A year ago, I posted my 400th post right smack here on this my Lil’ ol’ hobby blog. (Do check out that post by clicking here, to see how far I’ve come about sunsets on the damn shed across the road, and other procrastinating efforts, etc.. Comments are closed, after all, I don’t need a bunch of comments about what an adorable bride I was 30 years ago).
One thing for damn sure is, I’m swearing…twice in the first two paragraphs, and that I’m thinking I need to make myself a DIY project and take a vacation soon. I was craving one last year at this time, and couldn’t take one due to work. Um…I wonder if I should call in sick today? I work from home, how does one do that?
I digress…
Oh, yeah, back to this blog. It is a DIY project, evolved into therapy sessions of me and a revolving door into and out of my life’s happenings. Whatever is happening right then and there is food for thought, and a potential blog post waiting to happen. And it’s all for you, aka., my loyal fans. I adore you!
You’d think in a year’s time, something profound would’ve happened, right? I wrote 326 other posts in the meantime. That’s something right?
Something else happened.
Our Quite Sprout’s car battery died. A slow and sad death. Despite the reminders to drive it occasionally by dad, “Don’t just leave it set in the garage.”
Famous last words, that every daddy wants to hear, “Okay, I won’t, Dad!”
Meanwhile, the lichen and leaf prints appeared…
“Dad, we’ve tried everything, and it won’t start.”
“Send me a video of what it sounds like and I’ll figure it out.”
We (Mr. with some YouTube video research and a consult with another mechanic in the family) thought it was something else at first. He gathered all the tools and parts needed for that solution. We jumped in our rescue vehicle and headed to her homefront to revive her car this past weekend. Do we know how to have fun or what?
First, we had some lunch. Then we Mr. got busy fixing the adorable, yellow car.
The initial thought was that the battery connections were just corroded. A little trimming of wires here, and a replacement of connectors there, and boom – it should start right off.
Nope.
Maybe it needs a jump, ‘cuz this, I’m 99% positive this will work theory, must be right?
Tried jumping it with the friend’s Yaris. Small car to small car should work, right?
Nope.
Tried jumping it with the Dodge Durango with a Hemi engine. Dodge to Dodge should work, right?
Eventually, it did get enough of a charge to start it so she could to drive the car to a better parking spot. Then the test to see if that worked, she shut it off and tried to restart it.
DEAD…again…
Mr. removed the dead battery and we Googled to find a store to replace it.
It was under warranty, we were pretty sure of that. Mr. had replaced it 18 months prior to this…(no comments ;-)).
After 4 trips back and forth in the store to find someone to help us, we stopped at the main Customer Service. The pleasant young chap said, “Oh, yeah, the guy that was working there today we sent home ‘cuz he got battery acid spilled on his shirt.”
“Oh, no!”
“Don’t worry, he’s fine, it was just his shirt. But, you do need to go through the exit doors and find one of the mechanics to test the battery and then you can get a replacement if it is bad and under warranty. Or you can buy a new one.”
We passed the crime scene on our way.
Yep – the battery was bad. So Mr. grabbed a new one, walked right through the clean-up spot without even noticing. And met the mechanic at the other service desk.
Slow small engine service is a theme. Will we need to wait 16 days? Really?
I couldn’t help but notice there was a ‘blue shirt, men teaching other men”, theme going on in the aisle.
New batteries are so nice looking, aren’t they? Heavy too, apparently.
We needed a cart to haul it back and forth through the store. Oh, no, I get it – the cart was so that acid wouldn’t get on the shirt while carrying it around the store. Yeah, that’s it.
Anyhoo…we all jumped back into the rescue vehicle and drove off to replace it.
Mr. replaced it in record time. He’s pit-stop crew material, I’m telling ya.
Lil’ Missy Quite Sprout gave her thumbs up approval. Dad saved the day!
And she jumped in the car to give it a turn of the key…and…it started!
The moral of the story: A battery that doesn’t get recharged occasionally will lock up and die…and that’s the key to unlocking the feelings a person who needs recharging has too. A vacation is overdue!
On a side note, the coolest thing ever happened while we were there – our grand-kitty who turned 2 this spring, let me pet her 4 times! Without drawing blood. And she smiled for me too. It’s a smile, trust me.
Post Inspiration – Dutch Goes the Photo – Tuesday Photo Challenge LOCK and Susannah Conway’s August Break 2019 Last Year.
PS – How often do you think one should take a vacation? How do you call in sick when you work from home? Do you enjoy DIY car repairs to save money?
Glad it worked in the end 😉
I think I need a vacation every week 🤪🤪 I would love to work from home but currently I’m stuck in an office most of my time and very rarely I can call of a sick…
Thank you! I agree on the vacation need. You sound like a devoted employee like me :-)!
Yes, I guess I am but sometimes we need vacations too! 😊
The Quite Sprout does a good sad face 😀
Oh, yeah, she’s a cutie, eh!? 😉
Oh and by the way, so so cute kitty 😉 I see is a smile 😉
Thank you – she’s a little charmer, but she can be quick and vicious too.
We find (even being retired) that a vacation from home and responsibility is important. I worked from home in my last few jobs and called in sick when I sounded like death warmed over, but otherwise, I just did what I had to do and no more on days that I felt the need. I did travel a lot, so that seemed a fair tradeoff for the nights and long days I put in at airports and Hampton Inns. 🙂
My favorite memory of working at home was a long and boring Friday afternoon conference call that we were all forced to do. I distinctly remember cleaning my house with the phone on mute and earphones in. That way if someone asked me something or it was my turn to speak, I could unmute and contribute. Otherwise, the long, boring (useless to me) stretches were used to dust, vacuum and clean bathrooms before the weekend.
