Blog 200 March 18, 2008

I was going to really go wild here, but the events of the day have dampened my spirits a bit.

As the day unfolded, saw my honey drive off to work, and nothing was amiss. Our daughter got up, and as i got ready to go to work, she packed her bag, and ate breakfast, preparing to go home to her husband and two cats. We loaded her car, and she was about to give me a hug when I saw something on the ground as she opened the car door...a flat piece of metal shaped like a U, with holes at each end of the U...and several bolts, rusty in a neat pile. I gathered my robe, and got on my knees and looked under the car, and it looked wrong, exhaust pie, do floppy, empty space, muffler..and it hit me, just like the news story I had seen a couple of days ago...somebody stole her catalytic converter!!! Seeing as it was 7:30 am, I said we need to go back in the house, and so we bundled up her bags and did so. I sent an email to work about not coming in til later, while she called her husband,I think to tell him and get him ready for the idea she would need to spend money(his own mother says he is cheap). At the end of the call, she said he would rather drive here and tow the car home(180 miles) rather than have her pay more than $200 to get it fixed. I quickly dressed,and we started out looking for a shop close by to fix it, only most were still closed. I am not immune to worry about money, but there are times you need to spend a nickel more to get better value....We went to the Toyota dealership, me thinking (rightly) this would be a high water mark of prices- replacement would be $765, plus shipping an labor, because it would be a special order, two days!!!! Next we went to get coffee, and regroup...returning home, i called a couple of place, and found one that guaranteed they could fix it for under $100...Anne was too mortified to drive her car without the converter, knowing its like a muffler and her car would be loud. me on the other hand drove a MG that had a muffler that would fall off at the slightest whim, so loud exhaust was not a deterrent,,and the man on the phone assured me it would be OK, since her model car mounted the converter so far back...She drove my Jeep, and I drove hers to the shop, and then we did what we do best, and went shopping, and then home...about 3 hours later it was done, so she went home about lunch time! Total cost $140(they needed to replace a flange and pipe section which was bent by the crooks...what i thought interesting and sad, when we dropped it off, there were 3 other people getting the same thing replaced...Honey says they have replaced the water main value at work 3 time in the last year because it gets stolen..by code it has to be brass, and all drinking water through copper pipes...no wonder the new home sites post armed guards when the plumbing starts going it!

Different stuff

The puppy was leaning forward growling , back legs quivering, ears erect, eyes focused on something on the wall behind our house...it was a lizard, which I guess she would have never seen before, since she is only 8 month this month. Our dog that passed in October would chase lizards all over during the summer...

As a thank you for helping her out, my daughter gave me a CD, which I listened to this evening. It is a selection from Beethoven, which she knows i am crazy about, and the soloist is a young woman, Hilary Hahn. Its pretty, she is a very talent woman. I am not all that keen on violin however, preferring piano soloists, maybe because of their dramatic flair while playing some of the more vigorous pieces.

We saw Konstantin Soukhovetski play at the Mondavi Center for Anne's birthday recently.. very good, played Grieg, which was quite good...

Just to let you know, Squirrel Valley News is likely to be a frequent feature.....