good and hot!

Good morning.
The heat wave continues, and except for watering constantly, I'm lovin it!
Have been working in the yard, mainly in the early morning while Craig sleeps.
Many of my readers know, Craig is a car person. What I mean by that, is he gets personally attached to his cars. If we had the money and space, he'd still have every car he's ever owned.
He gives them names, he parks way out in the lot at stores. You get the picture. Well, he also has to make them special. I mean, they need to not look like any others. There needs to be something different. His Honda, he had the air foil thingy taken off and ground effects added. The PT Cruiser, he went on-line and found different tail lights. Even the mo-ho, which he named "big guy', he had a license plate with that name and it's on the front of the mo-ho. Sooo, you can guess where I'm going with this, yep, he had to modify the Kia also. He went on-line and salivated over all the things he could do to it.
He finally settled on the front grills....

Except for the silver trim around the top grill, both the top grill and the bottom grill were black. I thought of taking a pic after we had already installed the silver grill in the top one.

And here's the finished product. Silver grills and frames on the top and bottom. He even got a soul nameplate to put where a license plate would go. We don't need a front plate in Michigan, just a back one. Now his Kia Soul won't look like all the others. :-)
So with the searing heat, that's about all we got done yesterday besides mowing.
In other news, we're still getting an occasional venting into the house from the water heater. The fresh air thingy seems to be working okay, but it still sometimes sucks air in from the water heater vent. It appears we may have to go with another water heater with a power vent. They can't 'add' a power vent to our existing one. :-(
Anyway, it's time for another work week, and it looks to be another fairly busy one. Good, power vented water heaters are expensive.

Our baby's back!

Good morning.
Yep! We picked up our Kia Friday evening.
It looks just like brand new!
Which of course, I guess it should. :-)
I was amazed that they got it all done in less than a week! I mean, I just took it in on Monday, and it was done on Friday!

But I'm glad it's home and that whole issue is now behind us.

And one more day of work, and another weekend!

We'll try to get a few more camping destinations decided on, but other than that, probably not too much. :-)

We had shredded barbecued pork sandwiches for dinner with the pork that was left from last Monday's roast.

Tonight, it's home made nachos! Yum!

The cost? $4280.70

Good morning.
That's right, the cost to repair my Kia is $4280.70.
I actually had no idea what it would cost, but everyone said it wouldn't be cheap.
Fortunately, my share is just my deductible of $500.

So the insurance company cut me a 2 party check for $3780.70.

Of course, labor is 1/3 of the cost.
So I called the body shop to inform them the claim was approved, and they already had it in the paint shop. They knew it would be approved. They do this kind of stuff every day.

So I should probably get it back early next week. :-)

And in other news.....

If you remember way back in the early summer of last year, Our phone system died. It needed a new hard drive. It's basically a puter.

Well, the repair man suggested we get a power management system to help prevent future problems. It's suppose to regulate the power that goes through it so the "puter" doesn't get power spikes or brown-outs that could shorten it's life.

Well, we've put it off because of the coast, but last week, Officemax sent me a 20% off coupon, so I took advantage of that and free shipping to get us one.

It's really quite the piece of technology! It's completely programmable for all sorts of stuff I'll never use. :-)

But it does do what we need, and it also has battery back-up, so if the power goes out, our phones will still work. That aspect itself will be worth the price.

And work has still be slow this week, but next weeks books are looking real good.

And remember the Alzheimer patient I've been doing once a month?

Well, I was suppose to see her last week, but she was very sick, so we rescheduled for this week. I was about to call and confirm the time Wednesday morning when Craig showed me the paper. She had passed on Monday.

In a way, I feel good that the family doesn't have to see her get any worst. But I know, it's never easy to lose a loved one, no matter what the reason.

But now, it's time for me to get ready for work.

