beep beep beep forever?

 In the big scheme of things, a constant beeping isn't the worst thing.  

I would like to just say that I am fed up to HERE with the Mitsubishi Dealership repair department, and leave it at that, but what would be the fun in not telling the story?

It's not covered this time.  19,000 miles on the car, the emergency brake sensor emitting that beeping, and I was accused of tampering with it.   Not exactly ME doing the tampering, but she said we shouldn't have had work done on it by a non-certified dealer...she said, "Those pads look new, work was done."  Um, no one touched our car except for YOU GUYS!  (this is totally separate from the little banged up front fender, not related at all)   She was like that White House spokes lady, circling around and around. " It'll be $250 to check it out, but if you need the PART, which is $950, plus labor..."  Let me stop there for a minute, while my blood pressure goes back down, deep breath, okay.  

So for two hours we went back and forth, and I ended up walking out in tears, after telling her, "This is the nicest car I ever had...."  Yes, I drove back home in the beeping.  Over twelve hundred dollars to fix something that is NOT our fault?  

She is going to send the pics and the request to Mitsubishi, which will take a week or so, no sweat off THEIR ears.   She said they probably won't cover it, sorry.  

So here I sit.  I tried to get ahold of the service department of the place we bought the car (the service dept there was closed for 2020, because of Covid).  No answer.  I didn't call back later, because I didn't feel like it.  

I want it fixed, but I don't want to fight anyone.  I do not like confrontation.  I do not.  I am not mad, but I am frustrated, and I am disappointed.  I am very, deeply, thankful that I was aware, during the whole maddening process, not to be rude or mean to the lady at the desk.  She was pregnant, and very nice.  It's not her fault, I don't think anyway, and even if it WAS, I'm not going to be mean to someone.  I didn't give up pressing the issue, from every angle I could think of, but got nowhere.  

I do hope Mitsubishi does the right thing.  Because yeah, we can scrape together over a thousand dollars, but that thousand dollars would buy a trip to visit Kathryn when her baby comes, or pay the heating bill.  It happened to this very car back in the fall, I brought it in, they fixed it up, it happened to my daughter Mariel's Mitsubishi, they fixed hers no problem...it shouldn't happen in the first place, a person should be able to use their emergency brake, without BEEP BEEP BEEP.

This afternoon, Charlotte Claire, Camille, and I went on a little trip to the thrift store.  We had a big box of dishes we had cleaned out of the cupboards a bit ago, that we stuck in Jonny's room when we had our Valentine's Day party.  He's coming home tonight, so we thought to take care of it.  We also went in to the thrift store, and found some good things.  Char got a cute skirt and a top, I found a little girls's snow suit for either Kathryn and Darius' baby girl, which is coming in June, or Sam and Grace's baby girl, which is due in August.  It was FIFTY CENTS.  All kids clothing was on special for 99 cents, but most of the tag colors were an additional 50% off.  I got Wulf some pants and a few shirts too, because...50 cents.  I got a nice working Fisher Price play table, with batteries, for $3.99.  

We then went to Walmart for a few things.  Just chocolate, tortilla chips, some fabric...not much....then home, ah home.

Dinner is on the hob, chicken breast seasoned with ginger, garlic, salt and pepper.  We're making stir fry, with asparagus.  

Then this evening, off into the beep beep beeper, to pick up Jonathan at the airport!!!

And here's a cute pic of Miss Charlotte Claire and Sunny Sunster...

never a dull moment, edition # twenty-hundred-million....

"Mom, can you please come here?  Really quickly, right now?"  Well, it's a far cry from years ago, when they would just cry when they wanted mommy.  But there was urgency in Camille's voice, and since I am so calm cool and collected, my thoughts went straight to the dresser has fallen on her.   But it wasn't a dresser, nothing fell on her, but her knee partially dislocated, again.  Paul helped her up, and she limped out to the couch, some tears fell, and I winced in sympathy pain, as my knee dislocated when I was her age...and believe me, I would rather give birth in the middle of a street with no pain meds, than go through that.

Two kitties, two pups, and Miss Camille Anaya...

