Life is a little overwhelming lately.

Our 2001 CR-V has, we think, reached the end of the road. For a long time now, starting it has been erratic. We finally figured out that it had to do with the auto-lock going crazy and disabling the starter. After watching countless YouTube videos, Don figured out how to get around it, but it doesn’t always work, so he hasn’t been using the car except to start it (when he can) and drive it a bit. He’s afraid to drive anywhere where he would have to turn it off because it might not start again.

Yesterday, he drove it to recycle and the muffler started acting up. It’s now hanging by a thread. We’ve patched that exhaust system so many times that it’s insane to try to do it again. Pouring more money into it seems ridiculous. It’s depressing.

My car is overdue for a 30,000 mile maintenance and the dealership is about a half hour away. Because of COVID concerns, I called them to ask the best way to do it. They said to make the appointment at least a week ahead of time, drop it off the night before and it would be ready at the end of the day the next day. That would mean that Don would have to follow me there and bring me back. I held off because of the starter problems on the CR-V, not sure if I would be able to commit to an appointment if Don’s car wouldn’t start.

I’ve been wrestling with this for a few months now. And now the CR-V can’t be driven.

We’re also about to nail a tarp to the shed roof – the rear of the roof is leaking because the strong winds around here have damaged those shingles (but not the ones in the front of the shed.) And there’s a leak from somewhere on the porch roof that is rotting the wood around our front door. We spent yesterday trying to figure out where it’s coming from and doing some caulking. Since we’re due to get very heavy rain tomorrow, we’ll see if any of the caulking makes a difference.

And this week we have to figure out insurance – whether Don’s eye treatments will be covered, and whether I can find some good dental insurance.

I’m getting more and more tense just writing this!

We need to work. We need some money coming in so we can deal with all of this. I am absolutely sure we’re not special as so many others are dealing with the same kind of concerns. They’d be concerns no matter what, but in the middle of a pandemic? Everything is more complicated.

I’ll end on something cute – our neighbors have chickens. We hear the rooster every day and we’ve had glimpses of them at their feeder. The other day I looked up and about 5 of them were in our yard and our woods. I called my neighbors to give them a heads up. (We didn’t mind them being on the property, we were just concerned for them.) I talked to the daughter who is the one raising them. She has ten! And they were surprised by one of the chicks being a rooster. Anyway, it was fun to hear their story and how surprised she was to discover they all have distinct personalities. I saw them in our yard again yesterday, but I didn’t have my camera with me. They’re really beautiful! (Don now wants chickens, of course.)

We call the rooster Mr. Pickens because his call sounds exactly like the “Whoo-hoo” cried out by  actor Slim Pickens at the end of Dr. Strangelove.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Whether you’re cooking for 10 or for 2, a special Thanksgiving dinner takes a lot of time and energy! We’re pooped today. But we did have a lovely meal; a vegetarian holiday roast which is scrumptious (comes with gravy and stuffing), mashed potatoes, vegetables, cloud biscuits, and sugar-free apple pie.

We ate too much, of course.

Today, I’m taking it easy. So is Don.

I hope you had a lovely holiday. If you were alone, I hope you had a chance to connect with friends and family. I know that this particular holiday was very different from the norm and I suspect Christmas will be, too. But we’ll hang in there, won’t we?

I’ve marked December 1st as the day we get our tree. We need some sparkle around here.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

I’m imagining a family cooking a holiday dinner inside this vintage house. The kitchen is rather small and it’s at the back of the house. There’s so much I’d like to do with this house but it would involve finding more 3/4 scale pieces and that isn’t easy. This is the way I am, however, I start to imagine some activity happening inside the house and there I go, off on a fantasy.

I have at least  3 houses to furnish besides the one I’m currently working on!

Normally, we’d be having dinner with Rick and Doug and our mutual friends today. But, like everyone who is sane and cares about the health of others, as well as ourselves, we are staying home. We’ll have a great meal and we’ve already started listing everything we’re thankful for and I’m sure that will continue throughout the day.

We finished season four of The Crown  last night. It’s good, though maybe not as powerful as previous seasons since we lived through the 80s and so much of the story is already familiar. I won’t say anything – until you’ve all seen it – about Gillian Anderson’s portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, though both Don and I have issues with it. It’s always fascinating, this story, and certain members of the Royal Family do not come off well. I’m sorry it’s over! Now we have to wait for season five.

That’s all for today my friends. I hope that, though you might be separated from your family members, that you find some joy and peace today. Goodness knows, we deserve it.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.