Mama Said There'd Be Days (Weeks) Like This

Sometimes it seems like someone scoops up trouble with one of those old-fashioned ice cream scoops & just throws it on our plates, doesn't it?

My trip to Knoxville was very nice yesterday although I was in the doctor's office much longer than I had anticipated ... 1-1/2 hours to be exact.  Lucky me, I've got interstitial cystitis & my thyroid is dying (the thyroid thing is called Hashimoto's thyroiditis).  I've also been having some fatigue issues & trouble breathing & she indicated losing weight (a lot of it) & exercising is a must.  Added to all the other wonderful medical care I disperse to myself will now be vitamin B-12 shots 5 mornings per week, pills for the IC, a diet that a bird could barely exist on, & the purchase of a treadmill.

Our riding mower broke down a month ago while mowing the lawn for the first time this year & it has been in the shop until they brought it back to us today.  It seems to be working fine but it's hard to tell because the grass is so tall.  Because of all the rain we've been having, the lawn looks more like a wheat field.  I thought I'd go ahead & attempt to cut half of it after the mower was delivered.  After struggling to get through some areas where the grass is honestly as high as the top of the mower, my husband said to call the man who mowed our hay last fall to see if he would/could mow the grass.  I've been trying to get in touch with him but thus far there has been no answer (he has no answering machine).

I also have sad news about our van.  It just died one day last week (wouldn't start).  We had it towed to the dealership & they thought they knew what the problem was but the part they thought was causing the problem is no longer made.  The mechanic made several calls trying to find one without success.  He thought that maybe if they took the bad one apart that they might be able to see where it had gone bad & fix it.  They took it apart but couldn't find the problem.  He said he'd make more calls to try to track down the part.  He called this morning ... he still couldn't locate a part so they tried running a wire from the bad part to the starter relay which would mean I could start the van with a switch instead of a key.  This should have worked but it didn't.  This means there's another problem.  What they now think happened is that the power drive train blew & shorted out this part.  They can replace the power drive train for $1000 but this still might not fix the problem.  Our only other choice is to junk the van.  I'm a very emotional person & started crying on the phone telling him how we've put so much money into this van already, just bought 4 new ties, etc.  I asked him how we would junk it.  He said they could tow it back here & we could try to sell it for parts, or we could get in touch with a salvage yard to pick it up.  Still crying I told him I had no idea how to find someone to call, etc.  Poor guy ... he took pity on me & said he'd make some calls & get back to me.  I'm upset about losing the van for many reasons, the main one being that this was my dad's van.  He passed away 3 years ago next month & had always said he wanted me to have the van.  It was like I had a little part of him with me & now that will be gone   : (

I did get out to plant some flowers & do a bit of weeding today but I'm still rather bummed about all the above.  Believe me, I am very thankful that the health problems I have can be fixed with medications, diet, & exercise ... & I am thankful that we have our mower back even if it's not up to the job of mowing wheat-like grass ... & I'm thankful for the 3 years I did get to enjoy the van.  I know that I have many, many blessings, & I also know that we aren't supposed to focus on the temporary things of this earth, good or bad, but keep our eyes on the heavenly things before us.  I am striving to do just that   : )