Where did I leave off?

Last Thursday, it rained.  I was worried that the rain would affect my car starting, but it didn't, until Friday.  I can't be sure it was the rain but it was the only thing different.  On Friday, I went out to my car and it would not start.  Up went the hood, down went the hammer, then the car started.  After work, I was the last one to leave.  I probably should have tried to start it before that.  It was dead again.  I tried the hammer, and again, and four times later, I was getting worried, but it started.  On Saturday, I ran outside to start it before loading up two dogs for the adoption event.  It hesitated, but started.  No dogs adopted at the event.  Two families were interested in Sassy but her medical costs and interest in cats kept her from getting adopted.  After the event, the car started right up.

On Sunday, no problems.  On Monday, I thought I should probably get a new starter so I called them and they said to bring it in on Tuesday.  I dropped it off and got a ride to work from a co-worker.  That evening, I called to see how things were going.  The mechanic said the car had a new starter but it wouldn't start and they needed to keep it another day.  One of the young mechanics gave me a ride home in his well-worn truck.  I said, "I bet you got a great deal on this truck."  He smiled broadly, "Only $600!"  He just got his first apartment too.  Almost to my house, he realized he had left his wallet at work.  I tipped him $20 for the ride.  He looked like he needed it.  Wednesday, I got a ride from co-workers again.  The car was finally finished at 3pm.  They had to take it to another shop for diagnostics.  One of the circuits had failed.  I don't know if the starter was bad or it was just the circuit but I have a new starter and a new circuit and an oil change for $400.  There goes most of my extra cash for this month and I still have a surgery consult for Jimmy-dog next week.

Jimmy-dog has been much improved in the last week.  His back seems to be getting better.  I asked the vet for an alternative to Tramadol since I couldn't tell if it was helping or not.  She gave him Gabapentin for a week and then I used up the rest of the Rimadyl that he had from before.  He actually tried to get on the recliner, although he wasn't able to jump up, and he has been moving faster and terrorizing my chi-weenie again (much to the chi-weenie's dismay).  I don't know how long this will last but it is good to see him with more spunk again.

Oh, and I wanted to show you the pretty Canna plants that my mother gave me a couple of months ago. They flowered! So pretty!

Car Repair and Dog Repair

Continuing the car saga, I didn't hear back from the mechanic on Friday, which was odd, so I called on Saturday morning.  He told me that the car would not repeat the problem, meaning, it started up every time they tried it.  He said his technician had been going out and starting it every half hour.  Since the car kept starting, they couldn't diagnose the problem so there was nothing to fix.  I guess that was a good thing.  I now carry a hammer in my car just in case my starter ever needs "motivation" again.  My nephew and I drove over to pick it up and then we stopped by the cat shelter again.  I asked if they had more chores to do because the point of volunteering, besides helping out, is for my nephew to be able to add skills to his resume.  We ended up scrubbing litter boxes in the back so now he is qualified to be a dish washer.  Haha. 

All this week, I have been reluctantly counting down the days until Jimmy-dog's surgery next Tuesday.  Then, yesterday, my vet calls and says that she wants me to get a another opinion from a second surgeon.  She had called him for advice for this case thinking I had already had a consultation with that surgeon but I only consulted with the one surgeon because after that we were going to try non-surgical options, which we did.  Anyway, the surgeon at Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson, VSCOT for short, mentioned that some dogs can have these adrenal tumors with no symptoms at all so we should be sure that his symptoms are actually being cause by the tumor.  We shouldn't try risky surgery if the outcome is not going to improvement his health.  I completely agree.  I was under the impression, and my vet was too, that removing the tumor would fix everything, except his back pain.  So, Jimmy-dog has a consultation on Nov. 15th and I hope that this surgeon has some answers.  Jimmy-dog has been doing better with walking lately.  I give him half of a pain pill twice a day.  He still isn't able to jump on the bed or chair like he used to but he hasn't been holding up one leg and trying to hobble around on three legs like he was doing.  And even though the eye drops for his excessive thirst cost $80 a month, maybe there is a cheaper medicine out there some where or maybe I can give the drops every other day with the same effect.  So, the Jimmy-dog story is to be continued...

