Thursday, June 23, 2011

Maintenance

I'm a low maintenance type of person—even my spouse would vouch for that.  As long as I have fabric, low-fat peanut butter, and Diet Coke,  most of my material wants are satisfied.  SO---when I hit a HIGH MAINTENANCE day – like today, it's like a major speed bump on my winding road of life.

 

For the next two weeks, I have Thursdays off at my day job.  Today I woke up bright and early determined to check several routine maintenance tasks off my omnipresent TO DO LIST:

 

Cat box – Check.

Laundry – Check.

Gas- Check.

Car Wash (long overdue) – Check.

Bank-Check.

Grocery run – Check.

Touch base with tax season client – Check.

Have vehicle checked before LONG road trip to South Dakota July 8-10 – No Check ?!?– Whoa!….

 

And here's where my day changed from routine maintenance  with a sense of accomplishment, to

High Maintenance , help me cope!!!!!!

 

My friendly mechanic said I had a slow leak in my right rear tire, and I needed to get it checked out before any road trip, because it was high risk for a blowout.  (Visions of 75 mph Interstate blowout with huge semi trucks crashing into my little gray car flashed through my head.)  SO—I went to Tommy the neighborhood tire guy, who advised me to replace two tires and use the best of the remaining four, rotate, balance, etc.   $260.  Ka-Ching!  Minor detour, and a hit to the budget, but I was back on track.

 

Today was the perfect day to finish staining the deck.  It was in the 70s, sunny with a light breeze.   My husband even set the DVR to record baseball  games so he could help.  We agreed:  Today was the day to "Git 'er done!" as Larry the Cable Guy would say.

 

All went well until we ran out of stain and energy….and Tommy called.  My tires look great, but I'll need to replace four tie-rods to the tune of $400 before it is safe enough for a long road trip.  I set an appointment to replace tie rods NEXT Thursday, and contemplated another hit to the budget.

 

But my old car will get me safely to SD.  I soaked up some rays.  I learned that Dawn dishwashing detergent, the wonder chemical that helped clean up a major oil spill, will also remove deck stain from skin, eyeglasses and hair.   I accomplished quite a bit, all things considered.  And I almost finished staining the deck.    The photo shows my view of the sky for about 4 hours this morning, through the deck lattice. 

 

Maintenance is mundane.  Maintenance sometimes requires a short-term hit to the budget.  But maintenance is part of being a good steward.   

 

Now I think I'll sign off and recharge my batteries…relaxation is essential for self-maintenance!    Maybe a little English paper piecing after a long hot shower?

 

TTFN

LeAnn aka pasqueflower

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower

http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com

 

 

3 comments:

  1. You got a lot accomplished and just think: you're *almost* done with the deck! Yay! I hear ya about the hit to the bank account. The air conditioner has been broken in my truck for probably a couple months now. In Florida. In the summer. NOT FUN. But, I just haven't been able to scrounge up the freaking $1,000 it's going to cost to fix it.

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  2. Great job getting so much done!
    I grew up in Sioux Falls, SD, by the way! Small world for sure!
    :)

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  3. Always happy to find a South Dakotan!
    My daughter says that in SD there aren't six degrees of separation--it's more like 1.5! I like that little city.

    LeAnn aka pasqueflower

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