NEW CAR

It has been 5 days since I said goodbye to my little red car.  I still miss it.  I still look for a red car in the parking lot at the supermarket.  It was a good little car or it would not have lasted 14 years.  It was surprisingly large inside.  When Joe moved into my house we were able to put down the back seat and use it like a station wagon.  We even moved furniture in it.

Here is the new car.  I can't find it in a parking lot.  (So sad.)  But I do enjoy driving it.  Getting a car that's 11 years newer makes quite a difference.  I am getting used to driving it, but I still feel like it's a rental car.  Maybe when the new car scent goes away.  But I like new car scent so I hope it is a long time fading.  I'm such a contradiction.

CARS, CARS, AND MORE CARS

Yesterday Joe and I went to the dealership to test drive the car and have my car appraised.  We got there and had to wait for the salesman to show up.  As we looked at the car we were going to get Joe pointed out that it had a limited warranty.  He wasn't real happy with that.  I started walking around and saw another Ford Focus in powder blue.  It was a 2009 instead of a 2008 and had 35,400 miles on it instead of 31,200.  It also was $500 less than the green one.  And the blue one had the remainder of the factory warranty.  Besides Joe liked the color better.  So when Len, the salesman, showed up we asked to see the blue one instead of the green one.  We took it for a test drive (both of us drove it) and liked the way it handled.  It's a little bigger than my Escort, but not enormous and I could drive it just fine.  So we changed all the paperwork and made arrangements to buy the blue one.

These pictures are of the actual car taken off of the website.

We had the car taken to our mechanic, Mayfair Tire, later that morning to have them look at it.  Early in the afternoon Charlie from the shop called me at work and told me that it was a good car, worked well and would pass inspection.  The only problem was that the rear tires were wearing unevenly.  In six months or less the car would need two new tires, a four wheel alignment (since it is 4 wheel drive) and the transmission would need servicing.  

I called Joe and he called the dealership.  Obviously the mechanic had called them also.  Joe told Len that we were still willing to buy the car as long as those three things were fixed and then have Mayfair Tire inspect it again.  He said he had to speak with his sales manager.  Len called Joe back and said they would leave the car at Mayfair to have them fix it then we would know it was done correctly.

Len called Joe today and told him the car was back and it would be ready for us to pick up tomorrow.  I called Mayfair and spoke with Ron (the guy I usually deal with) and he said they had fixed everything and it was a "nice little car."

So tomorrow morning we are leaving my little red car behind and getting a new blue car.

MORE CAR NEWS

Got a call at work today from the auto salesman that our request for a car loan had been approved.  It was really hard to get a loan and we were turned down by several banks before one accepted us.  The main thing was that I had not been paid for 4 months while I was out sick so I showed no income and my bank account is almost down to zero.  But praise God we got accepted by one bank.  Now on Monday we will be having the car taken to our mechanic to have it checked out.  Then Tuesday the appraisal on my current car and a test drive of the new car.  Hopefully we will have the new car by the end of the week.

I do not have the title to the old car anymore.  When our basement flooded last year, all our paperwork that was in our file cabinet was destroyed.  The dealership is going to work to get a copy of the title in order for us to sign the car over to them.

Everything is working out.  Much prayer has been put into this decision, so I know God is the One working behind the scenes to provide us with reliable transportation.

CARS

I have been having trouble with the transmission in my car for quite some time.  I have been babying it along.  But yesterday at the Flower Show when I went to park in the garage there was a very steep ramp and my car was grinding, shaking and rolling backwards.  There has also been a very distinct smell of something burning -- sort of like oil on hot metal.  Joe and I have talked it over and even though we don't need another bill we have decided it is time to get another car.

Both of us looked into used cars today (me at work, Joe at home) and we came up with the same dealership although Joe was looking at the Ford Fusion and I was looking at the Ford Focus.  We went to look at the cars after work tonight.  I told Joe we would not be buying, just looking.


We looked at a red Fusion first.  My last three cars have been red and I like red cars.  It was larger than my little Ford Escort, but not huge.  But then we saw one that was a beautiful blue.  We started looking at that, then saw a Focus that was an even prettier shade of blue.  The Focus was smaller than the Fusion, but still bigger than the Escort.  I thought I could handle it better.


Then we saw a red Focus.  The salesman opened the car and we both sat behind the wheel and tried the engine.  It had a moonroof, power everything, alloy wheels, side airbags, a spoiler and leather seats.  Very nice.  But something just didn't feel right about it.  Both of us felt that way.  While the salesman was getting the keys to the red Focus, I had wandered over to a kiwi green Focus.  It was a year older than the red one and had 1,000 more miles but was $3000 cheaper.  It did not have all the bells and whistles the other one did.  At first I thought it was an ugly color.  But the more I stood there, the more I liked it.  I prayed and asked God if this was the one.  I had a good feeling about it.


