I have HEAT


Not to be melodramatic or anything but I HAVE HEAT. Not only that, but I have HEAT in less than FIVE, yup, FIVE minutes! Not to be sneezed at this week in the minus temps that we're having!!! It's pretty damned hard to clear the windshield in the morning without heat since vans are a little too tall to scrape with any satisfaction & scraping on a slippery drive is how I fell this time last year & dislocated my left wrist!!! THIS year, I get into the van, turn on the wiper defroster & blast the window with air on high while I read & drink a tea for a couple of minutes.

I decided once my snow tires were put on that I should have the whole system properly winterized since I don't know how my new-to-me van has been treated in the past. Without my mechanic of 30+ years, I'm on my own. So I went off to Mr Lube & went for the works. I wanted all the filters - including fuel - changed, oil changed, tranny flushed, anti-freeze replaced, hoses & belts checked. It was ugly in there!! They degunked. They cleaned. They checked EVERYTHING. The fuel filter was original from the factory!! OMG. It appeared the tranny had never been flushed. I knew the oil was bad even though it's only been just a bit under 5000 miles since the last change. I wondered if they even changed the filter at all!! Typical. But, now everything works just fine!! And I got them to disconnect the battery once more while I reset the system. Holy Crap. Everything works like clockwork. I just have to get another part time job to pay for it!!!


Since I spent money I didn't have on the Van this year, I'll be staying at home this holiday season - like I bother to celebrate anyway - & knitting up a whole bunch of this 'FREE' yarn I got from Lynne at Knitopia - a snug little yarn shop around the corner from the Buy Low in White Rock, BC. I've been cranking out hoodies for the Boomer project for the last couple of years but that project is ending so Lynne found a new Charity. She says the folks down at A Loving Spoonful - they provide nutrition support to people with AIDS in Vancouver - are seriously asking for donations for adults. Touques are the biggie on the wish list this year!! I've been knitting socks but when I finish the current pair - I've turned the heels on them - I'll crank out touques from now on. Why??? Well, I have two 135 litre bins full of donation yarn that I'd like to replace with a comfy recliner . . . Are ya listening Santa??? Make it BIG, SOFT & with side pockets for my junk . . . And unknitted yarn is wasted yarn when folks out there are cold.