Still Around!

There hasn't been much going on lately.

School-wise, after deciding he was graduating this year, Ben has decided he wants to do one more year after all so he can take a high school level engineering class in September.  I can hardly complain, but I will.  hahaha!  I was done!  Now I'm not.  Ah well.  Complaint over.  Maybe he will take the GED and I won't have to do transcripts...I'm NOT doing more field trip planning.  I'll just pay the school fees.

Life-wise, Matt is starting a new job after 10 years with his current place.  In Huntsville, places will pay a new person more for the same job than someone with the company for years will get paid. They don't blink at the new-hire rate, but will shit a solid brick at the thought of increasing a loyal employee's salary to within even $10k of that amount.  In some case, $20k.  And we are not talking six figures here, not even close.  It's a particular bit of bad business we have seen over and over.  He left this company before to make $4k more elsewhere.  They countered with a raise of about $2k. Then a year later, offered him a new job making $8k more.  I will never understand it, they could have kept him the first time for half that, just-take care of your employees!

The new place SOUNDS amazing.  We are losing his Fridays off, which has been harder than I imagined and I knew going in that it was going to hurt.  But the insurance is amazing and no more annual blood tests.  I don't know what the current insurance changes being voted on might mean for the future, so I am hesitant to celebrate too much.  There's a raise, not much, but enough that we can start checking off some boxes on that ever-growing to-do list.  They match 401k contributions.  That can only help!  So there are some good things financially speaking.  Personally for Matt, he gets an office with a door.  After 2 decades of cubicle town, he has windows!  THREE of them.  We have already been shopping for seasonal cling film stickers.  I bought him some old maps at a used gear outfitters of some of our favorite trails to have framed.  They were 40 cents each!  One is really cool, it's an old land survey and topo of Tellico Plains.  Tellico is the Cherokee word for 'open place where the grass grows'.  So, plains.  Plains Plains.  Maybe they mean balds?

We were headed to the lake today to swim and Chan was driving.  She slowed down to let a groundhog get across the road and got rear ended.  In my van.  Everyone was okay and the other girl had insurance.  The van checked out fine structurally at the mechanic's and I took it to the body shop for photos. They can't take it until the 22nd.  I told them not to take ANY calls from Beth!  She's the reason Nettlevan got totaled!  It just has a dent in the lift gate, really.  I would hope that by replacing Nettlevan with the EXACT same van a week later, the guys at the shop would realize I am not fooling around about liking my car.  hahaha.  Dustin said I "would just show up with another piece of sh-I mean Kia Sedona again".  I said, "Exactly."  Then I tried to kick his shins for smack talking my ride. He moves fast...I really hope there isn't anything wrong with the van that gets found later.  I worry about cracked joints or loose hoses or warped frame.  Her car was SMASHED.  I don't see how it just dented my van a little bit.

Ben has joined in on...a social event.  A homeschooled teen thing.  When I told him the Bothwells might not be there tomorrow because Inde has the pukes, he said he still wanted to go.  That is HUGE.  He is worse than I am about avoiding strangers.  I think the whole engineering class is going to do some good.  Just 2 meetings so far, yesterday was the last one for this school year, hence adding next year back to the agenda, and he's already talking scholarships and college and dual enrollment.   Thank goodness, and his brain gets to work.  That child loves a problem to physically fix.  The first class he joined, he found out they were supposed to have designed and built an egg drop apparatus. He built one on the way down out of plastic drinking straws and duct tape.  And it won second place.

Okay, well those are a few of the haps around the castle.  I head back to the AT on the 23rd for a few days.  So, yay.  Get Georgia knocked out at least.  I'll take more pics next time, I think I took 11 last time and that includes when Matt came to Neels Gap and we went...hiking.  It rained SO much, I can not begin to explain how much I dislike rain while camping.

Car Saga

It's still ongoing, but I feel close enough to the end to finally it get out and leave it here.

On December 4th, Matt was rear-ended in a 100% the other guy's fault wreck.  Our insurance company closed out the file immediately.

Enter, Allstate.

