Hump Day

I finally took the car in to have its recall notice satisfied.  I sat and knit in the waiting area of the dealership for an hour.  Now that is done and I have one more piece of paperwork off the counter.

Not that it makes much difference, there is a blizzard on every counter right now.  I am still working on putting the kitchen back together.  I did the touch up painting this afternoon, but the trim is still outstanding.  I may ignore it - again.  Turns out I never painted it after it was put up two years ago!

Tomorrow first thing, a mobile vet is coming to check out Blue.  I have been having the worst luck in the vet department since we've been here.  This is sort of my last ditch effort to find a decent solution to my vet requirements.  I am cautiously optimistic.

Oh, we got a call today that our plates are in for the truck.  How exciting, huh?  They are so gracious, they told us they would put them on for us.  Wow, it makes me want to buy another car from them.  NOT.

I drove by there today, and what did I see?  My old car, front and center.  Well, corner really.  It was right near the entrance, first thing you see when you drive by.  Ass jackers.  Yeah, I'm still pissed off.  Actually, I hope she goes home with someone soon.  Poor thing, it's like leaving a dog at the pound.

Anyway...  Got some project updates.

My salt dough project:

I don't know, I am thinking it's a bust.  Maybe I'll try it again with the Kraken and bake them this time, see what happens.

See those green spots in the holes?  Those are potatoes.  We're either going to be swimming in them, or have enough for one batch of potato salad in August!

My new garden is finished, well, except for the plants:

I'll be working on that more in the fall.

This is how my rain gauge is working out:

Finally, my zinnia:

They are taking their time, but they last well into the fall, so I can wait.

I might start the painting on my chairs tomorrow.  If I can get at it early enough, I might get the priming and at least one coat going.  Or maybe not, I just checked the weather and it's supposed to rain Friday.  So maybe just primed...  We'll see.

On Friday we are trying to get a larger MahJongg group together.  Up to ten, I think.  Should be fun.  Yesterday since the regular group was in another location playing a tournament, our small group went to the old locale and played.  I came home with $3.75 more than I left the house with.  I was on a roll.  I have been on a roll lately, now I am waiting for my old losing ways to creep back in!

Slow Monday

I have poison ivy from the weekend's work.  Not a lot, just enough to be irritating.

You know I have been planning to paint the kitchen for a few weeks now, right?  Well today it's raining, and I was bored.  I started by doing a little cleaning.

On thing led to another.  Before I knew it, I was washing sea glass and wine glasses, and vacuuming up an impressive amount of cobwebs.  By 1:00 the decision was made and I was painting.  I didn't mean to, it just happened.

Of course now the 2nd coat is looming and I have every excuse in the book not to do it!

I took all my glasses full of sea glass down...  This is only some of them...  I might have a problem.  First step is admitting it, right?

Glass as far as the eye can see and the counter can contain...

At least it's clean now.  I do have a lovely mix of colors!

Here is where I was during the repair part of the day:

After the first coat was done:

Before:

After:

Hurrah!  That stupid pink spot is finally gone!!!

It's so weird to see my 'fridge naked!

I was initially afraid the color wouldn't be saturated enough to suit me, but I am really liking the way the back splash looks against the wall now.  When it's done, I think it will look even better.

Once the painting is done, I'll be taking everything out of the cabinets and getting them freshened up.  I figure I still have a couple week until spring is over, so it counts as spring cleaning...

Shout Out!

It's Auntie's birthday today!

 

Everyone give her a shout out!

 

Happy Birthday AUNTIE!!!!

Clandestine Musings

Because I can't learn, I went on the Bristol Toyota website and found my old car.  And it pissed me off.  I was told they couldn't make the best deal because they were going to have to sell my baby to a 3rd party dealer due to a bad Carfax report.

So why is it now being offered for sale at Bristol Toyota?

I had Big Sister and Auntie call to inquire after it and see the price.  Just about $3k more than they gave me for it.

Now I feel like an idiot.

And I feel a letter rant coming on as well.

I really hate being lied to.  A lot.  So yeah, a letter is in order.  A not nice letter.  A long letter.

ANYWAYS...

Look!  We have grass!!!

