Brakes

So I mentioned in a previous post that things have just been a little rough lately.  I am certain it really wasn't more rough than every family.  But it just seemed like it was a lot all at once.

It's the small things that add up.  Here are the highlights:

-Work as been crazy busy for both me and Walt Kowalski. I usually take a day and go to the store at lunch, but when work is too busy, I cut my lunch short and skip the store.  I don't like to do that, but it happens. But that means no food at the Cat Ranch.
-The evenings after work have been full of work on the Front House.
-I have been a slacker making dinner, because I haven't been to the grocery store.  Thank goodness for meals I have prepared in advance and frozen. But you just can't freeze a salad.
    (WK: Make it easy tonight. Let's just have a salad. )
    (Me: We have no lettuce.)
    (WK: Nachos?)
    (Me: No cheese No lettuce.  No chips.)
    (WK: Shrimpy pasta?)
    (Me: No shrimp. No Angel hair pasta.)
    (WK: What kind of house are we living in?!?)
-I have neglected my chores at the Cat Ranch, there is laundry and cat fur and things that need put away because we come home and plop things down, eat, shower, and go to bed. 
-The shelf in the glasses cupboard slipped off the plastic clip and fell. Luckily, a tall glass on the shelf below held the shelf above, so the glasses didn't crash and break. Of course it happened in the middle of the night. I heard the clunk, but couldn't find it. I didn't sleep well the rest of the night. We bought new clips, but they weren't large enough to fit securely. I don't want to put anything away until the shelf is secure and clean. So there are glasses sitting everywhere. In the microwave, in the sink, in the dishwasher, in the stove, on the counter.
-The other morning I shuffled out to the kitchen in the dark and on the way I kicked something hard.  I thought it was a magnet that fell off the fridge, but when I turned the light on I found:

A glass coffee carafe has no chance in a porcelain floor. I must not have had it locked in securely when I made coffee the night before and a four-footed-fur must have jumped down from on top of the fridge and knocked it off the counter.

I love running the sweeper at 4:55am.  This coffee pot was only 2 weeks old!  Luckily, the old coffee pot was still in the donate box in the basement. I dragged it out, washed it up and Walt Kowalski had coffee. 

That same morning, I grabbed my bag to go to work only to find that I didn't screw the lid securely onto my water bottle and all of the papers in my bag were soaking wet.  The electric bill is now attached to the gas bill attached to the cable bill.  Thank goodness I pay them online.

But the thing that really pushed me over the edge was coming home from work Friday night. I was  half way home, stopped at red light just down a big hill when all of the lights on my dash flashed, the brake light stayed on, and Little Red jerked. At the next red light I had to press the brakes EXTRA hard to make the car stop.  It stopped, but it took twice the distance as normal! The back bumper of the car in front of me approached way too fast.

Heart racing.  Home is still 20 minutes away.

A panicked call to Walt Kowalski and a stop at the auto parts store for brake fluid that leaked out on to the ground, told me I had brake issues.  We could tow it, but it was now after 5pm on a Friday night and it would be towed to a garage that was closed until Monday morning.

Luckily, the rest of the way home was relatively flat and through construction zones, so I could go slow and put on my flashers when needed. I also had my hand brake if I really needed it. 

The problem with going slow on the highway is that it gives other cars the opportunity to pull out.  Especially in the construction zone. 

I limped my way home to a friend's garage and borrowed Pap's car.  At least I can get to work on Monday while the brakes are getting fixed.  But on the way home from Pap's house, the same thing happened to his car.  All of the lights on the dash flashed, the brake light came on and the brakes were smooshy when pressed.  THE SAME THING HAPPENED IN A SECOND CAR!!! (Had both cars been parked at the same house I would think someone tampered with the brakes.)

I switched out Pap's car for his truck and waited to hear the news about Little Red.

There was good news and bad news. The brake line to the rear brakes was broken.  The reason the brake line was broken is because the frame cracked and was getting worse. The brakes could be fixed, but it wasn't worth fixing the frame on a 16 year-old vehicle with so many miles.

"Drive it carefully. Don't hit too many bumps." was the instructions from the mechanic and Pap. "Don't go over train tracks." Uh, we have to go over train tracks to leave here!

"Don't drive it all." was Walt Kowalski's plan.  He let me drive Big Red and he drove Little Red to work.

I knew a new car was in my future.  Near future. I just didn't think it was in this near of the future. I really didn't want two car payments at the same time. I also didn't have the energy to go car shopping.

Could someone just go pick one out for me?

I knew what I wanted.  We drove a nice model on vacation. I had a few requirements. Good gas mileage. Good traction for winter driving. And the most important feature was that Walt Kowalski had to fit in it comfortably.  He was never comfortable in Little Red.  His knees were always at his chin. 

Here she is:

I like it.  In Little Red, I would have to fill up the tank every 4 days.  Now I get 6 days and some weekend errands before filling up. It is quiet and smooth. 

The rough patch has passed.