The town the wreck happened in (Hanceville) has the vehicles towed themselves, so the first series of calls we had to make were to locate the car for the insurance company and have it towed to the dealership they use (Mitch Smith) for repairs.  Note, they are not an 'authorized' dealership, meaning they can't inspect their own work.  More on that later.

We were told it would be repaired by Dec 30th.  Allstate arranged for a rental car.  A week into the new year, they wanted the rental car returned.  The dealership was not finished with the car, so after 20 calls back and forth to and from Matt to and from the dealership, Allstate and Enterprise, the rental was extended.  After 60 days, the car was ready to pick up, so we returned the rental and the next morning, got the Forte.

It had subsequent damage from being cinched onto the tow truck after the wreck and the front end needed part replaced.  Then there were gauges that needed replaced, half an hour after picking it up, we returned it (never left the parking area in fact) because the airbag light was on, even when I sat in the passenger seat.

They checked it over and a couple of hours later, sent Matt home in a loaner car.

Allstate opted to total the car on Tuesday the 16th of February. We were asked to return the loaner car. Allstate refused any more help, cut a check to Redstone and said they absolutely would not pay for another rental while we looked for a replacement car.  Keep in mind, the rental and loaner cars were during the period of time we were told we'd be getting our car back, so we had not looked anywhere.

That Friday, Kurt offered us his extra car, so Matt had vehicle to get to work and back with.  We started calling, looking online and cruising lots when he was home from work.  Saturday the 27th, we went to Murfreesburo, TN to look at another Forte and ended up buying a 2014 Nissan Versa Note for what we owed on the Forte-so at least we are not in more debt.  It's a 5 speed, very basic (crank-down windows!). The plan is for Matt to drive it for now until he finds just what he wants, then it will be my car. The van is way too much car these days and I freaking LOVE a stick shift.  Plus, it gets nearly 40 MPG and only has 22k miles on it.   In the meantime, it will be paid off in 2 years, so that's a plus.

So, the Forte was scrapped, we looked at buying it and having it recertified as road safe with a salvage title, but the dealership can't actually do that, we'd have to pay someone else to look it over and then repair everything that may have been missed, then pay to have it inspected again.  Ad Nauseam.
We already knew the airbag sensor was bad, $1200.  Bam.

In the meantime, we went to get the new car registered and found out they need a copy of the title and some other forms sent directly to the courthouse, which the dealership could not comprehend.  The guy we bought the car from is out o town for a few days and has not started the paperwork.  The bank they talked us into using has never heard of us, I could not even get past the automated answering system.  I sent an e-mail, to which they have not yet responded.  We are having the loan transferred to Redstone, I can't deal with that. our credit rating is so chewed up by buying a car 6 months ago putting a chunk on the credit card out of the blue with the brake job in December and then again this week and now transferring the loan will ding it another 30 points.  The lady at the courthouse was nice, but she blessed my heart, which pretty much means, "Sucks to be you".

I called the dealership back and said they had until next Tuesday to fix this and woe unto them if I had to drive up there myself on Wednesday.  The other salesman acted like I was being an idiot and making up things, then the bank called him and he clicked back over to say they were sending the forms he needs and he would take care of it right away.  So, maybe it will all work out.  Maybe I will get to have lunch at Omar's again next week after I chew through a small car dealership.  Who knows?

I do know this much-I will not buy out of state again and I really, really hope I never have to buy another car from anyone other than Jeremy at Shaddix in Cullman because he is really nice and does not add fees or play games.  He just could not find what Matt wanted in the short period of time we had to find something.  And I do like the Nissan, I just could really do with it being a much smoother transaction.

UPDATE: They sent the title and all the info we needed in time to get the paperwork done, so yay!

So, fingers crossed that nothing else car-related will crop up for a while.  I just want to get the little car registered by the 15th and go on with life.  The crank down windows pleased Chandler quite a bit.  Now we can escape if the car goes into water!  Ack

Sunday Walk in the Woods

But first, the Kia.