It's patchy grass, but it's better than dirt.  I think we need to somehow address the gutter runoff so it doesn't dig into the grass.

Last night we made some yard art.  I had seen it on HGTV and decided to give it a whirl.  I made Agmorion participate.  It's a salt dough with glass marbles stuck in it.

If you guessed the neat, symmetrical ones on the right are Agmorion's and the chaotic ones on the left are mine, you guessed right.  I am thinking I'll make another batch when the Kraken is here at the end of the month.  She is blessed with a very wonderful sense of artistic balance.  I will make her decorate a few more of these so I can be reminded of what I am missing in her!

These things can be baked for a few hours, or you can air dry them for a few days.  Because it was hot as Hell here last night, we opted for air dry.  It's working out pretty well so far, but it's supposed to rain tomorrow night.  I hope I remember to bring them inside!

Today after we went to a book sale (scored about ten books), we came home and did some cleanup work.  My Adirondack chairs have been a constant source of disappointment to me.  When I painted them white, I thought my troubles were over and they would only need repainting now and then.  But the exterior paint I used is somehow sticky and I hate it.  We hardly ever use the chairs because of it.

I found some spray Kilz, and was thinking I'd wash a chair, then spray the Kilz and then topcoat it and see how it holds up.  After procrastinating for a few weeks, we dragged out the power washer today and got to work.

Here is one of the chairs before:

Gross huh?

 

Why do one when you can do two?

Here they are all cleaned up and ready for a spray:

Hey look!  Zinnia are growing!

And we got carried away withe the power washer...

Before:

After:

We washed the stairs, the rails, the decking, the door, the shop, the foundation, you name it, it got a spray!

Overall it did a nice job of getting rid of the ick.  Unfortunately, the ick always soon returns.  Tomorrow, I will spray the two clean chairs, and brush the table.  Oh, did I mention?  We found a wasp nest under the table!  It was pretty horrifyingly big.  It was abandoned, so that was good!  Deck cleaner makes wasps nest disintegrate.  Whew!

After the rain is gone, I will begin the days-long arduous task of repainting the chairs.  Maybe I'll dig into my paint stash after they are properly Kilz-primed and see if I can come up with other colors.  Because white doesn't stay white long around here.

We are also going to start painting the foundation.  I was going to do it myself over a few days, but while I was power washing it, I discovered there are too many way-to-scary places to stick your hand while painting and decided I need Agmorion to help me get the job done.  He's excited, I'm sure.

Ordeal of Sorts

I was going to post yesterday when we got home, but it took so long I figured I would wait until today.

What's so important?

Well, nothing, really.  Just a story.  A long story.

For a few months, maybe longer, Agmorion and I have been toying with the idea of trading in my little-used car for a work truck.  Over the last few weeks as we've been hauling loads of dirt, plants, and other dirty wet things, it has come to an impasse.

I did a lot of research.  At first we were going to go the used route.  Lots of people buy used cars every day and manage not to get screwed.  We just don't have that kind of luck.  And when we looked into a new truck, the price was virtually the same.  And the trade off for power windows was getting a truck exactly like we wanted.  No frills, manual, a bed liner would be nice.

We went to look at our first choice last week.  It was perfect, and the selling of my car would make it pretty much free.  SCORE!  How often does that happen?  Well, as it turns out, never to us.  We made an appointment, and when we got there, were told the truck had just sold.  But they had this nice Dodge.  We don't want a Dodge.  Oh, well then, how about this Dodge?  After being cattle shooted into this guy's office, he went in search of our second choice, a Tacoma.  About twenty minutes later, he returned.  We followed him out and were led directly to... wait for it...  the Dodge.  And wait, you have to see it!  Let me start it up!  It's a jewel.

The piece of shit wouldn't start.

Nice.  Now you know why we don't want a Dodge.  But wait!  Let me get the price for you!

By this time I am getting that shaky angry feeling.  I can feel the Hulk coming on, so I said we had to leave and get back to work.  He wasted a few more of my precious minutes, and then I walked out and sat in the car.  Agmorion took a few more minutes.  He's much more socially graceful than I am.

On the way home from there, we stopped by the Ford dealer.  They had a nice Ranger.  I had seen it on the web for $13k.  A little more, but whatever.  When the sales guy came out, he quoted the price at $15.9k.  OK, thanks for playing!

