Alrighty then

 The new vehicle was much easier on my back and legs as we traveled back and forth Up North to medical appointments. As with any new vehicle we have much to learn about the features.

Far Guy saw his Primary Care Doctor for a follow up after his hospitalization earlier this month.  He still has a nagging cough that is concerning so he will be on steroids for about a week.  Hopefully that will get rid of his cough.  Between the heat, humidity and wildfire smoke...good outside air is not here. 

I had test injections for a Medial Branch Block...my facet joints in my back are unhappy.   I did not have a good enough result to continue with another round of test injections.  You have to have 80% improvement and I only had about 60% improvement for the six hours that the test injections last for.  They have cancelled the tests in August ..so we are back to square one....or maybe it is square zero. 

Then I saw the Gastroenterologist to discuss my side duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (SD IPMN) on my pancreas.   It is considered precancerous.  Because of the size of the "cyst" (more than 5 cm) the Doctor recommends   1) MRI to watch what happens next  2) Referral to Mayo Clinic or the University of Minnesota  for surgery.   I have a MRI scheduled for the end of September and then we will evaluate the situation.  It is a nasty big surgery...many days in the hospital and a very long recovery.   I am not thrilled about that option. 

I had a video visit with my Rheumatologist...take prednisone he says ...he can do nothing for me. 

Yesterday was son in law Andy's birthday!  Now that is something to celebrate! 

Far Side

Seeing Red

 Far Guy and I have been thinking about a different vehicle.  Although we like our Buick the seats are very uncomfortable in a longer (more than an hour) trip.  After an hour I have to get out and walk around, my left leg and back get so sore that I have to move around.  

Jen's vehicle has seats that support your whole leg up to your knee.  Of course it is a larger vehicle...but hey I might be worth it.  

So we have been talking and looking...thinking.  Sunday we drove past the dealership and looked at vehicles...they had two red ones.  

Finally yesterday we took the plunge.  Took it for a test drive and talked with a salesman.  We got the one without the moon roof.

It has what we needed ...comfortable heated seats and a heated steering wheel.  It is a 2026 Ford Explorer.

It won't get as good of gas mileage as the Buick and it fills up the whole garage.  We should be good for another three years. 

Love me a red car!  

Next week we have numerous Doctors appointments Up North so we will see how we like it for that trip.

Minnesota weather:  High 79F or 26C  Low 63F or 17C  We have wildfire smoke again.

Far Side

Car appointment

 I left early in the morning for the car appointment for an oil change and a tire rotation.  I crocheted while waiting.   They have two waiting rooms...one with a TV and one without.  The TV room has the coffee pots...the salesmen go in and out filling their cups...one said "Good Morning"  the others were silent.  I was there just about two hours. Cross something off my list!

Like I told Far Guy...waiting room patrons are held hostage until their car is done.  If I were a car salesman I would be talking to people and handing out business cards.  I think a few cars could be sold that way...but what do I know. 

Far Guy told me not to buy a car while I was there...so I didn't.    Oil change/new car they kinda go together.

1958 Ford Retractable

Far Side

Azure Blue

 Well we did it.  We bought a new vehicle. 

It has a few things our other Buick did not have..this one has an engine heater (for sub zero days) and the lift gate lifts by itself if you want it to.  Handy if you have your hands full and can stand on one foot and wave the other under the car with out falling over.  This one is a Buick Encore GX and it has more headroom and legroom than our previous Buick. 

The color is called Azure Blue.  

I don't feel real guilty as we saved up for this vehicle for quite some time. No car payments has been our goal...and we did it.  Now we will begin saving again for the next three years and the next new vehicle. At our age having a reliable vehicle under warranty is a plus. 

My super dooper Weather tech floor liners fit just perfect from one car to the other.  I am totally sold on those liners...they contain the melting snow in the winter and the sand in the summer and make cleaning up a vehicle a breeze.  I have not been compensated in any way by the Weather tech company but if they want to send me back seat floor liners or a hatch liner...I will give them a whirl. 

It took us quite a while to get everything switched from one vehicle to the other.  I certainly didn't need two Minnesota road maps....not sure why I need one...but I have one just in case. 

We haven't had a vehicle this color before...Red, Black, Red, Green, Navy Blue and White, Silver Blue, Red, Tan, Red, Black, Black, Turquoise, White, Light Green, Baby Blue, White, Willow Green were colors we have had before.  One of those vehicle was a favorite of mine and I drove it for 20 plus years it was a 1984 Navy Blue and White Ford Bronco II that I bought used in 1987...I cried when it left the yard...no tears were shed yesterday...three years isn't long enough for a real attachment to a vehicle.  