So, he got smacked but he did 2 things I would never have thought of  First, he took his foot off the brake which let the car roll ahead since there was no one in front of him.  This, admittedly, was in preparation to floor it once he saw the guy was not stopping, but it still saved them some whiplash.

Also, he had his wheels straight ahead.  If I had gotten rear ended, it would lead to me being pushed over into oncoming traffic because I would have had my wheels cut to make the turn.  In this situation, that would have ended with Jake taking the full brunt of being T-boned, something that I try not to dwell on.

The rear passenger tire wheel well.

The other side...not so bad!

This is the trunk space from underneath.

Damage to the tire.  We JUST replaced this tire because Matt had gotten something in it on the edge and it could not be patched.  It's the only one that doesn't match!

All of his drum hardware was in the trunk from his $30 plastic case to the $400 bass pedal.

The only things damaged that we know of so far-he still needs to set up the whole thing and see-is that locker above and the high hat stand below.  AMAZING.

We got the call Friday night that they will repair the car and should have it ready by New Year's Eve.

Allstate is covering a rental for the duration, so that's nice!

On Saturday, I got my Cairn Obsidian box in.  I get Cairn (getcairn.com) (use roamschool at gmail for your reference!!) every month already. It's just over $20 a month when you sign up for a whole year and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  

It's seriously that same feeling I used to get at birthday parties when I just KNEW one of the boxes had just the thing I really, really wanted.  I get that EVERY MONTH. And it's always awesome and it's always backpacking/hiking/camping stuff I USE. Granted, I probably won't buy any of the snacks they include because $4 for a snack bar is INSANE, but I have used loads of the coupons for gear. And for things like free Mountain House meals, got new hammock straps for $22 (for the new double hammock in the Obsidian box!) It's been an awesome gift to myself.  Eep

When they offered Obsidian, which is $200 4 times a year, I gave it some thought and that thought was 'I WANT'.   So, I did it.  They gave me back 500 points, which is 2 free monthly boxes! And I was so excited when it arrived, I almost could not open the package. hehehehe  Totally worth it.

This is my new Prana hat, tags still on, that Ben took immediately and I will probably never get back.

I do share the goodies.  On occasion.  haha

I also got a waterproof backpack, a waterproof bluetooth speaker, 7 Picky bars, 3 chocolate bars, a full set of Sierra Sage outdoor products (I use their green goo bug spray and green goo first aid ointment and was STOKED to get more!) that hat and a 2 person Thermarest hammock.  $342 in goodies.

The backpack is awesome, we already came up with a half dozen trips to take with it, but the best thing other than kayaking was that we can take it caving with Park and it will spray clean!  The clay in the caves around Monteagle is STICKY.  I'm already booked on an overnight canoe trip this spring, so I can use it then, too!

Okay.  I guess I have wound down.  Even cooler is that-the regular December Cairn box has not shipped yet, so I still have THAT to look forward to!

Saturday afternoon we had to do some work on the fence because Murphy just leaves on a whim. He will have a new spot he can fit through soon enough, but while the gate was open and we were going in and out working on it, I promised Kuma I would take him out Sunday to the creek.  Because having the back gate open only means one thing and that's running around in the woods time!

8 a.m. Sunday morning, he's barking at the door, then under my window.  I poked my head out and he started jumping around like a bronco.  hahaha. I love that dog so much.

So, I crammed on some shoes and gaiters and Matt put on some orange and we walked down to the creek with all 4 dogs for the first time. I haven't taken Murphy yet because he's hard to predict, he spent the first few months running away, I wasn't going to give him free reign over 800 acres.  He's not my favorite animal ever, but I don't want him lost for good.

EVERY fire ant hill was covered in deer poop.

WHY?

The water is low!

View from our resting perch, should have brought a hammock!

I love all the poplar trees down in the hollow

My obligatory "WOW.  Mushrooms in December!" pic.  Because I have one every year.  hahaha

Nia awaits a snack

Murphy is horrified that he was made to sit, he wanted the goodie and human flesh.

He's a snatching little shit, still working on that bad behaviour!

LOOK!  All four dogs in ONE SHOT.

Jessie is always up for a snuggle.

