The past few weeks have been financially breaking, in return has been emotionally tolling and most definitely not knit worthy. I don’t think I’ve done more than a dozen rows in the last 5 days. We replaced our HVAC system almost 2 weeks ago, it was at a lethal stage of trying to kill us if we turned the heat on this winter, as well as it was a constant 80+ degrees in the house consistently in over 90 degree weather. (it was also 20 years old which is ancient in HVAC years) 2 different outfits agreed that sucker had to go, and so did we.
That was nearly 2 weeks ago Friday. The following Monday I went to a lovely ShiBui yarn tasting at my lys. It was wonderful, finally found the perfect yarn for my Hitofude and was able to get that ordered. On my way home, nearly 2 miles from my house, a loud boom and pressure behind my pedals put me in new waters as my car committed suicide next to a conveniently placed gas station. I lost all power to use the gas and could barely push the brakes, and it was like the good ole days before power steering. I casually turned my hazards on and maneuvered my way to the gas station the best I could, and then I made the dreaded call to my hubby. (he swears I broke it on purpose)
After all that excitement, it turned out to be a broken timing belt that ruined my engine when it snapped. The joys of having an interference engine and not knowing if the prior owner kept things up to date. Sometimes you end up learning things the hard way. It would have cost me just as much to buy another car as it would to replace the engine, so the search began.
Car searches in the last 10 years have been made much easier with the internet. The last year or so, it seems like more and more people selling cars think themselves akin to dealers rather than private sellers. Pricing similarly but not offering the warranties or guaranties that the NADA pricing gets you with a car dealership. Of course this drove up the price of what used to be affordable cars, something I could have bought 3 years ago for $2000 they want nearly triple that with over 150,000 miles on it. I could have died laughing at the audacity of the nerve of some of these people. NADA is the National Automotive Dealership Association, they have a pricing guide book online, just like Kelly Blue Book and Kelly Black Book. Private sellers are in the same financial situation the buyers are, but some of them seem to think everyone is gullible for some reason not going to do their research.
We went out to look at a PT Cruiser, it was an 06 with less than 90,000 miles on it. They wanted $4000 for it, and that was higher than the pristine condition KBB for dealership sales was. Out of curiosity we went to see it, because pictures can be deceiving. Boy were they ever. Carfax claimed ZERO accidents, had major fender damage on the drivers side, and someone had tried to repaint the damage on the grill, and it was missing pins so when you drove it there was a horrible thumping sound where the fender was loose on the driver’s side. The interior had cigarette burns, stab marks and wreaked of smoke. The rear view mirror needed to be replaced as it was so damaged you couldn’t see out of it. The muffler needed to be replaced, paint was cracked and chipping, minor dings and dents everywhere. Overall it was neglected and in P.O.S. status, nowhere near good, let alone like new. We gave the guy a lowball offer and he said he had more people coming to look at it but might consider it if nobody made an offer. There was a ton of other work I knew it was going to need and it just didn’t fit the bill.
When you live in a smaller city with a financially disproportionate population, it makes it more difficult to find what you are looking for. Eventually we ended up having to borrow money and expand our price range to get something newer with a warranty, and that dropped just in time for my birthday.
Saturday was crazy. We went out for a celebratory lunch for my son and I’s birthday. While there I received a phone call from a long time family friend, who may as well be family. He visited with his puppy and took the short people for rides in his semi. We eventually made it to our birthday party a few hours late. Enjoyed the time spent with family and friends. It was a great weekend spent reminiscing and just plain laid-back. Things are finally getting back into a routine, so hopefully I won’t have any more major upsets before tax time.
Now it’s time to grab the kids and go on an adventure with the Pokemon Go app that just came out!
Knitastrophe - a catastrophic knitter's blog 