Like Playing Whack-A-Mole

 After work yesterday, I trotted out to my car, turned the key, and it didn't start.  Oh great.  I've been worried about this ever since I decided to use most of my savings on Jimmy-dog's surgery.  My 2 vehicles haven't given me any trouble recently.  What if something happens?  It happened and I called AAA and waited, hoping there was a problem with the battery because that's easy to fix and it would have been free since my last battery was through AAA and still under warranty.  After an hour, the battery guy comes out and checks the battery.  The battery is good.  Darn.  Checks the starter.  Bad.  He says he can get it started once but I decline because by now it is after 6pm and every auto shop is closed and I don't want a dead car in my driveway.  I decided to wait to call a tow truck the next day and a co-worker was nice enough to take me home. 

The next day, my nephew and I have to share his truck.  I drop him off at school and head in to work late.  But wait, this is also the day for my third attempt at the final inspection of my barn-shed (for allowing it to exist on my property).  I called the inspector at 7am like she told me to do.  It went to voicemail so I left all of the directions in the message.  She called me back and said that she was not going to be the one to do the inspection today but she would pass on my phone number to the fellow who was chosen.  I was worried because he did not have the directions and what if he couldn't contact me by phone like the first inspector?  30 minutes later, I get a text from the inspector telling me he will be at my address between 2-3.  So nice to have contact with an inspector!  I sent back a text with the directions.  

Then school, work, ok, now time to deal with the dead car in the parking lot. I called the auto shop.  They say they can look at it.  I called AAA again for a tow truck.  The tow truck driver comes out in 45 minutes and says "try to turn it on when I tell you".  He has a hammer in his hand.  I am curious.  He looks around and says to try to start it while banging on something with the hammer.  The car starts and I am thrilled.  I asked him to show my the trick and he shows me where the starter is but I would need 2 people, one to bang on the starter while the other one turns the key.  I have learned something new!

I drive the car to the auto shop which looks really busy and another co-worked gives me a ride back to work.  Time goes by and I eat lunch and then send a text to the inspector asking if I need to be present.  He says no, just look for an update online.  For the next hour I nervously refresh the building permit website until... PASSED! 

 I am so relieved.  I can finally stop worrying about that permit expiring and having to do this all over again and pay all the fees again. 

After that it was work as usual until my nephew called and needed a ride home. I was hoping the car would be finished but it wasn't so I will have to wait until tomorrow to find out the bill. I hope it isn't a lot. My reserves are very low.

Quick Update

I made it to my 3 day weekend!  I am so happy.  Every week seems to start out with potential and then something bad happens.  This week's challenge was automotive.  The low oil light on my car flashed on and off a couple of times.  I took it in and the mechanic gave me a laundry list of things that needed attention.  Another motor mount (so that's why the car was shaking), couple of oil leaks, a new radiator cap (I wonder why the "new" one I got in January failed so soon?).  There goes my extra money for September and it is only the 4th.  When my new tenant moves in and I get my first rent check (Oct., I hope) I want to go back to paying down the mortgage if possible.

So, I was driving my mother's car and the check engine light goes on.  I think I am bad luck for cars.  The estimate is $275 for some sort of smog system valve and a new gas cap.  They have to order the valve so I told them I would let them know when I could bring the car back.  It 's not easy to get away from work and I have been getting in late or leaving early a lot lately.

Right now I have 3 houses and 3 vehicles and it is too much.  Too much money and too much time.  The rental house maintenance manager sent me an email with the repair estimate while the rental house is between tenants.  One of the items was landscaping.  Immediately, I thought, "I could do that and save myself some money."  After further thought though, I realized that I did not want to spend my Saturday pulling weeds and pruning trees in 105 degrees.  I have plenty of other things to do at my  other houses.  It's ok to out-source some things.