So I asked to see that one.  Joe and the salesman wandered over and opened the door and I sat in it.  It had all the same dashboard, but there was no spoiler, no moonroof, and had cloth seats.  The seat was very comfortable.  I had Joe sit in the driver's seat and he liked it too.  So we put a deposit on it.  We are waiting to see if we can get credit.  Because I was out of work my bills are behind and my credit score is horrible.  Joe's was better. The salesman thinks he can get us something if we are both on the title.  We are praying and asking God's will in this matter.  If we can't get a newer car, we will have to put about $2000 into getting the old one fixed and then who knows how long it will last.


We are not going into this blindly.  The dealer is taking the car to my mechanic who will check it out for me.  We are taking a test drive in the daylight on Tuesday morning before work.  I don't like driving a car I've never used before in the dark.  People drive crazy in the dark.  Especially around that area.  If we are not happy with everything, the deal is off.


I will hate to see my little red car go.  I have had it for 10 years and it has given me a lot of pleasure.  But there always comes a time to move on.  I will let you know what happens.

FIRST DAY BACK

I went back to work today for the first time since my surgery.  It was very strange being up the entire day and not being at home.  My desk was all messed up from different people using it while I was out, so the first thing I did was to get myself all settled in.  I forgot what I was supposed to do and how to do so many things.  I even forgot my password to get onto the computer and had to call the Help Desk to get a new password set for me.  I was actually locked out of the computer system.  Before I left in November I had made myself a list of the things I need to do each day, so that was very helpful.  I just went down the list.  Shelve books, shelf read, pull books that have not gone out recently, etc.  So that wasn't too bad.

I was on the front desk at 11:00 when Joe called me.  He started telling me stuff about his dad's will and talking with his step-mom.  I told him I couldn't talk and would call him back at lunch time.  The next thing I know he was walking in the front door.  I had only been at work 3 hours and he missed me and wanted to talk.  The women at work thought that was so sweet.  So we ended up going out to lunch.

I wasn't sure how parking would be this morning at work, so Joe drove me to work and had the car all day to run errands and then picked me up after work tonight.  It turns out there was lots of space, but I didn't know that.

We had to park way down the street yesterday.  Joe went to get the car this morning and bring it up in front of the house.  He didn't see the snow/ice bank in front of the car and ended up straddling it with the tires.  The car was very stuck.  I thought we would have to call a tow truck to get us out.  He shoveled and pushed and shoveled some more.  It just would not move.  One of our neighbors, Kelly, came over to help push, but she and Joe together couldn't move it.  She had to get to work, so she had to leave.  Then the dad of our next-door neighbor came around the corner.  He saw us stuck, got out of his truck, and he and Joe together were able to push the car off the snow pile.  But now the tire rim is all bent up.  We think the brakes may be damaged and there is a weird noise when we are in first gear.  So off to the garage tomorrow.  We have our friend, Carole, helping us out with rides so I can get back and forth to work.

I was really tired when I got home tonight.  My stomach is swollen and hurts.  I just wanted to sleep.  We had some leftover pizza from last night, so I just heated it up in the microwave and we had that for dinner.  Then I slept for about 3 hours.  Woke up with Joe's step-mom calling at 11:00 p.m.  I know I should be in bed instead of doing this, but I wanted to get this written because I know some people read this in the morning and wanted to know how my first day went.  At least I don't go in until 11:45 a.m. tomorrow so I can sleep in.

I also want to check on my sister Elaine before I go to work.  She is very, very sick.  She can hardly talk and is coughing so much.  She went to the doctor today (yesterday now) and got some anti-biotics.  I'm worried about her.

A LAZY DAY AND A BROKEN CAR

Don't know what has gotten into me, but I was very lazy today. Every time I got up to do something, I would feel so tired. I actually ended up sleeping most of the day even though I got a good night's sleep last night. I guess we all get these kind of days. Glad I was home and could just lay down and sleep. What happens when I go back to work?!

While I slept Joe took the car into the garage (again!). One day last week we started smelling oil burning when we drove. The warmer the engine got, the more we smelled the oil smell. Joe added oil and then added anti-freeze, both of which were down. The smell stopped and we thought it had been fixed, but since I needed an oil change anyway and I wasn't working and didn't need the car, we decided to get it checked out. It turned out besides an oil change we needed a new valve gasket. So it ended up costing a lot more than we anticipated. That's the way our life seems to go.

But God is good. Joe got a ride back home from the garage and then a ride back to the garage when it was done. It is very cold here, so I was so grateful he didn't have to stand on the corner waiting for 2 buses. And we had enough money to pay for the work that was done. Now we're ready for the snow coming tomorrow. Bring it on!

