Some Days Just Were Not Meant to Be
Yesterday started kind of normal; I went to church and came home to a snack (more of a snack than dinner since I was fixing and eating it while my bride was out of town). Then I decided to mow the grass which has grown a bit with all the rain we are getting. I started mowing and the tractor made some loud noises and I looked back and realized I was plowing versus mowing! One side of the mower deck was digging this neat trench in the grass. Pulled the tractor into the garage and realized I needed a new spindle on the left side of the mower (just changed the right side two weeks ago so I had a bit of experience with this). Two hours later I was done sweating and pinching my fingers; I had the deck off the tractor and the worn out spindle removed! Yeah! Off to the garden to pull some weeds that enjoyed the rain too which became an hour of stretches!
Dinner time! Ate healthy again with my veggies and all! Felt good about the day despite the tractor/mower problem so I decided to go into town for an ice cream! I had earned it with all my sweat and good eating habits during the day (don’t we all like to justify ourselves!)
We have had some strong storms and wind and I noticed quite a few tree branches down enroute but then a huge tree was down and blocked my path! No problem; I know the alternate route! Pulled into my favorite ice cream place and as I opened the door their power went off! Hmpph! No ice cream from them tonight. On the way home I heard a loud unusual noise from under the car! Now this beauty has traveled 172,000 safe miles and helped us PCS from South Carolina to Washington State and then back to Ohio and Michigan for retirement. Then it provided a way for our son to get to work for more than 2 years and returned home two weeks ago! So… it has served us well and we could name it a militarycarbrat!
A clamp had come loose and fallen off the new muffler James put on the car before he returned it! Wonderful action on his part but the muffler was now hanging and banging on the road and I had one small vice grip, no rags or anything else to work with (where is that old coat hangar when you need it most?) Well after one failed attempt to re-connect the muffler, I decided to take it off and was fairly successful except for the burn on one finger (yes I knew it was hot). On my way again I pulled into the driveway. The garage door didn’t work! Ugh! What is wrong with it? My normal keys were out of town with the spouse! No house key in my hand! So off to check for a door that would not blocked, locked or secured in some way! I found one! Yes! Normally I am very security conscious but before I leave… but this time I failed to lock one door! Thank you!
I got in the house and realized that the garage did not work as the power was out! Phew! I thought I had another maintenance job to do! But it was getting a bit humid and warmer, but what the heck, its a camping trip in Michigan! Finally I fell asleep after reading a bit of a new Zits comic book by flashlight! I needed the humor after this day!
PS: I didn’t mention that I did get an ice cream at an alternate location on the way home–I deserved it!
Ever have an exasperating day or string of events? How do you handle them? We would love to hear your stories!byColonel KonMonday, June 09, 2008
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