Cheryl really is first.
I have chatted with Peter on yesterday’s thread, but it doesn’t count.
Elvera has been insisting on “going home” today. She often does that, but she can’t be satisfied with staying here with me today.
I ask where “home” is. She says the first driveway off the beltway.
We have never lived in a place like that. But the clue is that she’s thinking of Annandale, Va.
That is the place where we lived from 1972 until 2001. It was the best years of our lives. We were financially secure, We raised Chuck there and were involved on church and other activities.
She just said, “Maybe I’ll stay here with you”
I said, Good.
I watched the debate until 10:00. Then gave up and went to bed.
It wasn’t really a debate. Just two guys hollering at each other.
But I’m voting for Trump regardless of what he does.
I’ve said a dozen times before.
Trump’s mouth runs ahead of his brain.
But I think he’s doing a good job under the circumstances.
I will vote for him again.
The header is photographed “13 ways to photograph a sunflower.” One of my groups on Flickr has several photography challenges. Each month it has a selection of 10 photos to get over the course of the month (e.g., something red, a reflection, a pair of something), and each week it has a theme (usually a photo technique) that photographers are supposed to practice that week and post the results to the group.
A couple of months ago I suggested that for the weekly theme, photographers choose a single subject and photograph it with three different photography styles (styles of their own choosing). A moderator took my suggestion and increased it; next month instead of having ten different subjects to photograph, we were supposed to take one object (our choice of subject) and photograph it not in three ways, but ten (the monthly theme instead of the weekly one).
I ended up doing two “sets” of them (with that moderator’s permission): a set of photos of green herons, and this one of the flowers from a cluster of wild sunflowers. I could only post ten of the thirteen shots to the group, but it needed thirteen to fill the collage.
So here are the thirteen photo styles. In the center, it’s a limited depth of field on a flower just beginning to bloom. Notice that the background is solid green because the focus is just on this one flower and the background is out of focus. By the way, note that most of these photos were shot as rectangles, but the collage maker only takes a “square” portion, so some shots won’t show quite as photographed.
Around the outside, starting at the top left corner and moving clockwise: (1) Fill-the-frame (a close-up in which the subject takes up the whole photo area). (2) Collage; here I used the “creative shot” mode on my camera, which takes a burst of photos with different characteristics, zooming in for some, and ending up with all different colors and photo shapes; I put the resulting photos into a different collage maker, and this is the result, though in this montage it is cut off at the edges since the original collage wasn’t a square shape. (3) Black-and-white. Note that none of the other shots shown is taken from the shots in the mini collage in #2, but I created this shot from a new photo. (4) First morning light. (5) From beneath, looking up. (6) Macro. This is sort of the same result as #1, but notice that in this instance, I am photographing an insect (a caterpillar) that is on the flower. This caterpillar had “glued” flower petals over itself to hide on the petals, and so I pulled the petals away and photographed the insect. (7) “Framed.” In this style, something within the photo (often tree branches, but here two stems) comes around the edges of the main object as a natural frame. (8) A flower bud. (9) A shot from farther away (across the street). (10) Wabi-sabi. This is a Japanese term that’s popular in nature photography; in general, it is seeing the beauty in imperfection or decay. (11) From the back. (12) Rule of odds. One of the “rules” of interesting photography is that there is more interest and creativity in a photo with an odd number of subjects. I don’t really “agree” with the rule on principle (at least with living objects, two–a pair or a mother and child–can be every bit as interesting as an odd number), but here I have chosen to photograph a full flower and two buds for a total of three subjects. Number 13 of course I have already covered, the flower in the center.
I watched the debate, or listened to it while cringing and looking at a puzzle on my phone. I begged Mr. P to turn it off. It didn’t change my mind on who I will vote for but I sure don’t like either of them and am sad that this is the best we could do as a country.
Agree, DJ.
I knew Art would not want to watch it. He agreed that we would watch the debate since I was interested in it. Partially into the first subject I said I had seen what it would be and we could watch what he wanted to watch. He changed over to the Hallmark mystery movie. Hallmark knows how to do pleasant civil discourse.
The institutions have spent a whole lot of money to set up for the debates in the future. They certainly should take place. I think the Vice Presidential debate will be significant if there is anyone who is on the fence left. I am sure someone will be called a misogynistic racist in that one. It is a sad time in our country.
It is also a good reminder to review what God’s purpose for government is and to pray for that in our country.
Good morning. I listened to the debate with a little watching. It did not bother me at all. It seemed like so much of what I have been hearing lately. I thought Trump did a better job at controlling his tongue than in the past, that is what I have been praying for him. I thought Biden did okay, though husband noticed him tugging at his ear once and the camera quickly left that view.
