It Took Almost 4 Years, But I’ve Found Something I Hate OR Angry with Ford Engineers

Hello World!

I love my 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid that we purchased in November 2009.  I should have been paid for all of the product endorsements I have given for it. Today, however, I found something I hate – loathe – despise about our Ford Fusion. It is the location of the interior fuse box.

I was using my electrical outlet in the car for an item I was using to attempt to remove melted candle wax from the cloth front passenger seat (another story I’ll post) when the outlet just quit working.  All of the other electrical functions are working fine, so it seems logical that a fuse blew.  I looked up where to locate fuse boxes for the car in the owner’s manual.  The one under the hood was easy, but the one I needed, the interior fuse box, took three tries to find it.

Once I found it and figured out how to get the cover off, then my real troubles began.  The box is located in such a place under the dash and to the far driver’s side that with the seat back as far as it will go and with me as much under the dash as I can get, I still cannot see fuse position #4, located in the upper left portion, which is the one for the outlet.  I can’t even reach the fuses in that area with the provided fuse remover.

This should have been a quick and cheap fix, but it is not.

I called the Ford service department, and it seems that their service technicians have specially curved tools to use for such a thing.  What is it going to cost me to have this one little fuse replaced.  The over-the-phone estimate I received was about $17 plus the fuse cost plus tax and about 30 minutes or so of my life, depending on how busy they are at the time I go by there, in addition to the 20 minutes or so round trip to the dealership.  

This, Dear Ford Engineers, is ridiculous!  Had the fuse box been just a few inches lower, I could have done this myself – not my husband, mind you – but ME! This should have taken 10 minutes and the cost of a fuse from an auto parts dealer.  I am so, so displeased!  (See pictures added below.)

Do you see the hood latch pull? The fuse box is back behind that on the outside “wall” of the interior of car.

Do you see the top of the foot rest pad. Compare that to the first picture, and it gives you an idea of location.

I’m pretty much on my head taking this shot, and I only see it from the camera’s view.

Have a blessed and happy (though I’m a grump now myself) day!

Angela

Making Your Voice Heard – Do You Do It?

Hello World!

In our form of government, elected representatives are suppose to vote according to the wishes of his or her constituency, so it is not only our responsibility to become educated on the platform of those who run for elected positions and then vote for the one we deem best, but it is also our civic responsibility to stay informed and share our opinions, concerns, thoughts, and ideas with those who are elected to represent us. It does not matter if we voted for these people or not; they still represent us.

I’m not one to email or call my senators and representatives on a daily, weekly, or evenly monthly basis.  Perhaps I do not share my views often enough, but when there is something of significant interest or concern to me, I do contact my elected officials, and I expect that these men and women will take what those whom they serve say into the decision making process.

Without going into detail about my beliefs and views, let’s just say that there are some issues at the moment about which I feel strongly, so over the last few days I have emailed my representatives.  This morning, I called the Washington, D. C. office of each senator from the state of Tennessee and the Washington, D. C. office of our representative in the House to express my desires and giving support for my reasoning.

Photo Credit

One person may not make much of a ripple, much less a splash, but if only 20% of the people in any given area were to make an effort to email, write, or even better, call his or her representatives, then there is a ripple – not just a ripple, but a splash.  It is very simple to find the list of representatives for each state and the contact numbers from a web search, so if you are not up on your politics, you can still do this.  In fact, click HERE to go to a web site that will give you the information needed. Regardless of your political beliefs or views, I urge you to exercise you civic duty respectfully.  Vote on election day, and in between elections, use your voice and be heard, but don’t be mean and vulgar.  Share your views clearly, succinctly, and with respect, but let your voice be heard.

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

“Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained”

Hello World!

How many times have you heard, or even said, this quote: “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained”?  I know that I’ve spouted these words many times.  Today, these words apply to me.  While I probably have a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting a positive response, I’ve taken the risk and put myself out there with hope of a trip to a writers’ retreat. I cannot be selected if I don’t apply in the same way I cannot win the lottery if I don’t buy a ticket.

“Hedgebrook is a nonprofit organization serving women writers.”  One of the ways in which this organization serves women writers is by offering each year 30 – 40 women writers, published and unpublished alike, the opportunity to retreat and spend time alone writing and/or engaging in discussions and collaboration with other female writers free of charge.  The retreat is located on Whidbey Island near Seattle, Washington.  Selected applicants are awarded stays of two to six weeks between the months of February and October each year.

I have submitted an application for the 2014 residency program.  Now that it is submitted, I have done all that I can do, so after I make this post, my intent is to put it out of my mind until I hear whether or not I am one of the lucky few. If I am, I’ll be happy but amazed.  If not, I can re-apply at another time.  Regardless of the outcome, I have already done well because I have stepped out of my comfort zone and have “gone” for something I want.

Learning to put myself out there and take risks is one aspect of living that I want to implement into my life more.

