Wheels

 

Lordy, this row of dominos!

After months of putting it off, I brought my car back to the Good tire place. The driver's side front tire kept losing just a few pounds of pressure. The warning light would come on the dash almost weekly.  Jake said that at that slow rate it was not the tire, but most likely the valve itself. 

I'm seen promptly at the appointed time. I'm watching through the glass as the mechanic took off the tire and dismounted it from the rim. He frowned and rolled it to the manager who rolled it out to me. No excessive wear but there was a deep fissure in the sidewall that followed the curve of the wheel. Dry rot he said. Old age. No surprise, the front tires were 6 years old. I bought new ones for the rear just pre-Covid.  New front boots for baby, 256$. 

I took him out on the interstate to feel it. Magic Carpet time! There is nothing like the feel of driving on new tires. No more dipping into turns. Faster! I didn't even look at the dash, just drove as fast as I dared and ran out of road pretty quick. Took the exit ramp like Daytona and braked to sane and civilized for the merge. Cheap thrills are the best and hard to come by these days.

There was a muffled clunk from the rear as if I'd picked up a clod of mud that plastered itself up inside the wheel well. Didn't think much of it. A few miles down the road, I was hearing an odd rumble when I applied the brakes, which worked as accustomed, but the sound got louder as I got closer to home. Not a good sound. 

Jake came with Charlie after school to look into the trouble. There was plenty. I needed new brake pads, both rotors,  and a set of brake calipers (that was the clunk). All of this, about 400$ in parts, completely coincidental to the tire thing.  He won't have the two hours of daylight and time until tomorrow and I won't let him work if it's raining. Sunday should be sunny and 60 here, so here I am, nowhere to go and no way to get there, even if I was so inclined. 

There will be some miles come Sunday.

parking a project

 

"Undertow" 2020  (to be continued)

Tarot card of the day: Death. Change is here for the best. Difficult, but necessary.

This piece has been an exercise in self-indulgence from the beginning. From indiscriminate choices of cloth (each piece a treasure), to the repetition of favorite stitches, and worse, the unwillingness to see, even look at the whole because I already knew the design flaws were many.

It's very needy, but I'm not seeing any solutions, so I'm going to park it deep in the closet and attend to the other things that need my full attention. 

I remind myself that "Revisions"- now serving as the backdrop for my header- was a disaster when I nearly dismembered it and made it "go dark" into the depths of the closet for years.

All things in their own time.

Hearts and Stuff

On a happier note, Meet Cute Press took wing earlier today, Valentine's edition. Something light and fun. 

I have a short contribution. Maybe a couple of brand new troublemakers in  Pillow Talk. 

I feel like I'm sneaking up on my new, writer self. Baby steps, but steppin'.

The week that was

 

This is a fairly accurate representation of the mood of the entire week. Damp, cold, and strange. Deadlines and distractions.

Dr. Mudd, you may stand down. Infamy has a new name. trump.

The impeachment was cathartic, if unsuccessful. I couldn't help but wonder at the gentility of the process, and the great sincerity and skills brought by the House managers, Jamie Raskin in particular. 

Once again, the Senate showed itself to be in thrall to the well of poison presided over by the former and forever disgraced, president.

Now, we'll see what his Clown Car lawyers will do in a real court of law. Georgia and New York, draw straws. And the civil suits brought by the victims of the insurrection will pick what's left of his bones.

The only way the Republican party can save itself from this contamination is to repudiate him and his supporters. I plan on supporting anyone who runs against any of the cowardly scum who voted to acquit. Shame. 

In local news, THIS is not my cat, despite the fact that he nearly knocked me down the front steps when I got home from the doctors. He bolted OUT of the cat flap and flashed past me. 

I opened the door to find my entire feline trio in the living room, all big-eyed, going, "Me? I didn't invite him in, but he is pretty handsome, doncha think?"

day two

 I spent the better part of yesterday learning a new cell phone. Turns out there's a serious learning chasm between LG2 and LG6. I'm a long way from the finer points, especially with the camera, but time and practice will pay off.  The phone beeps and chirps for reasons still not clear and for no reason, Google chides me to be more specific about why I'm cursing. 

The impeachment proceedings have been riveting, compelling, and disturbing. I don't know if there was any defense presentation today. After yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that that clown car was last seen driving into the Potomac River. Chances are real good, he's going to stiff them. I would. But, in the face of the evidence presented (so far) by the prosecution, there is no defense. 

The disturbing part? There will be those who will vote to acquit him and millions of Americans who agree with that. Many of the faithful, those who have been arrested for their actions on January 6 are already realizing how they've been used and tossed aside. 

Are there enough decent men and women in the GOP to convict him? That remains to be seen. 

Later, I was relieved to turn off all devices and spend some good time with my copirate. I picked him up from school early and we took a picnic in the park. A fine day. Afterward, I returned to the horror show.

And now, I'm double-timing it to get the real work done. Two big check-offs on the list tonight. 

This is temporary, but a necessary start. Using WYSIWYG web builders (what you see is what you get) would be a whole lot easier if I was not inclined to tinker with the coding that I learned before such things existed.  It's much like Jenga - touch one thing wrong and CRASH!

I can feel my brain grooves flexing.