Little Fixes Everywhere

A certain amount of maintenance work is required when you own stuff. It keeps you busy.

The grommet around the fuel line of the mower came loose. 

It took more time to find and watch a video on YouTube than it did to fix.

The garage door had been busted since February. We tried to fix it on our own during the break and realized it was a more complicated fix. We made a home warranty claim and it took a bit for the guy to come out.

"Yeah, the guy who installed this was a real dick," he said.

"Oh?" I asked.

"It was me!"

Jokes aside, it ended up being easier to simply pull off the end pieces and install new ones.

Jason and his buddy worked on our security camera project. Carrie had him install sockets, so that we could plug the cameras in.

If the units were hardwired for power we'd need an electrician to replace any that broke.

They put the cameras up for us around the house, too.

Carrie got the display up and running, but there have been some issues.

Some of the cameras stopped responding, so Carrie wanted to check the power supply in the attic.

It's a bit of a jump up from the ladder, so I went up. I wanted to look around anyway!

I had to walk across beams hidden under insulation to get to the electric socket.

I plugged in my cell phone charger to confirm they worked. The camera in question started to work again after it was unplugged and plugged in.

It was interesting seeing how everything looked. I can see what to do if there are any future repairs needed, but I'd just as soon go a couple of decades without.

The Subaru has had a slow leak we've been waiting to fix. It's been the task that somehow always gets pushed off. I had an appointment and was about to leave one day when Carrie asked me not to go.

I pulled the Subaru into the garage to work on concrete and pulled the jack out of the back. There was no jack lever! Acquiring one is another small errand to add to the list!

I had to use the jack from the Volvo. I was happy to see that the puncture was in the tread.

Or at least I was happy until Costco said it was too close to the sidewall to fix! They didn't have any tires that matched our other three, either! If the tires were worn, I could have replaced them, but the treads are closer to new than worn.

It was neat being in Costco again. I hadn't been inside since right before schools closed in March. Everyone wore face masks and there were plastic shields up at all the registers.

I may need to trim my mustache. My mask somehow provoked hairs to tickle my nose non-stop! That's a problem that needs to be fixed if I'm going to have to mask for next school year!

All these little errands seem to take more time than they should. I tend to like a certain amount of pressure/urgency to spur me on, but that's been in shorter supply since COVID 19 hit. 

I hope I'll be really well rested and out of errands by the time school starts again!

Crunch

Carrie tried to call, but my phone was still on silent from church. She sent me a foreboding picture on Hangouts and tried to call several more times, but it took me 15 minutes to realize anything was up.

A deer hopped through some trees in Powhatan when Carrie was on her way to see Samwise. She clobbered it at about 55 mph (Which was the speed limit there). She wasn't hurt, but she was surprised, stressed, and in need of support. The trooper who arrived on the scene helped her contact a tow truck to take the Subaru to the nearest, insurance-approved shop.....in Richmond.

So Shane and I hopped in the car and went to help out. I'd just set up OverDrive on my phone to get audiobooks from the library, so we listened to I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 on the way.

We pulled up at the dealership about 3-5 minutes before Carrie and the tow arrived. We had to saddle back up and make a u-turn to go to the collision center instead of dropping the car off there, but it all worked out. I helped Carrie clean out some stuff while Shane played Hearthstone oblivious to the proceedings (I would have preferred not to have given him my phone, but it was better for Carrie's sanity).

We drove by the barn on the way home. Carrie had never made it and wanted to check in. Shane ended up playing with the children who lived there and she went for a ride.

I got a picture on the way home of where the accident occurred. The deer had come hopping through the trees up ahead on the left.

It was not the way anyone planned our Sunday, but I'm grateful how it turned out. Carrie wasn't hurt. Shane and I got to help. Insurance should help with the financial sting. The book was a good one (We finished it on the ride home). I had planned on taking Shane to see Uncle Patrick, but we'll have to reschedule that (I'd literally told Patrick," We can do 2 unless something happens." I texted back later, "And something happened.")

Can Shipping Strike Twice?