Do you ever take risks?

Have a happy and blessed day!

Angela

More Than Meets the Eye

Hello World!

I’m curious.  What kind of description do you think you would give to a person who can honestly say that he or she has done all of the following (in no particular order):

• has taken part in a cattle drive
• has coached Babe Ruth baseball and the team went to state tournament
• has flown a plane and navigated for another pilot
• has tubed down multiple rivers, one of which had white water
• rode a camel in the Middle East
• camped on both sides of the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains
• kayaked off the coast of Georgia
• was pulled over as a suspected bank robber
• has visited with Pennsylvania Amish in their homes
• had tea with Bedouins in a tent
• played pool and danced with cowboys in Calvary, Alberta, Canada
• has ridden a train into the Swiss Alps
• has traveled to almost every state in the U. S., including Alaska and Hawaii
• academic honor student
• has dined with senators and congressmen
• came in second in a beauty contest
• has traveled to a dozen foreign countries
• was a member of Civil Air Patrol

Do you have a description in your mind that you might give this person?

Would that description be anything like this?

Middle-aged mother/step-mother to six children and seven grandchildren living in Middle Tennessee and currently battling the middle-age spread

If not, then you may not have the right  idea about the person these statements describe because they are all true about me. 🙂

Perhaps you should make a similar list of things that are true about you and see that you are more than what people may think – you are more than meets the eye.

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

Pretty Little Peas, Please

Hello World!

Today’s errands included a stop at the Mt. Juliet Farmers’ Market where I scored eight more pounds of field peas: six of crowder peas and two of a variety with which I am not familiar.  I think the farmer called it willow peas, but I must have misunderstood. I’ve spent another night shelling and putting peas in the freezer because I love my husband.

The HH is not a fan of many vegetables, but he does like pretty much all beans and peas, so I try to get as many field peas as I can put away in the freezer for him to enjoy during the winter months.

Shelling Crowder Peas

Here are a  pictures of my work. One is during the process of shelling peas, and the another is the shelled peas before blanching and bagging to freeze. The last is the peas ready for the freezer.

All of the Shelled Peas

Do you preserve farm-fresh produce for the winter?

4 Quarts of Peas Ready for the Freezer

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

New Search Engine Ecosia to Spend 80% of Profits Planting Trees – Oh, yeah!

Hello World!

Ecosia Search Engine
Photo Credit

I get excited when I hear about people or groups doing good things for our environment, and thanks to a former student, I learned about Ecosia today. Click HERE to go to the search engine itself, and in the bottom left you can follow a link that explains its purpose.  Click HERE to go to the facebook page.

I’m all for doing what I need to do and doing good at the same time, so I’ve bookmarked the search engine and will be using it frequently!  I hope you will consider doing the same.

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

Yoga and Aerobics and Zumba, Oh, my!

Hello World!

As I woke this morning, it dawned on me that while Autumn is yet almost three weeks away per the calendar, today is the first day after the accepted “summer season” ends. I looked at the September exercise schedule for FiftyForward, and began plotting and planning my exercise experiences for the month.  Some of the activities were not available during the summer months, so today is a new beginning of sorts.

Since I find that my new lifestyle routine does not give itself over to making 8:00 a.m. classes with any reasonableness of ease, I sadly ignored the 8:00  and 8:15 a.m. classes, at least for now.  I looked at the other options on the calendar and contemplated.

Aerobic Exercise
Photo Credit

• Strength Training at 8:00 a.m. Tues., Thur., & Sat.
• Yoga at 8:00 a.m. on Wed.
• Walk with Ease at 9:30 a.m. Mon. & Wed.
• Walking Club at 8:15 a.m. on Fri.
• Low-Impact Aerobics at 8:45 a.m. daily
• Line Dancing at 9:30 a.m. on Tues. & Thur.
• Water Aerobics at McKendree at 10:00 a.m. Mon. & Wed.
• Zumba at 12:15 p.m. on on Tues. & Thur.
• Tai-Chi @ 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

 

Tai-Chi
Photo Credit

With 8:00 a.m. classes eliminated for now, here is my plan of attack to try several exercise types and times to see what works best for me.

• Monday: Low-Impact Aerobics at 8:45 (hope I can make this one)
• Tuesday: Tai-Chi at 1:30 p.m. (never tried this before)
• Wednesday: Line Dancing at 9:30 a.m. (two left feet and in Music City – need this)
• Thursday: Zumba @ 12:15 p.m. (hope it is no harder than the one attended before)

It is my hope that during the weekends I’ll find things for the HH and me to do together that are a bit active, and I hope to keep going to the complex pool as long as it is open.

Line Dancing
Photo Credit

What do you think of my choices?  I’ve read that it is good to mix up your exercise routine to “trick” your body.  Is this a good idea? Do you have a favorite form of physical activity and exercise?

