Nine Days Later . . . Plus Four

Our van had developed a mystery ailment.  My theory was the shop wanted to fix things we didn’t ask them to fix.
Each day, when Paul would talk to them, he was told what they “thought” the problem was in addition to how much it would cost.  And each day, they discovered that was NOT the solution.
We got so fed up that Paul told them after nine days that they could try one last thing and then we would pick it up that afternoon.
I went in the pay the $$$$$$ bill and pick up the van.  They started it up for me and let me get in.  My plan was to pick Paul up at work with it and then we could pick up the car.
Before I could even get out of their parking lot, I knew something was not right.

Not only was the “service engine soon” light on (that happens a lot with this car) but the brake light was also on.  After all that money?  But I wasn’t about to go back to THAT shop.  So I kept going.
That’s when the “service engine soon” light started flashing which even I know is NOT a good thing.  *sigh*
Because I was thinking more clearly than I had when we originally dropped off the van at a shop we knew we didn’t entirely trust (but it was close) . . . I was no longer sick . . . we decided to drop the van off at our normal mechanic’s. 
Finally we did something right.  Because we hadn’t made an appointment, we were at the end of the line.  But four days later, we had our van back where it belongs.

I asked our mechanic about our previous repairs and he told us it was an easy fix and it could have all been taken care of for under $200.  It’s not fun feeling like someone has taken advantage of you and probably loads of other people.

And the Woes Continue . . .

The van started acting up on the way to my doctor’s appointment.  Whenever my foot would touch the brake pedal, it would stall.  I found it to be a problem in intersections when I was turning and the steering would out.  It was a bit inconvenient.  Plus I didn’t feel very good.

Paul, because he’s awesome like that, wanted me to be safe so he used his time on a Saturday to try to fix it.  Of course, the van behaved for him.

He took it in to a place that “claimed” it needed a tune up to solve its woes.  So he gave them a thumbs up and waited for hours for them to do it.

When they finished, he was going to run a few errands on the way home, but the van wouldn’t start.  Of course not.  He was then told it needed a new battery which they happened to have . . . at a HUGE price.

He said “no thanks” and headed out (once they got it started for him.)  His plan. . . go buy a new battery and have me meet him armed with the tools to fix it.  However, the van pulls the same trick on him that it had on me.  He had to have the police push him out of traffic and into a parking lot.  My destination became that parking lot. . . .

Remember, I’m sick and I don’t feel good?  Guess who drove all the way out there with NO tools?  That would be me.  *cough cough cough*

I drove Paul to get the new battery at the auto supply store and home for the tools and back to the car.  The weather?  Stinky cold and snowy.  Of course.

That battery did not want to come out.  He worked so hard while I shivered in the car (that I hate driving. . . did I mention how hard it is to drive with a sore arm?)

After frustration followed by prayers, he was able to replace the battery.  He had me drive the van around the parking lot and all seemed well.  Hooray!

So he headed off to do some errands and my plan was to drive home and crash in bed.

However, nothing can be that easy.  The van stalled before I could get out of the parking lot.  It was so frustrating, or somewhere beyond that.

I called Paul on his cell phone and had him come back to me.  We decided to limp down the street and drop it off at an auto repair shop along with a detailed note.

And thus ended the fifth day of the new year.  Awesome.

What’s Next?

I was scheduled for surgery early in January.  Finally!  I had been waiting and waiting and waiting.

But . . .

my doctor said I had to wait.  Why?

Perhaps it was the bronchitis and sinusitis.  *sigh*  I knew that girl coughing and hacking without covering her mouth in the waiting room when I took Allie to her follow up appointment (wisdom teeth) was trouble.

But that wasn’t enough, was it? . . . more to come

The Week In-Between. . .

While the happy couple was off honeymooning, there was much to do.  It would have been nice to have everything go smoothly, but that’s not our style . . .
The trip to Utah did not agree with the van so it had to go in the shop (again.)

I had much to do so I borrowed Paul’s car.  I have not been in an accident in over 30 years, but that streak is over

For the record, it was NOT my fault.  The guy who rear ended me didn’t notice that I had stopped for the car coming (we were turning right.)  So there was all the hassle that goes with that.
And then, as I was trying to finish up the slide show. . .

The aggravation . . . the HOURS on the phone with technicians . . . the failure in getting it running when I really needed it.
Thank goodness for external hard drives and a spare computer so we were able to eke out a slide show (though I’m not sure it would have mattered that much if it hadn’t come to pass, but it was a special request from the bride and groom.)
I was pretty glad for the week to draw to an end!