Rescue Journal

today was good!

Carol  ·  Aug. 1, 2010

mo, tammy and i went to have a peek at amos's new prospective home. i could have cried..it is so beautiful, so perfect in every way...a sad little pain in the ass donkey who has come from an unhappy life...just won the key to donkey heaven..amos is a very lucky little guy.

i just got an email from the family of west, a dog adopted from me about 10 years ago..he is getting pretty old now...has to be 13 or 14 at least and he was a huge 90 pounder husky/mastiff mixed breed. anyway...west is coming sometime in the next month to visit me...i remember him as a giant goofus...i called him a gentle ben. the family had to work out some aggression issues but that dog's real heart was a good as they come. i will trylater to add and attach the picture they sent of west (now ben) asleep on the couch.
i wonder if he will remember me, we'll see...blind little chicklet did and she was from 8 years ago.

Photobucket

and finally... yesterday i probably did a not so bright thing. in order to quit worrying about the van seriously breaking down on me and me having no money to fix it...i went to one of those no money down, no interest for 60 months, we will finance just about anybody, dealer event things. and i bought myself a new car with no money..funny how that can work.

anyway it is a compact, but also a hatch back with seats that fold down. the great gas mileage alone should save me quite a lot. i am semi retiring the van to only hauling stuff up and down the hill for saints so hopefully it will keep running without any money for a bit longer..except for safety, i will still fix the brakes.

my new car was delivered this morning..it is a bit intimidating because it is so clean and not wrecked. and i do actually really like it to drive which is good because 4 trips a day back and forth between mission and maple ridge, means i spend a lot of time driving.

if you are curious about the car that i thought would work ok for me..it is the hyundai elantra touring wagon...it ranked very high in the best and most economical new compact cars. (my son did the research for me on what to buy!)

i will tell you tho, that at 3 am... i was freaking out about just going into great bigger debt to have a reliable car to drive. the thought of the extra payments and insurence cost is scaring the crap out of me...i am having to give up my daily breakfast trips to mcdonalds i think.

Comments

vadie

hi carol,
congrats on your new vehicle, it is nice to have a brand new car at least once in a life time. i know this may be late for you van now..but you may consider it in your next vehicle that is is gona be doing the "grunt" work...Timbren rubber springs(http://www.truckspring.com/suspension-parts/leveling-kits/timbren-kit.aspx?gclid=CN7l1cbCnKMCFQ8hDQodjBWIRw) the url in the brackets show what i'm talking about.

we put them in our 1999 suzuki grand vitara before we headed to florida to pick up our new home on wheels...was our suv loaded with the springs in it drove like a dream "loaded" that is. without a load it can be a hard ride.we also put them in so we could move around our car hauler that we tow with our motorhome..as the MH does not maneuver well)

looking forward to visiting in sept.

Jenn

I would be interested in seeing wes (ben) when he comes ot visit as you may recall I wanted to keep him and you would not let me :( I am glad he is happy in a great home all these years.

Carol

it is a good idea but it has to be paid for so i have to go anyway...the barn feed loads run about $400 per week so whoever is picking up needs the cash card for that....and i can haul it all in one or two trips with the van...i think each week i bring in about 20/50 pound bags (including litter box pine pellets)..so that is the 1000 pounds of hauling that has destroyed the van.

hah! it took me a while to learn, that just because i could shove it all in there didn't mean the van should carry it all. so i have tried to be good and not over load the weight and make two trips instead..but that light bulb going on was a little bit too late...so now i am thinking that since the damage is done already..i can go back to hauling it all in one go!!

amy

Just take smaller loads and encourage your volunteers to pick up when they are going past?

Carol

the real trick is to ensure i do not get lazy and try to haul around a thousand pounds of feed in the new car..it destroyed the van's suspension so i need to make sure i just keep using the van for that kind of stuff.

amy

Good for you Carol. And I agree, probably save you money in the long run. Besides, you do deserve something nice for yourself (and for Saints). Once the van dies you will only have one vehicle to insure.

cheryl and stef

Just think you are probably saving money because of gas, and no repairs for a very long time. Also saving yourself from stress about when the darn Van was going to pack it in for good. WIN WIN all around

Rae

Good for you Carol, you need reliable transportation, for yourself and for Saints!

Maggie

I went on line to see what the Hyundi Elantra Touring Wagon looked like and the tag line is:
A compact with a sporting heart...nuff said!