She's 10 this month.  WOW

Planning a backpacking trip to this spot above the cliffs, looks like a good spot for many hammocks!

The pasture is SO overgrown.  We have someone coming to see about bushhogging, we picked a few trees to leave, though.

This is a SOLID wall of blackberry about 50 feet thick.  I told Matt I am getting the mowers out, that's miserable trying to get through!

Updates

Goodness!

So May has been QUITE a month!  Our 18th Anniversary kicked things off, then an awesome backpacking overnight followed by a group camping trip.  Matt bought a new car, the new-to-us kind anyway, on the 13th.  We decided to go over our first budget because the car had such low mileage (only 40k!) and gets amazing gas mileage.  Something like 33-34 MPG. He drives 60 miles a day.  And it has AC.  With the incredible interest rate we got from Redstone, we will only pay back what amounts to less than a single payment more than we borrowed if we take the whole term to repay.  So we were okay with that whole thing financially speaking.  8 years ago this month, we paid cash for his Volvo and financed my Sedona-within 2 weeks of each other.  He needed a better commute car, we thought the Volvo would last a couple years (it was $1500) and we could look at our options then. hahaha!  Had we known it would live 8 more years (and it's still running!) we would have gotten the AC fixed.  It turned 20 this year.

On the 20th, I wrecked Nettlevan and while the insurance company is still out on what to do about the other guy because he contributed to the accident, they totalled out the van on the 27th and gave us a check.

Yesterday, the 29th, we sold Poppy.  To a family with young kids and a do it yourselfer dad who seemed very at ease with her quirks.  I think when the dust settles, I will probably have a good cry about that like I have about the van, but right now the timing could NOT have been better.

Between the insurance check and selling her and pulling some from savings AND the guy selling it coming down a chunk AND agreeing to replace the windshield, we can pay cash for the replacement van, which is another 2006 Kia Sedona.  I took it to Beth yesterday to look over before we agreed to buy it and she said, "Well, of COURSE it is (another Sedona)."  SHE, and I am not sure how I feel about this just yet, is the one who cast the deciding vote to total Nettlevan!  It was at a different repair place and everything, but small towns are so damn nosy.  She knew it was wrecked before the insurance company did.  She said it had so much wear, it wasn't worth putting money into bodywork when the engine might go.  Sad, but likely very true.  :(

The van checked out fine, it's in WAY better shape than poor Nettlevan was.  Everything that was going on with her isn't going on with this one.  And it has new tires-much nicer than I would ever have shelled out for. And over 100k miles less on the engine and has never hauled anything.

I drove it over 2 hours yesterday, never had an issue.  Right after the wreck when we were out running an errand, Matt came to a quick stop and I got so scared!  I was worried I was going to be a wimpy driver, but no.  It's exactly like Nettlevan inside, only much, much cleaner, grey instead of beige, and everything works. The power steering (Matt says it's a HUGE difference, but I did not actually notice it was out on Nettlevan unless I was parallel parking).

The middle seats both flip up, the console table extends back to the middle seats (ours DID until Jake climbed on it and broke the extending part the first WEEK after I bought it).  That timing belt tensioner noise does not happen when I crank it, there's no dent where I backed into the light pole at Judy's after mowing the grass.  The front end noise going over bumps does not happen because no one went airborne jumping some railroad tracks in this van and stretched the subframe bushings. So the front passenger tire isn't always out of alignment, either.  Hands off the wheel at 65 and it stayed straight on the road.  There's no long scrape on the side from where I was really sure I'd fit between 2 fences. The front end is not taped from where someone parked up on a rock curb and ripped the plastic shield thing in half backing off of it.  And...though I feel kind of bad about this being a point in its favor...it's not GOLD.  It's a sparkly glacier blue.

Before we dropped it back off to sign the papers, I set all the radio stations just like in Nettlevan and later I combed through that massive pile of things I had in the van and put what I really need in a paper bag to distribute when I pick her up Wednesday!

