For the record

It's been a rough couple of months. I am posting this so that I can remember later exactly what happened -- I couldn't make this stuff up.

Tuesday, Nov. 24 Rob drove to Menomonie to bring Garrett home for Thanksgiving. The 2005 Chrysler Town & Country died near Wabasha on the way home. They had it towed to Wabasha. The mechanic took a look at it Friday and said it blew a cylinder. Sent to salvage.

Evan's truck died. Distributor. $400 to replace.

Monday, Nov. 30 we had the 2004 PT Cruiser towed to Virgil's to have what we thought was a hose leak fixed. Turned out it was the water pump. Simple, except the engine had to be pulled in order to get to the water pump. Estimate? $1200. Sent to salvage.

Thursday, Dec. 3 we looked at a 2005 Dodge Stratus with an automatic transmission and bought it for $500.

Somewhere in here the fridge died and cost us $160 in repairs.

Sunday, Jan. 3 Rob went to take Spence to choir and the transmission on the Dodge was frozen. Had it towed, and it was deemed irreparable. Sent to salvage, but they can't pay anything for it without a title and we still don't have the new title from the state.

Evan's truck died again. $300 for a new ignition relay. 

Evan hit a light pole on Thursday, January  7 in his truck. I can't even.

Sunday, January 10 -- dishwasher latch broken. Runs but will leak water all over. Ordered replacement part on eBay; fortunately Rob can fix this one.

Also bought another $500 car (a 2002 Saturn with a manual transmission).

Monday, January 11. Below zero temps. Saturn won't start. Battery? No. Turns out it's the ignition. Order replacement part from Rock Auto.

7 weeks.

3 cars salvaged. (All Chryslers, tyvm.)

2 cars purchased.

About $1000 in car repairs and tows, all told.

Just over $250 in appliance repairs.

I am not even certain this is everything, but I feel better that I got it recorded somewhere. Through all of this, I often thought of the line from "Rosalita": "Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny."

Moving

New location -- www.harveland.com

Ring in the new

I have always loved New Year's Day. No pressure, no place to be, no stress. We had a low stress holiday season overall but today was still nice. 

My work life is ramping up - I am transitioning from 16 hours a week to full time. It is good, but I am nervous about the transition. Change is always hard for me.

We went out for a little while so G and Rob could use some gift cards, and now we're home and Rob is brewing a batch of nut brown ale. I am snuggled in bed in my pajamas watching HGTV.

I began 2014 with a terrible sense of dread and impending doom. A friend read my tarot and said she saw a big change; a birth of sorts. It made no sense in January, but today I see the growth and the birth in my professional life. 

The year had its ups and downs, as they all do, but overall it was not filled with tragedy as I expected. As I grow older I ask fewer questions about what the future holds because I have experienced more of the really hard stuff. Today I am grateful for the last year and hoping this year is happy and holds few, if any, surprises.

Happy 2015 to you and yours!

Carrying a Torch

A boy I once loved died last night. Too young, needlessly. He fell asleep at the wheel.

Today has been a torrent of memories ... a Boston Red Sox cap, softball games, a Chinese restaurant in Georgia. Barracks, uniforms, and magical summer nights. A reunion, deep affection, and a long, soul-baring talk. A sunset over the ocean, an impromptu dance in a Hollywood restaurant, a hip LA bar where he sat in with the band, the Chinese Theatre at 3 AM. 

He was happy. He was good at what he did, and he was loved. He was glad I had Rob and though I hadn't seen him in over 10 years, we both knew if the other needed us we would be there.

The world is a sadder place tonight. Please hold his beloved mom and sisters in the light. He was charming, intelligent, a talented musician and promoter, an incredible dancer, and an all- around good guy. 

Dammit, Torch. You told me you wouldn't break my heart again.

It's Complicated

My surgery. It was far more complex than the doc had anticipated. There were complications, a second surgeon had to be called in, and what was supposed to be an hour and a half turned into a 6 hour procedure.
Friday night I was miserable, ALL NIGHT.
I left the hospital Sunday afternoon, and was back in the ER 30 hours later with more complications.
I prepared well for this -- I really did. But HOLY MOLY was I unprepared for the level of pain and the sheer misery.
I am 5 days out. I hope that some major changes will happen next Tuesday morning, and that they will make my life easier, if not pain-free.
In the meantime, I am at home, on the couch, resting.
Frankly, it's boring as hell. I don't do boredom. I can't really read -- hard to concentrate. I have watched a little TV (thank you Netflix), but it is so difficult for me to just sit.
More next week -- and I hope it will be more upbeat.