and so for the crappy part of my day...

if getting the gas turned off yesterday wasn't enough to stress me out..the van decided to try to push me over the edge today.
i had to do a big feed run so i took the van into town. my plan was to load up the feed, get it home and unloaded, grab minnie and molly and stuff them in the van and zip into maple ridge for their vet appointment this morning.

ahh..the best laid plans of mice and men.

i stopped in at the bank on my way to the feed store and as i was pulling out of my parking space my front tire literally and with a loud bang...blew up. the lady from the travel store came rushing out when she heard the noise to see if i was ok...i think she thought someone had been shot! (too bad it wasn't me.)

i did not have my cell phone but she let me use their phone to call a tow truck. i was pretty sure something bad had happened, this wasn't just a simple flat tire. the tow truck driver took off the wheel and found that the front metal strut had broken and punctured the tire. he said if i had been driving on the highway, i could have been killed. he put on the tiny spare and said because it was so small, the broken strut wouldn't reach it and i could drive the couple of blocks to the autoshop.

well he was wrong, just as i was turning the corner, that strut punctured the spare and knocked the tire right off the rim..i finished the last few feet of the journey driving on that rim. the front fender is bent from the breaking of the strut..they checked out the rest of the wheels and all of the others are cracked and ready to go too.

and that is what happens when you haul thousands of pounds of feed around in a mini van for years. the total bill will be about $1600 to replace all the struts and with a new tire and without fixing the bent fender which just absolutely and totally ruined my day.

and yes i am still alive cuz it blew in a parking space instead of on the highway but with that freaking bill having to be paid on friday, i can't say i am all that happy anyway.