Day: June 15, 2012

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Hanging Out in the Garage

I just spent an hour in the garage with my brood. I just set up a chair, sat down with my iPad, and next thing I knew, I had a purring black cat snuggled in for a nap on my lap. Neelix was happy with a cuddle at departure and arrival.

That my tabby is okay with life in the garage is no surprise; he is completely unflappable. But that Tabitha hasn’t been hiding except for the one time I went in with my mother is very surprising. The garage obviously feels safe to her.

I’m amused that I put her favourite blanket in a dark, hidden corner and that either she or Neelix pulled it out and arranged it right smack in the middle of the garage floor. Even though she can’t stand her brother, I’ve caught both of them happily snuggled on that blanket. Cats, I’ll never understand them. 🙂

 

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There’s Nothing Like Quebec Fast Food

From sous-marins to steamés to poutine, Quebec fast food as no competition in North America. Quebecers just know what to do with grease and especially with potatoes.

My mother told me she was heading out for hot dogs so I placed an order for a ‘steamé all dressed avec une frite’ (steamed all dressed (mustard, onion, cabbage) hot dog with French fries).

The casse-croûte messed up my order slightly, sending me a toasté, but no big deal, it was all yummy! For a truly authentic flavour, you should leave your fries in the greasy paper sack, but I like my ketchup (mixed with LOTS of black pepper and some salt) on the side.

My mother eats super healthy, so this was an unexpected treat today. I make it a point to avoid casse-croûtes at all cost, so I only eat like this maybe two or three times a year. I’ve already had a poutine this summer, so I’m pretty much done for this trip. *smirks because she could justify a few more trips as ‘catching up on lost time’*

I took this picture with my phone, motivating me to figure out how to get pictures off the dang thing. The cable and memory card didn’t work, so I did some research and found a solution: Bluetooth. First time I’ve ever used that tech! All that bla bla bla to reward you with a pic of me sitting at the wheel of my truck! 😀

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Waiting On the Estimates

I was at VR Expert on time this morning for the estimate portion of the Fix Miranda saga. I’d been told we’d have plenty of uninterrupted time to go over what I wanted done. Ha. I felt like I was impeding on their time so badly I completely minimized the work I want done on the cab overhang since I don’t want to give them any more money than the strict minimum. I just hope their technical work is better than their customer service.

The guy gave me the impression that the cab overhang is a disaster. He says that, based on a visual inspection only, he needs to pull the passenger-side window, remove the entire fiberglass panel, and let the area dry before he can even think about how to repair it.

He didn’t seem too impressed by the damage done to Miranda’s hitch and frame, so that doesn’t sound like a major job. Neither are the propane regulator and house door window switcharoos, or making the house door square and plumb.

As for setting up the Ranger for towing, he can only do it if I want Blue Ox and/or Ready Brute products and have an uncomplicated vehicle to set up for towing. Shame since I want Blue Ox and Ready Brute products and a 2WD manual Ranger is one of the easiest vehicles to set up for towing. 🙂

They cannot do the windshield.

So the big question mark at this time is how much is the overhang repair going to cost? If it’s less than $2,000, I’ll go ahead and do the Ranger later. If it’s more, I will probably opt to do a ‘good enough’ repair on my own because I know how the overhang is constructed and am not concerned about it falling apart down the road since the frame is aluminum. If they do the work, I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot of interior work to redo. 🙁 I will also need to go to Miranda with a helper and get the loft emptied out so they can get that window out. What a pain in the ass, but it should have been done ages ago. I should never have trusted the Eternabond. I am confident there are no leaks inside the loft at this point in time and that any water he is feeling is between the styrofoam and the fiberglass. But knowing my history of minimizing problems, I am bracing myself for bad, bad news. And for being homeless for at least two weeks. 🙁