Ages and Ages Ago...

Alright, I know it has been far far too long since my last post. I had gotten out of the habit of writing....So now there is updating to do, or rather " there is too much, let me sum up."

Our little Ghia is still home. Shortly after her arrival to her new home and a trip to a local mechanic to assure us she was healthy and drivable (which she was not...more work, money and time passed...with lots of frustration on my part), we went out for a little drive on a sunny day. After parking the garage and feeling pretty please with ourselves, we settled in for some couch time and a little nap. As I was dosing I thought I smelled something faintly smokey....a few minutes later Don went out to the freezer for a skinnycow and the smell of burning filled the house. After getting the garage door open so we could actually breathe, Don discovered that the alternator had caught fire and while very self limiting (nothing else was damaged), the alternator was now partially melted. This means that the car can not drive and is confined to our garage. Don did some online searching and purchased new parts, but neither he nor I feel comfortable/confident enough to do the work ourselves. But since the car can not drive....argh. Don spoke with the mechanic we used with her before and as it turns out they are able to tow the car back to their shop to repair and replace. Now it is just a matter of scheduleing a time that will work for all parties...execpt the car...she doesn't get a choice! And somewhere in the far reaches of my mind I keep remembering the echo of an earlier post..."life rarely goes as planned".

Getting the Ghia

Our little Savannah is finally home! It certainly was an adventure getting the little Ghia home too. The plan was for our friend G to pick us up and drive us to House of Ghia, so that Don and I could ride home in the Ghia together and not have an extra vehicle to deal with. I was really really excited about getting the car home and being able to ride home together. Unfortunately, life rarely goes exactly as planned and G was unable to drive us (due to no fault of his own, and we really appreciate his agreeing to do it for us even if it fell through! Thanks G!). Further compounding things, the owner of House of Ghia was going to be out of town for the weekend, so it was Thursday or not until next week...and Don really wanted to get the car. So on Thursday after work Don and I headed to Salem. We made great time and had a chance to talk with the restoration guy and get a little familiar with the car and all the little quirks. Pretty quick we were ready to go, Don in the Ghia and me in the truck. I was feeling pretty disappointed about not being able to ride home in the Ghia with Don and having to drive the truck home, following behind...and then Don lost me at a stop light. Rar. I knew he would be stopping at a gas station before too long, but I really don't know my way around Salem, and it was a bit of a battle to keep calm and not get angry. I mean, he knew I was following him, right? Plus I realized I had both phones. Nice. I was not feeling better. Luckily for me, there is decent signage for the road home and the Ghia is pretty distinctive, so even a longish way off I recognized it turning into a gas station and was able to get there before he finished gassing up. The rest of the drive home was very uneventful and the Ghia did great. Once we got home I was still feeling a little bummy and Don was really not understanding why. I explained that I was not mad, just really disappointed because I was so excited to be able to ride home together and it just didn't get to work out. We agreed that there would be lots of opportunity for other rides and eventually we let it go. Friday came and so did the rain, so no chance of a drive. Today we both worked the morning and it was a beautiful day. Sunny and blue sky, not too cold, so after I got home from work I called Don (he was still working) and asked if he thought we could go for a drive when he got home. About an hour later he came home and we headed out for my first ride in the Ghia. We had a great time. We took a drive in the country and stopped at a VW mechanic to get acquainted, then headed home. It was really fun and I love the car. It is very different from modern vehicles, it is noisy and low...and very very cool! I am so excited for more sunny days for Ghia drives and shows.

Yes, But How Much Does it Cost?

I hate the Costco. Really really. Like H.A.T.E. the Costco. I believe that this is due to several factors...I am not a good shopper (I go in, get what I need, get out, no browsing), I do not enjoy crowds of people, and chaos really gets to me. Don loves the Costco. He can go in there and walk up an down all the aisles looking at everything. He also does not get flustered by people with unruly children driving their carts the wrong way down the aisle, or parking in the middle of it. Yesterday we went to the Costco after getting up early to go to breakfast (a good thing) and see the Ghia (also a good thing) and I was feeling less than stellar about going. I was working really hard on not having the Costco trip mess up a perfectly nice morning...reciting my mantra as we pulled into the parking lot "I will not be cranky at the Costco, I will not be cranky at the Costco..." Don chuckled a little as we headed in. It was a mad house as usual, but I did my best to stay calm and not be cranky. We had made it almost all the way through, getting what we needed, when I spotted some chips that we both really like and are super expensive for much smaller bags elsewhere. "OOooooo! The multigrain ones!" I said "Can we get them?" This was met with a huge sigh and a quasi stink eye look and an "OK I guess..." Argh. "What is the deal?" I asked. "Its just money." He says. Double Argh. The chips are $6.29 and I know I can live with out them if it is going to be a big deal, which I calmly relay to my partner. He huffs but decides they can stay in the basket. At check out I pay the bill (about $85, we had coupons and also purchased some tax software) and we head out of the store....my mantra...I will not be cranky on the way home, I will not be cranky on the way home...We get safely out of the parking lot and on our way home. "Why do you go to the Costco if it just makes you angry about money? (typically we go in for a few items and our bill is around $100) I know why I hate it and that is why I don't go." I asked. "It seems to me that no matter how good a deal we are getting on spinach and laundry soap, it is not worth it if we are just going to be pissy at each other. I admit that I hate the Costco, but your being angry about money while there doesn't make me hate it less. The laundry soap is a good deal, I can not get it cheaper anywhere else....but what does it cost? We do not need more cranky in our lives." That was all it took to break the tension and I could see him relax and feel me relaxing too. We had a wonderful rest of the day. We went to a cool boutique that is going out of business and had some good deals, and went to the farm store to look at boots and get birdseed and suet. Then we had a quiet afternoon, a little nap and a tasty supper. I am still not sure if we will let the membership lapse or continue going, but at least we are both aware. No matter how good a deal it is, sometimes it is just not worth the cost!