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

 

How Needing New Brake Pads Led to Driving Away in a Mustang

Hello World!

There is an expression that life is stranger than fiction, and I have a real-life story to tell that I’d never have attempted to write in a novel because it seems so unbelievable.

At my last oil change, after the usual inspection, it was pointed out that my rear brakes were rated at 5, and 2 indicates brakes are gone completely.  Keep in mind, these are the original brakes, and I’ve been driving the car for 4 years. It had been a couple of months since that assessment, and I knew that a $50 rebate on Ford brake work would expire this past Saturday, so I made the decision to go ahead and have the brakes service while I could save $50 and not have to worry about the brakes over the next couple of months.

I asked the HH if he felt up to driving the 5 or 6 miles to the dealership, and he said he did.  I did not want to have to wait for 2 to 3 hours for the work to be completed. He parked and waited for me while I got the car set up for service. As we were leaving, a red mustang caught his eye, and he commented on it. Later that day, when he took me back to the dealership to pick up my Fusion, I paid for the service on my car while he was checking to see if the dealership could also do a oil change on his BMW.  He was making plans to bring his car Isabelle back the next weekend for an oil change.

Isabelle, the HH’s BMW Z3 soon after he bought her

Instead of heading to our cars, he said, “Hey, let’s go check out the red mustang.” I was not excited; I thought it was a waste of time. The next thing I knew, he was talking to a salesman about taking it out for a test drive. Two and a half hours later, the HH drove home in the red mustang instead of his beloved BMW Z3 roadster Isabelle! The HH truly traded his “mistress” in on a younger “lady.”  You see, Izzy is a 2001, and Reba is a 2008 with only 38,000 on her.

Reba the Mustang

My spontaneous HH acted on a whim. Had I taken my car in and waited for the service, he would never have seen the red mustang, but I didn’t, and he did. When we got up Saturday morning, neither of us expected to go shopping for another car, much less trading the BMW for another vehicle that same day.

Do you our your spouse ever have any crazy on-a-whim moments like this one?

Have a happy and blessed day!

Angela

Plans for Germany and the Czech Republic in October

Hello World!

In less that six weeks, the HH and I will be making our first trip to both Germany and the Czech Republic.  With our departure date fast approaching, it was time to nail down our anticipated itinerary and major things we hope to do on our trip, so this was an important topic of conversation this past weekend.

Photo credit

If all goes well, we will spend two days in Berlin, one day in Dresden, and three days in Munich, Germany.  We will spend two days in Prague, Czech Republic. The length of our stay in each city is rounded to the nearest whole day. Full travel days to Germany from the U. S.  are not counted, and travel between cities is absorbed in the rounding method used.

Prague Castle Photo credit

Organized activities we have chosen are as follows:

• Berlin:  Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour, spending more or less time as desired at the places of interest there
• Dresden:  One day exploring the city on our own – no organized activities
• Munich:  Royal Castles of Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Day Tour and a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour
• Prague: Prague Castle and Vltava River Cruise with Lunch tour

The rest of our time will be to explore or shop as desired.  As far as food goes, one of my former students gave me a list of food items we need to try while in Germany, and I know the HH is waiting with expectation to try some of the beer. The HH and I are so totally pumped with anticipation!

Do any of you have suggestions or recommendations for our trip?

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

Those Not-So-Fun Medical Tests

Hello World!

It is a bitter sweet relationship we have with medical advances and technology. We are so very thankful for the good the various tests do for us, but the actual tests themselves can be things we don’t enjoy or perhaps even hate.

Photo credit

Friday, the HH had the I’m-over-50 colonoscopy.  After my dad was found to have colon cancer as a result of a similar routine exam, his doctor recommended that my brother and I have a screening colonoscopy even though we were then just either side of 40, so I’ve experienced what he has recently experienced. Continuing to fill his glass with the awful pre-test cocktail, I felt for him as he went through the prep.  As I sat with him in recovery, I once again empathized with how it feels to come out of the stupor resulting from general anesthesia.  Once home, he spent hours in the sleeping-it-off phase; however, I did have to wake him to get some food into him after the bulk of two days with only liquids, knowing how hungry one can get.

This month, I am to go to my OB/GYN for the annual “well-woman” exam, and I am already dreading it.  As a postmenopausal woman who has had a bi-lateral mastectomy, I find it harder and harder to subject myself to the annual torture (as it feels to me, though I have a wonderful doctor).  I know there are still good reasons to have the physical exam and normal lab work done. From what I have read, continuing the annual visit is recommended until at least age 65.  While I will continue having my annual visit, that doesn’t mean I like it.  I see it as something I need to do for my health, though it is a despised event.

As we get older, especially after age 50, it seems that more and more of these undesirable tests are recommended for our own good, and this point is not something I argue.  While good for us, many of these tests and procedures are something dreaded.  This is the case with me.  What about with you?

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela