Car problems and a windy weekend

In typical fashion when it comes to problems, when it rains, it pours. We spent most of the week dealing with some problems with Kim's car. On her way home from work on Monday, the check engine light came on. She dropped the car off on Tuesday, and the car people didn't seemed too concerned about the light since she hadn't been experiencing any problems with or noticed any noises. She got a call later that the problem was worse than they thought: the gaskets needed to be replaced as they were letting too much air into the engine, making it run hot. They ordered the parts, but it wasn't a big problem...Kim could drive the car until the parts came in.

So, Kim picked up her car after work and headed home. Then as she was stopped at a stoplight at a busy intersection, and the car completely died. After a few (scary) minutes, she was miraculously able to get it started and made her way to the nearest parking lot. Eric left work early to come rescue her, and a tow truck finally arrived two (yes, two) hours later.

The next day, the car place determined an air flow sensor was also malfunctioning, which is what caused the engine to shut off. We finally got the car back on Saturday, and it seems to be driving great so far (knock on wood)!

Of course in all this mess, we still had to go to work, attend a wedding rehearsal out of town, and then go to the wedding yesterday. *phew*. We had a great time at the wedding, and we're so glad that we could help Allie and Ryan celebrate their big day.

Today we're recuperating from the week -- and of course, watching football. Even Peanut got in on the festivities!



Thanks to Hurricane Ike, we've also had to deal with gale force winds today. We're having constant winds between 25 and 40 MPH, with gusts over 60 MPH. So far, we've lost one of the trunks to the white birch in the front yard, a branch to the new zelkova in the back, and a couple shingles. We also lost power for a few minutes, but we're back on now. Keep your fingers crossed that's the extent of the damage.



Current gas price: $3.99 (boo on Hurricane Ike!)