I spent the next two days doing research, and making Saturday appointments.  We had one at 9:30, and one at 1:30.  And I thought we'd stop at Bristol Toyota (note this is NOT a plug for them) in between.

At 9:00 Saturday AM, the 9:30 appointment called me to cancel.  Whatever.  After breakfast we went to the Toyota dealer.  Where I knew they had a stripped down truck, manual, no frills.  Decent price with my insurance company discounts.

When we get to the dealer, we are greeted by Hanna.  Hanna is an Egyptian/Italian man.  Seemed like a nice guy.  He wasn't.  He located the truck and brought it around.  Agmorion test drove it.  Could have been the easiest sale of Hanna's life.

Did I mention I had done my homework?  Yeah, for the all the good it did.  In the end, after all the bullshit back and forth, we managed to get $1200 off the price.  Was hoping for more, but I'm not very good at this.  And then we threw in my car.

And that is pretty much where things started to go sideways.

They do the Carfax report and eval my car.  Wouldn't you know it?  The frigging phantom accident popped up.  But they did some paint thickness (bullshit?) test and could tell that the front end had never been repaired.  Point in my favor.  But it's on the report.  Point lost.  He low balled the offer.  We got up to leave.

But this is going to keep happening.  And this is the truck we want and they are not that easy to find.

Shit.

Hanna offers to try to find someone who will pay more.  Fine.  He came up with another grand.  Fine, I have babied this car for eight years and that's the most anyone has offered me.  So screw it.  We take it.

We settle on a price.  We talk financing.  My insurance company will give us 1.39%.  We can't get in to talk to the finance guy, but Hanna is acting as a go-between.  Really?  He says 2.4% is their best, recommends we go with the insurance company.

Oh, but there is a catch.  Even though we are willing to write a large check for a down payment, we cannot take the truck today.

What?

Yes, this is where we should have walked away.  But whatever.  We make an appointment for the next day at 12:30.  And we'll be able to get the truck then.  Disappointing, but what can you do.

We get home, secure the financing, and call Hanna to let him know we're definitely going with our financing.  He said great, and confirmed 12:30.

Spin to 12:30.  We get to the dealer, car is cleaned out, we are ready to go.

Hanna starts to go over the deal with us.  As expected, they played silly buggers with the numbers.  I understand they do this, but I ask him to explain it.  He can't.  I start to get that sick throw-uppy feeling.  I tell Agmorion I need to go outside, he can finish.

I go out, walk around a bit, calm myself.  Go back in.  Sit down.  They are discussing financing now.  Still no fiance guy, just Hanna.  Hanna was saying how since we had changed financing, we weren't going to be able to take the truck until the entire payment was in their account.  I said something, and he reared on me.  I was stunned and felt the Hulk thing starting to happen.  Both Agmorion and I got up and said we'd be back, we needed to talk.  Hanna offered to leave, we said we'd rather go out.

So there we are, the only customers on the lot, screaming at each other trying to convince each other why and why not to go through with this.  It was comical.  And all the sales guys were privy to all of it.  In the end, we decide to go with their financing just so we can take the truck with us.  We'll pay it off in a year and be done with it.  Agmorion goes back in to tell them.  A few minutes later, I go in and there is this black cloud over the place and Agmorion says, "Let's go.  We're leaving."

I was bewildered.  We got back in the car and he tells me they already put the insurance company financing through.  I can feel myself turning green again.

At every point we thought we should have walked away, we didn't.  Now we're stuck.

I am so completely stunned they put the financing through before we had given them an answer.  It could not have been lost on ANYONE there we were on the edge.  But perhaps since we let them drag us back so many times, they knew they had us.

In the end, it took three more days to get this straightened out.  Yesterday we had a 3:30 appointment to get it all signed and delivered.  Hanna called me to ask me if Agmorion had insurance.  I said of course, and he goes, "So if I call your insurance company they'll tell me he's covered?"

Did you just call me a liar?

A few minutes later he calls me back to tell me I need to make sure to insure the truck.

Look asshole, this isn't my first rodeo.  I had already done it. 

