Flying time and old vehicles

     It seems like time has escaped me, and it is finally warm enough to pull the cover off the air conditioner and turn it on, to change the oil in the Rebel and get the battery in that and a few other things that needed done around here.  

     But the list of what still needs done is very long and my time goes by so fast.  I have spent the past week with both the car down and the truck down.  The car had transmission fluid leaking last Sunday and was towed to a shop near Pekin, the problem being the cooling lines in the radiator for that transmission fluid, not the lines to and from it but inside it.  It is now fixed and waiting for the bill to be paid and someone to go up there and get it.

     Jake has been using the truck, never a good thing but I have also neglected to keep up with maintenance on it.  The brake hoses, connecting the brake lines have gone bad, 1 started leaking and broke before Jake got the truck back home last weekend.  Ben, with some help from me, has changed 2 of the 3 hoses, replaced a very rusted brake line that broke while we were trying to get things apart but it has brakes now, we have the part to replace the back hose and that will get done once the car is home.  

     And I will be buying shocks for the front of the truck, the ones on it are very, very badly rusted and are not really road safe.  I am very glad it is warmed up enough I can plan to run the scooter to work and errands here in town.  

    My drywall work in the attic is not done, so I will have a very hot attic and we will start getting the work done soon, I know every seam sealed and every bit of insulation covered with drywall helps with the heating and cooling here but I have not put enough effort after work evenings on getting stuff ready so we could start working in the south end.  

     I keep thinking I am getting the finances in better order but now vehicles are putting me back deeper in debt, $500 on the car, not counting the trip up and back to get it home, and now the brakes and shocks on the truck.  But Ben is doing the work and I am buying the parts and some tools at Auto Zone so the costs are a lot lower than if the truck was in the shop and I know what is done.  

    The car was in the shop 3 times this winter, when I first bought it and knew it needed some work, that bill cost me more than I paid for the car, but I did also have new tires put on, and then 2 more trips back to the shop over a brake problem, which ruined a new tire and gave me another shop bill.  IF things had been done correctly and with all new parts on those rear brakes there would not have been 2 more trips into the shop and a ruined rear tire.

   Which is part of the reason I did not consider having the car towed down here but had it taken to a shop in the Pekin area instead.  And that is why Ben is doing my truck work as I buy parts, he might drive me crazy with dragging out the work some but he does live here with me supporting him and I would rather he did the work than pay for the shop I have used for over 13 years and wonder what they did not do that will become another shop trip and another shop bill that messes up my budget.

    But I did not think about those rubber brake hoses and needing to check them, nor had I looked at the shocks or such for years on the truck.  My neglect and my problems, but I will be looking over brake lines and hoses on the neon once it is home and also on the shocks so that if they need replaced, we do it before they are in as bad a condition as the ones on my truck.  

      But work is ok and stable for now, a bit less time on the clock right now so a bit smaller paychecks, but I have paid down some of my debt load and I am working to be more careful about my wasting money so I can get the debts paid down faster.  I had hoped to put some more on debt this week but instead I have added to that with parts and will add more with the shop bill up north.  

     So, I will hope that Ben and I can keep the car and truck road safe and repairs done for a while and that weather will let me run the scooter to work a lot and not put wear and miles on the vehicles or burn as much gas.

     I need to tidy up in the sewing room again, and that is another place where I seem to be dragging my ass and not getting things done, I read and knit and shut out reality far too much in the past month or so, pain levels with my hands and right foot, but the foot seems to make some progress, anti-fungus cream seems to be resolving the skin growth or whatever that is putting so much pressure on some of those damaged bones I stand on all work shift.

     But life here is quiet and calm, no huge battles or other issues, I might still not be happy with the political games and who is running for office but there is little I can do about that and I know my quiet, single life is working nicely for me, despite the vehicles having mechanical issues and sucking up a lot of money.