What Time do we Close?

Oh Boy was today a long day or what? We were very busy and despite "closing" at 5:30, I walked in the door at home at 20 to seven. Our kennel helper is out right now on vacation so after all the other work is done, we still have all of the cleaning to do. Blargh. At least today is Friday. Tomorrow we are getting up early early to meet up with the Ghia guys. I am not sure why we have to go so darn early, but I know better than to complain. I am sure I can find time for a nap later on if I need one. Not much else on the plan for the weekend. This is a good thing.

Girly Morning

After yesterday I was feeling the need for some relaxation today on my day off. Just some down time for me. I got my hair cut this morning around 9am (waaayy early for me on my day off!!) and then went for a pedicure. I have never gotten a pedicure before and it is not something I would normally do, but at my work holiday party I got a gift certificate for one. It was actually really nice and I liked it! I picked out a soft minty green color and the lady painted a tiny flower on each big toe...complete with a tiny gem in the middle. Very girly. I plan on keeping the experience in my "back pocket" for another day when I need a pick me up!

Crummy News

Yesterday I brought our little kitty Rye to work with me for a check up. He has been over grooming and had stinky breath and I figured he could use a dental cleaning. After the exam, we did some routine pre-anesthetic blood work and got some unexpected and unwelcome results. At not quite 5 years old my little kitty is in the early stages of compensated renal failure. This is very overwhelming and depressing news. There is no cure, only management. And he is very very young to have this disease. We were able to do his dental cleaning with fluid support for his kidneys, and he had to have two teeth extracted. Blargh. Right now he is not showing any clinical signs or symptoms of the disease, which is good, but he is already anemic, which is bad. He has started on a special diet to help ease the burden on his already hard working kidneys. We will give him lots of fresh water and love and just wait and watch. Renal failure is a very complex disease with many factors including anemia and high blood pressure and can have many complications like bladder and kidney infections. It is basically just really really really sucky. He will go in for regular blood checks and we will have to monitor him for changes in urination and water drinking. For right now his body is managing and he is sort of balanced on a fence, hopefully it will be months or years before his balance fails and he falls...until then we will love him and care for him as best we can.

Year End:New Year

It is well in to 2010 and I am finally sitting down to do a post. The end of the year really flew by. Holidays came and went and pretty quick New Years too. The end of the year did bring a big surprise...namely the best wedding present ever (even if it was really late) and I feel hopeful and positive for the new year ahead.
Now for the best wedding present ever....it is a bit of a long story, so bear with. Back in May of 2009, just a few weeks after Don and I got married, we went to a place in a nearby town that specializes in VW Karmann Ghia parts and restoration. Now, Don LOVES Volkswagens and especially the Karmann Ghia...and I must admit they are pretty cool and I have found myself falling for them too. While we were there, the guy showed us a '67 Ghia that was in remarkable shape and was slated for restoration...all it needed was a family to love it and pay. The price was very reasonable and the car was just in fab shape. All the way home we talked about the car and whether or not it would be a viable option for us to go ahead and get it...in the end I told Don that it was really his choice, since he is the one who knows what he is looking at, and I felt comfortable and would support his choice either way...and that was the end of it.
Ok, now fast forward to the second to last week in December. I was feeling awful, I mean terrible, like crawl in a hole and pull it in after me bad. Don came home and told me there was an open house at the Ghia place later in the week and the owner really wanted us to be there to see the new expansion and some new cars he had been working on. I agreed, hoping I would start feeling better by then...or at least be able to not be so cranky. The designated day arrives and Don comes rushing home to pick me up on the run to head to the Ghia place. I was still not feeling well at all and I really just wanted to stay at home, but I could tell that Don was really excited and I just needed to buck up. We get to the place and get out of the truck and the Ghia guy says, " you guys can start over here and then we will get to the new stuff" and points us in the direction of the old shop. After a bit of looking and admiring the new cars he has us head over to the new shop area (it never occured to me that there was no one else at the open house). By this point I was really feeling crappy so when they opened the doors to the shop and I could see someone holding a camera I was really confused. Don sort of pushed me in and there were all these people there...and a car...with a huge red bow and ribbons on it...and a tag that said From Don To Hilary. I was absolutely blown away and still very very very confused...until Don said "That's our little car Hon!" and I just lost it. I started to cry and kept saying "are you kidding me??" It turns out that a week after we saw the car the first time, he went back and bought it. And for 6 months got all the restoration work done and managed to keep it a.complete.and.utter.secret. It turns out that all those weekends of being "sneaky" and "doing holiday shopping" was a little more than that. I had no.idea. We still don't have it at the house, there is still a little more work that needs to be done in order for us to have it....but it was a pretty darn cool surprise. So the car is a '67 Karmann Ghia and it is restored to nearly original condition. There are a few custom things that we have done, but overall if you could go back in time to 1967 and ask for this car at a dealership...its what you would get!!! Now, don't get me wrong...I fully understand that this is a wedding present for him just as much (or more) as it is for me...but it is still pretty cool. We are very much looking forward to cruising around in the summer and taking trips to the coast in our new litte car!! I still can not quite believe it...maybe it will all make more sense when the car is in our garage!