleasure of having a ravine carved into their road.

This is what I encountered when I left to take Silas to school:

It used to be my road. Just a smidge problematic to get through, but I made it. Just to encounter this:

I finally muck my way through the mess, get off the mountain, and 30 minutes later:

Blue skies all around. Looks like it didn't even rain here. Must be that storm cloud that hangs around over my head.

The Death of the Jaguar

It is with much sadness that I report that the jag has finally given up the ghost. The diagnosis? Transmission failure. The car was running fine when I parked it. I got in it to leave, put it in drive and nothing. Which is unusual, because transmissions don't just go bad sitting still. Unless it's a jag. Apparently.

I've managed to insult my mechanic (evidently I don't take the news of several thousand dollar repair bills very well), I've pissed off (better than pissed on, I always say) the second opinion mechanic I towed the damn thing to and some random guy who answers questions on the internet mechanics forum. Three for three - I'm on a roll! With much wailing and gnashing of teefs, some kicking and a bit of screaming, I have accepted that it is, indeed, the tranny. The upside is that I can honestly say that I've blown a tranny this week. Too bad it wasn't Eddie Izzard.

Let's recap, shall we?

June 09. Scene: me, standing at car auction, looking to buy something to replace the expedition. Cash in my hot little hand. Need something practical, that will go in snow and over rough roads. Auctioneer brings through the jag. I take one look, say "ooh, SHINY", throw all my money at the guy and drive away grinning like an idiot.

August 09. Scene: me at the jag dealer holding a printout of all the sensors, parts and various sundry things wrong with car. No longer grinning.

October 09. Car overheats, gets towed, has thermostat replaced, needs million dollar overflow tank. Still overheats, needs fan assembly replaced for additional million dollars. Frowning commences.

November and December are deceptively problem free. Tentative grinning is resumed. Grinning is soon replaced by the ugly cry as I realize that there is no way under the sun that I can afford to fix this car. And even if I could, I wouldn't because it would just be something else next week. If I had done my research properly in the first place, I never would have bought it. I was dazzled! Hoodwinked by her beauty! Taken in by her curves and smooth ride. (contrary to the previous sentence, this is not a p0rn blog) While I lovedlovedloved that car, if anyone asked me for a recommendation, I would suggest running away as fast as possible. Unless you have an unlimited supply of money and an import mechanic living with you.

Since I still haven't reached a settlement with F0rd for the expedition, I have to find some transportation that fits into my budget of $0. Stay tuned for the next episode of 'As the wheels don't turn'.

2010? You are NOT off to an auspicious start. Step it up.

What does it say about me

that the two favorite things I was gifted encourage sitting around? My husband gave me a heated throw. Brilliant! Not as large as a blanket, perfect for keeping warm on the sofa. In case my heated throw left my arms exposed, Lucy gave me a snuggie. And not just a snuggie. Oh no. A leopard print snuggie. Fabulous! I look fierce while chillaxin in mah snuggie. (taking bets on how many more times I can say 'snuggie' in this post*)

SweetieDarling gave me Love's Baby Soft! Do you remember that from junior high? Not only do I look fierce, I smell good too. Silas picked me out a lovely watch so I can time how long I lounge around.

While I'm all wrapped up and cozy (in my snuggie), I'm reflecting on 2009 (blargh, patooie, hiss) and pondering 2010 (tentative optimism). Please do share what lovelies you were gifted with so I can be happy for you. I hope you got a snuggie.

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