Mountain views

What a week...

August has started with a BANG. It has been spectacular. So many things have happened/gone wrong all in this week. At least if something major is going to happen, I'd like to spread it out a little. But no such luck.

It started on the way back home from Nashville this weekend. About an hour from home, my AC went out in my car. At first, I thought it was just my imagination - just the afternoon sun warming the car. But then I felt the the hot air blowing out of the vents. I had to mentally encourage myself - counting each mile. The dog panted, and I took ice packs out of the cooler that I had (thankfully) on the seat beside me and put them on my lap. By the time the dog and I got home, I was sweating bullets and she was panting constantly. It was so much cooler outside in the summer heat than it had been in the car.

My husband got a crack in his windshield - this weekend - on his road trip that he took. A rock hit it on the interstate, but the crack didn't show up until Sunday night. By Monday, it had expanded across the driver's side.

Monday morning, my husband's garage door started acting weird. It will open, but then when it gets all the way down and you think that it's closed, it goes back up. Oh, and when it get to the bottom, it makes this really loud grinding noise right before it goes up. So the temporary solution is to stomp on it when it gets down to the bottom. So that will have to be fixed.

Tuesday morning, the dog went into my closet and went crazy underneath the shelves. I looked around to see what was making her sniff and get really excited. I opened the drawer and was horrified. There was mouse poo in there. Many little poos. Then I saw poo on this shelf, and that shelf. I freaked out.

And remembered something that had happened last Thursday. I was bringing a bag up from downstairs for my trip and something ran down the stairs past me. A fleeting thought was that it was a mouse, but I thought - nah, that's crazy. So I convinced myself that it was a roach (like that was any better). Oh and when it ran past me, I screamed so loud and so much - like a little baby!!

So I knew that we had a mouse in the house - or mice. So I called the bug guy. He's been with us for a while - knows us and is really nice. He met me at the house about an hour after I called. And he set glue traps out - everywhere. There was more poo than I thought there had been. He said that the mouse is super happy where he is. So now my closet smells like peanut butter mouse glue traps. Yea.

And after I went back to work, I touched the computer mouse - it somehow had green ink all over it and I got covered. Not a good mouse day.

Wednesday, I took my car to the local repair shop for them to fix the air conditioning. But after they tested it, they couldn't fix it. The main computer in the car that runs everything is faulty and has to be replaced by the dealership. (which our local dealership service centers have gone out of business because of bankruptcy). The dealer has to replace the computer because they are the only ones that can program it. Nice. So we have to drive a ways to get to someone that can maybe fix it.

So as I drove home after picking up the unfixed car, my back window fell down. I tried to roll it up, but got the oh-so-familiar grinding noise. My car has had ridiculous problems with the windows falling down and not staying up. I took it back and the repair guy said that it was the regulator that had broken. So I have to get that fixed now too. I have it rigged up so that it stays for now with a cardboard "wedge" and duct tape.

Oh, also on Wednesday, we did a mouse trap check. We had one on one of the traps in my closet. Yuck! Ewwww! Gross! So with tongs and a garbage bag, we retrieved and disposed of the trap. It was not pretty, nor fun in any way. Guess that it's a good thing though.

New Gadget!

I'm so excited about my new - take anywhere - travel Keurig machine!

Under Attack

Daddy long-legged spiders.

These guys are everywhere. Outside, at least... For now...
Bug guy coming soon!

Grocery Store

I love going to the grocery store on Wednesday. Usually it's senior day, or at least the day that many seniors are there. Today as I was taking my cart back to the return "stall" in the parking lot, there was a cute old man returning his cart too. He said hey and that he hoped that I was having a good day. Then he thanked me for returning my cart and said that if he could return his cart - at age 92 - that EVERYONE should be able to - and NOT leave their cart in the middle of the lot.

I want to be a spunky as him when I am 92. I couldn't believe it when he said how old he was!!

McCafé

I had told a friend at work that if she ever wanted to go to McDonald's when we went to lunch, that I would love to get a McCafe. So we went last week.
When we first pulled up in the drive-thru, there were 2 lizards on the sign next to the car. That made us snicker. Then the “speaker” asked us if we would like to try an Iced Mocha today*. My friend said “hold on” and got my order. She ordered me the vanilla latte that I wanted, and the “speaker” told us: “The machine’s broken."
I had been waiting for that. I have been waiting for the moment that the coffee machine is going to be "broken” just like the ice cream machine is always “broken.” So today was the day. We started laughing a little harder. So, she placed her order, with me still giggling a little.
When we got in between the speaker and the first window (the “pay” window) and I looked at her and said, “If the machine is broken, then why did they ask us if we wanted to try an Iced Mocha?" That’s when we lost it. I had to look out the window, stifling laughter, shaking and tearing up a bit as she handed her card at the first window.
Then at the second window, she gave a muffled “thanks” while trying not to laugh. As we pulled off, we busted into loud laughter. It was really hard to breathe and we were doubled over in pain at lunch. It just struck us as so funny. We pretty much laughed for the rest of the day.

*I was told later that message we heard when we pulled up is automated. But it still is funny to me! And maybe they should either change the message or fix the machine.

And with the way they are advertising all the time for these coffee drinks, they better fix the coffee machine. These drinks are SO GOOD! Better and cheaper than the iced drinks I've had from Starbucks. The hot ones remind me of a great thing I had from Tim Horton's in upstate New York. I will be getting the Iced Coffee and Lattes from McDonald's for the rest of the summer! Just probably not from that particular McD's!

Favorite that I've found so far: Large (unfinishable by even ME!) Iced Coffee, regular flavor!

Stay-Cation

For the Fourth of July weekend, we did not go anywhere. No trips to the beach or the mountains. And literally, we didn't go ANYWHERE. We didn't leave the house.

It was a weekend full of laziness and fun! The activities that were planned were reading, lounging in the hammock, board games, card games and watching movies. And the food - total junk-fest! Totinos, Cool Ranch Doritos, Manwich, hot dogs, ice cream and a wonderfully good thing called smoreos*.

*The Smoreo = An oreo, with a piece of a hershey bar on one half (with the cream) while the other half is in the oven with the marshmellow toasting. Then put them together - and yum! And mess! But so good!