MJ was asking what we were doing. MJ is totally deaf.Today was a little relaxing, Sherry fixed breakfast I started a painting Mark wanted. It was a tropical scene he had seen me do may times with the song ‘The Haven of Rest’. Then we went to pay some bills. We even stopped by Mc D’s for a cup of coffee. The drove to Gastonia. Just before our destination, smoke or steam was coming from under the hood. A water line burst. I took our camel back water packs (that we used hiking) and filled the radiator. Drove to the Honda place because it was close. Informed the mechanic we needed it repaired quickly, or it would have to wait. We were due for a local newspaper interview in a couple hours and still needed to clean up and dress, both of us were dirty, not expecting to stop. I remembered what mama said, “Always wear clean underwear in case you are in an accident.”
I was thinking you could have at least cleaned up, you never know what will happen. LOL.
They replaced the heater hose, what would have cost me $5 years ago because I would have bought the hose and replaced it myself, cost $153. OUCH! Of course now they have to remove X, Y & Z to get to the hose. I am sure they earned at least half of the money. (Is that good? But you know that up front when you go to a dealer.) I was afraid to take a chance on driving ten miles to a local mechanic. (I done the painting in a recess in his rec room wall.)
He then mounted a door with glass in the upper half.
WE made it home in time for me to finish the picture and shower before the interview.
The interview went well; I haven’t mentioned my latest book, “Why Not Forever?” We just received our proof and took it with us. I will have more to say about it later. Yes S’Gar went on the back burner while I did this one.
I think I have developed a pattern. I start writing a full length Novel, and in the middle get writer’s block and start a short book. This one is non-fiction sex advice. Okay not sex advice, marriage advice. Maybe not marriage advice, but how to stay together. Well I am not sure. Until after I read the proof. LOL.
I feel like the kid I mentioned an entry or so back who was typing away on his grandpa’s PC, he was typing a story but did not know what it was about because he could not read.
( NOOOOOOOOO I heard that all the way out here, any sex advice I would give would have to be fiction! Not funny!)
Here is Sherry lining up a sh0t (She really does not shoot pool, but it looks good doesn't it?)
See the door in the back ground.
Thanks for coming by the log…..Nite Shipslog
PS: (from Shirl)
The reason dogs don't make good dancers they have two left feet.
It is easy to blame someone else. You just point a finger at them. But have you ever noticed where the other three are pointing when you do that.
Marriage is an institution in which the man loses his Bachelor's Degree and the woman gets her Master's.
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7 comments:
The painting looks very nice especially with the door over it. Sherry look like she knows exactly what she is doing. I'm not too good at shooting pool but its fun to try.
I like that painting and the door around it. Glad that you got the hose fixed on your car. I used to love playing pool. Sherry does look good in that pose. Cute jokes.
Helen
What a cool way of displaying the painting. That is a cheerful painting. I really like it. So a new book soon???? I wonder if there was ever a mom that did not say "make sure you have clean underwear". Now my favorite thing regarding myself is I will take a bath or shower everyday cause no one is going to take me out of this house dirty. When Marty was a baby we were coming back from Iowa and a hose broke. We were closer to Lincoln so Lee just went the speed on the interstate and when he thought he could get by with it faster to try to keep everything cool. It worked. You guys are not so dumb after all.
Beautiful painting...love the look the door adds to it! I just know the new book will be great!
Sorry you were out so much on car repairs
Love ya'll
Hugs Terri
Well, glad you got it all fixed up and made the interview. I thought you were going to say you just sprayed your best cologne and went on! lol
Well, I'd like to read that book you are writing...maybe it will explain how to overcome being on two different planets. lol Oh we are not on two planets all the time...just when we have two different ideas going and get them confused. lol Have a good rest of the weekend.
I love your painting and the way Mark installed it. It looks like you could walk right out the door onto the beach. You did great! I also love the picture of Sherry, she looks like a pro holding that cue stick.
How in the world did you find time to write another book as busy as you & Sherry are? I'm sure you'll find the inspiration to finish your other novel and the thoughts will hit you when you least expect it and the words will go flowing from keyboard to print. Your new book sounds interesting especially since you don't even know what kind of advice you are giving until you read the proof, lol.
Love ya'll
Debbie
Did you really think I wasn't going to leave a comment on the hose busting? HAHAHA, fat chance, I actually wrote 2 comments and with both hit the wrong darn key right before I finished and they went flying off in cyberspace somewhere.
I'm really sorry you had some bad luck with your hose while you were on the road and rushed. Not fun at all!
Okay, lets pretend I know a little about how all this mechanicing stuff works, lol. Lets assume this is your bill:
Labor: $110.00
Parts: $ 30.00
Shop supplies: $ 11.20
Sales tax: $ 1.80
Total: $153.00
Okay, lets see if I can break this down a bit:
Labor: The labor rate at the larger dealerships here is $100. Contrary to belief these shops do not charge by the hour, they charge "per book hour", meaning they have a book they go by that tells them how many hours it should take to do the various mechanic jobs. That's how they calculate their rate. When a mechanic has done certain jobs numerous times he may be faster and can get the job done in less time but you're still going to be charged the rate the book gives. It can also go the other way too if a mechanic has never done a certain job before it may take him more time than the book allows. That's why it's hard for a mechanic to give a down to the penny estimate on how much the total of your bill will be. So let's assume you were charged $100 labor.
Parts: The actual price of your hose was $20 but your bill shows you paid $30. They've tacked on an extra $10 for profitability.
Shop supplies: You look at your bill and wonder why you were charged $11.20 for this. Actually, they didn't use to add this charge on a bill but now some of the large dealerships have started adding this to recover their cost for supplies such as shop towels, hand cleaners, etc.
Sales tax: You're charged $1.80 tax on the "parts only" because you don't pay sales tax on labor. So this is a given.
According to my calculations this brings your bill to $143 but you're saying awwwwwwwww but they charged me $110 for labor, why are you saying I only paid $100 for labor when it's clear I paid $110. Well...there's a hidden fee added to labor by some mechanics (not all) reserved for pushy folks who won't take No for an answer or who expect the mechanic to stop what he's doing and put their vehicle ahead of the customers who had an appointment and fix their vehicle "right now". Some mechanics call this the aggravating fee it's just added into the price of labor because a customer has been so aggravating. Yeah, it does happen if you piss some mechanics off.
So that's your lesson for today, hahahaha. I told Gary what you were charged for putting a new hose on and he said he's actually surprised it didn't cost you more by it being a dealership. He also said that some of the dealerships here are adding an environmental fee to the customers bills now.
There's a lot more involved in running this type business than your average plain ole Joe understands just like I'm sure it was in the line of work you did.
Love & Hugs
Debbie
PS: Sorry about this big long comment but I wanted to explain it with the little bit of knowledge I have.
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