On Automobiles and more grousing about spending money like we're rich

A couple of months ago, I mentioned that the drive train might be going out in one of our vehicles. Fortunately, that was not the case. It was just that the rotors were rusted so it kind of felt like driving with the brakes partially engaged.

We got that fixed to the tune of something like $1500, felt lucky about that, then three days after we got the car home, the "check engine" light came on. It went back out, we thought we were getting a reprieve, but then it came back on.

That tine, it was the emissions system. Everything physically was working okay, but we had to replace a sensor and get a firmware update, which was another $700ish.

NOW... when Mal and I were coming home yesterday, my car overheated. I pulled into QuikTrip to buy some coolant, then I called James to come follow me to the garage. I drove slowly, with the windows down and the heater way up, idling at stop lights, and made it to the garage without the car heating up again.

Apparently, I managed to keep it from damaging the radiator but a few things needed repair: the thermostat, the radiator cap neck (which melted a bit from the heat and prevents the cap from staying securely on), a cool flush, and an oil change... for just under $1000.

But, oops, when they were taking some bolts off, the bolts broke and fell into the housing, which has to be replaced. They're not charging us extra labor for that, but the housing is another $400.

Like, I'm buying stuff that's $.50 off the usual price trying to make our money last longer (which I do when James is working, but we also have money coming in, unlike now) but we just keep having to spend thousands of dollars... on repairs, on our auto insurance renewal (and, of course, the price went up because of a $700 claim), our city's water company started charging more (they should!).

James said he's averaged applying for about 10 jobs per week since he got laid off. That's well over 500 applications. I've applied for jobs and have been told I'll be invited in for an interview at one, but that was weeks ago so I'm not holding my breath. 

I will say that I'm having some luck at cobbling together side gigs like mystery shopping, marketing research, and now I'm getting into pet-sitting (kind of). 

What's kind of funny, though, is that I'm trying to get Mal to take some classes next semester to learn how to skate or swim or other stuff. And that would cost money. But I guess we're lucky because Mal says he teaches himself his own skills, so he declines. 

Speaking of Mal... He had 2 teeth pulled the last time he went under anesthesia for dental work in April 2023 and we were told at the time that it might be years until he lost more teeth. It was! However, in the past 10 days, he's lost 3 molars! And another one is loose. 

He still hasn't lost his canines, which feels wrong. But his mouth is a wonderland of weirdness, anyway.

They wanted to do braces pretty quickly, and he'll probably still need them eventually;
but his teeth have moved on their own A LOT in the past 2 years!

UPDATE: After I posted this, Mal lost his second molar of the day!!

UPDATE 2: It ended up being just over $1800. Le sigh. 

Mo' problems... Less money

AS YOU KNOW, with James out of work, we've been taking it easy on the cash outflow side. But the past two weeks has just conspired against us!

First. the week before last I had not one but two fender-benders. Well, the first one was actually just that I pulled up at a stop and a tow hitch went through one of my headlights. I bought a new one and was going to put it in myself, but then I had a side-swipe event and had to get a couple of panels banged out, anyway, so I had that guy put the new fixture in. $$$$

 

Then the other night, our dishwasher stopped draining. I couldn't see anything wrong with it, so we had a plumber come out yesterday. He said that everything was fine, plumbing-wise, so we needed to get an appliance repair person. He also said that we need a new garbage disposal, and estimated that he could replace it for the low low cost of $700. No thanks. We'll get a cheap one and find some dude to install it. Anyhoo. $$

Today, an appliance guy came out and fixed the dishwasher. He told me that I kinked something up when I took it apart to clean it, then showed me the only two pieces I should ever take off... which are the only 2 pieces I ever take off. Granted, I'd taken more of the drain assembly apart yesterday, seeing if I could clear the drain myself. But until that day, when it already WAS NOT DRAINING, I'd never touched anything but the spray arm and the filter. Sigh. WHATEVER. $$

AND TONIGHT AT 6 PM, I just noticed I felt a little warm. I looked at the thermostat... and it was blank. I did a couple of things, like turning the breakers on and off, and adding batteries to the thermostat... which did make it come on, but when I turned the air on, it showed that it was going but it was not. Breakers again. 

