Purple Sage / Governors Landing / New Battery

While I keep all records that have to do with the upkeep of our cars it is another matter to be able to find them in the many boxes that I have. I try to document important items like when I purchase tires and batteries, when I take the cars in for service, etc., etc. I am somewhat forgetful at adding labels to my posts to make them easier to locate on my blog.

Something kept on nagging at me but with my CRS it is hard to remember things. I believe the last time I replaced my tires a short time later I bought a new battery for Midnight. Sunday, August 28th I drove to town early to go pick up our mail. The car was sluggish to start and I panicked since being Sunday and early in the morning auto parts stores were closed.

The only thing that came to mind was what my late mechanic told me...Belinda, anytime the car starts acting up take a drive to the lake and floor it...and that is exactly what I did. 

That is when I noticed that the recent rains had made the purple sage bloom all over the city both at businesses and homes alike.

I, therefore, expected to see this beautiful shrub in full bloom on the way to Lake Amistad but sadly that was not the case. I drove to my favorite campground that being Governors Landing but there was only one campsite in use by a young couple car camping. The sites here have been cleared to make them larger and they also set up tent sites about two years ago while only increasing the fees by two dollars to $10.00 per night.

The effects of the drought were evident and it is so sad to see the low lake levels. There is some good news though the boat ramp they closed two weeks ago is once again open to the public though there were few boats at the unloading parking lot (not sure that is the correct term).

I parked the car in the front driveway rather than the garage Sunday night but barely slept since I had a doctor's appointment Monday morning and was afraid the car would not start. Lucky for me it started and as soon as I got out of the doctor's office I made a beeline to Auto Zone where they tested it and sure enough it needed to be replaced.

While I have no idea what I paid for the last one, I was surprised that it now costs $199.99 before tax. Much like the tires, it is the peace of mind that I am purchasing. Let's hope this is the last I have to spend on Midnight for a while.

I was correct the Del Rio area received 3 inches in 3.5 hours yesterday morning. The creek that separates us from the county road overflooded and the road was closed for several hours. School did not start until ten o'clock and it goes without saying I found out about this thanks to El Zócalo. https://www.zocalo.com.mx/caen-3-pulgadas-de-lluvia-en-tres-horas-y-media/

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

Doctor's Appointment / Midnight is misbehaving / Stimulus check

I did not go anywhere this weekend because besides it being a holiday I did not want to tempt fate and break down when everything was closed.  It is amazing all the things you all of a sudden feel the need to do when you can not do them.

I did turn on the car several times during the weekend and there were no flashing lights on the dashboard. Though I know the problem does not surface until I am waiting for a light or at a stop sign, the car starts to idle and the lights come on.

I decided to arrive at my appointment an hour and a half earlier just in case.  I was across the street from the clinic when Midnight (that is my car's name) decided to act up at the stop sign.  I was relieved to make it into the parking lot.

This weekend I watched a lot of YouTube videos on negotiating the purchase of a vehicle and frankly it made me sick.  It seems that any way you look at it you are going to get ripped off especially when you go into the Finance Department which per the videos is where the big money is made. 

I did find some very useful advice from Kevin Hunter who used to be a car salesman but now helps people with his very helpful videos.  I am sure most car salesmen are not amused. I highly recommend this video even if you are not in the market for a vehicle:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S9cQOPxzfg&t=1s

My doctor was very happy that my blood pressure reading was finally normal. I was surprised as well as I related what happened with the car. He gave me some brotherly advice (he is younger than I am) and even recommended a car repair shop he uses.

The northside post office is only three blocks away and I briefly considered walking to it but decided to drive and if I blew the motor so be it!  There is a road behind the clinic that is not used much though it is wide and you can go to many establishments like Rudy's Bar-B-Q, Walmart, a large Border Patrol facility, and soccer fields without navigating through the bottleneck that is Bedell Avenue.

I took Highway 277/377 to Sonora and traveled for about 40 miles going the speed limit of 70 mph. When I drove back into town I went directly to Auto Zone which is the first auto parts store when you come into Del Rio. While they could not help with the VSC is OFF light they said they could with the Check Engine Light.  However, there was a hitch...they could not do it for me I would have to do it myself since they were not permitted to enter a customer's vehicle due to Covid-19 restrictions. Me, connect the code reader?  I did not even try!  I thanked them and returned their unused reader to them.

When I took off...surprise...the lights had quit flashing! I headed to the post office on the south side of town to pick up the mail. I had a lot of mail as I sifted through it I was dumbfounded when I saw my stimulus check. Why would they mail it to me when they never have before?  All my tax refunds or anything to do with the IRS goes directly to my bank account.

I had my small ice chest and was going to stop at HEB to buy a diet ice cream when Midnight decided to act up again....grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!  I was so mad I just went home and pouted 😡

Today we had a high of  92 degrees but with the strong winds out of the SE, it did not feel so warm.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid Saying of the Day