The last sister (the one who wore the newspaper hat) left today, so the house is empty.  There are odd bits of leftovers stuffed in the refrigerator and I will be feasting for the rest of the week with what is stored in mysterious plastic containers.

We had a great time and there is lots to tell you, including our afternoon in a local bar, “Fiddlin’ Fred” and another ice cream confession.

I’ve been too tired to blog these past nights.  I fully intended to  tell you about our Christmas celebration on Saturday and brag about winning at dominoes, but before I went into my office last night Glen told me the car was still making a strange clunking sound when he put it into gear and would be going into a repair shop on Thursday.

FYI, “strange clunking” sounds always equal “big repair” bills.  But you knew that.

And the car has 149,000 miles on it.  Glen is heartbroken because he expected at least 200,000 miles out of his Mazda.  What can I say–he’s a dreamer.

He was also disappointed when he learned in May that his car was only worth about $2000.  Which is less than a new transmission costs.

Hmmm….what to do, what to do.  I know!  Find “the google”  (by the way, Mom, how are you doing with the internet????) and stay up late researching new and used cars.

Did you know that used car prices are up 30-40%???  Because there is a shortage.  Prices are so high that you might as well buy new.

(Buy new????  We don’t know nothin’ ’bout buyin’ new.)

There are few bargains out there, folks.  At least none that I’ve found online.

I’m almost nostalgic for the used car lots in Texas that stretch for miles and miles along the interstate.  Not pretty, but definitely convenient when you need a set of wheels quickly.

Anyway, I did test-drive a new Ford Escape this afternoon.  It was gold.  It smelled good.  Its seats folded flat.  You could talk on your cell phone using buttons on the steering wheel, something the 19-year old car salesman (a sweet kid) assumed would be irresistible technology.   I interrupted when he started describing “Ford’s version of blue-tooth” and suggested we hit the road.

It actually was a fun car to drive.

It was also an insane amount of money.

Let me repeat that:  insane amount of money.

On the way home from town, I consoled myself with an ice cream cone from the Cenex station (they even have a drive up window) and decided that those strange clunking sounds might be something minor.  Something a student in shop class could fix.  For a couple of bucks.

We’ll find out on Thursday.

And I’ll be back here in the morning, after exercise class, to tell you the story of the smelly dog car.  I’m still glad we didn’t buy it.  I think.