Every day is better

A week ago I would not have believed I would feel as good as I do this morning.  I woke up this morning laying on my stomach.  I usually sleep that way, but haven't since the surgery.  This must mean I am getting better since I got in this position in my sleep.  I am still in pain from the incisions, but feeling more like myself every day.  I am trying to take it easy, but still move around since sitting still causes me to stiffen up and make it twice as painful when I do try to move.

I think I overdid it yesterday.  Joe had to go to his doctor's appointment.  Our friend, Carole, drove him there.  My friend, Debbie, came over so I wasn't alone the whole time.  I knew Pastor Justin and his wife, Cherie, were coming over to visit in the afternoon, so Debbie sort of straightened up some.  There wasn't that much to do since the house was pretty good to start with.  I sat there saying, "throw out", "recycle", "put that over there."  It was a great help.  But I ended up sitting up for hours longer than I was used to and by the evening I was really hurting.  Nothing much going on today, so I'm going to take it easier.  Up and down is good.  Up and not resting is bad.

Joe made me a pureed scrambled egg for breakfast.  It tasted so good.  Joe makes wonderful scrambled eggs to begin with.  The best I've ever had.  But having real food and not baby cereal, it tasted even better.  All I want for Christmas is to be able to eat.

I want to try to cook dinner tonight.  I tried last night, but it didn't work.  I was too tired to do it.  So I am going to try again tonight.  But if I can't, it will just have to wait for another day.  I love to cook.  I miss it.  I just want to start feeling like a real person again.  Does everyone recovering from major surgery feel this way?

The commentators on the news are talking about their favorite Christmas movies.  They mentioned "Elf", "Polar Express", "White Christmas", "Miracle on 34th Street", "It's a Wonderful Life", "The Christmas Story".  There are so many good movies, I couldn't possibly choose my favorite.  I have a lot of them on DVD so I think while I have the time I am going to start looking at some of them.

Our car is back in the garage today, but not the transmission shop.  We canceled that and decided to go the route of changing the transmission fluid (which is really dirty and oxidized) and filter.  Hopefully that will solve the problem.  It had not repeated the problem of stalling and slowing since that one night.  Better to spend $100 for that first rather than $1,000 for a rebuilt transmission.  Especially in a 1998 car.

Time for me to take my shower and start my day.

Feeling better

I finally got a good night's sleep last night and woke this morning feeling much better.  I slept a lot during the day yesterday too, so I think my body finally got caught up.  I am still having some problems breathing, so I really have to get in line with my breathing exercises.

My appetite is coming back, too.  I know that must be a good thing.  Joe has been taking regular food and pureeing it for me in the food processor.  It's way better than baby food.

Joe put the car in the garage yesterday.  They were not able to fix it, but confirmed there is a problem with the transmission.  We now have an appointment with Northeast Transmissions for Friday morning.  Hopefully it will not cost a lot because we are broke.  : (

The mail just came and in it is the Family Medical Leave form my surgeon has to fill out and fax back to Human Resources.  There are 4 full pages she has to fill out and I have a feeling it will not be a welcome task for her.  But I need her to do it

My sister and I put up the Christmas tree on Monday.  Because a lot of our stuff was destroyed in the basement flood earlier this year, Joe and I decided to just buy some new stuff at Target and decorate our tree in aqua and silver.  It turned out beautiful.



Our beautiful tree.  It looks so Victorian.



Proof that I really made it through the surgery.  Although 30 lbs lighter than I was.



Our beautiful front window.  Another help from my sister.



We put the nativity we got in Lancaster under the tree.



The jingle bell wreath I got in Kitchen Kettle 4 years ago.  I love this wreath.



Sorry about the TV tray in the way.  The living room decorations.

It Never Rains But...

Joe's father wasn't doing so well yesterday, so Joe took the car and went to see him in the hospital.  My sister is visiting me for a few days, and my friend from next door was over, so I had plenty of company while he was gone.  A couple of hours later I get a phone call from Joe that the car will not go over 35 mph and when he steps on the gas to make it go faster, the engine just revs, but nothing happens.  He said he would try to get home.  I told him to take it to the garage and my sister and I would come get him.

Then I called some friends of ours who own a used car lot and know a lot about cars thinking they could give Joe an idea of what was wrong.  They said to have him call them back from the hospital.  By the time I called the room, my dad-in-law said he had already left.  So my friends went out looking for him.

Next thing I know Joe is pulling up out front.  The car sounds terrible.  I called our friends and they went home.  Now this morning we have to see if it is something as simple as low transmission fluid or as complex as a whole new transmission.  Without my pay coming in we are very strapped for cash.  Don't know what we will do if we need a major repair.  More major prayer is needed.