Author: Teresa

Quilts, good books and dogs. Plus a cup of tea. Life is good.

Your tipping point on repair versus replace?

March 28, 2024

This definitely applies to our sewing machines, but here we’re going to be talking about cars.

Since retirement, we’ve “invested” in keeping my 8 year old SUV with 135,000 miles in good repair. Our thinking, guided by our mechanic, has been it’s cheaper to repair than to shell out $45-$60k for a new vehicle right now. In theory, that makes total sense until you get stranded one too many times or the amount you’re spending on car repair no longer makes sense. I’ve been advocating for new wheels ever since my SUV started acting crazy last summer and left me stranded several times. (I used AAA 3 times for a battery jump over a six month period). It took today’s bill for a catalytic converter and EVAP purge valve replacement for hubs to finally agree it’s time to start looking look for my next vehicle. The plan is continue driving it until the next time it needs more than routine maintenance. I’d rather be proactive and have a replacement vehicle in mind so we’re not scrambling should we need to move quickly to replace my SUV.

My previous two vehicles were an Acura and a Lincoln. They were a better deal than their Honda and Ford siblings, which is why we bought them. I loved driving both of those vehicles. Unfortunately, “luxury” brands are more expensive to maintain and repair. This time, I think I’ll stick with the plain vanilla Toyota or Mazda that my mechanic recommended.

Photo by Lee chinyama on Pexels.com

A circle of giving

March 23, 2024

This morning Sadie & I ventured to Mostly Mutts Market, a resale shop that supports local pet rescue. Leashed dogs and their well-behaved owners are always welcome. A friend had posted on FB that all of the fabric precuts were 50% off, so of course we went!

Mostly Mutts received the fabric donations when fabric.com closed its doors in late 2022. I scored these three Riley Blake jelly rolls for $8.00 each. My purchase helps a cause I support (pet rescue) and the items I purchased will be made into quilts for my guild’s community service endeavors. Shoppers and volunteers experienced a little Sadie sunshine while we shopped. And Big Girl now has another place to go that’s pet-friendly. The best kind of win-win in my book!

Buckle up – election season’s here!

March 22, 2024

The texts, emails and rhetoric have already begun. Sheesh. The 2020 election was bad. This one is gearing up to be even more of a humdinger! According to the WSJ, I live in one of the seven states that’s going to decide the Presidential election. You know the political ads are going to be incessant over the next eight months.

Adding to the madness and mayhem is the fact that redistricting has put me in all new districts yet again. I still don’t know which district I’m in for county level elections as there’s a lawsuit pending over whose map will be the official one used for county level elections. About the only thing that hasn’t changed is my polling location.

I’m still puzzled by how the district lines were drawn on the west side to create a majority black district that the judge required to settle last year’s state level redistricting lawsuit. If you look a map, the new districts resemble badly cut slices of bacon you find in some of the cheap brands. There is very little commonality among these new groups of voters. What’s of concern to me is probably not the top priority for someone who lives 60 miles to the south. It’ll be interesting to see if any of the folks running in our new districts reach out to potential constituents. Hubs and I were totally ignored in the most recent round of state and local elections.

Probably should discontinue all my social media accounts for the next several months.

Photo by Alexandru Bodor on Pexels.com