Too Early

That's when I got up this morning. I usually sleep until 7 or 7:30 (sometimes later), but I had my alarm set for 6 today, because of the awards assembly at Rose's school. However, I woke up about 5 and hadn't gone back to sleep by 5:45, so I got up then. Carmen and I left about 6:45, picked up Sara and Calla (age 2 years, 4 months) about 7:20 and got to the school in time for the assembly. The awards were for the scores on the state tests they took in May. Afterwards, while pictures were being taken and students, parents, and teachers were milling around in the gym, the principal asked Calla if she would like one of the balloons from the table the awards had been on. He even tied it to her wrist. Carmen says he did that so we could keep up with where she was. I think she might be right.

As if my car trouble last week wasn't enough, when I turned on the furnace Tuesday morning, it initially sounded like it was starting, but then it rattled and went THUNK!. Last time I had it serviced (3 years ago), the man said that one part really needed replacing. However, he did a fix on it of some type. That part is what gave up the ghost. A new part has been ordered, and I should have a working furnace in a day or two.

They say that things come in threes - I certainly hope not; I can't afford any more. 

p.s. As of about 4 pm, I have heat.
 

Car Trouble

Yesterday morning I left the house about 11 am to go to church and knitting, as I usually do on Wednesday. After the noon Eucharist service, I stopped at a Family Dollar store for some antifreeze/coolant and a couple of other things. When I got back in the car and turned the key, nothing happened. I tried it a couple more times, then called AAA. I sat there knitting for almost an hour before the tow-truck came. The driver tried several things, and finally got my car running. I backed out of my parking space and headed toward the exit. I hadn't gone more than 20 feet when the car just stopped - and wouldn't start again. The tow-truck was still there, so he towed me six blocks to Mercer's garage. The woman there told me that it would be this morning at the earliest before the mechanic even looked at it, and that if the problem was more than the battery, it would be early next week before it would be ready. So I walked half a block down the street to the knitting shop (wasn't I lucky there?) for knitting group.

I texted Alyssa and asked if she or Lexi could pick me up at the shop in a couple of hours. When Lexi came, she had her boyfriend with her - I wonder if he had ever been in a yarn shop before. I had her take me to her house to spend the night there. It is only about 10 miles from the garage; my house is about 30 miles. Sleeping on the couch, fully dressed, is not the most restful, but I survived.

I also gave Carmen my tale of woe. She later suggested that if the problem was just the battery or the alternator, she could fix it herself. So this morning she picked me up from Alyssa's house, and took me to Mercer's Garage. She had discovered that her multimeter was no longer any good, so she asked our neighbor Luis if she could borrow his. He left his office and met us at the garage. When Carmen went inside to get the key, they said that they would not charge anything for the overnight parking. Carmen and Luis worked on the car for a little while, and finally took the battery out of his car and put it in mine. It started right up, so we drove about a dozen blocks to an Auto Zone store. The clerk there checked my old battery, and agreed with Carmen's and Luis' opinion that it was the problem. So now I have a new battery and less money in the bank. It was good to get home about 24 hours after I left. 

Between what I did while waiting for the tow-truck and what I did at Alyssa's house, while she and her family were off in several different directions, I got a lot done on one of my knitting projects.