Making Cents Of It All

My car started making a really loud obnoxious noise last week. I told Hubby about it. He took my car for a drive. I drive a 2006 Toyota Sienna. We got it used in 2008 I think. It was a great car for 3 kids and I watched my niece at the time. My car has been hit several times. Never anything major thankfully. She is beat up but she keeps on going. Hubby stays on top of the maintenance. So back to the noise. Hubby thought it was the muffler. Before work yesterday, Hubby and I dropped my car at the mechanic. He is close by and we use him often. We have 4 older vehicles. They do good work and are very honest. Later in the day I got the call that the car was ready. My son was home so he drove me over to pick it up. When I went to pay, they handed me the keys. I told them I didn't pay yet. He said "No Charge". I was missing a screw and something needed to be tightened. He did it for free. I couldn't believe it. All day I was bugging Hubby about how much a new muffler was. M...

Hubby and I went on a date to a free home show. We try to go every year. We get to see what new items have come out and we get to talk to several vendors for similar projects. It is held at a college nearby and has free parking and free admission. We brought our reusable water bottles and apples in case we got hungry. We even got some freebies. It was a nice way to spend the morning.  I went back to the eye doctor. My eye is doing so much better. The top layer is totally healed. The second layer (there are apparently 5 layers) is not fully healed yet. I have a second kind of drop now and I go back in 2 weeks.  My ear was bothering me so I put some drops that are homemade in it. It is 1 part vinegar to 1 part alcohol. My ENT told me about this years ago when I would constantly get swimmers ear. I do it twice a day for 3 days when I start to feel something. Most times it goes away.  The garden is still going well. I made another batch of sauce. I canned...

1. Happy Labor Day! No one is going to work or school today. We are all off which is rare. It is supposed to be a nice day and we are going to a friend's house for a BBQ later. I am in charge of desserts. Good friends, good food and I don't have to clean my house before. What could be better?  2. My garden. This is one of my busiest times of the year with the garden but I love it. The garden is producing pounds and pounds of gorgeous, healthy food for my family. The colors are so pretty. Almost every meal we are eating includes something from the garden . 3. My pantry. With the garden doing so well, I am adding lots to my pantry. Sauce is being made and canned every week. 2 different kinds of pickles have been made and some jam was even made. Peppers, cucumbers and pole beans have been added to the freezer. Basil, dill, sage, thyme, and parsley have been dried and added to the pantry also. Everything is filling up . 4. A working washing machine. Thank you Hubby ...

Lets start with the bad. On Thursday, Hubby went out to get in his car at lunch time and noticed a puddle underneath. He put his finger in it and smelt it. It was gas. So, he drove carefully straight to the shop. They were very busy and said it would be a few days until they could look at it. I was at work but thankfully my son wasn't. Hubby called him and he ran and picked up his dad. Hubby ate lunch and then had my son drive him back to the office so that my son would still have his car. Hubby called that evening to say could someone please pick him up. Hubby works about 2 1/2 miles from our house.  So, I was driving along in traffic on a road that runs parallel to the expressway to get to Hubby's office. When an idiot came flying off the expressway and across 3 lanes and hit my car. I tried to move over and actually hit the curb. I was going so slow that my car couldn't even get up on the curb. I am fine but my car got a nice dent and paint damage on the driver's s...