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| The friend whose vehicle we took to BSG after mine died |
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| So nice to play with color after all the black I've been spinning! |
Since I just went to a fiber festival, you might be thinking spinning wheel. While I do have one, it's been years since my Louet S10 has seen any action; my Jenkins Turkish spindles are the yarn producers around here. (And yes, I got another one at Black Sheep Gathering, the one that completed my collection.😉) No, our wheel woes are much more troublesome, and expensive....
Rick's current vet truck has been a lemon – trying, it seems, to live up the Ford acronym taunt "Fix Or Repair Daily." He has been pondering a replacement, but late model pickups big enough to handle his vet box, extra equipment, and mileage are obscenely expensive, so he keeps patching his 2002 Ford F350 back together. Early last week another major problem presented itself, putting it up on blocks, so to speak. Fortunately our old '94 Ford keeps on truckin', so he makes do with that when his vet truck is sidelined once again. At least the shop is finally to a useful/useable stage:
Last Wednesday evening on our way to agility my car dramatically lost power. In order to prevent further damage, I had it towed to the nearest VW dealership, in Salem. The diagnosis was grim; the repair would cost more than the car is worth. So we hauled it home where it sits, awaiting its still undecided fate. I was grounded for a few days, and then my boss generously loaned me her mini-van to get to and from work until Rick's vet truck is fixed or replaced.
Between the fleeces delivered to buyers at BSG and the two shipping out tomorrow, almost half my clip has been sold. Now to skirt and advertise the last eight.
Yesterday Rick was given four tickets for tonight to the St. Paul Rodeo. We haven't been to it in years, and I can't say I'm looking forward to it, except for the fireworks at the end. The risk to man and beast is real, and I sit in dread of something bad happening, especially to the animals (I figure the human participants go in willingly with eyes wide open; animals don't get a choice.) This is not a hypothetical fear; Rick and I saw a bucking bronc break its leg in the middle of the run, then get shuffled off to the stock pens to wait until Rick went and demanded humane measures be taken. My parents witnessed Lane Frost get gored to death at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. Praying there are no accidents of any kind tonight....
To end on a more hopeful note, our garden is still going great guns (but for the beets and carrots). The snowpeas and bush beans have started to bloom. I've harvested three cucumbers so far; soon we will be enjoying tomatoes, sweet peppers and eggplant, too.
Inside, my littlest orchid is budding out (again!) as my African violet blooms fade:
And last night's sunset was a lovely one!
That's it for now from . . .
12 comments:
Oh man. I think a car payment might be in your future :-S If you do get a new car, I can't speak highly enough of my Subaru Forester. Mine's a 2015 (got in December 2014 after the bad accident), and it's been worth every penny I paid for it. Mine has less than 45,000 miles on it because I didn't drive to work (I took the train), but it's really been a great vehicle for me. I think Subaru is going to release a pick up again soon, but it's probably not big enough for Rick. At least you got to go to market and complete your spindle collection. I know you love them! :-)
We don't do car payments or the instant depreciation of buying new, so we'll be looking for something used we can afford. Rick has business savings to pay for a new/used vet truck, but the decision is still a weighty one, especially this close to retirement.
I'm limping along in a 21 year old car and a 24 year old truck that are both so beloved to me that I can't imagine driving anything else. Both have been incredibly dependable, but with over 500K miles between the two...I hate to think about the future.
Glad Rick stood up for the horse. :'-(
I was going to enter the same comment about cars as A:. We have had Subarus for years. They are very reliable and sturdy vehicles. Many in my family have had the same experience. Cars are soooo expensive now and at 78 I don’t want to buy any car as I might not be driving in the next few years. Our auto repairs guys say “no problem” because we own a Subaru.
Elaine, I REALLY want to love Subarus (advertising works!) but we did look at them before buying the VW and weren't impressed. My mechanic DS says they are good vehicles but with a propensity to need head gaskets replaced....
Baby them along, Sara! You don't put a lot of miles on them, though, do you! We have about 600K between our two dead vehicles and they are 'only' 16 and 23 years old.
I was glad to be able offer my vehicle to get us both to Black Sheep. I had an excuse to get another Jenkins spindle myself. Trying it out on site was a relaxing part of the day.
Thank you thank you thank you for making our trip to BSG possible this year, Melinda!
Our Ford Puma has done us well - we do a LOT of kilometres, driving back to, and around, the UK. But I appreciate that trucks might be different. It's always a worry with cars as everything seems to be expensive.
As for rodeos...well, while not as barbaric as bullfighting, they still seem rather unpleasant. I don't think it would be my idea of fun. And even the fireworks I hate. I've read so much about the adverse effect of fireworks on wildlife, as well as pets, I don't like them at all.
We keep our cars for 10-15 years - and my daughter and sister the same. All of us have had Subarus and never had to replace a Head Gasket. We have had 3 Subarus and between my family members another 3. All were old and well used when they parted ways with us. In fact, when we traded them in, the body showed wear but the engines were solid - sort of like a Timex watch. Just keeps on ticking. Our mechanics of 35+ plus years said the same thing. And when my husband and I visited Alaska the state seemed full of Subarus. If there was a state that is hard on cars - it was Alaska. They are, however, imports so some folks will only support American made vehicles - like Fords or Chevys. Different strokes ...
Alison, I'm not familiar with that model; it may not be sold in the U.S. Yes, rodeos are on the barbaric side, at least for some of the animals. 😞
Elaine, before the VW all our cars were Toyotas and Hondas. We are taking a second look at Subarus – or will, when Rick gets a truck squared away....
It was nice seeing the Black Sheep photos, especially Marlys. Thanks
And Rico.
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