Thursday, August 11, 2011

It's Always SUMTHIN' Part XI

We were up at oh-dark-thirty this morning... and quite literally, at that: 0600 hrs... on account o' because we had a car-doctor appointment over in The Big(ger) City™ to get The Green Hornet's balky windows looked at and (hopefully) fixed.  Well, we have good news and bad news.

The Bad:  TGH's windows aren't fixed.  We require another trip over to Lubbock for to see the Mazda dealer who shall replace the window motors and regulators on both the driver's and passenger's side.  The Mazda dealer told me back in June that particular work would be required to fix the problem and I was quoted something along the lines of 400 Yankee Dollars per side.  I demurred on the repair at that time, being the skeptical sort I AM and also given my opinion there are NO rape laws where the service departments at auto dealers are concerned.  It turns out the Mazda fix-it folks were correct.  So we shall make an appointment...

The Good:  The good folks at Rembrandt's Collision and Auto Repair charged me not a penny to disassemble the door panels on TGH and render a repair estimate.  (It goes without sayin':  I LOVE those guys!  They've done excellent work for me in the past.)  They also recommended I take my baby to the dealer, as the task of replacing the motors and regulators is quite involved and is something they would rather not do.  Further to this discussion... it came out that Rembrandt's has a high opinion of the Mazda store in Lubbock, characterizing them as honest and efficient.  It also helped that Rembrandt's validated the original cost of repair as quoted to me at the Mazda store.  So there's that. 

But as I said: it's always SUMTHIN'.  TGH is gettin' up there in years and everything is made to be broken... it so happens stuff is breaking at a record pace this year.  I've replaced her top, shocks & struts, and had a new timing belt installed... all in the space of two months... and now we're gonna shell out yet another largish chunk o' change to get her windows fixed.  I console myself by thinkin' these outlays are but one-sixth or one-seventh the cost of replacing her...

Sigh.

―:☺:―

I shall now bore you with more mediocre phone pics.  We whipped by Cannon Airplane Patch on the way home to restock the whiskey cabinet and while I was in the Class VI store I noticed this:


New Mexico wines?  Who'd a thunk it?  But, yea verily... it's true (Google it!).  There was also a pretty good selection of same:


I didn't buy any since I'm not a wino.  Wine, to me, is sumthin' to enjoy with a great meal and not sumthin' you routinely drink for recreational purposes.  I arrived at that decision and/or mindset after living through some of the WORST hangovers I've ever had in my life, all brought on by cheap-ass Portuguese rosés, more expensive German whites, and decent California reds, primarily of the Bordeaux persuasion.  I make an exception where champagne is concerned, of course.  I can get blasted on champagne pretty easily, Gentle Reader, if and when we have occasion to do so.

So it was off to the whiskey aisle.  Some time ago I mentioned the Class VI store expanded their single-malt offerings and I now have proof of that statement (click = big, same for the pics above):


We opted for a bottle of 16 year-old Oban this around and are looking forward to tonight's After Dinner Whiskey Hour with great anticipation.

The day hasn't been a total loss.

11 comments:

  1. I arrived at that decision and/or mindset after living through some of the WORST hangovers I've ever had in my life. Red does that to me and wine, in general, makes me very stupid in a very big hurry. To be avoided at all costs.

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  2. We're of the same mind, Deb.

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  3. You prolly already know it, but in cars with power windows, the springs in the window regulators store a lot of pent-up-pissed-off mechanical energy. Many a shade-tree mechanic has had to go to the ER to get his finger(s) sewn back on after screwing with a window reg.

    Good on ya for letting the dealer deal with that mess.

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  4. Wine will indeed wreak havoc upon your brain pan. The worst hangovers I've had came from Spätlese and Port. Lessons learned for sure.

    A few(substantial)bucks for the Green Hornet is still better than a monthly car payment. Then again once your new digs come through 2 trade ins might knock down the payment on the Pennington Caddie.

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  5. We just spent 600 bucks on a new trunk lid haul down actuator for our roadster, Saturday afternoon. Seems those nice cars never want you to forget that they are ladies and must be treated as such with proper offerings of presents.

    For wines, may I recommend the Two Buck Chuck? No guilt and the taste is commensurate with wines of ten to twenty times the cost.

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  6. Inno: I didn't know that and thanks for tellin' me. I normally farm stuff out when I don't know what I'm doin' and that's prolly saved me a lot o' skin and a few bones, too.

    A few(substantial)bucks for the Green Hornet is still better than a monthly car payment.

    Ain't THAT the truth, Anon!! I'm afraid the Pennington Caddie has been relegated to Lottery Fantasy status, which is to say "never," seein' as how I don't buy tickets.

    Darryl: Two Buck Chuck has a good rep, you aren't the first person to recommend it to me. OTOH, there ain't a Costco within 100 miles of me... mebbe even 150.

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  7. Being a wino from ancestry, I can say that, unlike other booze, you have to eat something.

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  8. I'm glad your day was not a total loss.

    ...I can get blasted on champagne pretty easily... We are kindred spirits again -- I love champagne.

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  9. Anon: I always eat when drinkin' wine. Always. A hard lesson, learned.

    Red: I only drink the bubbly once or twice a year... depending on how many weddings I attend. ;-)

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  10. We've recently had some auto costs - never cheap anymore. The Toyota seems to be the only car that has not cost us much - and it is our oldest and most reliable.

    Wine, beer, and whiskey all have their different purposes. To me, beer is best when it is cold and the day is hot. Wine for relaxing. Whiskey for a cold. Mixed drinks for partying. I'm easy.

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  11. Lou: I went for the longest time without havin' ANY repair expense on TGH, and then... BAM! It all came down at once. But as I noted, that comes with age, don't it?

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