Morning…Happy flowers!! Love those Cheryl!
During the “debate” I kept waiting for Joe to shout “ Wa’d you say….I can’t hear you” to his earpiece 😂 Disaster…. 😞
I was “cut loose” from PT this morning, we’ve come to the end of that road, barring a flare up later. He said he was 70-30% ok will letting me take it from here, with the focus on strengthening those upper leg muscles and continuing with a few of the exercises. Besides, he also mentioned the insurance cap for the visits was up, so that pretty much decided that anyway.
He wrote a note w/instructions and included his email in case I have any questions of concerns.
After so many months, it feels strange (my cousin also was recently cut loose from her PT for a back issue and said she was really sad about leaving). Can’t say I feel that bad, but it is a little bittersweet. I’m so grateful to those guys and esp to my therapist who was patient and knowledgable and so persistent to get me past the knee crisis. I could barely walk when I arrived there, and that pretty much went on for most of the summer until August-September, I’d say.
I still have some knee pain walking the dogs, especially on even slight declines and inclines, but I can pretty much walk at a normal pace now and the pain is more of an annoyance than a real walk-killer. Thank you, Lord. I really was afraid I’d not ever be able to walk normally again (although I do wonder if this knee will kick up now and again, the soft tissue damage doesn’t really “heal,” but it hopefully stops hurting).
I also need to remind myself to get up from my desk more often, I tend to get into a work “zone” with writing/typing/phone interviews (while typing notes) and then I realize 2-3 hours have gone by and I haven’t even stood up. Then the knee and leg are really stiff.
++++++++++++++
Meanwhile, I’ll have to find a car fairly quickly and figure that all out, the insurance co is not able to fix mine under the cap for my car (working against me, of course, was the age of the Jeep — 12 years — which affected its value).
So today I need to gather up the maintenance records (have to do that in person from 2 shops) to see if any of that will help give me an extra $!00 – $200 on the payout — I won’t know what that is until later this week, the insurance company hasn’t received the repair shop’s report yet, at least as of yesterday they hadn’t. But I’m not expecting a big check.
So R.I.P Jeep. 😦 Sniff. I have to go get a couple more things out of it also this week and that’ll be our final goodbye. I loved that car. Seriously, I get so attached to all my cars, I always shed a few tears when it’s time for a change. I typically keep all of them for a very long time.
I’m looking at a used “twin” of my ’07 Jeep that’s for sale in Santa Monica (at a VW dealer) that looks clean, has a carFax report attached, 2 prior owners, and would be probably the most emotionally and financially the easiest way to go on the fly like this.
But I’ll be poking around online for the next few days, to get a feel for what else is out there, too.
I think I just want to “replace” the Jeep with something similar (and thus familiar) and be done with it for now, with as little hassle and cost as possible. I only have the rental for 22 days and I’ve used up a week of that already.
We had a nice civil ladies’ Bible study this morning. Our leader has taken leave of us due to her in-laws health issues. We had not quite made it through Daniel but the competent person who stepped up to teach used a study she had done by Priscilla Shirer about Identity in Christ. It was very good.
I have said it in the past to Art, to my Democrat friend Karen, and maybe here that the Democrats brought Donald Trump onto themselves. He was the only one who spoke their language and had even been one of them. I appreciate his accomplishments that have been more than anyone else in that position except for maybe Reagan. Democrats have long expressed themselves with anger, and Trump is up for giving them a taste of their own hot air.
How much of your time and physical energy will you spend to “possibly” net $100-200?
You might better spend that time exploring who might have a reasonably priced used car that would serve your needs into the future.
Remember how it was becoming difficult for one of your aging dogs getting up so high to get into the car?
What about your back?
Grieve, yes. An accident is more than physical car damage. You have had, and continue having, a lot of emotional uncertainty in the last few years.
I’d chat with your pastor or elder, or a car salesman in your church. Explain you needs and desires and ask if they have any ideas or know someone with a car for sale.
Let’s ask God to supply your need, DJ. Let’s ask the God who loves you to ease this burden.
You’re not alone. We’ve got people here who have prayed the wind to a zephyr. A car should be relatively simple.
But, I’d say, as much as possible, present the need and then rest a day or two to see what He can pull out of a . . . Garage.
For a bit there I thought I was on the Politics Thread 🙂
I am home from the babies’ shower. So much love and so many cute things. DIL sent me the ultrasound pictures yesterday and there was one of four tiny feet! So precious. So far, all are healthy and growing well. I felt Baby B kick Monday night.