I called our a/c people, and they're coming out tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I went to see if the drain line might be clogged. We've had thermostat issues like that in the past when the drain line was clogged. We clean it monthly, and I'd just done it recently. But I did it again, and I put our shop vac on the clean-out and blew in case there was blockage. It didn't seem like there was.

A couple of hours later, the a/c came back on and that probably means that it was frozen up and needed to defrost. We're keeping the service call because they can pull codes and see what happened. It shouldn't be freezing up; it's been in the mid-80s for the past couple of days, but nothing terrible. We'll see how much it is, but let's just say $$.

DID I SAY "SIGH" YET??

A Note About a Thing that Happened Today (and why my house might smell like ozone)

We had our biannual HVAC check today. As the guy was looking at the attic half of our heat pump, he noticed some "organic growth" (mildew) on the unit. He took a very blurry picture, but you'll get the idea:

The solution is to install this UV light system both on this unit and the other half, so they work together. We could do just one or just the other, and neither was cheap. But there was a small price break for doing both. It really seemed like a no-brainer. Not something we actually wanted to do, but, ya know... homeownership!

Anyhoo, James and I were both talking to the tech, and asking questions. Once we got to the end, I looked at James and asked, "What do you think?" 

Folks, my man looked straight at me and said, in front of God and the a/c tech, "You're in charge of the money, so it's up to you."

When I tell you how many years of trauma that undid for me, please understand that I'm not exaggerating or overstating it in any way.

If you have a man who isn't confident enough to hype you up like that, then I am very sorry for you. I've been there.

I hadn't planned to spend hundreds of dollars on a heat pump repair, but even so... pretty good day. Pretty pretty pretty good.

SPEAKING OF SPENDING MONEY...

Hey-o! Guess what I'm doing right now?

Blogging.

Ha, yeah, smart aleck. Guess what else.

Give up?

Okay, I'm sitting in the BK inside of Walmart waiting for my tire repair or replacement... not sure which, so it's very suspenseful. Or it will be in an hour and a half; it really just depends on when they get to it. But truthfully, I'm glad they are able to get to it today. It's 4:30 and they close at 6, so we got it in just under the wire.

Not sure what happened to the tire, but I heard it deflating in our driveway when I was outside emptying the back to go wash and vacuum it. I just thought I was hearing a neighbor in his workshop using some kind of air pump. Sigh.

I got down to the stop sign leading to the highway when I realized that the steering was hard and that I heard gravel scrape when I took off, which isn't normal.

I did use my tire pump -- Did we discuss that? I bought one because my tires like to sigh a few pounds of pressure when it drops below freezing -- but as soon as I removed the air pump, the tire started deflating again.

THEN we tried to take the tire off so I could bring it in the other car, but those lug nuts were ON.

Oh, funny story: I also found, as I looked for the repair stuff to remove the tire, that my car CAME WITH A REPAIR PUMP. So I guess I'm giving mine to James, and I don't feel nearly as clever anymore, and I've wasted probably $15 on pay-air, as well as many minutes looking for a pump that would take a credit card.

Oh well. Again, the timing was pretty good because James is home and can stay with Mal, and because it didn't happen when the car was parked at the airport and we were out of town or something.

But also, it PROBABLY happened because I drove over something that is a result of all of the construction around my house. If that ends up being the case, I'm going to take a circuitous route home until they're done. They're usually really good about cleaning up, though, so that might be a coincidence.

We got out this morning to go to "brunch" at Mighty Fine. I tried their fried avocado burger. OH MY GOODNESS. Yes, get it all the way, even with the jalapeño mayo. SO delicious.

We'd taken separate cars so I could get D's Christmas present. You'd be surprised, but it fit in my wee Fiat 500L.

1) Yes, I know my car is dirty. I was on my way to wash and vacuum it when I realized the tire was flat.

2) Either it's just SUPER HOT AND HUMID or I'm having my first hot flash today. This morning, it was in the mid-60s, but felt so so gross. I'd dressed for like actual fall, and had a flannel shirt on over this tank top. I shed the flannel at the restaurant, took off my socks, and rolled up my jeans so they looked like pedal-pushers. I'm sure I look like a dork all the time, but I refuse to be uncomfortable. I don't see how kids who wear hoodies all of the time manage. I was about to freak out.

