Progress? Ish? Maybe?
May. 23rd, 2021 07:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mousmeI took the car to Steve the wonderful mechanic this morning. I took Peggy with me and we walked home, which took about an hour. Google Maps claimed it should have taken 40 minutes, but Google Maps routinely overestimates how quickly I walk. I have always been a bit of a slow walker, and never moreso than these days, tbh. I am a slowpoke, and also Peggy wanted to sniff all the things, which didn't hasten the process at all. We didn't get out to the fields the way I'd wanted to, but at least we got in a good long walk.
Unfortunately, the news about the car was not great. It turns out that the metal on my exhaust manifold has corroded until it's so thin that Steve the wonderful mechanic couldn't get any traction to unscrew the nuts and bolts to replace the part that needs replacing: the metal just warped and bent every which way. He told me he didn't want to force it because it would likely just rip itself apart and then I wouldn't be able to drive my car for two weeks. So now we need a much more expensive repair, which is basically to replace the entire manifold, but that should fix my problem, at least. So that's going to be another $600 I didn't really feel like spending on the car. Still, it's the price one pays for having a ten year old car, and she's in pretty good working order for a car that I abused royally for many of the 10 years I've had her. I went and got an oil change today, and YIKES I do not remember the last one being this expensive! Steve did the most recent one and he charges next to nothing, and I suspect the bananas amount of money I spent today is due to my going with Steve's recommendation of getting synthetic oil instead of regular. OTOH it means that I will get more life out of the old girl if I treat her well, so there you go.
Next on the list for the car is a proper cleaning (inside and out), new windshield wiper blades, and new floor mats. My current mats are in terrible shape, and not just because Peggy chewed up the ones in the back footwell when she was a puppy. ;) Project Be Nicer To Your Car is an ongoing process.
I had a nice long chat with Lu over the phone. We caught up a bit, talked about cats, and generally had a lovely conversation. I also heard from Jan and t!, who sent me an email to let me know that their dog Carter died. Carter was a husky collie mix like Sergent, and he and Sergent were really good buddies while Sergent was alive. Carter would have been fifteen this year, which is a good long life for a dog of his breeding, and he spent the last few days with his humans being loved on and fed all of the treats, and he went peacefully and painlessly. I am selfishly a little sad that I wasn't able to see him for such a long time before he died (stupid pandemic), but this is the way life goes.
And now, it is time for Mage. Catch you later, folks!
Unfortunately, the news about the car was not great. It turns out that the metal on my exhaust manifold has corroded until it's so thin that Steve the wonderful mechanic couldn't get any traction to unscrew the nuts and bolts to replace the part that needs replacing: the metal just warped and bent every which way. He told me he didn't want to force it because it would likely just rip itself apart and then I wouldn't be able to drive my car for two weeks. So now we need a much more expensive repair, which is basically to replace the entire manifold, but that should fix my problem, at least. So that's going to be another $600 I didn't really feel like spending on the car. Still, it's the price one pays for having a ten year old car, and she's in pretty good working order for a car that I abused royally for many of the 10 years I've had her. I went and got an oil change today, and YIKES I do not remember the last one being this expensive! Steve did the most recent one and he charges next to nothing, and I suspect the bananas amount of money I spent today is due to my going with Steve's recommendation of getting synthetic oil instead of regular. OTOH it means that I will get more life out of the old girl if I treat her well, so there you go.
Next on the list for the car is a proper cleaning (inside and out), new windshield wiper blades, and new floor mats. My current mats are in terrible shape, and not just because Peggy chewed up the ones in the back footwell when she was a puppy. ;) Project Be Nicer To Your Car is an ongoing process.
I had a nice long chat with Lu over the phone. We caught up a bit, talked about cats, and generally had a lovely conversation. I also heard from Jan and t!, who sent me an email to let me know that their dog Carter died. Carter was a husky collie mix like Sergent, and he and Sergent were really good buddies while Sergent was alive. Carter would have been fifteen this year, which is a good long life for a dog of his breeding, and he spent the last few days with his humans being loved on and fed all of the treats, and he went peacefully and painlessly. I am selfishly a little sad that I wasn't able to see him for such a long time before he died (stupid pandemic), but this is the way life goes.
And now, it is time for Mage. Catch you later, folks!