I am so thankful for all the friends and family that live so close to son and DIL. DIL’s father is helping rebuild their basement rooms right now and her sisters’ have been ever so helpful, along with her mom, who is a sweetheart. We were able to install a dimmer switch in the babies’ room for them, but since husband was working the whole time and I was helping decorate and clean up, we weren’t able to do much more.
I know someone who went from driving a Smart Car to a Humvee for that reason, DJ. She had been a school bus driver so had experience driving BIG vehicles.
I walked out of the ER after our horrible accident thinking, “I want a Volvo.”
We investigated, prayed, and in a serious sequence of odd events, found a used Volvo wagon with more features than we needed for under our target price.
We also could have bought two other new cars for same price.
I called the insurance company, explained our situation with 3 choices, and they said immediately, “buy the Volvo.”
3 years old, it had 69K miles on it. But, I felt safe.
We drove it effortlessly for 100Kmiles until we had too many kids to fit in it comfortably. I still miss that station wagon.
There is an emotional component, but, cars are so much safer now than 13 years ago.
Consider a CRV. I’m on my second since 2005. Safer than a Jeep.
I am loving my Subaru Forester. The height is just right for me. I don’t have to climb or to lower myself into it. The safety features are great and I am getting 29.4 mpg. This week I discovered how nice the headlights are. They point forward of course and also go out to the side. Nice for all the deer that tend to be out there.
I, of course, love our Subaru Outback. A little lower than the Jeep but still very safe. Plus, they advertised with border collies and have a stuffed one at the dealership 🙂
Yeah, I’d love a Subaru but always felt they were out of my price range, even used (unless relatively high mileage). But I am checking out other makes so will look into those as well.
And I think all SUVs are being lowered now due to tip-over issues. But you do wind up missing that view — my cousin bought a new subaru a couple years ago and was disappointed at how low it sat compared to her earlier SUV.
… so we both considered being a bit higher in a car improved safety and visibility.
A Hummer might work though 🙂 What I loved about the Liberty (aside from the cuteness) was it was smallish, mid-sized but narrow so it easily fit into compact parking spaces. It was an SUV without some of the drawbacks of a “big” car.
DJ, I never thought of you in my mind’s eye as being short. How tall (or short) are you? I am 5’6″ and thought you would be around that height. But perhaps in CA like TX the average height is taller so that is considered short.
Dj we feel safer in an suv too. When we drove to KY last week we took the Tundra though. Higher up, more room in the front and the seats are more comfortable than the Forrester. We just felt safer even though the gas mileage was not as good as the Subaru. (Plus Paul hauled his bike across country so that he could ride with nephew!) I shall ask the Lord to provide just the right vehicle for you….
You may also check some of the car rental companies. Their cars are maintained, a little higher mileage, but nicely priced.
I have new car fever, but the cure is no car payment
Picked up all the maintenance paperwork at two shops, both said yeah, it can make a difference on what insurance companies will pay you. So that’s done.
I’m sort of old-school and love the older, more squared-off, classic SUV body designs, not fond of the newer ‘bubble’ shapes that slope at the back and look more like large-ish vans or wagons.
Toyota also makes a few SUVs that are popular, 4-runner and Pilot, though not sure those are still being produced. The new Rav4s don’t do a lot for me but they are supposed to be good cars.
It’s a picky girl/superficial “color” thing, but I hope to stay away from silver — though that might be hard. lol
2/3 of the cars on the road seem to be silver or some variation of silver nowadays.
We’re all white up here. Maybe the smaller than CRV Honda vehicle–fit? It may be too low to the ground for you, but the dogs could probably get in the back. Our 2005 has a squarish back and we gave it to our son. The current value is about $5K, but I bet you could get a slightly newer version for about $10K with the squarish back.
Obviously, I’m bullish on CRVs.
Off to play with Adorables. Wish me luck! I always seem to end up hurt despite singing the popular song, “Don’t hurt your grandmother!” 🙂
Our county has increased another twenty cases of covid in the past couple of days. Up from eleven. Hmmm. You don’t suppose the county fair last weekend had anything to do with it? Or all the 4H activities? No sign of masks or social distancing. I guess we wanted to catch up with the rest of the world.
Yes, CRVs have a ton of fans, I know. I’ll include them in the wider search maybe along with the VW SUVs, but I think those were expensive also and my old VW repair shop in town is now closed 😦
Right now, I just feel stressed and tired, I really don’t want to deal with any of it, period.
I have a headache and don’t really feel very good, but then it’s suddenly super hot here today so the heat may be playing a role in that.