So, this fine morning, we were off to the ortho doctor for an x-ray.  Yes, it did partially dislocate again, and yes, she is facing surgery in a few months, unless something miraculous happens in the meantime.  Paul has great faith in the "Knees Over Toes" program, and we're going to try it.  She has to wear the brace for four to six weeks, but also has to do the strengthening exercises.  If the knee is still wobbly and loose several months down the road, or if it pops out again (I HOPE NOT!), then surgery.  

The good news is that there is an Aldi just a hop, skip, and a jump from this doctor's office, in a small city north of here.  So we went in there for bananas, apples, little cute oranges, some burger and chicken, lemon juice, lime juice, tortilla chips, milk, heavy cream, cheese, and chocolate covered almonds.  

Home, ah home....I let Camille choose whether to be dropped off at school or to come on home.  She has to carry a fifty pound backpack around school, because for some reason, it's only allowed to use the lockers for coats, not backpacks.  The dr. office printed us a letter that stated that she was there today, because these days, when one is absent, the state pressures the school to get negative covid tests upon return.  I'm not sure how strict they are about this, but we have the note just in case.  She decided to take the day.  Her grades are excellent, she'll catch up in no time.

And, she gets to go with me down to get the BEEP BEEP BEEP fixed on the car!  I've been driving around like that with it for days and days, today is the appointment to get the sensor fixed.  They have to actually fix it this time, because I'm going to put that emergency brake on before I drive away, and if it BEEP BEEP BEEPs, they will have to fix it again.

You can probably guess that we are getting more snow today.  More and more and more.  It just swirls around the house, coating the branches, building up in the driveway, ugh.  I do not like to drive in snow, I do not like it, Sam I am.   But I dislike BEEP BEEP BEEP even more, so I am not cancelling that appointment.  It's 45 minutes each way, blah...but shh, I might take Miss Cam to Chick-Fil-A....it hasn't been in our area for very long,  it's a huge0 novelty, they love it for some reason. 

Dinner:  some sort of Chinese food, we bought to frozen veggies at Aldi that comes with the sauce packet, they like that and it's different.  We get stuck in the old food ruts.  Last evening, they had leftover pulled pork, I cooked up some burgers for Paul, then bacon and eggs...I had half a burger, two eggs, some bacon, and a bowl of shredded cabbage/carrots, with salt and pepper.  It was my only meal of the day...for dessert I had some of the low sugar, keto-ish pie I had made.  I should be skinny, I tell you.

Today is Miss Suzanne Eleanor's birthday!  Yesterday was Mariel's, but she doesn't like birthdays, so I didn't mention it ha.  

Anyway.  We're leaving again in an hour or so, I hope the snow stops soon!  I love it from my comfy chair, or to walk around in outside, but driving in it, not so much...especially when you can't see where you're going...when the lines on the road disappear...ugh.

and: even MORE snow!

 

Suri likes it!

Yeah I know, I yammer on about lake effect snow, but when you live in the middle of it...we're right in the yellow.  It's worse up east of the lake most of the time, or better, I should say.  The snowmobilers love it up there.  

So we had our pulled pork nachos for dinner, with Margaret and Adrian and the little guys, and Evelyn, and Emily over.  Only eleven of us, seems like a small crowd.  Jonathan will be coming home from his west coast trip, on Wednesday.  (that apple pie though...oh dear!  With the all butter crust...my crust recipe is 1 1/4 cup of flour with a dash of salt, for every stick( 1/2 cup) of butter, I cheat and use the food processor...but I gently toss the splashes of cold water in after removing it from the food processor...I don't use a recipe for the pie itself, I just mixed about 2/3 cup of sugar with about 1/3 cup of flour, and poured in some cinnamon.  I also poured a few capfuls of lemon juice onto the apples, to add some tartness to the Empire apples...)(I did not socially distance from this pie, but I did only have a smidgen.  Do not ask me how...it was so good.  It calls my name much louder than cookies do...)

Our school here is planning to start more in-person learning, there's quite an aggressive re-opening plan.  It's good, for most kids, they need to be in school, need "normal", need interaction with other kids.  My girls though, would thrive with their present schedule, more laid back.  If they got rid of the masks at school and had more kids in the classrooms, then still stayed home a few days a week, well, they would be quite happy.  They love doing school in their beds in their comfy jammies.  I don't interfere with their methods, or make them sit up straight, no, I do not.   They're both on the principal's high honor roll, with averages in the high nineties, so their methods work.

