What a pain about your car, Dagmar. I suppose you don't know of any trustworthy independent repair shops nearby? The dealer ALWAYS tries to upsell me when I go in for service. I was using a shop closer to me for oil change and tire rotation, but lost faith in them when they aired up my tires too high which made them wear out really fast. So I started going to the dealer again. They do a decent job, but are always telling me I need this or that, such as a special oil treatment. The dealer wanted over $1500 for the 120,000 mile service!! My son, who is a crack auto mechanic, said most of that was for "inspections" which are billed at $80 per hour and which don't take nearly as long as Toyota allots for them. So we flew my son down from Washington state and he did the service for about 1/2 the cost including the plane ticket! And he did my front brakes also.
My son (Matt) just started a new job with Boeing. He was a helicopter diesel engine mechanic in the Army for 8 years, then an auto mechanic for two years, and now he'll be working on a couple of military "fixed wing" planes. I'm delighted for him. It's much better pay and benefits, which is crucial because his wife doesn't work and they have a 3 year old boy.

Happy December to all! My concession to the season was to get out the winter and Christmas-themed coffee mugs. We have Christmas lights, but they are under the frost blankets that protect our cactus and succulent gardens from frost, to help add warmth .

How nice for your son and his family Alice. And for you that he could help with your car.

I'm going to the dealership because I got browbeaten into buying an extended warranty when I bought the car. The tow there is free and I don't think I need to pay for any parts with the warranty. I have gotten good at refusing all the "extra" stuff and I'm pretty much caught up with servicing that was missed during the 2 years of the pandemic.

Have a good Christmas Alice.

Dagmar

The extended warranty came in handy, Dagmar! That's good to hear! You have a good Christmas also

Good luck with your car Dagmar; Hope you get the feeling that the extended warranty was worth it.

Never heard of needing to keep a cactus warm before, Alice. Congrats to your DS for landing a job with Boeing.

Yep, we're city folks, JayEll, have raccoons and turkeys but no black bears.

The rain predicted to cause severe flooding is happening right now - a gentle rain. We won't even have water in the basement. I do like it when the weather predictions are wildly wrong leaving us OK.

Glad the weather man was wrong Bill.

Dagmar

Christmas dinner is in full swing - just the two of us but I went all out. I seldom cook from scratch any more but felt like doing so today. Cornish rock hens with oranges and rosemary, almond and cranberry wild rice, and roasted celeriac and carrots with fresh thyme. When i opened the boxes of rosemary and thyme i was immediately hit with a "Christmas" feeling. Nice!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season however you celebrate.

I have to go and baste my hens again!

Cheers

Dagmar

I can almost smell the dinner, Dagmar. Lovely!
Season's Greetings to all!

Alice

Happy New Year everyone!

Dagmar

No real resolutions for me this year. Probably try to cut down on the caffeine once I stop working and hopefully catch up on some sleep.

Dagmar

Happy New Year to one and all. May it be prosperous, peaceful, and devoid of untoward weather events.

Your Christmas game hens, Dagmar, sound like one fine meal.

I was going to finally get on the scale this morning to see what kind of damage the holidays had done. Battery is low and won't show a reading. I have replacement batteries but we can't find the teeny tiny screwdriver to get the screws off the battery compartment.

We are calling ourselves the "Swirling Chaos House" for the next couple of months as we prep for "retirement" and the house sale and move. I think DH is finally starting to accept that this is happening.

Dagmar

Glad to hear that DH is finally starting to get on board with the move, Dagmar. Sounds like weighing yourself wasn't meant to happen
This year I am determined to make progress on the clutter purge. So much accumulation over 34 years that needs to go! We just kept building new sheds when the old ones got full! We are not planning to move at least in the foreseeable future, but I want to be ready for whatever. I want simplicity.

My weight is not below 130, but when I went snowshoeing a few days ago, all the appropriate clothes still fit. It had been maybe 7 or 8 years since my last snowshoe hike.
Hope everyone is off to a good start this year!!

Our house should be painted by the end of tomorrow and put back together by the end of next weekend. I'm looking forward to cooking fresh food again. Frozen food is great for convenience and speed but I'm feeling really bloated and I know I've gained weight while all of this (and the holidays) have been happening.

DH also found the screwdriver necessary to change the battery in the scale. I won't be too appalled at the number but I will get on the scale so I have a reference point to restart weight loss and then maintenance. :

Dagmar

We found the screwdriver and changed the batteries on the scale. I weigh 141.4 lbs. Not as bad as I expected.

Dagmar :

Congrats to your DH for finding the screwdriver. Our history is to not find it until we go to put away the new one we just bought to replace it.