I still need to go out and water both the back and front, I’m supposed to be drenching that pine tree 3 times a day so the treatments they bring will get into the tree; but with PT, the car chaos and now the heat, along with work, I just haven’t gotten to that chore at all.
I always wanted a white car and did get a white VW Jetta, new, back in 1994(?); sold that when I went for the Jeep in 2008. It had almost 200,000 miles on it, I sold it to a friend of my VW mechanic’s. Good car, so was the Jeep. But I was tired of white after that and loved the dark blue color on the Jeep.
I had one silver car and rather liked the color. As I recall it looked really pretty and shiny when clean, but it wasn’t obviously dirty when it was dirty. I rather lean toward basic white, though, if I can’t get emerald green. (Few pretty green cars are made, but that would be my first choice if one ever has a “choice” when buying a used car.) I am glad the extreme colors of a few years ago seem not to be around now, though. I’m actually wondering what happened to them, since cars tend to be on the road for a few years. Is the sort of person who would drive a charetreuse car because crazy colors are in style also the kind of person who would get a car painted when it is no longer in style?
I like the muted darker colors, esp on an SUV. But there are some really pretty neutral gray-greens and blues now. The problem with silver was it just seemed to become over-used, it really got to be just boring. Silver cars everywhere. White, I think, had the same problem earlier, but I enjoyed having my white Jetta for all those years. I was lucky that the Jeep, which was used, came in a color that I really liked and was very different from the white I was leaving behind.
Real Estate Guy called suggesting I fight the insurance co and just take my car as a salvage and get it fixed, but I don’t think that makes sense, really. He had a CRV that was hit and that’s what he did, but that was quite a while ago.
I’ll try to call my credit union and see if they can walk me through the prospective loan process and give me some guidance, it’s been a while since I’ve had to do any of this.
DJ – I’m sorry you have all this rigmarole to deal with on top of the trauma of the accident itself. When I had so many practical paperwork-type of things and phone calls and whatnot that I had to deal with after Hubby’s death, I. Just. Didn’t. Want. To.
I hope you can take a day or two or three to rest and pray. May God refresh your heart and mind, and help you through all of this.
I got out and watered in the back and front, made it over to the neighbors’ to feed the fish and pick up their mail, talked to Carol.
It’s very strange out, it’s been hot (90s) and windy all day — and tonight is the same, just that warm wind blowing through the darkness. I even heard a couple owls hooting up in the other neighbor’s big tree next to the street in front of our houses. October is upon us (but I sure hope these temps cool off — they’re supposed to by the weekend).
It’ll be a cool shower for me tonight with fans going full speed.
I have a headache also, but I think it’s part of the car anxiety.
Carol said something interesting, she’s wondering what people’s family Christmas newsletters will look like this year.
Could be a good pandemic/holiday-theme story for someone on our staff.
I also told her I’d try to reach out to the social worker where she is to see if we can get an update or status on her physical therapy. I know it’s a long process (from personal experience now!), but it seems like they’re not getting her even close to getting up out of bed and it’s been a long time. I also asked her if she’s supposed to be doing some “homework” exercises and she said she can’t do them because she can’t take the covers off — because the door to their room is open and she’s in a gown that doesn’t cover her that well.
I walked the dogs after they wouldn’t let me get away with skipping it, way too much guilt. When my knee was so bad over the summer they got used to “no walks.” But now that they’ve started up again, they start dancing and panting and staring at me when it gets to be a certain time of night — when “it’s TIME!”
OK, so now I can take my cool shower and get ready for bed soon.
Wandering Views 
Hey, I get to be first!
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The debate in one tweet.
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Cheryl really is first.
I have chatted with Peter on yesterday’s thread, but it doesn’t count.
Elvera has been insisting on “going home” today. She often does that, but she can’t be satisfied with staying here with me today.
I ask where “home” is. She says the first driveway off the beltway.
We have never lived in a place like that. But the clue is that she’s thinking of Annandale, Va.
That is the place where we lived from 1972 until 2001. It was the best years of our lives. We were financially secure, We raised Chuck there and were involved on church and other activities.
She just said, “Maybe I’ll stay here with you”
I said, Good.
Thanks Mumsee
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I watched the debate until 10:00. Then gave up and went to bed.
It wasn’t really a debate. Just two guys hollering at each other.
But I’m voting for Trump regardless of what he does.
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I’ve said a dozen times before.
Trump’s mouth runs ahead of his brain.
But I think he’s doing a good job under the circumstances.
I will vote for him again.