When we got to the dealer, there was this weird air about the place.  And Hanna was no place to be seen.  His jacket and computer were open on his desk.  They said he went to the doctor.  We know he was hiding.  There was even a different finance person.  It took over two hours with all the screwing around they did, but we were finally able to take the truck home.

On the way home, we were talking about me driving the truck (eek!) and taking over his car, and Agmorion goes, "Well you can start looking for a new car."

Yeah, it'll be a long, long, long, long time before I ring the new car bell.  I am not anxious to go through that ordeal again.  It's so not funny, but for all the times I have bought new cars, I could ill afford them.  The dealers were always anxious to get me to overspend and I have always taken the car on the same day.  Now we can actually afford this truck, and we wanted to take it home, and it took five days to get it home.

Anyway...  that is most of the story.  Point:  Find someone else to buy your Toyota from.  Bristol Toyota SUCKS!!!!

Here is the new addition to our household:

And someday I might even drive it.

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone is having a really great Memorial Day.  The weather here could not be better, finally.  We took the opportunity while celebrating those fallen for our freedom to make good use of the great weather.

We started out with a bacon and muffins breakfast.  Fortified with that we went out and started the shredding.  You know what smells yummy?  Not wet shredded leaves.

At the beginning of last week, the weather guy said the rain was going to clear on Friday and be gorgeous all weekend.  I made big plans to finish up the shredding in three days.  It never stopped raining til late yesterday, and all that extra rain, while great for fledgling grass, is really not so good for drying leaves.  Needless to say, the weather guy is on my list.

Once we got the top layer shredded, Agmorion wandered off to mow the grass.  While he was doing that, I was collecting blocks and setting them in place.  For the new big garden, we thought it would be best to lie the blocks flat:

It's just to keep the mulch in and the grass out, not my usual fancy (ha ha) edging.

Fortunately, Crew-of-One broke some of my blocks.  Not only are they easier to carry, they work well around some obstacles:

I haven't finished yet, but this is what it all looked like this morning when we started:

I am about half done.  Yesterday we used Round Up on the grass and weeds inside the barrier.  Today I am laying down newspaper and topping it with the shredded leaves.  All the bushes in there are really suffering right now, but hopefully with all the rain, and some mulch and a summer to recover, they will survive.  And if they don't, oh well.  I'll have a nice bed prepared for whatever new plant strikes my fancy!

 

We have some new grass on the slope now, but there is a big spot that is more gravel then dirt, so I am not optimistic on green space.  I tried to sell Agmorion on astro turf, you know, you just nail it down and it looks great (except up close) for years.  But he wasn't buying.

 

We did some research on wood piles, and think we have come up with a viable plan for ours.  I have set an artificial date of one month to get it done.  If it happens, you'll get to see how we decided to do it.

 

I finally committed to paint colors.  We took advantage of Home Depot's paint rebate and bought three gallons of paint.  When I get back from Baltimore in June I am going to paint the kitchen.  After that, I am going to start on the foundation.  And then some time later, I will do the sunroom.  Of course I will bore you with pictures!  Silly that you think you have to ask!

 

The other night I made Agmorion a Bag of Holding:   

 

It's a long running joke in this house, and since he's been playing MahJongg with us sometimes, I think it's high time he had his own money bag:

I thought it would be better received, but maybe I've beat the joke to death.  Either way, he has his own change bag.

Since it was so damp and nasty, we had a fire Saturday night.  Blue was thrilled:

Yes, that is his thrilled face.  As soon as he hears the wood being loaded into the stove, he slinks over and gets in his bed.  He settles in and starts yawning.  Soon, he's down for the count.  Every so often he'll wake up and his look says, "What?  This is really hard work, and you shouldn't make fun of me."  It's like he shuts off when there is a fire.

I'm thinking about making a summer blanket with state squares:

 

 And that is how I leave you today.

Whoops!

I seem to have missed my Wednesday post...  I must have been really busy...  Or drowning.

It's been raining all week, so I have not gotten as much work done on my garden as I wanted.  But we have some new grass and some something poking up through the dirt.  Still don't know if its leaves or flowers.

I played MJ today at Pam's and came away a big winner!  That was a nice surprise!

I don't have much to report today, so I won't bore you with it...

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

 

Here comes summer!