Just last month we drove the wagon through Missouri on a three day trip. I have known for a while that the car shifts a little funny first thing in the morning. I set the transmission to "W"inter mode and it starts in second gear unless you really step into it. That worked fine and I thought nothing of it. My car does not have a transmission dipstick so I intended to take it to the mechanic before our next long trip and have them check the fluid level. In fact I talked face to face with them last Tuesday the 8th.
The next day I played racquetball in the morning and parked in my driveway until early afternoon when I teach swimming at the local Y. As I put the car in gear it really did not want to move. It felt like I had two gears engaged at the same time. I tried neutral and got a slight grinding noise. Then I tried reverse and got some forward motion from the car!
Enough is enough. I called the mechanic and told him the car was stuck on my driveway and he was to come get it, fix it, and call me when he was done. He assured me that it was probably a bad gasket in the valve body and he would call me Thursday morning.
The service manager himself started the car when they got it off the tow truck. COMPLETE AND CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE TRANSMISSION. Well, if it is going to break I am happy it happened in my driveway, not in another state on a long trip.
Today I got the car back. New transmission, torque converter, and a lower ball joint. The shop took extra care to flush out the transmission cooling lines of all the debris before installing the new parts.
The shop knows me all too well. Last time I had a major repair I did not use their complimentary loaner car service. I commented that with a major repair (the shift console: who thought a little spilled coffee would disrupt the electronics) they could throw in a wipe down of my dirty dashboard, or perhaps a coffee cup. After all I did not cost them the expense of a loaner car.
This time the weather was so nice, Judy and I managed with the scooter and her car. Again, I went a week without utilizing their loaner car. Sure enough, I got the car back with a super detail, inside and out. I neglected to tell them that my son was car sick last month and I never did get it completely cleaned up. Now it is. They even did a headlight polish for me. I have the kit and planned to do it again. I already polished them three years ago. They do a super great job but charge for it. My comment last year paid off. The repair bill was softened with a complimentary detail and headlight polish.
On April 25, I spent a long weekend fishing Trout in Arkansas. Our mens group from church makes an annual trip. I try to keep on the good side of Pastor and studied up for the trip. Here I am waiting to pack our gear for the eight hour drive.
We rent a cabin in the Calico Rock area and rent boats from Lyndsey Trout Dock. We fish all morning and afternoon. The dock is first class and dresses the fish for us. The boats seat two or three. We motor up river and drift down with powerbait or cast a jig. Rainbow and Brown trout are plentiful. Here is a typical catch.
In the evening we must fellowship. The campfire is lit and we contemplate the vast expance of our universe and swap recipes! I sit back and enjoy a little peace and quiet.
This year my best friend from High School, Bryce, joined us.
Gene captained our boat and Bryce showed us how to catch brown trout. My view all day looked something like this:
I brought my famous Trout Cheesecake and about a case of wine. I also canned my catch for long term storage. The jars are cold packed with clean fresh trout. There is nothing else added to the jar. After processing 110 minutes at fifteen pounds the jars are ready to store. The fish is a little softer than canned salmon. The backbone can be pulled right out and the smaller bones dissolve. I often add a few drops of liquid smoke to my recipe. I make a smoked trout spread, salad, and of course the savory cheesecake. I add fresh dill to the filling and make the crust with crushed pitta chips. This six inch cake feeds ten to twenty as an appetizer
The trip is titled "Mens" fishing trip so of course we fill up two quad cab pickup trucks. I offered to drive my Mercedes E-class diesel but nobody took me up on the offer. After the trip we calculated each truck burned about $200 in fuel. My car could have made the whole round trip on a little more than one tank of gas! What I glean from this is "men like trucks."
The second student who was supposed to play had a bout of stage fright and refused to go up to the piano, so I was a little worried Carl would be rattled, but he was fine!
Carlton playing "In Old Hong Kong":
Carl and his teacher Brenna after the recital:
Steve was fishing on the White River in Arkansas this week so he missed the recital. Grandma Nancy drove down from Overland Park to help me with the kids this week, and stayed to hear Carl play. She drove home right after and I just got a call that she made it home safe. Thank you, Nancy!
This year Passover coincided with Good Friday, and our new friend Lisa (whose son Ari is in Carl's class) invited us to her family Seder. Here are the kids ready to head over to their house. We really, really enjoyed participating in their family service!
We also had our friends Christine and Jason's son Jackson from Friday through Sunday, as they went to the hospital to have their second son Benjamin! Jack was fabulous through the Seder, then went right to sleep Friday night. Saturday morning we dyed Easter eggs:
Then we got ready for the Eastborough egg hunt. Last year, Jackson didn't do so well with the egg-hunting thing. He was much better at it this year! Étienne, of course, is very good at egg hunting.
They had a new company doing the petting zoo this year, with not as many animals. Also, no pony rides! Veronica escorts Jack, who is not too sure about those dangerous baby goats.
We also invited our new pastor and family to attend, since they have an 8-year-old daughter. Here, Pastor Chad guards the baskets of candy.
Or is he just checking out what he's going to swipe from Vivine's basket later?!?
Jack was brave enough to take a picture with the Easter Bunny. Veronica still won't. I don't blame her. That is one creepy-looking bunny.
After the egg hunt, we played on the playground for awhile. We warned Pastor Chad not to push Jack on the swing, because he will let you push him for hours and hours and hours. Dude, we totally warned you!
We had linguine and clams for dinner! Yum! Well the kids, except Carl, had linguine and marinara.
Easter Sunday at church! And Easter breakfast in the fellowship hall after! Apparently, Jack was hungry.
Then we had the church egg hunt, and Étienne struck a dashing pose. After church we took Jack back home, and we got to see two-day-old Benjamin for the first time.
Look at that little sweetie-pie!
Veronica loved his little hands.
I didn't get a great photo of the kids in their Easter clothes this year...
We had a locally-raised leg of lamb for Easter dinner, and Steve requested a coconut cake so I made Alton Brown's recipe.
Monday I came home from work to find all the kids, and bunnies, in the front yard oak tree.
Do you see Veronica up there?
Tomorrow we are expecting severe weather and Christine and Jason and the boys are coming over to ride it out in our finished basement. Veronica will be thrilled to get to hold baby Ben some more!
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