Friday Five - I Bought A New Car & Survived
It has been a wildly productive week, but I am tired and looking forward to the weekend!
1. After yet another ordeal, FINALLY finished installation of my mother's new stackable washer/dryer. I'm too weary to go into details, but after hiring a handyman for $100, we finally got everything up and running.
2. Also completed the process to get my mother her first ever passport this week. We were able to make an appointment at a public library to do everything in one fell swoop, including photos. After my ordeal with her washer/dryer, and her Real ID before that, it was a delight to whiz through this next goal I'd set for her.
We'll be going on a cruise to Mexico and up along the Pacific Coastline in the fall of 2026 with my mom and my husband's elderly sister, hence why the passport. It will be both of their first ever cruise, and my spouse and I are much looking forward to enjoying their excitement over the ship and adventures that await them.
3. This was 'Mom' week, apparently, as I likewise enjoyed taking her to lunch at a lovely lake-side restaurant for her birthday. She gets excited about anything new, which made my job of selecting which restaurant to go to very easy.
4. Our little Mr. Coffee maker is acting up, even though we've only had it for a couple of years. At just $20 it's hardly a budget breaker, however we've generally found them to last for years, so a bit puzzled as to why this one did not.
We don't program our coffee to brew at a set time, because our wake ups are all over the place, so a simple little hit-the-button set up has worked fine in retirement for us. Today, for example, I woke up at 4:15 AM, but yesterday 'slept in' till 6:45 AM. Still, it might be time to splurge on a slightly nicer coffee set up, lol.
5. We bought a new car! I've been contemplating this purchase for about two years, ever since we sold our travel trailer and no longer needed an SUV with towing capacity. At that point, our prior SUV's lower 16-17 mpg and 13+ year age began to become an issue. As the primary driver of our SUV, I wanted improved reliability and higher mpg. Plus a sunroof, the only thing I had on my 'want list.' All of which we got in our new purchase, so I'm very pleased.
The deal making was somewhat less annoying than anticipated, but still required a couple of hours of waiting for the paperwork to be finalized. Sigh.
The selling of our prior SUV, however, was quick and efficient. We received an online bid from Car Max, made a same day appointment to finalize the sale, and walked out about an hour later with a check in the exact amount of the online offer. So that was great.
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My pretty new silver hybrid SUV gets 40 mpg, yeah! |
Today's Healthy Focus Plan - Walk five miles at the harbor, go to Trader Joe's to pick up the last of this week's grocery items, change out cars on our insurance policy, pick up lunch at Board & Brew to take over and share with a girlfriend currently working through cancer treatment (she's in between treatment cycles, and thus has a temporary appetite), spend time learning about some of my new car's features, particularly the Apple CarPlay functionalities, and with hubby at a men's event for the evening, a salad and old episodes of Top Chef are my only evening plans - it's been a week and I'm tired!
What a productive week and so great you are taking care of things for your Mom.
ReplyDeleteI was so excited to finish everything out, and wake up fresh this morning, but . . . saw a mouse scurrying in our garage last night, so nope, it'll be and the exterminator later today. LOL
DeleteSadly, to the coffee maker, I think even upgrading might not fix needing regular replacement. Stuff is just not good anymore. My husband had given me a wonderful Ninja machine. It died just after two years, so a $120+ machine might not last any longer. It's good you find so many things to brighten your mom's life.
ReplyDeleteGosh, Sam, that actually makes me feel better, so thank you! I'm a lot less fussed about a $20 appliance than I would be about a $100 appliance going kaputz. It's actually the same philosophy I followed with regard to our new car purchase - inevitably it will get scratched, but I'll be a bit less pained with the scratch on my Toyota than I would be on a Lexus or Mercedes or BMW. So, in general, a good principle to follow.
DeleteMy Mom and I are late to this level of relationship for many, many reasons, but, yes, I am immensely thankful that we have been able to reach a lovely space of being together, even if late in her life. Hopefully we'll have many years ahead in which to forge and enjoy what we've newly created.
Congrats on the new car! I would rather have teeth pulled without anesthesia than haggle with car sales people. So lovely that you are having these moments with your mom. Enjoy them. I miss my mom a lot. Hubs and I have gone through different coffee maker, Keurigs etc. Now we just use a coffee press.
ReplyDeleteMaura
This time around I'd already visited the dealership twice previously, done a lot of internet research, already received a price bid for our trade in vehicle, and knew exactly what features I wanted and did not want. I was very straightforward with the salesman, who I'd spoken with both times I stopped by previously, and assured him I would buy the car immediately if he gave me a fair price for it. Which he did. Or fair to me at least.
DeleteBut so frustrating that it takes literally hours and hours of time to complete the full transaction. I've bought flooring for a much larger cost than the car, and yet could complete that transaction in just minutes.
Oh, and just you reminded me of our 'old' French press coffee maker that we carried in our old trailer for usage when we didn't have electrical hookups. It made fantastic coffee! But do you find dealing with the loose coffee grounds left behind to be a bit of a nuisance? That is why we did not use our French press at home where we had electrical power.