Have a good weekend!

weekend recap

Good morning.
I've just come back inside after clearing the snow out of the driveway. We got about 3+ inches during the day yesterday. The main system looked like it went just south of us.
Yesterday, was playing on the puter, and confirming a few more camping dates. We have a possible 14 weekends this season. With gas prices, we may pare that down to 10 or so. We'll see.
We have 5 definite weekends planned and another 4 to set in stone, so to speak. And just when you think there's nothing else to see or do in a 3-6 hr radius, something new pops up.
And I did hear from Tom and Dean, and Mark and Craig. That helps clear up the schedule a bit more. Thanks guys for responding so fast! I know, we do plan things way to early, but it helps us through this long winter. :-)
And I also got a call from the insurance company. They're sending me a 2 party check for the claim. I'll be interested in seeing what this is costing.
And nothing too interesting for dinner this past weekend. It was home made pizza on Saturday, pork and saurkraut Sunday, Monday was turkey burgers, and Tuesday was chicken helper. All good, but nothing exciting. :-)
We also ordered Craig's Zetia. (cholesterol medication) It's pretty bad we have to get it from Canada, but we have no prescription coverage, and it's $100 a month here. There, it's $13 a month. Big difference.
And now it's time to get ready for another work week!

another trip planned

Good morning.

Winter has settled in good. So far, not a lot of snow, just very cold. 9 getting up. High around 27. They are predicting a few inches today and tonight. We'll see.

We got the Kia in at 8am yesterday, and we were third in line with a collision issue. It looks like their body shop is keeping quite busy.

They said they'd call and let me know when and what will be done. Didn't hear anything yesterday, but like I said, they looked very busy. And fortunately, I don't need it back right away. Of course, that means Craig has to drive his 1998 Honda Accord, which up until this winter, has never seen snow. I told him by the time this year's salt starts to do any visible damage, he probably won't have the car by then.

Then we went to the bank, the post office, and the township offices. Craig needed to pick up a form the township won't mail out anymore. They want everyone to do it on-line. Well Craig needed to make some changes and didn't want to mess with any on-line problems. Craig's a little anal that way. :-)

Then a quick stop at Meijer's and back home.

Craig did laundry, and helped me scope out more places to go this summer. We booked another campground. This one up north near Boyne City at Young State Park.

We will be attending the National Morel Mushroom festival.

Now we've never ate Morel's, but They're suppose to be quite the delicacy. Should be a fun trip!

And it looks like a long weekend to Toledo, and Maumee Bay State Park which is having it's Harbor Lighthouse Festival and Toledo's Polish Festival.

The light house was built in 1904.

And it's the oddest looking of all the

light houses we've seen to date.

So we're still searching for more destinations, and waiting to hear from our Wisconsin camping friends, Tom and Dean, about another trip. hint, hint.

And maybe we can hook up with out Memphis friends, Mark and Craig, in Cincinnati or Columbus, on their way to or from their east coast trip this summer. hint, hint.

So the summer camping season is beginning to take shape. Let's hope the gas prices don't get a lot higher.

My poor Kia

Good morning.
Okay, I've finally got the strength to back the Kia out of the garage to take a good look at it.
Here's the pics......

Poor little Kia. :-(

See that bar pushing against the radiator? That's the 'bumper' support.
Surprisingly, it didn't look as bad as I remembered.

I can't imagine what it will cost to repair it.
And Lewis, considering I hit a concrete post, I'm lucky it didn't smash farther into the engine.

Any who, yesterday, a very tiny cleaning bug bit. I vacuumed, and dusted. I love the house when it's clean. I just wished I love cleaning. :-)

Then I took Garret's wise advice and played on the puter. I'm really hooked on a game called Might and Magic: Heroes Kingdoms. You play it on-line. It's free. I always like free! :-)

And Craig and I sat down and figured out what weekends we can take off this year. We actually booked 2 already! Our first trip in April, just a mere 12 weeks away or so is to Holland State Park. It's one of the more popular parks thats always too busy to get into, so off season is our only chance. We've also booked a June trip to Indiana Dunes State Park. You know we like this park because of it's proximity to Chicago.

