Thursday, November 11, 2010

Move is Complete--Mostly

(Newton, Kansas)

We're here.  Those two words are among the finest I've ever spoken.  Seriously.

The Road Trip:
In my humble opinion, road trips are vastly over-rated.  I enjoyed them when I was a kid, but in recent years, not so much.  It proved to be even more exhausting when I was doing all the driving.  I've vowed that in the future, if I'm going anywhere further than a day's a drive, I'm flying or taking the train. 


To make the road trip even more exciting, we had car trouble.  Our Dodge--the car with less than 13,000 miles on it--decided to act up the first day out.  We'd just pulled up in front of the hotel in Flagstaff, when I noticed steam coming from underneath the hood.  I got out and pink fluid was spewing from below.  Ack!  Being pink, I was sure it was transmission fluid.  Opened the hood to see it coming from the coolant tank--which was puzzling.  The hotel manager was really nice and said we could leave the car there until we could get service for it the next day.  Called my male relatives to pick their brains, but they were at a loss about how transmission fluid could get into the coolant tank.

In the meantime, I was so tired I could have taken my brain out and played it with it.  Then had the added fun of having a full-blown anxiety attack about how long we'd be stuck in Flagstaff, and whether I could trust whatever mechanic I might choose. 

Fast forward to the next day, and the hotel maintenance man had the front desk call me to tell me he didn't think it was transmission fluid and he'd look at the problem with me.  Before I could get out to the car,  my uncle called and told me his mechanic said that some coolant is pink now.  (Pink!  They had to make it the same freakin' color as transmission fluid?  What's up with that?)  So I met with the maintenance guy and he tells me it absolutely is not transmission fluid.  He checked out all the fluid lines and determined there was no leak except out of the coolant tank.  (The car never registered as being hot either.)  Anyway, he looked at the radiator cap and found some grit under it.  He said that could cause a pressure build-up.  So he put water in the tank, cleaned the cap, and then waited while the car got up to temperature to verify that we wouldn't have a repeat performance.  It's been fine ever since.  What a lifesaver.  Bless you Ryan!

The Cat:
Charley pretty much hated riding in the car.  He yowled from Pahrump, clear to the other side of Vegas, then it became more intermittent.  The intermittent protest was pretty much the norm the entire trip.  (How can a cat cause such guilt?)  The first night in the hotel he hid under the bed for 4 hours.  At the next hotel stop he wasn't nearly so timid.  By the time we arrived at the house, he was ready to explore.  This house has stairs, and the first night, he really enjoyed running up and down.

At This Moment in Time:
The furniture has arrived with like a bajillion boxes.  With the boxes stacked around, it looks like a bunch of hoarders live here.  We're unpacking, but it hasn't made too much of a dent yet.

I need to make changes to my blog.  Obviously, I'm no longer the "desert" quilter, and my weather app needs to be adjusted to our new location.  

I hope to get back to blog reading soon.  I've really been missing you all.

16 comments:

  1. Welcome back, Michelle! Missed you. Glad the move went okay (in spite of the yowling and the car trouble) and you arrived safe and sound!

    You could call yourself the Displaced Desert Quilter, or the Transplanted Desert Quilter. :)

    Good luck with the unpacking.

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  2. glad to hear you are getting settled. Sorry to hear of the car trouble but glad it got fixed easily (and cheaply). Yes a new name for the blog is needed :) You will have to tell us if you like your new house and as you get settled in all about your new life in a new area.
    Karen
    http://karensquilting.com/blog/

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  3. Welcome back!!! We missed you a lot.
    Glad to know you are all save and sound, even though you had a bit of an "adventure" along the way. Enjoy "discovering" the boxes.
    Good luck in picking a name for your blog. As long as the blog owner stil stays the same :)
    Elzaan

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  4. So glad to hear you arrived with minimal problems. Good luck with the unpacking, although it's probably better than packing, as it's nice to find all your treasured possessions again.

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  5. Jumping up and down here because I'm so excited you're home. Last weeks Favourite Things Friday was dedicated to you my friend, because we were all thinking of you.

    So glad you arrived safe and sound and cant wait to hear your tales from the other side. Cats are like kids. You spend your life steeped in guilt!

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  6. So glad you've arrived. You were missed! Hope you get your boxes and furniture unpacked and can get back to quilting soon. Or just unpack the most important boxes (like the one with your sewing machine in it), and leave the rest til later!

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  7. It's so nice to see you in my blog list again!! Glad you made it safely, albeit with some drama - cats are such drama queens, aren't they? I second P. - unpack the sewing machine, you've obviously got the computer unpacked already, and I bet the coffeemaker is unpacked, so I'd say you're good to go!!

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  8. I am so glad you made it. Car trips are poop - especially when you get older! It will take a while to get unpacked so I say, find your sewing machine and get some quilty stuff going. You will feel better.

    I am glad to hear the cat made it all the way (I would have seriously considered throwing him out the window)

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  9. Welcome to Newton! :) I'm glad to hear you all reached sound and safe. Poor Charley, but I'm sure he's going to enjoy the new home as much as you. Sorry you had problems with the car along the way. Now the adventure starts; unpacking! :)

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  10. Remember to take a little time for yourself, that way you can take care of all the other stuff.
    It was great talking to you guys. I picture you holding a sledge hammer whacking away at a cabinet. It brigs a smile to my heart.
    We can hardly contain ourselves waiting for school to be out so we can come and see ya all.
    Hugs.

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  11. So glad you made it! I'm sorry about all the stress at the beginning of the trip with the car and Charley. Hope the unpacking goes quickly and well.

    xo -El

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  12. I'm so glad you made it safely and near enough in one piece. Now after the hard work of the driving comes the hard work of unpacking! But I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.

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  13. Glad you made it safely, welcome back to the bloggy world, i couldnt help thinking of Dorothy in the wizard of oz being swept away in kansas! Hope you find all your quilty things first!

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  14. Hi Michelle -

    Loved reading your update and I'm so glad you made it to Kansas safely. The center of town looks beautiful - so nice and clean. We love the midwest and I hope you'll be happy there.

    Bless Ryan the hotel maintenance guy - that was really sweet of him!

    And, sounds like Charley was just nervous until he found his new home and it sounds like he's settling right in.

    I bet you'll be busy unpacking, but here's hoping it's totally worth it!

    thanks again for the update!!!
    Kirsten

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  15. I want to photograph Newton while I'm there. Maybe we can make a day of it?

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Your comments brighten my day. :-)