After grabbing the bike at Target, I went to Kohl's to pick up my free clothes. Yeah, you heard me. Remember the air fry oven thing we bought? I got $45 Kohl's cash back for purchasing it and ordered a few shirts online. I elected to pick them up at the store to save the $8 shipping, but NEVER AGAIN. This was easily one of the worst retail experiences I've had in a long time.

I placed the order, got the notice that my stuff was in, and went to pick it up. Apparently, they only had 2 of the items that I'd ordered for same-day pickup. Two were actually out of stock and canceled, and one was being shipped to the store. Well, duh. I wouldn't have gone to pick it up if I'd known there was more, and probably would have canceled the order altogether.

Also, when I went to pick it up, they'd moved the pick-up area away from the customer service desk and into the middle of men's sportswear, where there was nothing but a VERY mobile stand that Mal could barely look at or it would zoom across the carpet. The lady wasn't super enthusiastic about retrieving my order, and it took long enough that I easily could have just shopped myself.

Regardless, I went home and ordered two more shirts to replace the ones that had been canceled. I got one pick-up notice immediately, but had learned my lesson. It took a week, but then I got a notice for the second one... only. And a few days later, the third. So I went in today, and waited for my turn (they're extremely busy, as you might imagine... also, they've moved pick-up back to the customer service desk), and found out... THEY CAN ONLY SCAN ONE BARCODE AND PICK UP ONE THING AT A TIME.

Like, I get if I'd made a bunch of orders that I'd get multiple pick-up emails and have to deal with it. But initially, I only made ONE order, which resulted in FOUR DIFFERENT pick-up times and emails. So this woman scanned my first one, went back to get it. Her counterpart scanned my next one and went back to get IT. Then when she got back, she scanned my third. He brought the last two up, and I asked if he'd informed her. I imagine he did not and she's still back there searching for my shirt.

What is wrong with you, Kohl's? This is not a way to do business. $8 for shipping seems like a bargain now. Maybe that was the point?

I'd planned to go by World Market to get the rest of the kids' stocking-stuffers, since we'll be busy and traveling soon so this is my last time alone to prepare for Christmas. But I was so hot and irritated, I went home to put on shorts and then go wash/vacuum the car and hit Dollar General, which has the LEGO-esque gummy bricks that Mal loves. I was going to go to the drug store for James, too... but, tire squash.

Don't be jealous of my relaxing Sunday. I'm just glad I got so much sleep last night; I was ready.

Also, after having eaten that avocado sandwich, I don't feel like I'll ever be hungry again.

OH! Update on the septic: We didn't build over it. It's basically ON the property line, which should mean it wouldn't pass inspection, but it did. Maybe it got grand-fathered? Anyway, we're pouring root kill down it every three months now because where it is is ridiculous. The end.

ALSO, also... there's a lady here I often see at the McDonald's across the way. I suspect she's maybe homeless, and she's also extremely clean. But her clothes are worn in a way that it seems like she'd replace them if she could. I've tried to speak with her before, but she's quiet. It might just be that she's lonely. About half the time, she sits in the kids' area at the McD's, which I'd never do on purpose if I didn't have a children. I've dropped off gift cards to her before, but wish I could think of a better way to reach out. Any ideas?

Follow-Up (Or How It All Ended... Almost)

This is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down...

Not really. Just a continuation of the previous post about home and car repairs and whatnot and so forth.

The house: The water damage guy came back on Monday (President's Day) to find that D's room was mostly dry. All of the areas where we saw water leaching and leaking from the ceiling were fine. At the wall shared with our bathroom, though, it was still damp. He moved some stuff around, took one fan, put the dehumidifier in our bathroom, and left everything another day. By Tuesday, it was all dry, so D finally got to return to the isolation chamber.

Joking aside, that kid handled the stress of having basically zero privacy for four days amazingly. It made me very proud, and hopeful for the future, since the anxiety management was so effective.

The SUV, however, is another matter: I picked it up from the shop on Thursday morning, about a week ago, to find that the gas gauge didn't work anymore. It had worked before, and we'd already had the "the battery keeps dying" drama, and I wasn't ready to handle finding a ride home and keeping the vehicle there, so I put it off for a bit. I did call them and told them what had happened, and they said to let them know when I could bring it back in.