Now we just need to figure out where else we want to go this year. :-)

Now time for my shower, wake up Craig, and take Kia in.

morning

Good morning.
As per my Sunday ritual, I've just returned from cleaning the Salon. It takes longer this time of year due to the messy weather being tracked into the Salon. I wonder if I could make everyone take their shoes off at the door. I could give them cute little footies to wear. :-)
I'm letting Craig sleep in as long as he wants today, because tomorrow I have to be at the Kia dealer at 8am and he wants to follow me in case the damage to the car causes me not to make it there. I can drive it, and there are no puddles of strange liquid on the garage floor. The bumper little metal bar that goes across the front is bent and pushed into the radiator bending that also. But apparently there isn't anything right behind the radiator. And the radiator doesn't appear to be leaking. And, I didn't dare open the hood that's crunched in the front for fear I may not be able to relatch it. So, I'll try and drive it to the dealer.
So anyway, I have to get Craig up very early tomorrow.
The week ended nice and busy, although next week is looking slow. We'll see if the phone rings a lot or not. :-)
Today, we'll lay low as Craig has loads of bookwork to do. Besides the weekly bookwork he has estimated taxes, and 1099's.
Me, maybe I'll do some cleaning, then again,maybe not.
So now, it's back to my games! :-)

Friday post

Good morning.
Well, it's been a busy week in the Salon. Craig has been mostly preoccupied with year end stuff, so not dwelling on the Kia too much. We take it in on Monday to get an estimate and hopefully fixed. The insurance adjuster is also meeting us there on Monday. I'm not sure what the purpose of the adjuster is. The company already okayed my choice of where to take it. I guess they want to make sure it's damaged before they let go of the money to fix it.
Anyway, the girl in the office said my rate will likely go up because it's an 'at fault' accident. I told Craig that if they raise our rates because of this little claim, I'm taking my business elsewhere. We pay nearly $3000.00 a year to this company. We have 3 cars, the mo-ho, the car caddy, the house, and our umbrella policy all with this company. They're making a lot of money from us, so if they try to raise our rates, I'll take my money elsewhere.
I hate insurance companies! :<(
Anyway, we'll get this done and get it past us.
And it's getting time to start looking and booking campgrounds for the up coming summer. I know, summer is still long ways off, but if you want any of the more popular campgrounds, they book up early. I told Craig yesterday, that if he wants to go anywhere for the 4th of July, we need to make that soon. I checked, and a lot of the campgrounds are 3/4th booked already.
And that's all for now.

kia recall

Good morning.

It's currently raining out this morning. We've settled into a typical fall weather pattern. Cool days,cooler nights. Some sun, lot's of clouds and occasional rain. Yuk. I want summer back!

But still, 4 more weekend trips before we winterize and store the mo-ho.

Work is steady this week, not real busy, but steady. The owners of the mall we're in continue to do maintenance and repairs. It's actually looking pretty good.

In other news...

My new Kia Soul has been recalled.

This car comes with what they call 'mood lighting'.

What that is, is the speakers in the 2 front doors have lighting around the edge. There's a dial on the dash that allows you to turn it on, turn it to slowly pulse, or turn it to flash with the beat of the music. I must say I found it 'cute' at first, but the red glow doesn't show up during daylight, and at night it's pretty low to the floor so you don't really notice it that much.

Anyway, there's apparently a problem with the wiring that goes to them. They could short and cause a fire, so Kia asks that you leave them off until you can get them in for repair.

I've been planning on taking it in to have splash guards put on so I'll make an appointment for both.

