A Work at Home Mom’s Blog

Pumpkin was after me to come to her awards ceremony at school from the time she found out when it was. Today was the day, and last night she practically begged me to come. I had planned on going if I had Hubby’s truck, but then he up and decided that he needed it today. So I told her I wasn’t sure if I would be there or not, because I didn’t want to drive my car. The throttle was sticking, and although Hubby said it was fixed, I was still a little afraid of it.

Well, she kept on until I finally said I would be there for sure. So this morning, I got up, put her on the bus, went back to bed, and told Hubby to call and make sure I was up no later than 9:00.

He forgot. And I didn’t wake up until nearly 10:00. So I had to majorly rush to get ready and get out of here in time to make it. I went out to the car, popped the hood, and hooked up that infernal wire that I’ve got to connect so that it will continue to run after it starts. And as I did that, I noticed that a hose was unhooked. It slipped back on easily, but I wasn’t sure if it needed a clamp on it or not. So I called Hubby, explained where it was, and got his approval to go ahead and drive it.

I got in, put the car in drive, pulled out into the road, and immediately realized that it needed some power steering fluid. So I had to stop at the nearest store (which fortunately is only about a quarter mile away), buy some, and put it in before continuing. By the time I did all that, I was running seriously late.

I got to the school without incident, but the visitors’ parking lot was full. People were parked alongside the private road that goes to the school, but I was afraid my car would either drag or get stuck if I parked there. So I had to go park in the bus parking lot and hope nobody pitched a fit.

I got in the gym just before the ceremony started. I was sweating like crazy because the car windows wouldn’t roll down and the air conditioning doesn’t work. All I had was the air from the little push-out windows to cool me off. I remembered to take my camcorder, but I was rather shaky, which made the video I got rather shaky.

Pumpkin got two awards, so I’m glad I made it. But when it was over, I was ready to get that car home and park it. I stuck around and talked to her for a minute, then hightailed it back out to the monstrosity, hooked the wire back up, and started it. It was then that I realized that I may not have enough gas to get back home. Instead of taking a chance, I went on to town and got some gas.

I turned the car off at the gas station, and of course had to unhook that wire so it would quit running. I pried the gas lid loose (because the button that pops it open isn’t working), got my gas, went in, and paid for it. Then I hooked the wire up and pulled out of the gas station parking lot.

I made it a few yards down the road before the thing died on me. Luckily I had enough speed built up that I was able to pull it into a parking lot across the road. I hopped out, popped the hood, and saw that the wire had come loose. By the time I hooked it back up and got in the car, my brother-in-law and his girlfriend were pulling in.

I told them everything was fine, that I just had to adjust the wire, and no I didn’t need them to follow me home. I thought I had talked them out of it, but when I got back on the road I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that she was following me anyway. Nice and all, but I really didn’t feel like dealing with them when I got to the house. But I didn’t really have any choice in the matter.

Anyway, I made it back, stood out in the driveway and talked to them forever, and now here I am. I wish I could say that I spent the morning looking at spa covers or something, but it was what it was. At least I got to show up and show my support for Pumpkin. I’m just glad it’s all over and done with.

Today Hubby called from his cousin’s garage and asked me if I would be interested in selling my truck. Apparently he knows of two people who are interested.

I was planning on taking the insurance off of my truck, but only because it needs work and can’t be driven right now due to the risk of damage to the bed. The plan was to take off the full coverage we have on it, pay the small amount of insurance that the loan company requires us to pay them until the loan is paid in full, and then use the money we were putting toward truck payments to get it fixed. It really doesn’t need much work.

Honestly, at this point in time, I’d rather sell my car. I’m afraid to drive it at the moment, because the throttle was sticking. What if I were to get out on one of these curvy mountain roads with Pumpkin in the car and have that happen? Hubby says it’s fixed, but I’m still pretty leery of it. And even if that is fixed, the windows won’t roll down and the AC doesn’t work, which makes for a sweltering ride in the summer.

But I know I can get a lot more out of my truck than my car. It’s newer, and it has 4WD (even though that part needs some work too, it still makes it more valuable). And cosmetically, it’s in great shape other than the dent in the bottom of the bed (which can be straightened out and is covered by a bedliner.) It doesn’t come with a Good Sam extended service plan, but it is a good, solid truck.

I guess I’ll probably sell it if the buyer will give me enough money. It would certainly be nice to be able to pay off that loan and pay Hubby’s truck loan down some too. We shall see.

My poor T-Bird has been sitting for so long now it’s not even funny. It sat for a long time at the old place, then Hubby drove it over here when we moved. I was going to, but I was having to fight with the steering and made him do it.

I would love to be able to get some work done on it and drive it. It runs awesome, just needs a good tune-up and a couple of small repairs. It needs a new AC compressor, although that’s not at the top of my list. It gets pretty hot around here, but one can usually cope with the windows down. It’s also still dying a lot when you take off, even if you let it warm up. It’s got a new alternator and alternator belt, so I’m not sure what the problem is there. Maybe the idling needs to be adjusted, but from what I’ve heard that’s no small task on that model.

None of this is going to happen for a while anyway. I can’t even afford to get the work done on my truck that it needs, and I’m still paying on it. I’m hoping that maybe we’ll get a little money back on our taxes and I can pay it off early, and that will leave some extra money each month that I might be able to put toward my car. We shall see. But I really hate to see it just sitting there going downhill. It could be a pretty nice ride with some TLC.

I have had my Thunderbird in the paper several times, but had no takers on it. So I still have it. I would love to keep it forever, because that was my dad’s baby. The only reason I considered selling it was because we needed the money. But I’m not letting it go for peanuts, and I guess that’s why nobody’s interested.

It’s in good shape now, but I would love to fix it up nice. That’s one car that I could actually get into hood scoops and car spoilers for. But I’m planning on keeping everything as it was when it came from the factory, because that’s how my dad would have wanted it. And it’s a pretty darn spiffy car without adding any aftermarket stuff to it.

I would like to find a set of the wheels that came on it that were in better shape, and get it a good paint job. And the power windows could use new motors. Other than that, all it needs is a good tune-up. Maybe one day I’ll get around to doing all that and put it back on the road.