THEN the water thing happened, and there was no way I could handle the auto repairs while we were dealing with all of that.

Also, we'd agreed to donate our Cobalt to KUT, holding off about two weeks after our SUV purchase to make sure it would run okay, and we were getting close to that pick-up with no definite resolution on the new (to us) vehicle.

In the midst of this, Mal and I drove up to see my parents and spend a night just to get some people out of our house, which was down one bedroom and one bath. The Torrent drove beautifully, and was SO much more comfortable than the car. It gets pretty good mileage, too: 24 mpg for the first couple hundred miles we drove it.

Unfortunately, the "check engine" light was still on, so it wouldn't pass inspection, and we couldn't register it. The clock is ticking on that particular item, too, as half of the 30 days have now elapsed.

So yesterday, we took the SUV back to Klingemann. After we'd been there almost an hour, they said it would take at least another hour just to get the fuel tank out, and then they'd have to evaluate what was wrong. They kindly gave us a shuttle home; I'd intended to take a Lyft, which was $11, but after 11:30, the "busy lunch" rate kicked in and it was almost $30!

Last night, they called us and said they'd put a whole new (not after-market) fuel pump in and had had the same problem. He told me he'd call me back on Saturday.

I got two calls this morning.

The first call was from a lady whose brother bought the 1/3 acre lot right behind our back lot about a week ago. I had heard them looking at it last Friday, and James had met them on Saturday when Mal and I were in Temple.

The lady is interested in purchasing our "extra" lot so she can retire here. We spoke for a bit this morning, and I learned that Jonestown apparently adopted some building guidelines that would make it impossible for our house to be built today: Namely, that homes have to be at least 1000 square feet (check) and have to have a 2-car garage (nope). Anyway, we chatted for a bit and she made it clear that she wasn't interested in haggling, so for us to tell her what we'd take for it and get back to her.

Then Klingemann called. And they made me cry. This probably would have happened, regardless of the prognosis, but he said basically this: We put in a third fuel pump and had the exact same problem, so we put it in fluid and realized that the sender is bad. I have one on order from Houston. Had we caught it last week, and we should have, we could have told you that it would cost extra. Since we didn't, we're going to eat it. We'll have the part Monday and get your car back to you then.

So. Whew.

After this, James, Mal, and I went out to the back 40 to see exactly what we'd be selling off. Long story short, we had such a good time (well, all of us but Mal, who was scared and wanted to go to our "real" back yard) that we decided we couldn't part with the land until Mal has had a chance to get out there and explore and have adventures in a few years. Maybe when we get another dog.

This tree is LCRA property, but all of the stuff on the back of the grotto, in the background, is on our back lot.

Besides, 5 years from now, that property just might be worth double what it is now (the tax assessment went up 125% after we bought the property), and that's a lot better a return than we'd get if we sold it and put the proceeds into some investment.

I have high hopes now that I might be able to get the car titled and registered next week. The only possible hold-up will be that it's an out-of-state title and the seller has zero desire to go with me to the tax office (which they recommend), but I'm pretty charming and look legit, right?

One more kind of cool thing from today: We got out for a bit and when I came home and checked the mail, I was surprised to find two prepaid cards I knew *should* be coming, but one never knows...

A couple of months ago, I'd seen an offer for this credit card where you could get what is tantamount to a couple hundred dollars after you'd spent $500 during the first three months. Please! Our car repair and a couple of household bills, and we hit it on mine AND James's. And within a week, they sent us the cards! It was just a nice, encouraging way to approach the end of this whole set of circumstances.

AND, speaking of surprisingly quick action: I filed my taxes on February 11. They estimated that I'd have the refund by March 6, which wasn't in time to make our next mortgage payment and meant we'd have to pull MORE out of our dwindling savings. However, when I logged into my bank account on February 17, IT WAS THERE. So we paid EVERYTHING off that I'd been holding out on until the regular salary payments started back up, AND we have enough to make the mortgage payment with no further withdrawals.

Whoo! Getting back on track feels good.

And lest you think it's all fun and games, I realized this morning that we're 2 weeks out from Daylight Saving Time and if we keep our current schedule, Mal will be going to bed at 12:30 AM and sleeping until 11. Ugh. Let us all hope this story has a twist and as happy an ending as all of this other stuff.