Monday Moanin’

Everything seemed normal (or as normal as it gets around here) Monday morning. It was cold, but with a promise of warming up later in the afternoon.

It was normal, that is, until I started driving to work. Once the car had warmed up, I stopped at the light midway between Middle Belt and Merriman. When I took my foot off the gas and applied the brake, the car died! Hmmm… that’s not normal.

So, I started it back up, revved it a couple of times and drove on. When I stopped at the light at Merriman, it stalled again! This time, once it started, I pulled into a parking lot and revved it a lot. Then I continued on. But when I stopped at lights, I kept my foot on the gas and braked with my left foot. This allowed me to get to work.

I took the magazine rack in and everyone oohed and ahhed about it. So, that made me feel good.

I took the expressway home at lunch, thinking I’d blow out whatever was causing the problem. I stopped at Home Depot, because I am sick and tired of turning on the kitchen or main bathroom lights and then waiting five minutes until I can see. The CFL squiggly bulbs in the bedroom and office don’t do that, but the fancy round ones I put in the kitchen and bathroom fixtures take forever to warm up (or something).

So, I bought some LED lights that are economical in use (and are supposed to last forever), that come on immediately and can even be used with a dimmer, which CFL bulbs cannot (not that I have a dimmer, but if I did, well, no problem!) Now, I must tell you these are not cheap (just under $20.00 apiece) so I think I will have to live to be 100 years old to recoup my investment.

I grabbed a couple hot dogs on the way out and ate them in the car. Then I went to O’Rielly’s Auto Parts and bought some fuel injector cleaner for my gas tank (thinking maybe that last tank of cheap gas was cheap for a reason).

I went home and swapped the lights in the kitchen (easy) and stated to change the lights in the bathroom when I realized how dirty the glass thingies that cover the bulbs were. So, I left the bulbs out and washed them instead. These are antiques, so I hand-washed them and left them to air dry.

I headed back to work, still on the expressway. The car seemed fine.

I took the expressway home at 5:00 PM as well, but the car died at the light at Inkster and Plymouth Road! Damn! Why do I have this sinking feeling I will be spending Saturday morning at the Volvo dealer and spending my kids inheritance as well?

When I got home, I finished installing the bathroom lights and then screwed on the magazine rack. Now, part (well, most) of this project was just to see if I could reuse the pallet to make something decorative and useful. A fun project, if you will. But, of course, it was purpose-built as well.

There is a telephone jack on my bedroom wall that always struck me as out of place, too high on the wall and, well, ugly. So, I mounted the magazine rack over top of it. See photos. The only downside of the rack is it makes the poorly-stained pieces in my bedroom look even darker. But I kept telling myself that, had I bought one, it would be the same effect. And, on the positive side, it will keep the magazine I am reading off the floor, where I had kept them before.

Jake called just after that and we talked for a bit about his work and the all-day meeting he had to attend today. I have had to attend similar ones in the past and so I could commiserate.

After we hung up, I warmed up the last of the Knocks and Beans Supreme. I (and the cats) had learned the hard way over the weekend that, while tasty, the gaseous effects were not something you would want to take chance eating for say, lunch, and then going back to work (hence the hot dogs). But, I figured it would wear off before morning.

So, I ate dinner and then watched a couple of taped shows Finally, the effects of the second cup of coffee I made and drank while talking with Jake started to wear off and I was able to go to sleep.