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The header is photographed “13 ways to photograph a sunflower.” One of my groups on Flickr has several photography challenges. Each month it has a selection of 10 photos to get over the course of the month (e.g., something red, a reflection, a pair of something), and each week it has a theme (usually a photo technique) that photographers are supposed to practice that week and post the results to the group.
A couple of months ago I suggested that for the weekly theme, photographers choose a single subject and photograph it with three different photography styles (styles of their own choosing). A moderator took my suggestion and increased it; next month instead of having ten different subjects to photograph, we were supposed to take one object (our choice of subject) and photograph it not in three ways, but ten (the monthly theme instead of the weekly one).
I ended up doing two “sets” of them (with that moderator’s permission): a set of photos of green herons, and this one of the flowers from a cluster of wild sunflowers. I could only post ten of the thirteen shots to the group, but it needed thirteen to fill the collage.
So here are the thirteen photo styles. In the center, it’s a limited depth of field on a flower just beginning to bloom. Notice that the background is solid green because the focus is just on this one flower and the background is out of focus. By the way, note that most of these photos were shot as rectangles, but the collage maker only takes a “square” portion, so some shots won’t show quite as photographed.
Around the outside, starting at the top left corner and moving clockwise: (1) Fill-the-frame (a close-up in which the subject takes up the whole photo area). (2) Collage; here I used the “creative shot” mode on my camera, which takes a burst of photos with different characteristics, zooming in for some, and ending up with all different colors and photo shapes; I put the resulting photos into a different collage maker, and this is the result, though in this montage it is cut off at the edges since the original collage wasn’t a square shape. (3) Black-and-white. Note that none of the other shots shown is taken from the shots in the mini collage in #2, but I created this shot from a new photo. (4) First morning light. (5) From beneath, looking up. (6) Macro. This is sort of the same result as #1, but notice that in this instance, I am photographing an insect (a caterpillar) that is on the flower. This caterpillar had “glued” flower petals over itself to hide on the petals, and so I pulled the petals away and photographed the insect. (7) “Framed.” In this style, something within the photo (often tree branches, but here two stems) comes around the edges of the main object as a natural frame. (8) A flower bud. (9) A shot from farther away (across the street). (10) Wabi-sabi. This is a Japanese term that’s popular in nature photography; in general, it is seeing the beauty in imperfection or decay. (11) From the back. (12) Rule of odds. One of the “rules” of interesting photography is that there is more interest and creativity in a photo with an odd number of subjects. I don’t really “agree” with the rule on principle (at least with living objects, two–a pair or a mother and child–can be every bit as interesting as an odd number), but here I have chosen to photograph a full flower and two buds for a total of three subjects. Number 13 of course I have already covered, the flower in the center.
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I watched the debate, or listened to it while cringing and looking at a puzzle on my phone. I begged Mr. P to turn it off. It didn’t change my mind on who I will vote for but I sure don’t like either of them and am sad that this is the best we could do as a country.
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An early morning, I have PT in 90 minutes but have taken my shower and have plenty of time.
I went to bed late, I’ll have to catch up on some sleep tonight.
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Can we pay them to not have another debate? I think we’ve seen enough.
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Agree, DJ.
I knew Art would not want to watch it. He agreed that we would watch the debate since I was interested in it. Partially into the first subject I said I had seen what it would be and we could watch what he wanted to watch. He changed over to the Hallmark mystery movie. Hallmark knows how to do pleasant civil discourse.
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You don’t expect to have a civil debate between two men who physically dislike each other. It is not a physiological thing, it is a personal thing.
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Looks like all but the most strident partisans were just frustrated (or disgusted) by the spectacle. Sad.
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Have you read the New York Times recap this morning?
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The institutions have spent a whole lot of money to set up for the debates in the future. They certainly should take place. I think the Vice Presidential debate will be significant if there is anyone who is on the fence left. I am sure someone will be called a misogynistic racist in that one. It is a sad time in our country.
It is also a good reminder to review what God’s purpose for government is and to pray for that in our country.
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No, Kim, would you like to recap it for us?
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Never mind, Kim. That was interesting or something.
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Good morning. I listened to the debate with a little watching. It did not bother me at all. It seemed like so much of what I have been hearing lately. I thought Trump did a better job at controlling his tongue than in the past, that is what I have been praying for him. I thought Biden did okay, though husband noticed him tugging at his ear once and the camera quickly left that view.
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Morning…Happy flowers!! Love those Cheryl!
During the “debate” I kept waiting for Joe to shout “ Wa’d you say….I can’t hear you” to his earpiece 😂 Disaster…. 😞
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Politics is for comedic and entertainment purposes only. 🙂
All I know is if someone publicly called me a racist in front of millions, I probably wouldn’t be waiting until it was “my turn” to respond either.