Traveling between my house and my mobile home is working ok so far.  My nephew rides the bus to school and back and if he needs to stay after school, they have tutoring or the library open until I can pick him up after work.  I am still encouraging him to try riding his bike when the weather is cooler.  I hope he tries it.  There is a great sense of freedom from having ones own mode of transportation.  I may even buy myself a bike...we will see.

Tomorrow I plan to work on the mobile home some more.  A big rain storm came through yesterday and it still leaks around the new door.  I need some sort of cover or at least a drip edge above the door.  I would love a full porch.  Dare to dream. Someday, maybe after I consolidate my homes and cars so that I can focus on one of them.

Latest Mom news:  Mom's hip has healed enough for her to be able to fly.  My sister is going out to Florida tomorrow and getting her on a plane on Sunday.  They are going to Spokane where my other sister lives and Mom will finish her physical therapy.  After that, it all depends on Mom's cognitive abilities.  I hope she will be able to come back to Arizona but as of right now she wouldn't be able to live alone.
 

A Truck Tale

As you know, I still have 2 vehicles.  Not selling the truck turned out to be a good decision because it has been very useful with the mobile home remodel and my niece using it to get around town.  Later on, my nephew will use is to learn to drive and to get to school.  But keeping 2 vehicles is not cheap.  Back in February or March, I needed to replace the battery.  Then, I noticed leaking from the radiator and that had to be replaced.  A few weeks ago, my niece got rear-ended and luckily, the driver was honest and stopped to exchange insurance information.  Even though the damage wasn't major, my niece took it in for an estimate and I got a $570 check.

Can you tell it's a little lower on the right?

On Monday, I took the day off for my birthday and worked on my property.  My niece was there with the truck and I was looking for bungee cords when I noticed that the back tire was cracked along the tread and I could see the metal inside.  We stopped what we were doing and went directly to the tire store (and In and Out Burger) and $300 later I had 4 new tires.

I hope that is all of the truck maintenance that I need for a while.  I am looking forward to only having one vehicle again after my nephew goes off to college in 2 years.  I only have one car in my early retirement budget.

Busy Weekend Ahead

The week is over and I am ready for a nice relaxing weekend.  But, wait!  Tomorrow at 9 I scheduled my furnace to be shut down and my evaporative cooler to be started up.  It's been in the 80's which is abnormal for March so I just know as soon as the furnace gets shut off we will get a few more weeks of cold but I will have to survive with my space heaters.  Then I need to get a new battery for the truck, meet the handyman at Home Depot for more supplies, meet my mother out at my property to show her my "vision".  I hope she has a good imagination because there really isn't much to see other than my new door.

It kind of looks like a door to nowhere.  I love my new door and I will love it even more when it has steps.  The handyman will continue replacing the metal skirting with the grey Hardi-backer board.  It isn't a common skirting material but I think it will work well for my needs and I can paint it.  I will be working on prying off the old vinyl tiles so that the floor can be covered in plywood.  I plan to sand it and polyurethane it and that is all.  At least it will be better than the pressboard that swelled up when wet or the sheet vinyl that ripped.

I met with the excavator yesterday.  We discussed how to get my big shed on to the property since both access roads have issues.  The woman who owns the shed business happens to be a close neighbor so she is going to check out both roads and tell me which one has the least amount of problems.  I think flying it in by helicopter would work.  Do you suppose I could hire one of those military helicopters for a few hours?

I also met with 2 concrete guys today.  I'm not sure if they will give me quotes for a slab or not.  I think they correctly surmised that my budget is too small for what they would charge.  I expect them to be in the $5k range or more.

In the meantime, I am trying to get all my work done so that I don't get fired from my job.  People start to grumble when they can't reach me at my desk.  I'm trying to save my vacation days for important stuff like when the excavator is there and when the shed is delivered.  I am still working on the site plan so I can submit my paperwork for the permit.  I called Blue Stake today which tells the utilities to come out and mark where their lines are on my property.  I need to add those to my drawing.  That should be done by Tuesday and then I can submit my paperwork and it will be rejected of course because I'm still not sure what is needed for the grading plan but I am hoping they will help me with it.

