Cold & Misty Sunday (Probably A Long Post)

I can't come up with an imaginative title today, but it is Sunday.  And it is Cold.  And it is Misty.  And this is going to be Long.

 

We were going to church today, but we had a bunch of stuff to do and decided to get it done today with the plan of going to a UM church next Sunday.  And it may well be the one we attended immediately before switching to Southern Baptist.  The minister from the time we attended was reassigned so we aren't familiar with the new one.  The previous minister was ok, but he wasn't spectacular.  The main reason we left is what the children's leader was telling them about the Bible not being right on a few really big subjects, but she's not there any longer.  Also, we don't have a need for a youth program anymore - not that that is an acceptable excuse, if she was still there we would not even consider that church.  But we had a lot of friends there and it was an active church - still is, as far as I can tell.  We were planning on visiting another UM church in our area, but we've decided to visit our previous church and see how the current minister is.  I have a good feeling about it, in the sense that we need to go into any church visits with the idea of seriously considering any that we visit.  Not that we are going to rush, but to be very thoughtful about it.

 

The car that Bill/Otter drive has had an issue for a while.  Several months back, the "check engine" light came on.  I took it in for an oil change and asked the Chevy guy about it.  There were a few scenarios, but Chevy charges a considerable amount to put it on whatever machine they use to check things.  If you get the recommended work done there, the machine is free.  But since the light went out again and the car seemed to be running ok, Chevy didn't think it was one of the big, bad issues and they suggested we just watch it for a while and see what happened.  Several days ago, the light came on again when Bill as driving it.  He took it to an auto parts store and turns out that they have the equipment to plug into it and check it - and they don't charge, even if you don't get the parts there.  The probe the auto parts stores used said that it was one of the two oxygen sensors, and the part was about $50.00.  Bill got online and found out where the part is and how to replace it.  Because the part is right at the engine, the car needed to be absolutely cold before he could work on it.  Otter had the car most of last week (it was safe to be drivien), she brought it back after work yesterday and it sat in the driveway with the plan of Bill working on it today.  Of course, it was cold & misty this morning!  Bill checked with the auto parts store website, which said that a) the stores opened at 8:00 a.m. today and b) the part was in stock at a store in the next small town over.  We were at the auto parts store at 8:05, and the sign on the door said 9:00!  So, we went up the street (literally) to the grocery store and bought groceries.  Yes, Bill actually went grocery shopping with me!  We got through just right at 9:00, the store was open but they did not have the part in stock.  Not sure why we were surprised, they weren't open when they were supposed to be so why should they have the part?  Anyway, the clerk checked and the store in our small town did have the part so we headed that way - along with a written offer of 10% off since we had to drive to a store that didn't have it.

 

We also got new windshield wiper blades for the car, since it's just about winter we got ones that are rated for winter weather although they are also fine for all year use.  The clerk at that store gave us 10% off on everything, not just the part.  Bill was able to get the part replaced, the mist stopped but it was still pretty cool.  It took him a little while to get the old part off, it was firmly attached.  He put the new part on, and the Check Engine light was still on so we drove the car to the auto parts store and they got the probe again - turned out that the car just needed the system to be reset, and the light went out when that was done.  We stopped at Arby's for lunch on the way home, which we haven't done in a long time.  Bill's going to drive the car tomorrow to see if there are any issues, but I think it's probably fixed.  It really did need the new wiper blades.  Otter will probably get the car mid-week and then have it for a few days.