Far Side

Car History

I like red.  I especially like red cars.  Red is a cheerful color.  Have you noticed how many different colors of red there are…Fire Truck Red, Orange Red, Deep Red, Raspberry Red…

The Cruze was not red because the red one sold really fast so I settled for black…years ago I had a red Dodge Charger…oh how I loved that car.  It was an 1982 I think.  Brand new.

A week ago Far Guy test drove a different car…and he was sold on the vehicle almost immediately, but it was a charcoal color.  The red car came into the dealership last Thursday.  On Friday I took it for a drive and three hours later we left the black Cruze and brought the new red car home.

Chance was not real sure about this whole new car thing.

We put his car blanket in the back seat and he took his first ride.

Winterberry Red is the color.

It is the new Sunday car.  It doesn’t get as good of gas mileage (only 28 - 32mpg) as the Cruze that almost always got better than 38 mpg, we only filled with gas every two months for the Cruze now I suppose we will have to buy gas once a month.  We are not exactly big travelers.

All Wheel Drive should get us through the snow.  The heated steering wheel and seats will be appreciated on really cold Minnesota winter days.

How cool is a back up camera? Yes the yard is a lake…it was 50F here yesterday.

Maddie asked “Why did you choose red?”  Jennifer answered “ Duh…your Grandma loves red cars.”

Andrew asked How many brand new vehicles have you had over the years?

1973 Gremlin (White)

1978 Plymouth Horizon a special order with a special paint job (Black with yellow, orange and red trim on the bottom.)

1982 Dodge Charger (Red)

1986 Dodge Caravan (Silvery Light Blue)

1990 Geo Metro (Red)

1995 Nissan Pickup (Torquoise Green)

2017 Buick (Red)

The 2012 Cruze (Black) was not new it was either a rental or a program car.  It had 18,000 miles on it when we bought it and had 52,000 miles on it when we traded it in.

The 2005 Chevy Tracker (Red) was also a program car, it had some miles on it when we bought it, it is a 4 X 4 and is it our everday vehicle that now has 152,000 miles. It has some rust…Minnesota roads are very salty.

Other vehicles that were not new.  1959 Desoto Station Wagon (Willow Green), 1966 Mercury or Dodge Caliente (White with a black vinyl top), 1968 GMC Pickup (Baby Blue), A 1963 Ford Cortina (We called it our English Ford and it was light green), 1974 Gremlin (Torquoise Blue), 1973 Ford Pickup (Black), 1984 Nissan Stanza (Tan), 1984 Ford Bronco II (Blue and White)…I drove the Bronco for 20 plus years…I still miss that vehicle.

So much for Car History.  Far Guy says the best vehicle he ever had was the Nissan Stanza…he called it his office because he spent four hours a day in it commuting to and from work in Fargo.

Rain and Car Shopping

It warmed up and we had freezing rain.  It will snow some more….and then we will be thrust into the deep freeze again.  The roads were beginning to improve and now they are icy again.  Such is life in Minnesota.  It will be –50 F windchills on Thursday, now that is something to look forward to.  It seems the weather elsewhere is a bit crazy…at least we are not flooding and we have more than one snowplow.

We made a trek to town for essentials, fresh fruits and lettuce.  More organizing supplies were purchased. 

We have been looking at buying a new vehicle.  I will never use State Farm Bank for anything ever again, their customer service is non existent and when you call there you are never told the same thing twice.   The paper that clears the title on my vehicle has been in the mail since December 26…or has it?  Maybe something was mailed on January 9th.  Are you kidding me?  Far Guy was livid.

My vehicle (The Sunday Car) is front wheel drive, we really need four wheel drive or all wheel drive since we live where it snows everyday.  We call it our Sunday car because that is usually when we drive it!  Love the heated leather seats…nothing better…and auto start…and bluetooth…and it gets 36 to 42 MPG consistently.  I hate that it is black and gets dirty on the gravel roads and that it is low to the ground.  Far Guys vehicle is four wheel drive and it is our go to vehicle but it is getting older.  It is just fine for a second vehicle.

So we are car shopping. Unbelievable that vehicles cost more now than our first home.

Snowy reeds along Shell River