To end with some good news, the city called today and said that they approved my claim for the tire damage.  Actually, they said they would pay for one tire and since the wheel was bent, they will pay for that too even though I didn't have it replaced.  They estimated that a wheel would cost as much as a tire so they will pay my whole bill of $159.  That is great but I wish I hadn't ran over that pothole in the first place!

Not a Frugal February

February is turning out to be a very expensive month.  I decided that I would pay the $1,000 that I owe in taxes with the interest that I made on my mutual fund ($500) and raid $500 from my property fix-it fund.  Ok, that was fine as long as nothing else went wrong this month.  Then on Monday, when I turned on the heater in the car, I smelled antifreeze.  I had smelled it before when the heater was on but I kept forgetting to check under the hood when I got home from work because I didn't need the heater in the afternoon.  Finally, I wrote it down because I was going to visit my mother on Tuesday and it would be convenient to drop my car off at the shop if it needed it.  Well, I opened the hood and there was green liquid on the engine and the coolant level was low.  sigh.  So, the next day I dropped the car at the mechanic for the forth time in 4 months and my mom and I went to visit dad at the nursing home.  It was his birthday and one of the staff bought him a giant chocolate cupcake and I put together some happy birthday posters from family members.  He seemed to appreciate it and he really enjoyed the cupcake.

Today, I heard back from the mechanic.  Now it needs a new radiator.  Total parts and labor $650.  My cheap car is not as cheap as I thought.  I already spent $750 for a new motor mount, thermostat and hoses.  I don't understand why the whole cooling system fell apart.  I would love to know if the mechanic missed all of these broken parts or they really broke in succession.  I certainly hope this fixes the problem and I don't have any more issues for at least a year.  Of course, that's what I said last time too.

So, where to get the money?  I was REALLY looking forward to putting $1,600 extra towards the mortgage next week but I can only do that if nothing goes wrong that month.  I am already using the interest and borrowing some of the property money to pay taxes so I can't use that money.  I could try to not spend any extra money for the next 3+ months and scrape $200 a month out of my budget but no more unexpected expenses could come up or it wouldn't work.  I think the only sensible thing to do is take $400 out of the extra mortgage money and then try to make it through March without any extra spending which will give me the other $250.  It is disappointing but putting an extra $1,200 towards the mortgage is still awesome.  I will get it paid off eventually.

Car Woes

The good news is:  I figured out what is wrong with my car.  The bad news is:  I have to take it to the mechanic AGAIN.  Let's recap.  The week before Thanksgiving my car over heated and I dropped it off at the mechanic.  The following Monday I got it back and I was $700 poorer but happy to have my car back.  Then, on Thanksgiving, the car over heated again.  I traded cars with my mother and she took it back to the mechanic.  They drove it around and tried to make it over heat but it wouldn't do it for them so they gave it back.  My mother and I kept driving each other's cars until it was convenient to switch which happened to be last Wednesday.

The next day I drove to the pre-Christmas brunch at my father's nursing home.  It was very nice, a waffle and omelet bar with fruit and meats.  The pineapple was awesome but they ran out.  As I was leaving I noticed something hanging under my car.  I poked at it and it was a plastic cover of some sort.  I went back to work because I didn't have time to leave my car at the mechanic again.  Friday, I was taking my usual lunchtime walk around the block with a coworker and I mentioned the hanging thing under my car.  There is hardly any clearance under the car so he suggested that I pop the hood and maybe we could see it through the engine compartment.  No, we couldn't see anything because the engine compartment is crammed full of engine stuff but he mentioned that I had a coolant leak.  I said, yes, the car overheated and the mechanic couldn't find the problem but I had seen it bubbling out of the hose connection below the radiator cap.  He barely touched the hose and it fell off.  I said, AHHH you broke my car!  But I was just kidding.  I said, see, I knew it was broken there and I told the mechanic but they couldn't find the problem.  Anyway, the coworker said we could glue the hose temporarily so he took me to the hardware store and I bought some epoxy glue for plastics.  Now it looks like this:

I made it home ok and I think it will hold until I can get it back to the mechanic on Tuesday.  Hopefully they will get it replaced by Wednesday and hopefully my mother will let me borrow her car again.  I hope this is the last repair that I need for a very long time.  And while they are at it, they better fix that hanging thing underneath too.  