 

When Otter brought the car home yesterday, she also brought her laundry.  Which was fine, she asked if it was ok and I told her to.  She got her laundry going and we cleaned out/sorted a few of the boxes in her room.  We went to one of our favorite junk/antique stores and found a couple of things, including a very small but real cast-iron sadiron for my collection of cast-iron things that is by the fireplace.  We then went to the small store next to it, which is one of Otter's favorite stores and she found a couple of really good things.  I found a $4.00 Fenton piece, it's a small hobnail vase in blue (Froggy, it is very similar to the small pink one you got me a few years back.)  This is where it gets interesting!!  TEXAS was not victorious in the TEXAS/ou game yesterday.  It was a close game, but it just wasn't our year.  We were shopping 2 or 3 hours after the game was over.  When we came out of the store, there was a woman standing between my car and the building - I was parked next to the building.  She commented on how she was looking at the giant sunflowers that were planted next to the building.  Which is what it looked like.  But, when Otter and I got back to the house and as we were loading her laundry and boxes into the car - I discovered a fairly long scratch on that side of my car.  It definitely was NOT there before that trip.  After we had a minute to think about it, we both realized that the woman was actually standing facing my car and might have been straightening up as we came out of the store door and came to the car.  I honestly think she scratched the car, and it might have been with her car keys or (and this is what we really think happened) she was leaning over and attempting to take the longhorn sticker off the back windshield and maybe her purse or jacket might have scratched the car because it's not really deep enough to be a car key scratch.  The sticker does look like someone tried to chip it off on the very edge of one of the horns.  It's infuriating, but we can't do anything about it at this point.  However, it will have the opposite affect of what she was probably thinking:  TEXANS GENERALLY DON'T GET INTIMIDATED.  We get angry, but then we get more determined.  Determined can be bad, very bad, for the person who makes us angry.  I probably won't even attempt to keep *RHTW in the fenced the next time I get crossed by someone!

 

I think I'm going to have to check with the vet.  Maggie Moo had some problems earlier with leaking while she was in the house.  She quit it, so we stopped worrying about it.  But she's doing it again and this time, it's not just accidental.  Bill caught her peeing in the living room when he came back in to get something while he was working on the car.  I "tossed" her outside and blocked her for a while, then I got towels and then the spot cleaner.  Then, she did it again!  Although I think the second time was an actual leak and not on purpose.  She was walking to me at the time and she didn't even seem aware of it.  I put her out in the back yard for a bit so she could have some play time with Frasier and be out of my way while I cleaned the spot.  I'm waiting on it to dry enough to vacuum it, I've already vacuumed the first place but I'll probably hit it again with the vacuum.  I did some research on bladder infections in dogs and she could well have one.  I'll call the vet in the morning, Maggie Moo (also known as Moogie lately!) is probably ready for a butt-squash anyway.  Frasier, who does not like the vacuum at all, is currently snoozing in the living room and his head is right next to the vacuum cleaner!

 

I tackled the bathroom while ago, the one in the hall that used to be Otter's.  She got her shampoo, make up, misc. stuff when she moved.  But there was a huge amount of "stuff" that was hers that got left.  Some of it was old toys that were stuck in a drawer years and ago and never cleaned out, some of it is craft stuff, and there is also quite a bit of cosplay make up.  A lot of purse-sized packs of Kleenex, a bunch of misc. stuff that she probably won't want but she still has to go through it first.  She probably isn't going to enjoy that, but it's got to be done.  Her nebulizer is still here, she really doesn't need it anymore and hasn't in years but I want to hang on it to it.  Her jewelry boxes are still here, she has a lot of costume jewelry.  I've been toying with the idea of re-doing that bathroom, but I'm going to hold off on it.  The shower curtain is a kind of rusty-ruby red color and it's very pretty.  The decorative stuff is jewel tones and I like it, but I might change it up a bit.  Maybe!  I do want to take the wallpaper down and paint but that might be next year's project.  The cabinet over the toilet was pretty much empty already, Otter did have a few things still there but I took it all out and boxed it up.

 

It's windy at the moment.  I think it's stopped misting, it had started again, and the sky was blue for about a minute.  Then it got cloudy again, and it looks like the wind is really blowing.  Bi-polar weather for sure!

 

*RHTW.  Run away.  Just run.  As fast as you can.  Don't bother to look back, just GO.