It's been a very emotional month and 4 Wednesdays in a row with major life changes. Well, for us anyway. We don't swap vehicles every few years or take on debt lightly. I would have kept that clunky van for years more if she'd lasted.  I feel right getting another one and happy that it should be around a long while yet-paid for and everything.

Nettlevan

I love my van.  Despite her erratic check engine light because of that one hose, she's been nothing but a good-performing vehicle that has always gotten us there and back again.  And sometimes hauled things for me.

Today, we were going to run some errands and go to the local walking trail and get gas for our mower and so on.  On my way out, I stopped at Judy's next door to see if she needed mower gas, too.  Matt was going to mow Tuesday over there while she is not feeling well.  Already I am 2 points to the good for karma.  I am helping a neighbor and helping my husband.  She's has enough gas, so I head out.  BAM.

I backed into the pole for the security light.  Not one of 5 things or 10 things to avoid, not a rock that was 4 feet high and impossible to see out the rear-view, but a 25 foot tall pole that has been there, in the same place, for the past 15 years and then some.  I have seen it almost every single day of my life here.  The kids and I have gone down to watch bats swoop around it on summer nights more than a few times. 

I smashed out the tail light cover, banged up the bumper and dented the side panel on the van.  I picked up all the shards and taped them back together and taped them on the van, I have to get Chan and Jake to the ortho in the morning.  2 missed appointments would be $90.  They don't screw around with last-minute cancellations and they blocked a whole hour for Chan because she's getting her braces put on tomorrow.  (Jake told her they use a hot glue gun)

I THINK I can just replace the cover, but the housing is kind of bent up, so I am not really sure.  I sent out e-mails to several junkyards that have Kias hoping I can score one that way.  They run just under $70 new, so it's not the end of the world, just sucky as all get out because I really love my van and now she has been banged up on both sides.  That WAS my pretty side.

Tuesday

The weekend zipped past me and yesterday is a blur! I have not taken pictures of Jacki's visit despite stern self-reminders that I NEED to get on that.

Saturday, I got yelled at by a police officer, and since then I have been dreading the promised 'ticket in the mail'. In my defense, it was just after a wreck and there was no one directing traffic. I moved the van out of the way of an on-coming truck and horse trailer that was forced into my lane because the animal control truck had just parked in her lane. I pulled onto the side of the road, following the 2 trucks in front of me that had just skirted the wreck via the area between the road and the ditch. In doing so, I attracted the attention of the officer who signaled for me to stop-from across the road and he was nearly level with the back door-Matt saw him, I never would have. He was wearing a white shirt, black pants and sunglasses, I thought he was EMT. I stopped, he disappeared, a fire truck came in and parked, I pulled on past to get out of the way, thinking that was why he wanted me to stop-to accommodate the fire truck and he got another guy to stop me, he came down and got my license number and yelled I had just rolled though his crime scene, I would get a UTC within the week. He never let me say a single word, just turned and left.

So, I did totally disobey an officer-albeit not on purpose and his signals and intent were VERY unclear. And I followed people in trucks around a wreck, which looking back on was not bright. But, if I stayed on the road, the cattle truck would have hit me. So, I guess a ticket is cheaper in the long run than a wrecked vehicle! And I imagine he would have yelled at me for sitting there and getting myself hit, so I could not have avoided it either way-he was very stressed about the wreck and it was a bad one. Plus, it's Tuesday and the ticket is not here yet...maybe he will relent, it was pretty minor in light of the rest of his day.

Needless to say, that colored Saturday evening and Sunday and yesterday-though yesterday I got the good news that the transmission is not going out, it was an oil leak from the oil filter not being seated correctly. Now, I have a deep disrespect for a certain family member who told me flat out that the transmission was too far gone to fix, it had to be replaced. And it was the OIL leaking...and this man has a shop on 6th Ave in Decatur, so just be aware. My beloved mechanic says maybe he likes women so much he just tries to screw them any way possible. I say, EW.

Today, we are going to Cullman to shop for goodies for Jacki's kids. And to get tea, my stomach is NOT a happy place at the moment. I blame the spicy burritos last night on top of the ulcer the Arab cop gave me.

I vow to take more pictures!