Week 26

When I met my husband he drove a Monte Carlo. He drove that car until one day, he drove it to the top of the hill just shy of our mechanic's shop, and coasted it into the parking lot, where the engine block promptly broke in half. No lie. His next car was a Grand Prix, which he drove until it needed $4K worth of engine work which wasn't worth doing.  Seeing his frustration, I told him I was going to Walmart and drove his car to the dealership instead.  He called two hours later to see where I was, and I told him he should probably get over here as he was buying a new truck. He came and drove off the lot in his new to him Toyota Tundra.

I mention this because he drives his vehicles into the ground.  The Tundra has long been paid for and only has 130K miles on it, so God willing, it has a long way to go still.  Sadly, having come off the Vineyard Island, the bumper had no life left in it.  The rust had eaten two holes in either side and recently it had started to eat it's way through the top. 

It's upside down in this picture, but you get the idea. It was rough.  So, for his birthday, I bought a new one.  On Sunday, we installed it. Or I should say my mechanical guru of a nephew installed it, as he was the one on the ground getting rust all over him, and the Hubs and Oldest just made sure it didn't fall on him. We've never towed anything, so we got rid of the tow hitch as well. Halfway in, my nephew mumbled something about maybe we should have watched a Youtube video beforehand, but nonetheless, I think it turned out as expected.

It took about two hours, and unlike last year's birthday gift of the shed that took 4 months to complete, he had this gift installed in two weeks. There was also talk amongst them about buffing out the paint and headlights, but that's a project for another day.

Speaking of paint, while I was at Restore (the Habitat for Humanity's resale shop) getting the vanity for the half bath, I noticed they had recycled paint. I hate painting, so I've become quite the paint snob, only buying the good stuff so I can do as minimal coats as possible. However, the laundry/bath downstairs is a small room and I didn't want to spend $90 for something no one but us will ever see, so I decided to take a chance. 

The company they get the recycled paint from is a women owned company about 20 minutes away from the store.  They get corporate donations, and create custom colors, reusing paint that would otherwise be disposed of.  They have about 20 stock colors, so if you're not super picky about a shade, you can usually find what you need.  I wanted a soft gray, and I jumped in with both feet over the weekend. 

It's as good as the expensive stuff, has no odor, and only took two coats on unprimed drywall!  All that for the bargain price of $23!!! And that sign I made from stuff I had hanging around the craft room for years, so I guess that was a bargain too.

Let's see what else happened? Walls are up and the layout has been fully established for the toilet/sink placement as you can see. I am slowly working on some board and batten removable panels for pipes we need access to on occasion.  Next thing to purchase is the toilet, which despite my best efforts, I can't find for less than $650, so that's gonna be a bit.  Since we're expecting rain and the paint is done now, I think the floor is the plan for the fourth since not much of anything else will be happening.

Oldest is home for half a week.  He's been getting back into playing Magic and he and his brother are getting along really well. He graduates in 6 weeks and then he's remotely earing his Masters in Structural Engineering from home. Lord help me, I have no idea where we're going to put all his stuff. Youngest is working two jobs now, rarely scoring a day off from both. His plan is to see where he lands for a mortgage in December, and then he/we will start looking for a place of his own. 

Today is the third of July which is a HUGE event here.  The fireworks have been going off nonstop, and the road is packed with cars lately.  Getting through town takes three times as long as it should. And in two days it will all be over.  

The four-legged kids are also getting along lately, so I'll leave you with this one last gratuitous pic....

"Come on... Get up!!!  There's mayhem to make!"