The house is rather dark this morning, and shh, I love it.  It's like a cozy den, with the dogs, all fed and tired from their romp in the snow, snoring like angels on the couches.  The fake fireplace is humming, and the kitties are both asleep in here too, one on a chair, the other on the back of the couch.  Paul is working in his office, Sonja in her room, the little girls have yet to start their day.  It's a far cry from years ago, when morning meant diapers and bottles and sippy cups and washing bedding and giving baths, while getting hordes of children onto buses.  We had the first trip kids, then an hour later, the younger kids on second trip.  Some years we had ten kids getting on those buses.  Then the fun at home would REALLY begin, with all the little ones, ha.  But nothing was like those school mornings, getting them all out the door looking neat and spiffy, with their lunches, their snacks, their homework, their projects, their gym clothes, their musical instruments, their sports equipment, their parents' signatures on their weekly folders, (Oh the things I had to sign!  Yes, he could participate in the play, and I acknowledged I would be responsible for transportation.  Yes, she can go to the museum and the $10 is enclosed!  Yes, I looked at the report card!  Yes, I'm coming to the parent/teacher conference!)

I felt like a huge fraud of a good parent, truth be told.   My head was spinning, most days.  I couldn't possibly keep track of what each child was learning, each day, as well as keep up with dentist appointments (check ups every six months for all of us, then those pesky cavity appointments sometimes!), well child check ups, ear infections, sports physicals, orthodontists, then some broken bones thrown in here and there with the physical therapy appointments...)

So I would go to parent/teacher conferences, and hear about how good my kids were, how well they were doing, and the teacher would mention a specific problem they were working on, and perhaps say, "Well you've probably heard all about this, Mrs. W., and have seen it from the homework..."  I would nod, while thinking, if you think I actually have time to remember specific math problems...

When the kids would come home, all excited about doing the Native American project, I would be like, "You're in fourth grade?  Wasn't your sister just in fourth grade?  We have to do another longhouse?

One thing I did work hard on though, was asking each of them about their day, and giving them attention when they got off that school bus.  I did try.  I tried to parent individual kids, no color coded cups or assigned seating nonsense.  

When the whirlwind winds down, and you look at it from the other side, you only hope you did your best, and you know that if you could do it all over again, well, you would!  You would still accept each baby, straight from heaven, and love and cherish them all, as much as possible, but in retrospect,  so much more.

apple pie...and real life...

 

Note to self:  a five pound bag of apples isn't quite enough for two apple pies.  Those are chunks of butter on top, before the top crust is added.  

There's a pork roast in the crock pot, for pulled pork this afternoon.  Margaret and Adrian, with Wulf and Tennyson, and Evelyn, are coming for dinner.  We'll have pulled pork nachos, with the works, and...pie!

Kathryn called from visiting Aaron and Riley in California while I was putting the pie crust together...I'm glad they visited them, on their grand tour of the west. 

Jonny and Aaron in San Francisco...Jon said it was 67, and he was the only one around without a coat on.  

I got out into the sunshine for a little bit, but it's still chilly out there!

And on a sad note, Paul's brother passed during the night.  I am glad we were able to see him yesterday.  

puppies, dreams, and saying goodbye...

Don't you love how their front paws are on the lower step?  They do that on the couch, too, put their front feet down, their arms, and leave their legs, on the couch...they "stand" there, deciding whether they want to actually get up or not.

Last night, I had dreams about Paul's dad, his dad who passed away several years ago.  When I woke up, Paul told me that his oldest brother had a stroke last night, and was in the hospital...not doing well.  I told Paul that I just had a dream about his dad, and he said that he, also, had dreams of his dad last night.  We were able to go to the hospital and see his brother, hug his brother's wife, and his daughter, and say our goodbyes.   I feel super bad for my mother in law, down in Florida.  There's no way she's up for a trip to the snowy north, not at 91.   I wonder if while we were dreaming of his dad, his dad was up there  looking forward to greeting his oldest boy...

So we've had a sad morning, I feel bad for Paul.  His brother has been in poor health for years now, but that doesn't make it easy to say goodbye.

