Car Maintenance ...... and Holiday Stuff

What a long and frustrating day. I had my car at our local car repair center before 8:30 this morning. All they had to do with it was a regular oil change, rotation of the tires, and put a sealer underneath the hard-top of my car. When I got the Thunderbird back in May, the service department of the dealership didn't put the sealer under the convertible top because they thought I'd be riding around town with the top down. I don't care how pretty the car is, driving around without a roof over my head just isn't my style.

So.... silly me..... I thought it would be a snap for the repairmen to install the sealing tape after they did the oil change and the tire rotation. I gave them the sealing tape, the instructions, the tool to remove the hard-top, and the manual with illustrations on what needed to be done. I called them after lunch-time and they told me they had taken care of everything but the sealer under the hard-top. Fine. How much longer then? They told me they should have it ready within the hour.

I got busy with things around the house, and the afternoon just passed on by.... and the next time I looked at the clock, it was 3:30. What?! Back on the phone I got.... Is my car ready yet? "Just about done.... you can pick it up in thirty minutes."

Give unto me a blessed break. I went there after thirty minutes, expecting to see a bright and shining-clean car. Not that my car was dirty to begin with, but I knew it would have a layer of dust on it after being in that shop all day. Dusty wasn't the word. I could've written the Declaration of Independence on that car in the sandy dust that was all over it. Usually, this repair shop washes your car before they give it back to you, and that's what I expected them to do. Silly me.

When the owner of the shop saw how dusty my car was, and saw the look on my face, he told me the guys could wash it for me right then, if I would wait just "30 minutes more." I nicely told that man that they had all day to not only wash my car, but do the work that I had made an appointment for, without me having to sit around for another half hour.

The end result was that he took $40 off of the final bill, and as soon as I drove my car into the driveway, I pulled out the hose and washed all that dust off of my pretty car. And it took me less time than "30 minutes more." As I said... give unto me a blessed break.



Our Christmas surprise for our young friends C and L has been taken care of, but I won't be telling the girls till a couple of weeks before the actual day. I went to Barnes and Noble after dinner this evening, to get books for both of them that will coordinate with the surprise. My husband and I just can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see where we're going.

So many things to do within the next month....... somehow, no matter how organized I can be, everything just comes along too fast. As my Aunt Dolly always told me: "The world isn't going to wait for you, so you'd better make it your business to keep up with the world."

Christmas should be interesting this year, with Mickey Kitty. I can barely keep that kitten away from my collection of beaded fruit. Wait till he sees the tree that will be going up in the living room after Thanksgiving.