Grab a chair and a couple of root beers...

So, the Husbandly One took the van in to our local fix-it place, which we love because things actually get fixed rather than made worse... and no, it wasn't a thrown rod, thank goodness!

Sounded like one, but no...

The serpentine belt had come loose, as well as a second, and a bearing casing had fallen into the wheel well, and the entire pulley structure had just... come completely apart. Thank the gods and little green fishes that I was in the driveway when this happened, and not on the road, least of all with my son in the car with me!

It's all been fixed, which has made us wildly happy because really, guys, we were so not looking forward to a second car note! Not right now!! Of course, it wasn't making us wildly happy finding out how little trade-in value our Kia minivan has, either. The damn thing is only six years old!!

Oh, well, that's been sorted, and today, THO has driven into Houston to help with the monumental Get Mom All Packed Up for the Big Move project. I've already told Mom that she is simply not allowed to have a stroke, heart-attack, or any other catastrophic sort of reaction to moving. She sort of laughed helplessly and said, "Well, Auntie, I don't know if I could stop it!"

And I said, "No. You're not allowed. I forbid it. Don't even think about it."

She ulped and said, "All right!"

*sigh* I know, I know, it's wishful thinking. She's 83, and she's lived in that house for 60 years. She's sunk her roots in deep and it's going to hurt to yank them up. But... she can't live there alone any more. For one thing, the neighborhood is awful. I mean, she has really good neighbors, but... it's not the neighbors that are the problem. It's the gangs of teenage and twenty-somethings who break into people's houses and beat them up while robbing them. It's the loud, drunken parties who like to take guns outside and shoot up at the sky (when they're sober enough to hold their arms up straight) or in whatever direction their fancies take them.

It's not unusual to find spent bullets in the front and backyards of my mom's neighborhood. Or on the street.

Not to mention the things she's done, like forgetting that she's running a tub and finding the bathroom and hall flooding, or leaving a chicken in the oven to burn to a crisp. So, she and the Flaky Sister have bought a house together, and have sold Mom's house, and they are moving to live closer to the Blonde Sister, which will make it much easier for me to come visit, because that means no longer driving through downtown Houston, AND no longer having to visit one of the more toxic parts of Houston just to see my mom.

I hope those of my f-listers currently living in the Deep Freeze part of the U.S. are staying safe and warm, and have heat where they are. And aren't doing a lot of unnecessary heavy lifting (glares pointedly at Alex). And I am hoping to have something much more cheerful to post, because it seems that lately, my posts have been full of teh suck.

And I am hoping to get back into the groove of writing soon. As usual, the hard drive crash of December has sort of knocked me for a loop, writing wise, but I'm still working at it, still trying to get my groove back. And I've been doodling and sketching, to keep myself distracted from the writing that doesn't work. And thank you, dear potion_lady for your comment, but you have to admit, only one comment when you make an art post is discouraging to say the least, and tells one that perhaps the art isn't as good as one hoped, at the most! So, I'll leave it up, but I don't think I'll be posting it anywhere else!

And now, I must call THO and see how things are going at Mom's. Everyone have a good Saturday!

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!

My minivan just threw a rod, and the Impossible Son needs to go to school, I can't get hold of the Tall Blonde, and FUCK!!! We cannot afford this right now!!!

AAAAUUGGHHH!!!!

Not with the fridge acting up, and my mom is moving, and.... AAAAUUUGGGHHH!!!!!!!

I wanna cry, but I'm too furious!!!

At least it happened in the driveway, but FUCK!!!

Hello, my lovely F-List!

I need your help. Tell me what you think.

The Husbandly One took his little Chevy Aveo in for regularly scheduled maintenance last week. It was time for the timing belt to be replaced. That was last Friday. It stayed parked until Monday morning, when he got ready to go to work. Then, it started running really rough, to the point that the engine was shaking the car! It nearly stalled on him twice, so he turned around and came home, called the dealership, and took it back.

They're not sure, but they think a tooth has broken off the cog that the drive belt runs on, and that is the problem. They think. Maybe. They're not sure. The only thing they are sure of is that this is their screw-up, because the car was in good condition when it was brought in.

There is a possibility the car may be totaled.

Now, I feel that if this is the case, then the dealership owes THO a new car. Maybe not brand new, since he bought his car used, but a new to him car. THO disagrees. He says they only owe him the fair market value of the car and that's it.

I disagree. I say they owe him that, plus damages, because they're the ones that bollixed up his car. I can't get him to see this, and I'm beginning to think it's the terms "new car" that is throwing him. I have yet to call our insurance agent to see what their take on this is.

Thing is, which one of us is right? Am I way off base, or is he too eager to wash his hands of the whole situation and get it over with?

Tell me what y'all think!