The girls are doing things today, Jon is still out west, Paul just left for the dump...when he gets back, it'll just be him and I, for a while anyway.  Margaret is coming over later with the little boys...:)

I'll leave you with some more snow pics...

The swing is resting on a few feet of snow...it's deep!

making and baking and cuddling up...

 Yesterday, we went out and about just to the grocery store.  The girls chose ingredients to make homemade Tokyo style ramen.  

Today, the plan was to make cream puffs, as per Camille's request.  I didn't help at all, she found the recipe, and is filling them with the cream she made, right now!

These are going to be hard to resist!  The house smells absolutely heavenly!

A random pic of Miss Kettler the cat, just because.    Cats find favorite places to sleep, and this is her newest perch, just keeping an eye on things.  

We have snow, you prob know that by now, because I talk about it incessantly.  It's deep and has a crunchy coating of ice on top.  But guess what?  We're getting MORE snow.

See that lake in the pic?  That's one of the most beautiful fresh water lakes in the world, Lake Ontario...with it's sandy beaches and from the east side, the sunsets!  It's also half in Canada, and it's a snow making machine.  When that polar air flows down over this lake, well, we get dumped on.  We live at the bottom of the "+" sign, as in "8"+".  Right in the middle of what will probably be a foot of new snow.

We're right smack in the middle of this one, in the white...

It won't really start until tonight, so we have a lovely afternoon looming, with just a small bit of snow gently dancing down...so maybe we'll fit in a trip to the library, for the girls' last day of winter break.  I'll have to be home though, it's pool day, again, with Ben and Ashley and Anya and Elise!

As I was sweeping and mopping this morning, I was thinking of how fast time flies.  When you're young, the future stretches before you, and old people are old people, they've always been old.  The days are long, and those years seem endless.  Then, all of the sudden, you're on the other side of youth, you're one of the old people.  The prospective has switched entirely, it's like it absolutely ZOOMED BY!  Now that we only have four kids left at home, it's such a foremost thought in my mind how very temporary it all is.  Sonja K.,  18 years old, college student, is bright and fizzy, she's a light in this house.  I cherish the days and moments and outings with her!   We technically have no children anymore, as Jonathan is 16, Miss Charlotte Claire 14, and Miss Camille Anaya is 13!  They're all just moving on through.  

Oh dear, they look yummers!   

And, Sonja is home from work for the day, so we decided we may as well go on our outing...the younger girls are usually at school in person, on Fridays, when Sonja gets home early.  So we don't get out all together much anymore...

just a wee bit quiet...

Today is quiet.  The girls are on vacay, and are still sleeping.  We are supposed to go out and about before the next round of lake effect snow rolls in, but do I wake them?  Or rather, do I want to get out of my comfy chair yet, and dress in bye-bye clothes and go out into the cold?  Maybe in a little while...

Yesterday, Margaret came over and worked from here.  She has a full time job, online, and two small children.  So she came here, and since the girls weren't here (Sonja had classes and work and was gone all day, and little girls were at their friend's house, Jon is still out west), it was a bit busy for me, but in a very splendid sort of way.  Wulf was happy to be here, he knows all the toys we have in the storage room, and at random intervals, he suggests we get something else out.  The purple car, the balance bike, the big dump truck, he wants it all.  I don't mind having a living room full of toys.  

So I had the freezer open to get something out for dinner, and Wulf grabbed the lunch box/cooler ice thing, which is hanging on his handlebars.  He has a washcloth on his lap in this pic, because he had just finished a freeze pop, a good treat for a cold winter's day.  He also has his backpack on, because he always has his backpack on.  He is a character.  The best part of the day was when we read stories.  We looked at some board books with real pics, and talked about things.  He's very curious, and wants to know everything about everything.  I also got to cuddle Mr. Baby, aka Tennyson.  

I do want to mention that a dear blogger friend, a new friend, Terri D., lost her beloved husband Joe.  He was supposed to come home from the hospital, it was to be just overnight, then a few days, then he suddenly took a turn and...it's so very sad.   I'm not sure even what to say, I was shocked.  The saddest part these days is not being able to be there with loved ones while they're sick, it's just unimaginable.