Not So Little Lost Dog

I'm beginning to wonder if Petey the PT Cruiser doesn't like me.  After over-heating on Thanksgiving, and leaving the car with my mother so she could drop it off at the shop, the mechanic couldn't find anything wrong with it.  He even drove it home and back but he couldn't make it over-heat.  They didn't charge me except $10 for gas because of all the driving.  My mother is going to keep if for a while until it is convenient to exchange cars.  Until then I am enjoying the great gas mileage of her Toyota Camry.

On Monday, I needed to pick up antibiotics for my kittens after work.  It is always risky to go to the pound without a dog because I usually leave with one.  I prefer small to medium dogs but the dog that needed a foster home happened to be a pony-sized Great Pyrenees.  He was calm and friendly so I thought I would give it a try.  Well, he wouldn't get in to my car.  It took me over 15 minutes to coax him in to the back seat and I had to get in to the back seat myself in order to do it.  He rode in the car really well and everything was fine until we got home.

My terrier hated him.  My little dog would not stop barking.  Finally, I left the big dog in the living room while the rest of us went to bed.  All was well until the morning when I almost stepped in the very large puddle.  Next, I did some early morning mopping, and managed to get everyone fed.  The new dog did not want to go outside but I finally got it to go out a side door.  He was too big for my dog door so he was going to have to stay outside all day.  I went to work and hoped everything was fine.

Later, my boss arrived from his business trip and I got to leave early to drop him at his place.  On the way home I stopped at the grocery store and bought more chicken for my pony-dog since that was the only thing he wanted to eat.  I came home, put the chicken in a pot, fed the puppies, and looked outside for my pony-dog.  My dogs were there but pony-dog was gone.  Ugh.  Not knowing what time he escaped or what direction he went, I had no idea where to look.  I sent out the usual lost dog notices to Craig's list, Facebook, called the pound to file a report.  My printer chose to run out of ink so I had to make up primitive Lost Dog signs with a sharpie pen.  It was dark and starting to sprinkle but I posted some signs in the vicinity.  There wasn't much else I could do besides wait for someone to call.

I was sound asleep when the phone rang.  At first I thought it was my alarm but I figured it out.  The caller said that her friend found a dog that looked like mine hanging out with her horses and she took it to the Humane Society.  I was wide awake after that.  I couldn't get back to sleep until 3am.  When my alarm went off at 6am I was not ready to face the day so I sent a text to my co-worker that I would be late and went back to sleep for an hour.  It would have been convenient if my computer would connect so that I could work from home but I still haven't figured out that problem.  The Humane Society doesn't have humans to answer the phones until 9am so I had to be patient.  Finally, I talked to a human and she confirmed that the dog was there.  It is ironic that the finder paid $70 to drop the dog off at the Humane Society when she could have dropped him at the pound for free.  Everyone at the pound would have recognized him.  I wasn't sure if I was supposed to go get him out or what.  I really didn't want to bring him back to my house because I would have had to leave him in my house alone and he wouldn't have like that.  Finally, I called the pound again at 3 and they told me that the Humane Society wanted to keep the dog.

Well, that all worked out and the only damage was some trampled tomato plants where he jumped over the wall.  I have peace in my house once again, until the next dog.

My "Quick" Trip to the Motor Vehicles Office

Today was the day.  The Motor Vehicles Department, a.k.a. MVD, is only open M-F 8-5pm.  I bought a temporary registration online which was good for 3 days.  The big bosses were in the office on Monday and Tuesday so my boss said I could get my new car registered today when the office was less active.  I checked the wait times online and it said only a 10 minute wait.  Off I went and gave the woman at the desk my paperwork.  She asked if I had taken the car for an emissions test.  Um, no.  Because I bought the car from someone who lives in an area where they are exempt from emissions testing, I had to get the test.  Of course, the testing place wasn't near the MVD office so I drove 15 minutes (I got a little lost) and passed the test.