A Fedex truck pulled up to a neighbor's house. While the driver was in the back, a UPS truck pulled up behind him! Both drivers had packages for the same house!

They had a laugh. I had a laugh. Shane laughed, but didn't really know why (He didn't want to be left out). The drivers waved as they drove by and saw us smiling.

Neither one of them hit the new, used car, either. That's right, Carrie got her Forester.

Carrie wanted an AWD, beater. She wants to use it to drive back and forth to her parents, Sonya's, and into town to save the truck for a decade+ of hauling horses.

I'm not thrilled, but I get the logic.

An "Incredible' End Two the Week

It's been a week. The kids at work have been crazy. The car broke. I'm tired and I have a cold.

It was a little awkward when I called the shop to ask if they've looked at the car yet and they said, "It's done." I was part annoyed they never called to give us a quote, and part relieved the car was available. They said it was just the battery. The AAA technician didn't have the right gear to check a Swedish car's electronics.

Thankfully, it had an incredible ending. Incredibles 2 to be exact. Carrie picked up Shane and we watched the movie for our Friday night.

All's well that ends well.

Getting Ready to Sell

Carrie sent me some pics, so I know she's finally feeling better (or at least, 'better-ish!'). She attacked Shane's room.

We're planning on putting the house up for sale in the spring, so there are things to be done.

I dislike moving. I like trips, vacations, and exploring new areas, but moving? It would be less painful if we were like a military family and had more experience and a system for doing it. We don't. There will be lots of packing, donating, trashing, and cleaning in the ensuing months. Carrie will want to fix all sorts of things and we will have to hash out what is worth fixing and what will be a diminished return.

On the plus side, the move has finally got Carrie moving on the bug! It's been sitting in the driveway forever and a day. I haven't overly cared, because it's her car and the property tax is minimal. It would have been nice to have a third working car, but alas. Carrie put the car up for sale and has already got some calls.

Unfortunately, it's not jumping. 

We'll see what sort of offers we get. It's a 2001, so it's not exactly new.

Driven Around

I've got a lovely chauffeur for the week. AAA came out and upgraded the car from 'dead battery' to 'electrical issues.' They towed the Volvo over to the shop who said they'd look at it 'as soon as they can.' 

Without a car, I'm out of wrestling practice for the week. I'm half sad and half glad. I've been ready for a break!

Carrie picked me up from work and we hit up Costco. Then we grabbed Shane and took him to basketball.

There were only four kids in the gym, at first. Shane does much better in small groups, because he gets a lot of attention!

"We've got to get rid of those pants," Carrie said. They were more than a little high-water.

Shane's Pokemon friend, Samuel, said hi after practice. He's a year older and his team practices on the other half of the court! Samuel was excited about the new tag-team Pokemon, but we haven't collected any new cards recently. I told them we might make it to Pokemon night next week. It's the same night as wrestling, but Shane (and I) may need a break.

What a Monday!

Work has been more exciting than it needs to be ever since we got several new students from Buford. It's been a different dynamic this year with all of the young ones they already gave us, and now there's more.

I've felt worn, but the end of wrestling is in sight, at least. No middle schoolers came to the high school practice today. We only have four practices left until Regionals on Friday. It will be "win or the end." There was a high coach to wrestler ratio, so I snuck out early. 

That let me pick up Shane's gear and Shane for his wrestling practice.

Practice was challenging. There was an odd number of kids and Shane found himself the odd man out.

Not that he was doing much of anything to try and get involved.

When Shane was involved, he was being a bad partner. He'd run the breakdown and pin....and then he'd bounce. Or he'd slap the mat and cheer without letting the other kid up quickly. When the other kids were wrestling, he'd jump on top of both of them or another kid who wasn't looking. I think he meant it in good fun, but I thought they were jerk moves. I was all the way across the mat and watching it happen, getting annoyed, and debating whether or not I should read him the riot act.

Then the other kids started to reciprocate. One in particular. When Shane was down, he'd give Shane a bounce after a takedown or what have you and it was slowly escalating. Shane seemed to think it was all for fun and was oblivious.

