Well This Sucks for the Start of the New Year

We had to take AJ, our toy fox terrier, to the vet this morning as he collapsed and was having breathing problems. Turns out he had heart failure and his lungs were filling. He did not respond to the actions taken by the vet and continued to get worse.

He was originally our daughter's dog she adopted just before she got married. Her hubby got stationed to Okinawa so the dog ended staying with us. He was a rescue dog that had had a pretty bad case of tick fever before she got him. I noticed his eyes were cloudy when he was a pup so we took him to the vet and he ended up on eye drops etc for life. The eyes did clear up. We were dealing with this when our daughter relocated and did not want to try to put him in quarantine to get him into Okinawa.

AJ kind of adopted me. He would follow me here and there. When he got older, he would come nag me to go to bed when he was ready. He liked the grandkids and they loved petting him.

AJ was one of the good ones. 

RIP  1/1/2012 - 1/3/2026

Season’s Greetings

 

Season’s Greetings from Hampstead, North Carolina! I thought it might be nice to do a little update. In 2024, we were thinking about maybe buying a second house in NC to facilitate visiting the grandkids and family. It was decided that we really liked the area after visiting several times. We decided that 44 years in the desert was past biblical and it was time to just pack up and move to provide us with our next great adventure! We purchased a nice 3-bedroom home around the corner from the grandchildren in 2024 and formally finished the relocation in June of 2025. Boy, can you collect a lot of junk in 44 years at the same home! The home in AZ finally sold/closed in October.

 My better half decided that she wanted a rock garden here and wanted some of the rocks we collected around the old mines in AZ. Yes, I packed up rocks to transport to NC. There were quite a few crates and swearing involved. I also brought some Night Blooming Cereus cacti and our Tombstone Rose. The Night Blooming Cereus has already bloomed once.

 We are enjoying being around the grandkids on a regular basis! Every day is a new adventure.

 I am technically retired (finally) but am still doing training sessions for the company. I am classed as a “casual” employee.

 RAV4 is gone and my better half has a pretty blue 2026 KIA Sportage of which she is quite fond. I am getting a new outboard for the boat switching from 8hp to 25hp. This will be a better combination for fishing the Topsail Intercoastal Sound. I have done a couple of fishing charters learning to fish for the saltwater fish. This is a lot of fun!

The Bronco still lives! I will try to be better at posting now that we are kind of settled. We hope you have a great New Year!

Tell us what you really think!

 I think that he has had enough.

Comfortable with Violence Against Innocents

 I have blatantly taken this from The Smallest Minority and believe that this is well worth a couple minutes of your time.

What's My Line?

 Will the real WalMart Greeter please stand up.

Time for a New Car

 It has been 17 years since we bought a new car. Time flies! The only vehicle in the driveway that is appreciating is the 87 Bronco. The newest is the 2006 RAV which we will keep. I guess I will give up on the 98 Astro even thought it runs fine. We want something new for travelling cross country for our upcoming road trips. I have been threatening to retire in January 2024 and start some trips.

I need something with legroom. My better half is a bit shorter than I am and needs something for her too. We went shopping yesterday. We drove a Nissan Pathfinder. I thought it was OK but wasn't thrilled. My wife disliked it as the seating left her having to turn off the heads-up display as it was right in her line of sight. We then drove a Hyundai Palisade. I have no brand loyalty. At one point there was a Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota, and Hyundai in the driveway at the same time.

I really liked the Palisade and I could tell that She-Who-Must-be-Obeyed really liked it. She was concerned that I would pick something that she didn't like. The passenger side had enough room that I could even take a nap there. We agreed on a model that was more than I planned but it isn't like we buy cars all the time. We settled on the SEL with the premium package with the 8 person capacity. It should be at the dealer's in May. Looks like this:

She thinks it looks great. I think that the front end is homely but what do I know? I drove an International for years!

I am Leaking Money Again

I had received a nice note from the HOA (seriously - it was actually polite) saying that we needed to paint our garage door. This is true without doubt. The garage door in question was carefully examined. It is the original from 1981 and the wood veneer was starting to lift which caused me to pronounce, "Talk about putting lipstick on a pig! I think it needs to be replaced." I contacted three garage door places. 

One never returned any calls. Another came and looked. I said I had a couple of questions since I wanted to know how much I needed to move for them to be able to do their work. He asked if was in a hurry and I responded "kind of" but I was getting one more quote. He told me to call him after I get the quote. I said I had some questions. He said call me after you get the quote. I expect he was going to try to shop the price. I do not care to operate this way and told him I had something I wanted to show him. He was escorted to the front door where I pointed to his vehicle and told him to leave as we were done. He did not even seem to care. I won't mention the name of company.

I will mention Overhead Door Company of Tucson. They were responsive and quoted a fair price. The work was scheduled and completed as promised. No muss or fuss. Nice job.

Remember the title about money? The refrigerator we have in the garage died while waiting for the garage door to arrive. Lowes had something on sale that would work and was delivered the next day.

I have been concerned about the water heater as it is the original from 1981. That must be a record for longevity. I can only think that it lasted that long because soon after we moved in, I replaced the drain valve on the unit with a full throat ball valve so that it would drain properly. This was done once or more a year. We decided, since there was a nice clear path after reorganizing the garage, to have it replaced. I tried to get three prices. Again, one never returned calls. The second was questionable. 

The third was from Just Water Heaters. The price was fair, and they were ready, willing, and able to come about any time you wanted. The man that replaced the gas unit was done in 1 hour and 35 minutes including putting things away and paying the bill. He did a nice job.

My better half commented that this should be about it for a little while since these things come in threes you know. I commented that the water heater was elective and wasn't sure that it counted, I really don't believe in the thing of threes.

The next weekend we heard water dripping after the AC turned off. The old coils were not dripping where they should be and was running down the side. The 23-year-old split unit has now been replaced with a SEER 16 unit. I figure that difference in the electric bill might pay for the unit in about 9 years or so. By the time the new was installed there was a nice stain in the ceiling downstairs I waited for it to dry and used some Kilz before spot painting. Looks OK for now.

My better half stated that this should be good as that is about everything. I said, "Don't say that! There is still the washer, drier, kitchen refrigerator, dishwasher...."

I could have purchased a guided elk hunt with all the services and a new rifle/scope combination of choice for the money that has been spent! Maybe two trips! Aaah, the joys of home ownership.