Updates

So it is the middle of December, and we are plugging along, but just barely. Stuff keeps happening. The other day I took some Campbells Chunky Soup in the microwaveable container to work. On the label it warns that uneven cooking can cause popping noises and a small amount of spillage. About a minute and a half into the two minute cooking time, it didn't just pop, it jumped four inches in the air, blew the top off of the container, and spewed soup all over the inside of the microwave. Not only did I end up without a lunch, I had to spend my lunch time cleaning the #$%^& microwave. I wrote Campbells and they sent me six bucks worth of coupons. Hardly an apology and compensation.
Then stepdaughter calls, and the starter has gone out of the Nissan Maxima I gave her. So down to Tacoma I go. The new starter was $169.95 plus tax. I also got a new headlight, so the tab was almost $200.00. Hell, I only paid $250.00 for the whole car. They were offered $1,500.00 cash for the car, so it is worth the cost of a new starter. As we put of in I heard her boyfriend yelp and heard a zap. When we got the starter in, it would not turn over. After a frustrating 20 minutes trying to figure out what had happened, I pulled out the fuse panel, and the fuse to the starter button was toasted. I thought Nyk had shorted out between the battery cable and the frame, but he had shorted out between power and the starter button. Put in a fuse, and everything worked fine.
I got a call later that night that after running some errands, they had gone to the Laundromat and when they started, the starter wouldn't disengage. Even turning the key off wouldn't turn it off, so that means that the armature was stuck. They eventually pulled off the battery cable, but the starter was fried. I told them to take the starter back and tell them it was defective. They put in the new starter, but they have burned up some of the wiring, so they have to short between the battery cable and the solenoid with a screwdriver to start it.
Mrs. Alstuff just came in and told me that Stepdaughter is in the hospital. She just had a miscarriage. We only found out she was PG last weekend. This is two miscarriages and one stillborn from unknown causes. Gotta be hard. It is something I have never had to go through, although I was in the room when they delivered the stillborn baby, and held him in my arms, and held a crying wife as she cursed fate. Tough stuff.
I am listening to Keiko Matsui's "Deep Blue". Wonderful jazz piano.
Better go, I have been interrupted three times in the last five minutes. Think they are trying to send me a message?