That didn't work out the way I had it planned...

As a duly appointed deputy clerk, I had today off along with the rest of the county employees.  I had promised Mom a trip to Nordstrom Rack and lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, so when the chance came to have lunch with an author friend in town from Baltimore, I had to pass.

I slept in until 7, which is the longest Little Miss Piggie Pie will let me sleep, then had my coffee, read a bit, noodled around on the computer, then got dressed and drove out to Hudson.  Dad was working on an antique clock which he had inherited from his grandfather, and Mom was getting ready.  Even though today is a no-mail day, Mom asked me to zip through the Post Office drive-through so she could mail some letters.  We did so, and just before we got on the expressway, my intestines attacked me, and I wound up driving us both back to her house so I could wash my pants (beige, of course!).

No sooner was I in one of Mom's robes and feeling happy to have lost enough weight to fit in one and my pants in the washer than my stomach and guts started cramping.  Mom gave me a Vanity Fair to read, I got myself a glass of ice water, Dad went back to bed and Mom went upstairs to work.  By the time my pants were dry, I was not up to going shopping, let alone going shopping and out for lunch.  Mom and I rescheduled for Sunday, and I came home and slept for the rest of the day.

When in doubt, make a list

I've been terrible about updating this blog, so here's what's happened since Thanksgiving:

• I bought new tires for the car at the beginning of December.
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• I drove to Columbus and back for Christmas Day, and had a great time aside from discovering that my car heat wasn't working.
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• My nephews and my SIL loved their presents, I'm not sure about my dad and my brother, and Mom was unsurprised by hers but happy with it.
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• On the Friday after Christmas I took my car in and discovered the heater core needed to be flushed, the thermostat was bad and there was an oil leak somewhere.  I paid $250 to have it fixed.
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• On the Saturday after New Year's, I bought a new-to-me car.  It's a 2013 Ford Escape that had 9800 miles on it and a reasonable price and the dealership was offering 1.9% financing.   While I could have done without another white car, the red and blue ones both had at least twice the miles on them and the same price.  
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• Now I have to sell the Saturn and try to get at least my money back on the tires and the heater work.  Oddly enough, nobody seems to be in the market for a 17 year old car with an oil leak. 'Magine that!