Same goes for the shut up remark. It tends to have the opposite effect on me. I won’t. 🙂
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I was “cut loose” from PT this morning, we’ve come to the end of that road, barring a flare up later. He said he was 70-30% ok will letting me take it from here, with the focus on strengthening those upper leg muscles and continuing with a few of the exercises. Besides, he also mentioned the insurance cap for the visits was up, so that pretty much decided that anyway.
He wrote a note w/instructions and included his email in case I have any questions of concerns.
After so many months, it feels strange (my cousin also was recently cut loose from her PT for a back issue and said she was really sad about leaving). Can’t say I feel that bad, but it is a little bittersweet. I’m so grateful to those guys and esp to my therapist who was patient and knowledgable and so persistent to get me past the knee crisis. I could barely walk when I arrived there, and that pretty much went on for most of the summer until August-September, I’d say.
I still have some knee pain walking the dogs, especially on even slight declines and inclines, but I can pretty much walk at a normal pace now and the pain is more of an annoyance than a real walk-killer. Thank you, Lord. I really was afraid I’d not ever be able to walk normally again (although I do wonder if this knee will kick up now and again, the soft tissue damage doesn’t really “heal,” but it hopefully stops hurting).
I also need to remind myself to get up from my desk more often, I tend to get into a work “zone” with writing/typing/phone interviews (while typing notes) and then I realize 2-3 hours have gone by and I haven’t even stood up. Then the knee and leg are really stiff.
++++++++++++++
Meanwhile, I’ll have to find a car fairly quickly and figure that all out, the insurance co is not able to fix mine under the cap for my car (working against me, of course, was the age of the Jeep — 12 years — which affected its value).
So today I need to gather up the maintenance records (have to do that in person from 2 shops) to see if any of that will help give me an extra $!00 – $200 on the payout — I won’t know what that is until later this week, the insurance company hasn’t received the repair shop’s report yet, at least as of yesterday they hadn’t. But I’m not expecting a big check.
So R.I.P Jeep. 😦 Sniff. I have to go get a couple more things out of it also this week and that’ll be our final goodbye. I loved that car. Seriously, I get so attached to all my cars, I always shed a few tears when it’s time for a change. I typically keep all of them for a very long time.
I’m looking at a used “twin” of my ’07 Jeep that’s for sale in Santa Monica (at a VW dealer) that looks clean, has a carFax report attached, 2 prior owners, and would be probably the most emotionally and financially the easiest way to go on the fly like this.
But I’ll be poking around online for the next few days, to get a feel for what else is out there, too.
I think I just want to “replace” the Jeep with something similar (and thus familiar) and be done with it for now, with as little hassle and cost as possible. I only have the rental for 22 days and I’ve used up a week of that already.
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Watching the debate was annoying enough, now it looks like all of FB is “weighing in.” No thanks. Bye.
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We had a nice civil ladies’ Bible study this morning. Our leader has taken leave of us due to her in-laws health issues. We had not quite made it through Daniel but the competent person who stepped up to teach used a study she had done by Priscilla Shirer about Identity in Christ. It was very good.
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I have said it in the past to Art, to my Democrat friend Karen, and maybe here that the Democrats brought Donald Trump onto themselves. He was the only one who spoke their language and had even been one of them. I appreciate his accomplishments that have been more than anyone else in that position except for maybe Reagan. Democrats have long expressed themselves with anger, and Trump is up for giving them a taste of their own hot air.
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How much of your time and physical energy will you spend to “possibly” net $100-200?
You might better spend that time exploring who might have a reasonably priced used car that would serve your needs into the future.
Remember how it was becoming difficult for one of your aging dogs getting up so high to get into the car?
What about your back?
Grieve, yes. An accident is more than physical car damage. You have had, and continue having, a lot of emotional uncertainty in the last few years.
I’d chat with your pastor or elder, or a car salesman in your church. Explain you needs and desires and ask if they have any ideas or know someone with a car for sale.
Let’s ask God to supply your need, DJ. Let’s ask the God who loves you to ease this burden.
You’re not alone. We’ve got people here who have prayed the wind to a zephyr. A car should be relatively simple.
But, I’d say, as much as possible, present the need and then rest a day or two to see what He can pull out of a . . . Garage.
Xoxo
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For a bit there I thought I was on the Politics Thread 🙂
I am home from the babies’ shower. So much love and so many cute things. DIL sent me the ultrasound pictures yesterday and there was one of four tiny feet! So precious. So far, all are healthy and growing well. I felt Baby B kick Monday night.
