Tag: postaweek

Will this be the year?

Ruh-roh.

I love my car – though it has been showing signs of wear and tear for the last few years.  I bought it new in 1997, which means it’s 15 years old this year, with about 85K miles.  My plan has been to drive it til it falls apart.   Question is, will this year be the year it falls apart?

The engine light came on yesterday and has stayed on, which freaked me out a bit since it has not done that before the manual says to stop the car and not drive it anymore when that light comes on.

I called the dealer, where I usually take it.  But given that it’s in its golden years, that may be a little bit of overkill.   They said they could take a look at it, but it would cost 1 hour of labor to just do that.  The nice guy on the phone did say that 99% of the reasons the light comes on are not catastrophic, probably emissions related.

Monte suggested taking it to AutoZone, as they will come out to the parking lot and read the code off the car’s computer for free.   What a concept!  Keep that in mind next time this happens to you.  I drove over today and in about 10 seconds they told me it was a code indicating that the exhaust mix is out of whack.

Whew.  Ok, so I just need to get that fixed up to pass my next emissions inspection.  I guess this is not the end of the road yet.   Though, i must say it is a bit annoying when my sunroof opens on its own when it’s raining  🙂  so maybe the end of the road is not too far away….  Stay tuned.

Leaf me alone!

Before and After.

The weather has been beautiful during the past week.  Highs in the 60’s, even creeping into the 70’s, clear skies.  And, it’s been breezy, the winds started out of the north and then slipped back into the normal southerlies.  The wind has almost emptied the red oak of its leaves.   The picture on the left was taken last Saturday, the one on the right today.   Monte’s already planning his leaf collection strategy for this year.  We are getting off easy, though.   About half the leaves uncharacteristically fell in the Summer and the Fall, due to the drought, and they are long gone.   Half of the rest blew down the street over the last few days 🙂 .

Have a great weekend!

 

Not exactly street legal.

1926 Model T

Our friend, Dan, has a car problem.  He has been building a modified old timey roadster from the ground up for the last few years.  It’s not done yet, but he just bought a working 1926 Model T and had it shipped down here on a truck.   Tonight we went over to Dan & Lynn’s house for dinner and to see the car, and to hopefully get a ride around the block in a genuine Tin Lizzy.

However, when we walked into his garage, this is what we saw.  He had already put it up on blocks and taken it apart to spiff things up.    So, for now this photo will have to do, and our ride will have to wait a bit.

P.S.  I especially enjoyed the after dinner discussion Monte and Dan were having about a wooden hygrometer (measures humidity in the air) that he had just built.  Dan couldn’t understand why Monte would make one out of wood when he had a perfectly good electronic hygrometer already.  Ironic, eh?  (i.e., reference photo above)  🙂

Tea for me.

Sleepy time.

I bought a couple of cool “tipping” teacups that I ran across while browsing for gifts on the web.   They make steeping loose-leaf tea one cup at a time very easy and quick.  I had to, of course, get one for myself.  🙂  Then I had to find some loose-leaf tea to try out.

I am a 2-3 cup-a-day coffee drinker – have been for years.  But, i was born a tea drinker.   My Irish father drank a cup of tea at breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.   So, I drank it as a kid, too, but very infrequently since then.

I’ve never tried loose-leaf tea, but have heard about how much more flavorful it is than tea-bag tea.  I was eager to find loose-leaf versions of some of my favorite brews:  Irish Breakfast, Earl Grey and Chamomile.  I’m lucky to live in Austin for lots of reasons, but one of them is the local tea-shop called The Steeping Room, which is only about 5 minutes from my house.  I popped over there and stocked up.

The picture above is of the before-bedtime blend called Perfect Night.  It’s a mix of chamomile, rose, rose hips, lavender and pink peppercorns.     I had some tonight and it was delicious.

I’ve also tried the breakfast tea and earl grey black teas — all amazingly flavorful.  I think i’m hooked.

A pair of pears.

Mom sent us a gift box of Washington State pears and apples.  Yum!

Still life.

I’m not so good at New Year’s resolutions.  I make them, but really only for myself.  I suppose the important thing is that I will strive to make 2012 a better year for me — body, mind and soul — and hopefully leave my little corner of the world better than I found it along the way.  I wish the same for you.