Back to the MVD, I proudly presented my passing paperwork to the woman at the desk and I received my number to wait in line.  It was only a 10 minute wait (the website was correct about that) and I gave all of my documents to the clerk.  He seemed pleased that I had everything, including the notarized signature of the seller and the odometer reading.  He handed me my license plate and then...oops...he noticed that the car was classified as a van on the title.  PT Cruisers were classified as trucks when they first came out but someone must have thought it looked more like a minivan.  This gentleman thought it should be something else so he sent me out to have an inspection.  That was another 15 minute wait.  My vehicle was now classified as a 4DRSW, which I can only guess means 4 door station wagon?  I don't know.  Whatever they want to call it is ok with me.  Finally, it was time to pay.  Only $62 for the registration which is good for the next 16 months.  The emissions test cost me $12.25 so I should include that in the total cost.  That is only required every 2 years.

So, 2 hours later I get back to work and my boss says,"That was fast!"  Ha, if he thought that was fast maybe I should have stopped and looked at the big sheds that are for sale near my work.  Every time I pass them I think about stopping.  It's too soon for that yet.  Maybe in another 2-3 years if I can wait that long.

Out of Order

I have a plan in my head.  Pay off the mortgage, fix up my property so I can live out there, sell my house, quit my job and find something part time.  The smaller details are movable, as needed or wanted.  One of those details was buying a replacement for my truck.  It is getting older, has 206,000 miles, and has acquired a few quirks like the door locks not working at random times.  I have been trying to figure out what my next car will be and how much it will cost.  Since I was going to wait until my truck died, buying the next car would be an emergency and I would most likely go to the used car dealer, Clyde Wanslee "Ugly But Honest", where my mother bought her car.  After looking at their inventory, I assumed I would have to pay $8K-$12K.  That would either drain my savings or put my mortgage plan on hold for a while.

Last week, a coworker brought his wife's car to work to meet a prospective buyer.  I didn't take much notice since I didn't even know what he was doing until after lunch.  The buyer didn't show up and I heard him complaining about people on craigslist so I asked about the car and what he was asking for it.  He said it was a PT Cruiser, 2002 with 92,000 miles and he was asking $3,000.  My ears perked up.  We went outside to look at it and I drove it around the block.  It didn't have everything that I was looking for in my next vehicle but 92K miles for $3,000 sounded too good to pass up, plus, I know he takes very good car of his cars (unlike me).  I told him I would let him know by the end of the day.  After researching the car and the blue book value, I decided to go for it.

The PT Cruiser's biggest flaws seem to be gas mileage, only 20 mpg, and lack of power.  My truck only got 17 mpg so I moved up a little.  They also depreciate like crazy but that is a plus for me at this point.  It seats 5 and has lot of cargo space with removable seats in the back which was at the top of my want list.

Comfortably fits 3 dogs.

Of course, I had to make sure my dogs fit.  I don't know if I can drive it to my property yet.  It rides really low to the ground so I will have to take the alternate way and I probably shouldn't try driving up my rocky driveway.  If I can get to the beginning of my driveway, that will suffice for now.  I plan to fix my driveway eventually but that can wait.  

I'm happy with my purchase even though replacing my truck wasn't urgent yet.  Hopefully, this car will last me a long time or at least until I find another deal that gets better gas mileage and is higher off the ground.  The final price I paid was $2,800.  I hate negotiating but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask and he said yes.  My truck should sell for at least $1500.  If I use the $500 that I had left from September's mortgage money, that means I just need to find $800 from somewhere, either savings, mortgage money, or I need to sell more stuff.  I'll be getting the title and registration this week, maybe Wednesday.  Our new CEO is visiting Monday and Tuesday and I don't want to disappear to the motor vehicle department for who knows how long when he is here.  So much to do!  I don't want to have 2 auto's for very long.  Not only are they costing my money but they are cluttering up my driveway.  I need to simplify asap.