All in all...not a bad week!

Or, "Thanks, King Dodge!"

Things didn't start out so well.

On Monday, it looked like Matt's soccer team would be playing through snow drifts later in the week, and I tore a hole in a beautiful leather jacket I had just made a great buy on two days earlier at the ScholarShop...

On Tuesday, our dog was to go in for surgery to remove a fast growing tumor.

And on Wednesday, we were scheduled to have transmission work done on our newer car (a five year old Dodge).

So Tuesday morning, I started off taking the dog to Jewell Animal Clinic on Chippewa. Being low on gas, and having a few extra minutes, I drove across the street for a fill-up. Upon returning to the car, it didn't want to start. Uh-oh. Then it reluctantly fired up.

Driving the one block back to Jewell, I decided better to leave the car running than to risk it dying again. So I walked Hollie in for her surgery, and took my chances with the car.

Leaving the dog in the good hands of the staff at Jewell, I began the trek downtown. The car was going through its recent tranny gyrations, but managed to make it in the rest of the way. However, upon arriving at the top floor of Kiener West garage, the engine warning light illuminated. Now what? Park it and risk being stranded? Or turn around and try limping back to the dealer a day ahead of schedule? I decided to go for it.

Jogging back and forth across side streets, I tried to make it down to King Dodge. Now the tranny would not shift gears. It was stuck in either first or second, and the anxiety of breaking down midway was peaking.

I crossed Utah to Morganford, then over Oleatha to Kingshighway. I made it the couple blocks up Kingshighway, and then jogged through their parking lot to the service area and parked it. I opened the hood, and there was this bad plastic/oil burning smell and some smoke. Was the tranny toast? In thirty years of driving, this would be my first time dealing with a transmission problem.

Now it's all pray, wait, and see, imploring mercy from the auto repair gods. The phone rang at my desk. It was DeeDee from King Dodge service. She had good news and bad news. The good news was she had her "best transmission guy working on it". (I'm thinking, "when is the good news for me going to start?")....and he thought if he tried this and that, the transmission might be fixable for about $950.

The bad news is that our warranty expired 3,000 miles ago (already knew that), and if a new transmission was needed, that would push the cost to $2,500. Ouch. That's about the total value of the car. Sheesh. Okay, so now we're waiting, and praying some more. Christmas this year is starting to look real tight...

DeeDee calls again, and the mechanic is making progress. He wants to try a couple more things, and it just might work. But he finds a broken tie-rod, so more work is needed...

Meanwhile, Kerri and Matt pick up Hollie, and she's doing fine, highly medicated, and totally sedated. The backyard wildlife will have at least a one-day reprieve...

Next day, Thursday, still waiting on the car. About 11:00 am, the phone rings. The repairs worked, but the starting problem is probably related to the battery getting weak. New battery recommended. I agree to have it replaced. The car should be ready about 1:00. Transmission repairs worked!

The shuttle guy and I ride through the snow back to King Dodge. Total cost on the car, about $950 and only about $620 of it is for the transmission work! Thanks, King Dodge! In the distance, I think I hear the sound of sleigh bells ringing...

At home, Hollie is feeling better; we're still waiting for the lab results on her case.

Then around 5:00 pm, CYC officials make the decision to cancel Matt's soccer snow bowl.

We should hear in a day or so about Hollie's situation. If she's okay, then that just leaves finding a leather repair shop to complete this week's domestic survivor drill...