There's a natural lesson to learn here, but I hoped one of the six other coaches in the room would have said something before it got to that point. They never seemed to notice and my frustration at the situation kept building, but I let it continue to play out.

The culminating moment was when Shane decided to bounce on both kids while they were live wrestling. Then he rolled over on his back like a cat or something and laid there with his legs up in the air splayed (all bad things to do on the wrestling mat). The one kid did a half-ass kind of punch/slap from the elbow and got Shane right in the balls.

Shane rolled around for a little bit and then he was pissed. He growled at the other kid when he stood up, swiped an arm in the arm like a punch toward the kid, and stormed off the mat.

Shane was unhappy. I was unhappy. We talked. Hopefully, something was learned. Shane bounced back faster than I did from what I saw. I was acting normal (I hope!), but the brain was churning under the surface. What were the magic words that would have been the best lesson? Should I have stopped it from escalating in the beginning? What should I do next? Talk to W since he coaches for CWC?

Questions were still exploding in my thoughts when the car freaked out. I tried to turn it on and the ignition stuck, lights flashed, and then there was a clicking instead of an engine starting.

Repeated tries confirmed: There was a problem.

I cleaned off a bunch of corrosion and called Carrie to give us a jump.

Shane kept bouncing around the car and trying to get me to look at him which didn't help the mood.

When we got home, Shane said, "That was the WORST luck!"

To which I replied, "Not really."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Was anybody hurt?"

"No."

"Was it freezing, raining, or snowing outside?"

"No."

"Were we in a hurry to get anywhere? Was Mommy busy and couldn't get to us?"

"No..." Shane looked like he was at least thinking at this point.

I asked a few more questions.

"It's not fun, but it was probably one of the better times it could have happened. I'm not thrilled the car broke, but we have a lot to be thankful for."

My mood was still not what you would call 'elated,' but Shane being dramatic, doom-and-gloom allowed me to voice aloud my own attitude realignment attempts. That helped me to process them myself.

Even after a rough day, God is good. I have jobs I feel called to do, and I'm doing them. I have a family I love and that loves me back. Carrie will give Shane and I rides tomorrow and call AAA since she's working from home. I could walk to and from work if I had to. For a car to break down, the situation was pretty rosy and for that I'm thankful.

Re-establishing the Homestead

We're back in Cville and there's one week left until I go back to work. It's time to put our feet up and relax.....at Yoder's.

That's not quite home. It's 45 minutes north. Carrie and I relaxed outside of Yoder's and snacked while Shane ran around and made friends.

We were on our way to pick up the truck from Culpeper. We drove home on Sunday and couldn't get it on the way like I'd hoped.

It still made for a fun trip for Shane. We stayed at Yoder's for nearly an hour.

The truck had an inflatable system added to it's rear suspension to help with toying. It was a cheap solution to address some of the sag when Carrie is hauling.

Then it was home for chores, cleaning, and calming down. We've had a lot of adventure lately. Sam was out of town and it was hot, so I was glad Shane was okay with staying inside.

Tuesday, we finally had an electrician come out to fix a socket in our basement.

The lights in Shane's room haven't worked for months. I don't know why a basement socket at the front of the house would affect a second floor room at the back of the house, but there you go.

It was a simple fix. Someone had opened the socket up before and snipped off old wires. Then they rewired on the sides, but left the old contacts bare. Somehow, the ground wire (which was long) must have shifted and come into contact creating a short.

I've been writing, cleaning, and unhelpful. It's a planned unhelpful, though. I made Shane fend on his own for meals. he made his own breakfast, microwaved chicken nuggets for lunch, and so on.

Sam's out of town, or I'd try to work on a play date. Raheem is around, though. It's too hot to play outside, so Carrie relented and let the boys come inside for some games. 

Shane needs exercise, though, so I took him to TKD three days in a row!

We missed a couple of weeks on vacation, so I wanted to catch up.

TKD is a good, social, AIR-CONDITIONED, physical activity. Master Kang and Master Papa do good things.

I think we're mostly back to normal. Got some chores taken care of, rooms vacuumed, filters, changed, and the like.

Summer is almost over.