Well here is the Goober aka Cruz enjoying being in the backyard yesterday afternoon. We have had awesome weather the past few days in Iowa! I decided to cut back Stick and the butterfly bush yesterday - I didn't cut the butterfly bush back last year.... The butterfly bush was a monster to contend with, but they are both cut back and ready for winter.
Thursday evening I had a deer literally run into my driver's door as I was driving to training for our children's ministry at church. One minute I see a train to the north of me, moving at about my speed and the next minute I see a deer right on the other side of my driver's window....then BAM my driver's mirror goes flying. Two very nice men that were following me and saw what happened stopped to be sure I was ok, with one letting me use his cell phone when I couldn't get my bluetooth unconnected from my cell phone after making my 9-1-1 call to the police to have an officer come to make a report for my auto insurance carrier.
One of the guys walked back and picked up my driver's mirror and parts for me and both said after looking at my car and seeing what happened - if the deer would have hit a foot further up the car - more toward the front of my car - it probably would have flipped and gone through my windshield. A great friend that lived close by came and let me sit in her warm car while waiting for the officer and while I called my auto insurance carrier.
Long story short - I lease my car from Toyota and they don't care where I get the work done as long as the car gets fixed. I am able to use my auto insurance carrier's preferred program vendor - so that helps them out too. I took the car in Friday morning for the estimate and it's scheduled to go in at 7:30 tomorrow morning. I may get the car back by Saturday - no promises because of losing a day to Thanksgiving. Worst case I get the car back a week from Monday. My auto carrier suggested Enterprise Rental for my rental car and Enterprise is honoring the per diem allowance by my insurance carrier for a rental - all I pay is sales tax each day I have the rental. My driver's door would not open from the outside - I had to open the passenger door, crawl over my stick shift and emergency brake (I have a standard transmission) and then plop myself into the driver's seat to drive the car. I can open the driver's door from the inside to get out of the car.
For several years during my morning devotions and prayer time I "plead the blood of Jesus for protection for any vehicle I am in that day" and once again God was faithful. How - here's how:
- The deer could have gone through my windshield and who knows if I'd even be here to do this post.
- My car was driveable - both guys that stopped to help and the officer confirmed they didn't see anything dripping, any liquid under my car or hear anything hissing - plus the officer said the tire was not going to rub on anything.
- I was able to go from 5:45 pm Thursday night to very early Friday morning having everything taken care of from calling my auto carrier, to Toyota to let them know what happened to their leased vehicle, to getting the car scheduled for repairs, and rental arrangements made.
- When I asked the guy where my car will be fixed if he could look at the driver's door to see if they could get it to work - they did - and my driver's door works from the outside.
- The car rental company is honoring my auto carrier's daily allowance so all I am out of pocket is sales tax for the rental.
When I got my water and trash bill this month I about died - my water usage was 6000 gallons with my bill being $20-$25 more than last month! Now my bill had been high for a couple of months but I didn't think anything about it because I was doing a lot of "Butler laundry" with his speedo and the crib sheet on my bed he slept on - along with some watering of the backyard. But when my September bill was still as high as it had been and Butler was gone and I didn't do any watering in the backyard I decided to track my usage for the next month. I did 9 loads of laundry (small to large), 3 loads in the dishwasher, averaged almost a shower a day, etc., and I used 6000 gallons.
I found an EPA link that stated what normal usage per household item should be - along with another web site that had a chart that I roughly figured what I used last month. If I used 3000 gallons that would be high per those links. I talked to WDM Water Works and they agreed I should not use that much water and I had a leak somewhere. I didn't have any puddles or standing water in the house and the line from the street to the house is copper. The lady said I probably had a leaky toilet and told me to put food dye in the tank, wait 30 minutes to see if any food dye coloring was in the bowl and if the answer was yes - I had a leaky toilet. Well, I have my toilet upstairs I use all the time - but I have a bathroom on the main level of the house that I hardly ever use. When I opened the door to the downstairs bathroom I could hear that toilet running......... No food dye coloring appeared in either toilet. One of the guys from church came over yesterday to see if he could figure out what was going on in my tank and evidently the flapper is old. He tried to bend the arm dealie to get it to shut off but it didn't work - so we turned the water off to the toilet for now. WDM Water told me that they could come to the house and search for leaks - for free - so I'll see if I can't schedule to get them out to see what they can find. Jim from church told me that when WDM Water does come, to turn the water back on to that toilet and flush it once to see what WDM Water finds.
Thanksgiving is this Thursday and I have so much to be thankful for - from my family, friends and awesome church family. I'm thankful to have had an awesome husband and mother. And I'm thankful for Jesus coming to Earth to die for my sins and that I know I'll see Him, Mike, Mom and so many others again some day.
I hope each and everyone of you has a great Thanksgiving holiday!