I am so thankful for all the friends and family that live so close to son and DIL. DIL’s father is helping rebuild their basement rooms right now and her sisters’ have been ever so helpful, along with her mom, who is a sweetheart. We were able to install a dimmer switch in the babies’ room for them, but since husband was working the whole time and I was helping decorate and clean up, we weren’t able to do much more.
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Wise thoughts, Michelle.
And I came back to apologize for posting political thoughts here on this thread.
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Michelle, has much wisdom 🙂 I didn’t even think about the dogs getting in and out.
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I really like the security of an SUV, though, was thankful I was in one when that accident occurred.
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I know someone who went from driving a Smart Car to a Humvee for that reason, DJ. She had been a school bus driver so had experience driving BIG vehicles.
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I walked out of the ER after our horrible accident thinking, “I want a Volvo.”
We investigated, prayed, and in a serious sequence of odd events, found a used Volvo wagon with more features than we needed for under our target price.
We also could have bought two other new cars for same price.
I called the insurance company, explained our situation with 3 choices, and they said immediately, “buy the Volvo.”
3 years old, it had 69K miles on it. But, I felt safe.
We drove it effortlessly for 100Kmiles until we had too many kids to fit in it comfortably. I still miss that station wagon.
There is an emotional component, but, cars are so much safer now than 13 years ago.
Consider a CRV. I’m on my second since 2005. Safer than a Jeep.
Xoxo
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I know that, because safety and gas mileage are the first things I look at.
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I am loving my Subaru Forester. The height is just right for me. I don’t have to climb or to lower myself into it. The safety features are great and I am getting 29.4 mpg. This week I discovered how nice the headlights are. They point forward of course and also go out to the side. Nice for all the deer that tend to be out there.
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I, of course, love our Subaru Outback. A little lower than the Jeep but still very safe. Plus, they advertised with border collies and have a stuffed one at the dealership 🙂
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Can’t find the title to the Jeep, I think I may need to hand that over; maybe I can order a duplicate?
My file cabinet is not helpful, I have bills from the 1990s but can’t find important papers.
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Yeah, I’d love a Subaru but always felt they were out of my price range, even used (unless relatively high mileage). But I am checking out other makes so will look into those as well.
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And I think all SUVs are being lowered now due to tip-over issues. But you do wind up missing that view — my cousin bought a new subaru a couple years ago and was disappointed at how low it sat compared to her earlier SUV.
We’re both short. lol
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… so we both considered being a bit higher in a car improved safety and visibility.
A Hummer might work though 🙂 What I loved about the Liberty (aside from the cuteness) was it was smallish, mid-sized but narrow so it easily fit into compact parking spaces. It was an SUV without some of the drawbacks of a “big” car.
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Yet with the heft of a truck chassis.
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DJ, I never thought of you in my mind’s eye as being short. How tall (or short) are you? I am 5’6″ and thought you would be around that height. But perhaps in CA like TX the average height is taller so that is considered short.
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Dj we feel safer in an suv too. When we drove to KY last week we took the Tundra though. Higher up, more room in the front and the seats are more comfortable than the Forrester. We just felt safer even though the gas mileage was not as good as the Subaru. (Plus Paul hauled his bike across country so that he could ride with nephew!) I shall ask the Lord to provide just the right vehicle for you….
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You may also check some of the car rental companies. Their cars are maintained, a little higher mileage, but nicely priced.
I have new car fever, but the cure is no car payment
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Picked up all the maintenance paperwork at two shops, both said yeah, it can make a difference on what insurance companies will pay you. So that’s done.
I’m sort of old-school and love the older, more squared-off, classic SUV body designs, not fond of the newer ‘bubble’ shapes that slope at the back and look more like large-ish vans or wagons.
Toyota also makes a few SUVs that are popular, 4-runner and Pilot, though not sure those are still being produced. The new Rav4s don’t do a lot for me but they are supposed to be good cars.
It’s a picky girl/superficial “color” thing, but I hope to stay away from silver — though that might be hard. lol
2/3 of the cars on the road seem to be silver or some variation of silver nowadays.
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We’re all white up here. Maybe the smaller than CRV Honda vehicle–fit? It may be too low to the ground for you, but the dogs could probably get in the back. Our 2005 has a squarish back and we gave it to our son. The current value is about $5K, but I bet you could get a slightly newer version for about $10K with the squarish back.
Obviously, I’m bullish on CRVs.
Off to play with Adorables. Wish me luck! I always seem to end up hurt despite singing the popular song, “Don’t hurt your grandmother!” 🙂
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I see a lot of white here, too. Probably because of the summer heat.
