today - pudding - car - misc.

 Feb 5 2021

There used to be a show on TV called "That was the week that was" or something like that.  It was a news show.  Went away.  For us, this has been one of those weeks - sure, no real pain or gain - but a week.  That's it.  A Week.

First of all, today, the 5th, is my #2 daughter's birthday, born 1967.  If you want to calculate the age, have at it.  Needless to say, I am too young to have a daughter that old.  ASIDE:  She is called #2 because she was born 2nd among our 3.   I mention this because some folks are so anxious to jump on a nothing and condemn others for a slip of the tongue or a stray comment.  Shame on them.

So she has a birthday today.  We will call tonight if the phones are still working.  Tomorrow, a trip to take her and Tom out for lunch.  We do lunch in order to be home before dark - I just hate my dogs being outside after dark.  We still have critters that roam in the twilight.  

Her fine hubby Tom will do something for her tonight; he always does.  I do think he has a gift for the creation of different ways to celebrate all sorts of occasions.  Go Tom Go.   That would make a great book title.

My wife finished off her gallon of ice cream left over from Christmas - yep, last night.  It has taken her until now to eliminate our one gallon of vanilla ice cream.  Woe is me.  What now?  

Sometimes I make remarks in passing about nonsense.  Obviously, once in a while, I actually get it right.  Being the diabetic I am, sweets are few and far between.  I buy little snack packs at the grocery store  (kids carry them in lunches to school)  --  the Sugar Free chocolate pudding snack paks.  Not too bad to eat on a lonely night watching TV with the dogs.  They're good.  Probably not as good as real chocolate pudding made with sugar.

In our refrig is a can of the whipping cream spray on stuff - left over from Christmas too.  In passing I told the wife to get one of those snack paks and cover the chocolate with whipping cream.  I thought it was funny.  Imagine a little plastic container of pudding covered 8 to 10 inches high with whipped cream.  (Eat the whipped cream and throw away the pudding.)  See below.

That's it.  Chocolate pudding (sugar free) topped with whipped cream.

and now.

Above is my 2014 red & black Ford Flex with 91000 miles.  We tow it behind our old motorhome.  It is our family car.  Yes, for those who are long time readers, the black car beside it is my 2003 black Mercury Marauder.  The Ford's 91000 miles has been eating on me.  I'm old.  I love this car.  But, the 91K bothers me.  Too many chances to break.   I started looking about 3 weeks ago for a newer Flex.

Online is an interesting way to look for used cars.  I found maybe 20 to 30 - 2019 Ford Flexes in Texas.   Just stop and say that again.  Flexes in Texas. They didn't make a 2020.  All my Flexes live in Texas.   Wasn't that a country song from a while back?  

Every Flex that I found was setting at about 30000 miles or more - Or lots more.  And all of them, according to that Car Fox Fax animal - all were former rentals.  There was one blue one.  There was one red one (with 45000 miles).  All the rest were white, black, or silver.  Maybe one gray one thrown in there somewhere for good measure.  I had pretty much decided to buy a white or a black one from Big Country Ford in Brownwood (a 3 hour drive +).  Then, the very night before I planned to drive to Brownwood, in a casual fooling-around-on-the-computer thing, I looked up Covert Ford in Hutto.  There it was - no picture available.  They had just gotten in a white one owner, not a rental, 2019 with less than 10000 miles on it.  A little pricey but 10K is a premium.

Online I communicated with Hutto.  I got a first response, and, then, nothing.  All evening and throughout the following day, I tried to get someone online to talk to me.  Nothing.  That evening, I was fussing on the phone to my #1 daughter in Round Rock.  After we hung up, she called Covert Ford and asked why they didn't want to talk to me.  I thought that was fun.

I got a text that night and a  call the next morning.  We talked.  A day later I drove to Hutto and bought the car.  There is no photo of a white Flex here because, I won't get delivery till Tuesday.  You see, they didn't have the car yet.  It was in transition.  I can't spell transcent.  Nope that isn't it.  Transport works.  Nobody would call me back because they couldn't find the car and couldn't figure out how to communicate with me.  

An aside note to salesmen:  it is not hard to call and explain if it is a good reason.  Don't ignore the customer.  We call that customer service.

We left the red car in Hutto.  They loaned me a little black Escape to drive.  We'll go down on Tuesday and get the white one.  I am now in debt again.  Why do I do these things?  Wait, I remember, because the red car has 91000 miles.  At 100000, many people won't even talk to you.   If you live near Hutto, it is a good car - wired and fixed to be pulled behind a motorhome.  Hopefully it will be a bargain.

Finally, I have learned that an Escape is a tiny car.  It has some bells and whistles; but, it is a tiny car.  I miss my Flex already.

Now, as I close, I want to say something about Groundhog Day.  It was sunny in Corsicana all day.

6 more weeks.  So there.

See ya,

mtz