Car $ervice - Ouch

 

No, I didn't have a muffler replacement today.  But it was almost as bad - I had a 30,000 mile service done on my car, and my wallet is still aching.  It could be worse (and will be soon).  The car will be needing tires soon (Original Factory Supplied Tires don't last long), as well as differential service (Subaru's All Wheel Drive makes this a legitimate expense) within the next few months.  Ouch!  There goes some of the money I received from a tax refund.  To make things more interesting, I also have some dental work coming up in a few weeks, and there goes the rest of the refund!  These are first world problems.  I have the money in the bank.  But I was hoping to keep it there.   

I was glad not to have to make it to the dealership too early.  But I hated having to switch into a male presentation for the day, only to return to presenting as a female tomorrow.  There is a good reason for the quick switcheroo - Vicki and I are going to the Flax Barn Sale in upstate New York.  We'll be away from home for a full day, and I'll be delivered right into temptation.  I don't need any more dresses in my closet.

My appointment was for 4:30, and I was out by 6:15, and $550.00 lighter.  I knew it was going to be expensive, and my wallet always cringes when I visit the shop.  At least, I deferred the big expenses to next month, when the check from the sale of the family homestead comes in.  (And then, I'll have to deal with taxes on the capital gain - another ouch!)

Sadly, there was no game night tonight.  The host family took a drive to Hershey, PA for the theme park there, and didn't think they'd make it back by 7:30.  (I'd have cancelled in their shoes, not thinking about the time - schlepping to the middle of Pennsylvania and back in a single day is exhausting.)  Hopefully, they will have taken my advice to return to New York over the Tappan Zee Bridge - who wants to fight traffic going into Manhattan on the George Washington Bridge, and pay $10.00 extra for the privilege?

Upcoming Repairs in two buildings

 

The other day, my brother and I worked on doing a power wash of the foundation on one side of the family homestead. The sickly shade of green is (to the best of our knowledge) is the third layer of paint applied to these walls in the 84 years since the house was built.  While doing the power wash, my brother pointed out pitting on the walls, as well as a crack that needed repair.  And then we got to talking about plumbing issues that needed resolution, the most important of which was the need to have the water heater replaced.  So guess who is driving to Long Island to be there when the plumber arrives?  Me, of course.

I really don't mind driving down to Long Island for work on the house.  What I do mind is that I'll have to be there as Mario, and not as Marian.  And there's nothing I can do about this, given that I'm not going to out myself to my brother, his wife, or my nephew. So, I scheduled another weekend at RQS's place, where I can fix a problem that has existed with RQS's bed since the day it was installed.  

About a year ago, RQS bought an adjustable bed frame when she bought her new mattress.  Unfortunately, the installers gave her a problem about removing the old mattress and bed spring, as well as taking shortcuts in the installation of the new bed frame and mattress. The men claimed that the mattress needed a day or two to breathe before putting on the "bed protector" (think of a mattress protector that envelops the entire mattress on all sides, top and bottom), they didn't bother to install the mattress retainer bar, they didn't give her the manual for the adjustable frame, and they didn't explain what the extra box of parts were for when they departed.  Luckily for her, I bought the same exact bed that she has, and know what has to be fixed and how to do it.  So, this will be another task that can be accomplished on this trip to Long Island.

As you can guess, I try to accomplish more than one thing on each visit to Long Island when I can.  First, it costs me roughly $13-14 to cross an East River bridge each time I go through Queens.  And then, I have a hard time finding a parking spot whenever I use my car to visit RQS.  Although I grew up on Long Island, I wouldn't mind not having to go there again.  It is no longer my home.