A Bear of a Day

As quoted in the movie "The Big Lebowski," "Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you." That is how yesterday went for us, and the feeling continues even today.

Yesterday morning I had a mid-morning doctor's appointment, so I took the car while Rick stayed here to wait for the plumbers.  My appointment went well, and when I came home, the plumber had already installed the new shower valve and was working on putting mud down to support the shower pan. Had the old shower valve not broken in September, we would not have considered putting in a new shower this year. We are not sorry to get a new shower, but we would have liked to do it at a later time when we had more money allotted for that purpose.

Although it does not look like much, the new Kohler shower valve
should give us many years of service.  

Rick was working in the garage trying to figure out how many parts we would have to buy to plumb the water softener.  Our plan was to go to Home Depot in Clearwater to pick up the necessary parts as soon as the plumber was finished for the day.

By early afternoon, we had a new drain and the shower pan installed above the new foundation for our shower.  So far, so good.  We paid the plumber, and he was on his way. We were told that the tile men would be back today to start putting in the backer board and the threshold for the new shower.

The first steps are finished: fresh mud supports the PVC plastic
shower pan.

A phone call told us that our application for a permit to put in the new fence finally was approved, and for $111, we could come to Dunedin to pick up the permit.  Great.

So far we were eating the bear, and he tasted pretty good.

Once the plumber was gone, we got into the truck and headed for Home Depot.  Rick had mentioned last week that the brakes for the truck were not as good as they had been in the past, and that we probably should have them  checked out some day soon.  Famous last words.  As we drove down Keene, a major thoroughfare, we approached a stop light.  The light turned yellow, so Rick stepped on the brakes... and stepped on the brakes... and stepped on the brakes until they reached the floor.  We barely stopped in time to avoid going into the intersection.  Oh, oh.  That "some day soon" had just arrived.

We were able in the next block to find a way to turn the truck around and to head home.  Other drivers were not too pleased to follow a one-ton dually truck driving at an amazing 20 miles an hour in a 40 mph zone.  Our hearts were beating faster than the wheels were turning as we coasted in neutral into each situation where we had to stop. I would not recommend losing brakes as the best way to get aerobic exercise.

We cruised carefully into the driveway, and Rick was soon on the phone to the GMC dealer.  I went out to the truck to get my sunglasses for the drive to the dealership when I noticed a large, spreading puddle under the truck.  Rick came outside.  "Ah, Rick," I said, "Something is definitely leaking out of the truck." I won't quote what Rick said. That something, of course, was what was left of our brake fluid.

Thank God for AAA.  Within the hour, our truck was pulled up onto a flatbed truck and we were following it to the dealership.  We watched the truck drip, drip, drip fluid all the way there.  The thought occurred to me that each drip was money dripping out of my bank account.

Today started early since the tile contractor said his men would be here by 8:30 a.m.  While we waited for them, Rick drove the car down to the Permit office. He came back with the permit just before the tile contractor's men arrived.

As they got started, the phone rang again.  This time we heard from the GMC dealership who informed us that all of the brake lines were rusted and that we would have to replace them all.  So far, the bill is up to $1066.  Dang, sometimes that bear bites back hard!

Both the shower and the truck repairs were not budget items in this year's planning, but what can we do?  We need to take care of what we have and to repair what needs fixing.  Will this ruin our whole agenda for this winter?  No, we just have to make some adjustments.  The pavers for the front sidewalk and any hope of landscaping have now disappeared more quickly than morning mist under the hot Florida sun, but with careful spending, we will survive.  We have a very good bid for the fence materials, so we probably will go forward with that yet, but that will be all we can do for this season.

And that's OK, too.  Maybe in the spring, we will have a chance to relax a little, to read our Kindles, to get into our other hobbies, and to finally discover what retirement is all about... until we have enough money to start our next project.