I took no photos this week! Mostly because it was a very quiet week - which I NEEDED!
Elise came for dinner on Sunday since she was still in town from the trivia night with the Southerlands the night before. I fixed ribs and did it better the second time. Lower oven temperature and slower cooking time. We have two more racks left for continued practice. (we got the ribs from Elise. HyVee had marked them down to a ridiculously good price. It is nice to have someone who works in a meat department. Although Elise just started a long-term sub job as the media specialist at West Middle School and we are all hoping this might open some doors for a permanent position with Columbia Public Schools. If that is the case, bye bye HyVee meat department)
Monday we took the Kia to have a routine oil change. Although, with as much oil as we have to add on a regular basis, the oil inside was not really that old! The "check engine" light had also recently come on so we wanted them to address that, too. Temperatures got into the 70's and I took advantage of the lovely weather and picked up mulch and dirt from the mulch site.
Tuesday the car was still in the shop. Our service rep. didn't tell us that when a diagnostic was needed, there was a 24 -48 hour turn-around. Good thing we have two cars! We went to the temple in the morning as usual and I had orchestra that night as usual. Weather turned cold and cloudy and rainy and it stayed that way the rest of the week. At the end of the day, we finally heard back from Kia - because of so much oil consumption, it caused the failing of our catalytic converter and to replace it would cost almost $2000!!! Oh, and our warranty doesn't cover it! We did not approve the repairs at that time since it was the end of the day. (and we were in shock)
Wednesday morning, before we went grocery shopping, we stopped at the Kia place to discuss things with Alex, the service rep. He pulled up all our paperwork from the time we bought the car and started taking it to them (less than a year) and he admitted that every time we brought it in for an oil change, we mentioned the oil consumption. He showed us the things they did to try to solve that problem. But, clearly, the problem wasn't solved and now the bad catalytic converter. He said he would check with his manager to see if Suntrup Auto would pay for the repair and we left it at that. He also said that we could still drive with a failing catalytic converter. We waited all day for word back from Alex but heard nothing.
Thursday we again heard nothing all day from Kia. But, we were not going to let that stop us from using a gift card that Kirsti gave to Steve for a movie theater experience. It was to a place that also offered food so we watched the newest Ant Man and the Wasp movie and split a gluten-free pizza while we did so. Food was delicious. The movie was fun.
Friday we finally got the word that Suntrup Kia would NOT pay for a new catalytic converter. By this time, after four days to consider our options, we decided to just pay for the oil change and the diagnostic and see if the oil consumption problem has been fixed for good. NOT holding our breaths on that one. IF it is solved, we will see what Bates Auto down the street will charge for a new catalytic converter. But, during all of this, we will also do some research on used cars and also consider trading the Kia in for a different car. So annoying! Another annoying event was my sewing machine. I sew almost every day - Monday through Friday - during Jeopardy. I make wheel chair bags and food bags these days. Days for Girls went on hiatus during Covid and the local group has not called me with needs ever since. Anyway, early in the week, it was beginning to catch on the lower stitches so I thought that maybe it needed to be cleaned and oiled. But, as I was trying to do that, a part fell off and I didn't know how to replace it. So, I found a sewing machine repair place close to Suntrup Kia and we dropped it off before we picked up the car Friday afternoon. The woman at the counter was quite charmed by my fifty-year old sewing machine - two toned (turquoise and white) with all metal parts and no bells and whistles. She said that because it is so "simple", it shouldn't take long to be cleaned and repaired. On a happy note, Beckie joined us for lunch on Friday and we had a nice visit. Sally and Linus were thrilled to have her there. That evening, we watched "Flower Drum Song". My sister Juli and my high school friend, Susan Lyon, will remember Scotscapades which is the only time I had any acquaintance with this lesser-known Roger's and Hammerstein musical. After watching it, there is a reason it is lesser-known. Most of the songs are fairly forgettable and the most memorable one - "I Enjoy Being A Girl" - is pretty politically incorrect. In fact, while the story line might be an accurate depiction of the Chinese-American culture in San Francisco in the mid-twentieth century, it could also be construed as politically incorrect by today's standards. Kudos, though, for having an all-Asian cast.
Yesterday we helped with the Concordia cemetery spring clean up. So many branches and limbs fall over the winter and they need to be gathered so the mowers can do their job. We brought our huge green yard bag and filled it twice. Rather than dumping it in the large dumpster they had (and that was almost full), we drove the bags home and emptied them to the side of our driveway for firepit wood. We only worked for an hour and a half but it was surprisingly tiring. I suppose my getting into the bag several times and jumping up and down on the sticks and branches to compact them down might have had something to do with my fatigue. The rest of the day was just puttering at home. I finally tallied up sums (my music studio income, our medical receipts, charitable donations, etc) for income taxes. I baked three gluten-free pie crusts and made a strawberry pie for Sunday dessert. I cut Steve's hair. And, we watched an episode of "Chuck" in the evening before turning our clocks forward and heading to an early bed.
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