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Our county has increased another twenty cases of covid in the past couple of days. Up from eleven. Hmmm. You don’t suppose the county fair last weekend had anything to do with it? Or all the 4H activities? No sign of masks or social distancing. I guess we wanted to catch up with the rest of the world.
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Yes, CRVs have a ton of fans, I know. I’ll include them in the wider search maybe along with the VW SUVs, but I think those were expensive also and my old VW repair shop in town is now closed 😦
Right now, I just feel stressed and tired, I really don’t want to deal with any of it, period.
I have a headache and don’t really feel very good, but then it’s suddenly super hot here today so the heat may be playing a role in that.
I still need to go out and water both the back and front, I’m supposed to be drenching that pine tree 3 times a day so the treatments they bring will get into the tree; but with PT, the car chaos and now the heat, along with work, I just haven’t gotten to that chore at all.
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I always wanted a white car and did get a white VW Jetta, new, back in 1994(?); sold that when I went for the Jeep in 2008. It had almost 200,000 miles on it, I sold it to a friend of my VW mechanic’s. Good car, so was the Jeep. But I was tired of white after that and loved the dark blue color on the Jeep.
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My energy is … almost …. gone.
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I had one silver car and rather liked the color. As I recall it looked really pretty and shiny when clean, but it wasn’t obviously dirty when it was dirty. I rather lean toward basic white, though, if I can’t get emerald green. (Few pretty green cars are made, but that would be my first choice if one ever has a “choice” when buying a used car.) I am glad the extreme colors of a few years ago seem not to be around now, though. I’m actually wondering what happened to them, since cars tend to be on the road for a few years. Is the sort of person who would drive a charetreuse car because crazy colors are in style also the kind of person who would get a car painted when it is no longer in style?
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I like the muted darker colors, esp on an SUV. But there are some really pretty neutral gray-greens and blues now. The problem with silver was it just seemed to become over-used, it really got to be just boring. Silver cars everywhere. White, I think, had the same problem earlier, but I enjoyed having my white Jetta for all those years. I was lucky that the Jeep, which was used, came in a color that I really liked and was very different from the white I was leaving behind.
Real Estate Guy called suggesting I fight the insurance co and just take my car as a salvage and get it fixed, but I don’t think that makes sense, really. He had a CRV that was hit and that’s what he did, but that was quite a while ago.
I’ll try to call my credit union and see if they can walk me through the prospective loan process and give me some guidance, it’s been a while since I’ve had to do any of this.
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DJ – I’m sorry you have all this rigmarole to deal with on top of the trauma of the accident itself. When I had so many practical paperwork-type of things and phone calls and whatnot that I had to deal with after Hubby’s death, I. Just. Didn’t. Want. To.
I hope you can take a day or two or three to rest and pray. May God refresh your heart and mind, and help you through all of this.
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From politics to cars. What a blog! Of course, sometimes people get into arguments over cars. Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge vs imports.
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I’ll add my political comment on that thread.
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Thanks Kizzie.
I got out and watered in the back and front, made it over to the neighbors’ to feed the fish and pick up their mail, talked to Carol.
It’s very strange out, it’s been hot (90s) and windy all day — and tonight is the same, just that warm wind blowing through the darkness. I even heard a couple owls hooting up in the other neighbor’s big tree next to the street in front of our houses. October is upon us (but I sure hope these temps cool off — they’re supposed to by the weekend).
It’ll be a cool shower for me tonight with fans going full speed.
I have a headache also, but I think it’s part of the car anxiety.
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Carol said something interesting, she’s wondering what people’s family Christmas newsletters will look like this year.
Could be a good pandemic/holiday-theme story for someone on our staff.
I also told her I’d try to reach out to the social worker where she is to see if we can get an update or status on her physical therapy. I know it’s a long process (from personal experience now!), but it seems like they’re not getting her even close to getting up out of bed and it’s been a long time. I also asked her if she’s supposed to be doing some “homework” exercises and she said she can’t do them because she can’t take the covers off — because the door to their room is open and she’s in a gown that doesn’t cover her that well.
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And my rental is silver, I remembered.
I walked the dogs after they wouldn’t let me get away with skipping it, way too much guilt. When my knee was so bad over the summer they got used to “no walks.” But now that they’ve started up again, they start dancing and panting and staring at me when it gets to be a certain time of night — when “it’s TIME!”
OK, so now I can take my cool shower and get ready for bed soon.
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Any Jeeps or rented Kia’s around? Good, I can jump in for 57!
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What is it about “57” you ask?
That’s the year Elvera and I got married.
But this is #59 and today is October 1.
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