I do some travel with my job, but it’s mostly work from home. I feel like all I see are the walls around my computer (which by the way I use the same workspace for my blogging). Your break at the Hampton Inns sounds nice!
LOL – I need to do some cleaning next time we have a meeting. 🙂 ‘Cuz you know I prefer not to do that on my weekends!
Wow! Now that’s an adventure in empty nest parenting – nice work! My favorite photos – men in blue shirts teaching… LOL!
I call AAA when the car won’t start. I am all done with DIY. 🙂
It was a whirlwind day. I’m not surprised that you’d like that photo – isn’t that baby the cutest thing…leaning back to look up! We’d call for help too if dad didn’t enjoy the rescue rides for now. Someday though…
Super cute!!
Vacation: twice a year. Each vacation, however, should last for six months.
I rest my case. Literally.
LOL – spoken like a true retiree! You’re my inspiration!
I don’t go on many vacations anymore. Maybe when we both land on the other side of retirement we’ll get back to it. I’m glad that you and your grandkitty are getting along. Progress on that front is worthy of note.
I hear ya, Ally. Plus – recent home improvement costs seem to require Staycations. We’ll be on to windows soon. Then maybe a vacation – the rest of the 90’s look should be back in style when I’m done trying to take a vacation (don’t look in your magazines to find it though…it’s hush, hush for now).
Cars are meant to be used, letting them set around long periods of time will certainly kill the battery and other components. Glad your daughter got her wheels back!
Yes, very true! She’s happy to have it back running!
I’m sure she is, great news! 😎❤️
I’ve taken a nap in the middle of the day, does that count as a vacation? Glad the battery situation worked out. We just had to replace a radiator. 🙁
LOL – I used to be able to nap in the middle of the day, not for a long time now. Something to look forward to, it is like a mini-vacation! Bummer on the radiator. Car issues are no fun!
I think you should take a vacation whenever you need one.
When I worked from home, I never called in sick. I always had my phone with me, so if they needed my assistance, I was there for them. They usually didn’t.
I come from the “oh, so THAT’s the engine!” school of car repair. Someone else does it for us. Even the easy stuff like adding windshield washer fluid and changing the wiper blades.
I need to take the lesson of take a vacation whenever you need one to heart! I’m always available too.
I admire the look of the engines and all the parts, and that someone knows what to do with all them, but if it was up to me, I’d hire it all done too.
Mr. is definitely handy to have around. Tell Sprout to think about getting a trickle charger which is what I use since I don’t use the car that much, mostly on weekends. It is plugged in 24/7/365. I had a mechanic hook it up though – maybe Mr. can do it – the connection comes out the front grill. It is available at Walmart and Amazon. Here is the name/model of what I have and they tell me at the car service shop that they have classic cars at their homes that are rarely driven and the battery trickle charger lasts at least 10 years or more:
http://products.batterytender.com/Dion/Battery-Tender-Junior-12V-0-75A.html
I need a vacation badly – when you work from home, you find yourself saying “how long ’til I can go home – oh ya, I am home.”
LOL – thanks for the link. Yep – she bought one, now she just needs to use it!
I’m taking a vacation day today. It’s a start to get used to taking time out for myself. Just one day won’t be enough, but it is a start! xx
I thought I might have sent it to you before when I mentioned I had one. It’s good to have, but word to the wise for Sprout … you still have to drive the car. My car will be 10 years old next month. I started my walking regimen in 2011. I thought it was great to WALK more miles in a year than DRIVE. In those days I only walked in the neighborhood or Council Point Park, never went to any other parks. When I started the blog I would say at the end of the year how many more miles I walked than drove. I thought that was cool. Then my car had an epic fail, on my 60th birthday, not six months after getting a new battery. The entire electrical system shut down. Part of the reason was I took the remote off the key ring because my neighbor hit his remote in the Winter with a heavy glove and it opened the trunk, his battery died and his car was full of snow when he went out the next day to go to work. So I just used the key to open the car door the entire Winter- no one else ever rides with me. When the mechanic came with the portable battery to charge the car, he asked me first for the remote … he clicked it a couple of times and the car came to life. He told me to “drive the hell out of this car or it would end up like the Regal” (I had it 21 years then it had bigtime electrical issues). So now I keep the remote inside in the living room; the garage is next to the living room. I “juice” the car every day and I now drive it as much as I can, considering I work from home.
Excellent advice, I shall share it with her! Thank you!
Meant to comment on the vacation day – yes, it is good to take one – we have slowed down considerable and my boss is getting ready to head on vacation – I have not pinned him down on how long — whatever. I finally said “be sure to tell me for the out-of-office message” but it would be nice if he said “check my voicemail and e-mails but take yourself a few long walks and don’t get back til later in the day” … but no. When I worked on site, I always took today, August 14th, off as a personal day. My mom’s birthday was 02/14 and mine was 04/14 – there were times we never got out for our respective birthdays due to the weather, so we always took 08/14 as a “double birthday” day if it feel on a workday. I miss just taking a personal day or a single day off. That’s why I’ve fallen so far behind inside/outside the house – I feel like I need to just get away from everything and so I cater to myself and reward myself a “me day” whenever I can. I sure have blinders on these days, especially this year.
That’s so sweet that you two did that special day together. I hope you find a way to take a day you need too!
I hope so too – my boss left at 3:00 p.m. for the Upper Peninsula, a 7-hour trip. He usually stays for at least a week, sometimes 10 days – this time only til Monday morning. I shall try to convince him otherwise.