Friday, September 13, 2013

Rust, Rats, and a Reminder

I'm probably the only person in the country who seriously DOESN'T want a new car. I don't like switching cars and tend to drive mine until they're on the verge of death. My last car was 2 years old when I bought it, and 18 when I sold it (poor Merrie Grace couldn't manage the hills around here any more, but I sold her to people who lived in a flatter part of the state and just needed a second car for the wife). The car I have now, a Mazda Protege that I love, was 2 when I got it and is 12 now. And the car stills runs great, so I'd hoped to keep it for another couple of years. But then there is this:
 Rust--the scourge of New York State. It is caused by the salt they put on the roads to deal with the ice during the winter, and it eats away at cars like nothing else. Bah. There's quite a nice breeze through the bottom of that door, and the other side doesn't look much better.

My plan had been to replace the car before winter, but I've run into a snag: there are very few decent used cars available (due to the crappy economy and living in a small area with limited options to begin with and a bunch of people who can't afford to replace their cars until they're in the same state mine is in) and the few that are out there that are on my "list" [Mazda 3, Honda Civic or Fit, Nissan Versa...but only some years, Ford Focus, ditto, and the Hyundai Elantra] are priced almost as high as the new cars.

So I broke down yesterday and actually test drove a new Honda Fit. It was quite nice, actually, but I can't deal with the thought of paying full price for a new car (nor, honestly, can I afford to). At the moment, it looks like I'm going to try and get through another winter with my trusty rusty Mazda and hope for better results in the spring. But it is kind of discouraging.

As is the fact that I heard a noise in the walls a couple of weeks ago, so I put the rat traps out in the basement again. I checked them every day for a week, and nothing, so I figured it was a mouse. Went down last night to pick them up, and out of the four I put out, one had a dead mouse (sorry buddy), one was empty, and one had a rat in it. DAMMIT. So now I'm back to putting down traps and checking them daily, and hoping that lone rat was somehow one that just wandered in by mistake, no relation to the outbreak I had earlier in the year. (On the bright side, I haven't heard any more noises.]

What's that? Oh, you caught that, did you. Yes, I put down four traps and only told you about three. Why? Because the fourth one DISAPPEARED. Yes, you heard me. It's just GONE. VANISHED. I checked the entire basement, and I can't find it. So now I have visions of some rat with a trap on its tail, dragging the thing back off into the walls. Seriously, no clue. And it is freaking me out a little.

On a more positive note, my last (sniffle) online class, the "Crystals & Gemstones" workshop that runs Monday 23-25 is filling up fast, which makes me happy. I just finished writing it up, and I think it is going to be a lot of fun. I've got mixed feelings about giving up the classes, but I just don't have time for them now that the writing career is taking off. Don't forget to sign up soon if you wanted to take the class. Class registration
You can also still sign up for the ongoing Sabbats class if you missed it. We only have the last three Sabbats of the year to go, but all the info for the first 5 is still available, including rituals, recipes and more.

So, you have any interesting "R" words going on in your life this week?

18 comments:

  1. It is Friday, where's the adorable cat photo?

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    1. LOL. If I go "Feline Friday" EVERY Friday, you'll take them for granted! So you have to wait for next week :-)

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  2. Okay, the missing trap is creepy. Maybe it's like the crocodile with a clock inside like the one that follows Captain Hook in Peter Pan. :)

    Sorry you had another rat. I'm sure he was just lost from his Band O' Rats and an outlier.

    I'm really sorry you can't afford a car that's available right now. Is your current car safe, even though it's unfortunately air-conditioned? Maybe you'll be lucky and have a mild winter.

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    1. A mild winter? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself. They're calling for a horrid winter, unfortunately. Of course, "they" are wrong as often as they are right.)

      Safe, yes. I'm just worried that something is going to fall off unexpectedly :-)

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  3. I'm with you on the cars. We've got two Toyotas and one is ten years old and the other is thirteen and both are running like brand new. I don't care about the outside, but maintenance-wise, I bring them in on schedule. We haven't paid car payments in years and it's soooo nice on the budget.

    Okay, seriously creepy about the missing trap.

    Susanne

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  4. My Toyota is 14 years old and still kickin' (hopefully for awhile, fingers crossed). A few "R" words? "Roof rats"... hopefully mine is/are gone. Last year they were running around my ceiling, and we caught one. This year, one was running around, but he/she seems to have left... hopefully for good! How about "rain" 'cause we've had some of that in Cleveland. It's a bit rainy. Anyway, have a good weekend! :)

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    1. My best friend drives a Toyota Camry that is a 1998 :-)

      And we've had lots of rain here too, including today, when it wasn't really supposed to--but they're calling for a nice, if cool, weekend.

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  5. Raccoon, repair man (and his ruffian grandchild), restless sleep...and ravioli.

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    1. Yay for ravioli! The rest of it...your repairman brought his grandchild to the job with him???

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  6. PS. Your missing trap is creepy. So is the "prove you're not a bot" combo I just had to type to publish the above comment. 42 perish. I'm glad I'm already older than that or I might be worried.

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  7. I'm driving a 10 year old Saturn ION and hope it will last forever. Although I don't have to worry about rust in South Florida, it would be a great car in your neck of the woods as far as rust goes as the doors and fenders are plastic. Sounds weird, but you don't get dings and rust that way. This year I changed the headlights myself as the old ones looked sandblasted and now it looks like a new car.

    Would it be terribly expensive to have the door replaced and would that be good enough to last for awhile? Even a stop gap repair might help you until a good replacement comes along. Are there any technical schools in your area that teach auto body repairs? Maybe you could volunteer your car for trainees.

    Here's hoping you remain rat free. A pox on them

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    1. Cathy, if you look closely, you will see that the problem is as much the panel under the door as the door itself, alas. And the problem with giving your car to the Boces kids to work on (which is not a bad suggestion), is that they have to keep the car for weeks, if not longer. Ah, well.

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  8. This is car PITA week. All around me are car issues. I have a tire issue.
    Yikes with the missing trap!
    I guess my R issue would be rest as I'm experiencing insomnia for the last 2 nights.
    On a less whiny note I just had really good cinnamon toast.

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    1. My sympathies on the insomnia--that's one of my issues too. Rest = good!

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  9. Your poor car! I have to recommend the Toyota Corolla. I have a 1996 and a 2006. They both work well and can go up and down the many hills in Seattle. I doubt they're rust-proof, but Corollas tend to last for 20 years or so.

    That is seriously weird how the cage disappeared.

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    1. I test drove one yesterday :-) It is definitely on my short list.

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