Saturday, January 24, 2009

Back in the deep freeze

Bone chilling cold weather has returned to the Midwest (and much of the country). I went out this morning to start both cars (yes, you heard right... BOTH cars) and the cold wind took my breath away for a moment. That was some cold front.

I stopped to once again look at animal tracks in the snow. A couple of days ago, Christopher asked me to check out the animals tracks in the front yard. There are a gajillion of them, all belonging to my neighbor's hyperactive "guard" dog. However... there amongst the paw prints we saw... hooves. Hmmm... is that how you spell them? Regardless, there they were in all their hooveness.

Deer? Most likely. Christopher nearly hit one on the gravel lane last autumn. I've nearly been hit by one or two since we lived here. However, I've never seen one in the yard... much less two or three. We live at the edge of a forest but there are dozens of houses in the area. Brave deer at that.

Well, both the guys received their bookstore paychecks yesterday and everything... I repeat everything... hubby has made working eleven and twelve hour days over a two week period (and the bonus)... combined with $200 from Christopher's hard earned Book Rush paycheck... and the check we received from the other insurance company for that dent the accident put in our car... all of it went to pick up the Buick yesterday. Almost $2,000 but well worth it if the car lasts many more years.

I told the woman behind the desk that I hadn't written such a large check since writing the down payment on our previous house! They handed me the keys but I had to pick up Christopher from his training session, the one that goes with his scholarship. As we arrived back to the transmission place and saw the Buick, I asked C. if he was going to hug the steering wheel. Instead he just sighed and replied, "My baby is back".

Which is probably filed under "Teenage Boys and Cars". He loves that car. I love the way it is a nice, big, and fairly safe vehicle for "my former baby".

Today he is interviewing and being interviewed by various Co-op houses on the University's campus. He left with freshly pressed pants and shirt, hair perfectly in place, his favorite coat that his sister and brother-in-law gave him for his birthday, and his "Miami Vice" stubble looking all nice and neat. His desire... to look cool enough for the nerdy co-ops but not too cool for some of the others.

It was my suggestion that he keep his Miami Vice stubble through today. He has to shave it off tomorrow. Since he represents the College at community functions, they want the clean shaved look. They don't care about cool, which I understand.

Last I saw him, he was wearing his heavy wool coat and gloves but he refused to wear a hat. It would mess up his perfectly coiffed hair. After all, we are being judged by our peers on campus. Sigh... I remember those years.

Picture: Good Morning; allposters.com

11 comments:

Carolyne said...

Hi Brenda~ You've been tagged! The 6th photo Meme asks that you find the 6th photo in your 6th file on your computer and post it with a description, then tag 6 friends with the same.
Come visit me at PleasantHomeHill.blogspot
cordially, Carolyne

Anita said...

Oh, to be young again. He sounds like a great kid.

Vee said...

So glad that the cars are back up and at'em. How good that the money was scraped together...God is good. The men will have earned their rest.

It's always a bit scary when you speak of going into the deep freeze because that means that we are going right behind you. It's already plenty cold enough and with the heat set low...well, I'm off to find some tea and some blankies.

You stay warm!

Scrappy quilter said...

It's gotten really cold here again too. I'm hoping we can make it into the city tomorrow for church, however they are saying it's going to be even colder than today. Glad to hear the cars are up and running.

Daffodil Hill said...

So glad you have the car back! Thanks for your sweet comments at my site. Your support means a lot to me as I step out into the unknown. If you ever have time to do a post on surviving in the deep freeze, I would really appreciate it. This move from MS to MI is definitely stretching me in that regard! I do love MI, though. It really is a beautiful place. My husband spent some time in Holland in the months before he died. I will be in a different area, but hope to travel to Holland at some point.

Kelly said...

I'm glad your Buick is back and I hope it lasts you a good long while.

Sounds like Christopher was very handsome when he went for his interviews. I hope the interviews go well.

Tracy said...

Glad you got your car back. We drive older cars so I feel your pain!

Mimi said...

It's hard to get sons to wear hats! Even grown sons! I hope your son had good luck with the co-op

Stickhorsecowgirls said...

Awww, your son must be so sweet! I'm so glad he got the car back. Won't it be wonderful when winter ends and we see warm sunny days again? I'm off to get my teacup too!

Anonymous said...

That's wonderful that you were able to get the funds together to fix the car. That will be less wear and tear on you - hopefully you won't have to be driving anyone around now.

I can't get my daughter to wear a hat or even a coat (she likes long sweaters)! She finally agreed to wear gloves when we were have the 10+ degree weather.

We were in a deep freeze but now we're warming up and are supposed to get some rain. I'm not ready for warm weather though. I was sick when it was really, really cold and I feel like I haven't had any time to enjoy being "cozy" (I know you know what I mean).

Manuela

Anonymous said...

I'm praising the Lord that you have your other car back, AND that you will now be able to rest a little more and get your strength back! I SO appreciate the way your family works together. May the Lord guide Christopher as he interviews ...