We Seem To Be in A Rut

You've heard of them, right?

Some get into home schooling ruts where they need to shake things up with new activities or curriculum to recharge everyone and renew their vision. Some get into cooking ruts... then there is a flurry of new recipes from book, websites, and magazine articles. There is nothing wrong with any of this. You just don't want to be in the rut we are.

Everything seems to be breaking down at the same time around here. I am chuckling about it. Sort of.

You already know about the hand beater and crock pot and the glasses. There were some minor things... like the ink cartridge in BOTH printers needing to be replaced... but yesterday and today, this stage has taken a more serious turn.

Yesterday, on the way home, the transmission in the old white van started giving out. Dale said he couldn't get the trainy to shift into a higher gear and thus had to drive very slowly on the way home. So, he took the big van (a.k.a... MY van) today to work. He figured on the way home he would stop and get transmission fluid as there appeared to be a leak in one of the lines in the white van. He stopped, got the fluid, got back in MY van, and....




..... it wouldn't start. Oh please. The lights worked. The radio worked. The power windows worked. Everything worked, but it wouldn't start. Wouldn't even pretend to try and turn over. He turned the key and nothing happened. Not even a click.

So Dale calls me from HIS van (at least until it is fixed it is "HIS" van) and tells me he is stranded. I'm thinking... "and what am I supposed to do? The van he left here doesn't work." I was trying to figure out how to get the man home. He said he would call a friend of ours and get a ride from him. Whew.

What a mess. Dale called back a few minutes later and said "I'm not stranded anymore!" He had gotten under "HIS" van and fiddled with wires and smacked the started and wouldn't you know it? It worked! So, he got home, but obviously, the problem isn't fixed. Not with HIS van. And apparently not with the white van. He put the transmission fluid in and took it for a spin, and it didn't seem to help much. That can't be good.

So, we'll see what happens next. Hopefully nothing else will give up the ghost here. I'm wishing I could put some sort of force feild up around my sewing machine. Thankfully, so far, it seems unaffected by all the mechanical drama.