And now I have an early day at work,

So later!

the weekend review

Good morning.
Well, this has been an expensive week so far and it's only Wednesday!
Besides deciding to buy a new car, we bought a new washer/dryer combo for the Salon.
A stylist from the Salon called yesterday morning to say the washer wouldn't work. I called a repairman and they said they could come in the afternoon. This washer is 13 years old, and does nothing but heavy loads of towels all day. It has had multiple service calls. Well, this time it was past saving, so we went out looking for a replacement. Lowe's had a Frigidaire, but the repair man said buy anything but a Frigidaire, so we went to Menard's, and they had a Maytag that would take 8 days to deliver. Not wanting to wait that long, we went to Home depot, and they had a GE they could deliver tomorrow. Sold! And they were running a 10% off all appliances! So that helped a little.
So, with Monday, the car, Tuesday, the washer/dryer, I didn't get any where near the stuff done I planned on.
But here's an actual pic of the new car...

I'm not in the pic because I took it while Craig was still sleeping.
While waiting for the repair man to assess the washer situation Craig did manage to mow the yard, and I did some repair work on the mo-ho.
Here's the bay door handle assembly we got and the broken one.

you can see the poor design on that little lever. And the improved wider design of the new one. And yes, there's just a little screw holding the lever on, and no, you can't just order that lever, you have to get the whole thing! Isn't that just a waste? I also replaced the dryer vent assembly, so the mo-ho is now whole again. At least for the time being.
And finally a flycatcher update.

Compared to the last pic you can see they're barely all fitting in the nest. I suspect they'll be gone by the weekend. The parents yesterday would fly up to the nest, but not land. They'd hover for a bit and fly away, as if to say 'see, you can do this, come on"! It was very comical. And boy do I have a mess to clean up after they're gone. Bird crap everywhere!

But now I must get ready for work. Another very busy short week with the holiday coming!

a new addition to our family

Good morning.
The last couple of days have been such a blur!
After cleaning the Salon Sunday morning, I came home, showered, woke Craig up, and while he showered, made our morning coffee. Except, we had no milk. So no coffee for us! So we went out and did some grocery shopping, came home, and then had our coffee, and read the paper. I went out to wash/wax his PT Cruiser, while he did laundry and bookwork.
I got the car washed, and vacuumed, and as soon as I was ready to wax, it started to rain, and it rained for several hours.

So, Craig had been interested in trading in my 9 year old, gas guzzling truck in for something more economical, especially since we sold our boat years ago and really have no need for a truck. My 2001 Ford Ranger 4x4, 14 city, 19 highway

So online we went.
He had seen a few interesting vehicles on the road and we started to check them all out. He really liked the mini Cooper, but it was to small and quite expensive. He thought the smart car was stupid, since it doesn't get that great mpg, and requires premium gas! He liked the cube, but I said no way! That was the ugliest car I've seen, and would not be caught dead in it much less drive it!
So we settled on the KIA Soul.

The dealer in Lansing had 12 in stock, but from the web site, they didn't appear to have one with the options Craig wanted. But I said let's just go , look and see if you even like it in person. Test drive it, and we'll go from there.
So by then the rain had stopped and I went out and weeded some. Craig fixed dinner, which was ham steaks, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.
Okay, flash forward to Monday morning. I'm thinking if we do find a car he likes, I better get the truck cleaned up, so as soon as it was light enough out side, (5:45am) I went out, washed him, cleaned out the interior, and waxed him. Damn! It looked real good for a 9 year old truck! I got done a little before 8. Took my shower, woke Craig up, made coffee, and off we went!
Well, to make this long story a little shorter, we bought a car! One exactly like the stock pic above. I'll try and get a pick of me and it today. It's about the same size as Craig's PT Cruiser. The color is called Titanium Metallic. It has everything! Even a free subscription to Sirius Radio.
They were giving generous rebates, and gave me way more for the truck than I expected. And none of the pressure to buy extended warranties and other crap. It was really a quick and easy deal!
We drove it home around 2pm. Spent the rest of the day checking out everything it has.
And so, that's why I missed my Monday morning post. But it was worth the wait, right?