The Sunday Night Shift was a bit of a Pain in the Ass, we had extra people on for the Sale, but the Extras spent a lot of time hiding out in the Break Room rather than working, so, they weren't Helpful. I maintained my Calm tho' and stayed Zen regardless. I'm not Management so that's thier shit to sort out. It was busy until the last Hour, then abruptly, it flatlined, but, I had good Sales for the day, which is the 1st Day of the new Pay Period. I've got to get my Truck in to be looked at by the Dealership to find out why the Check Engine Light is on, and since the Brake Light is also now on, I suspect a Brake Job is in order? I have no idea what it all will cost, so will get an estimate first. If I can't afford the repairs yet, I'll have to just not drive until I can.
Princess T can ask Timmy for rides to and from School, or she'll have to Walk, if I can't get repairs done yet. The Son leaves for Work too early in the Morning to be any backup for me. TJ had come over and said he's gonna work on the John Deere Tractor Mower since his Brother was unable to fix it. I told him I can't pay any more for that right now, but he's gonna fix it anyway and try to get the Yard done for me. It is a mess and quite overgrown with a lush Clover-like Ground Cover mostly, but it has Burs that carry it's Seeds, so we need to get it mowed down before those Pods mature and go hard.
It's actually called Bur Clover. It improves Soil and is good quality forage to grazing Livestock, which is why it's prolific in the Mini Farm Community here. Those who have Livestock would have it be good quality fresh Food for their Animals. It's very pretty and fast growing, very Green and has pretty little Yellow Flowers, so, if it wasn't for the Burs it wouldn't be a pesky plant. We haven't been able to mow our Pasture or Front Yard since the Killer Bee attacks, so, I really need for TJ to get the John Deere operational and mow it. I thought he'd quit after his Two attacks by the Bees, apparently he felt bad and reconsidered after seeing how overgrown everything became.
To hire Landscapers to do a Property this large would cost more than I can afford on a regular basis. I've even thought about getting some Goats to graze it down Naturally, but, I know nothing about tending Livestock and don't wanna be responsible for Living Things and their Care. Even Chickens, tho' tempting, I decided not to get, tho' everyone whose Raised them tells me they're easy, they're still Alive, so, I just am hesitant. I'd feel badly if they didn't do well or Predators got to them. I'm not a Farmer or Rancher type of Gal, I just wanna grow some of our own Food here and have regular Gardens I know how to Care for. We're fortunate we have great Neighbors who look out for us and we look out for them.
Back when TJ and Anna had no place to park their RV and live, we let them Live in our Driveway and Park it there for Two Years. They did our Yardwork and Irrigation as a Thank You, since, we wouldn't take Money and had no problem with an RV in a part of the Property we weren't using anyway. Their elderly Parents are our Next Door Neighbors and have become Friends, so it helped them be close by to help their Elders too. So, even tho' they had to Sell the RV and move in with his Parents when they became ill, to provide Caregiving, he still feels like we took care of them so he wants to take care of some of what we need still. I appreciate that, Anna is about the Age of The Daughter and TJ is slightly Younger than me, his Parents are in their 80's.
It sucks that everything needs attention and outlay all at once... so, some things may have to wait to get done when I have Saved up enuf to pay for it. I'm not thinking whatever needs to be done will be inexpensive, it never is with Vehicles anymore. But, you need one, the Public Transit System here is inadequate and often dangerous, a lot of large groups of Stick Up Kids ride the Buses and Victimize Passengers, especially on a Payday, so, it's not Safe as an alternative. Even The Son had to stop using it after being targeted, they didn't get his Money, but only becoz he realized he was their Target, called me, and I met him at the next Stop, which foiled their Plan. He had Coworkers who did get robbed and rolled tho'. Often these sick Thug Punks video record their violent Crimes for kicks and put it on Social Media.
Anyway, other than that everything is Swell. *Bwahaha* If I end up being unable to go anywhere while I'm Saving Up for Vehicle Repairs, I'll just devote all the time to working on The RV Garage Mahal and sorting thru stuff to Sell, Donate and Keep. The Weather has been iffy, so I have been reluctant to drag things out in the Open, lest the Weather become suddenly inclement. Either it's nice but Windy, or torrentially Rainy and Cold... so, there's not been a break to work on things the way that I need and want to yet. While it's not in the triple digit temps I'd really Hoped it would just remain Sunny and Clear, so that I could, but, Mother Nature is not cooperating. I have so much still to do that it is often quite overwhelming and I tire out quickly.
But, things are messy that I'm working on and it's spread out everywhere right now. Since, I've had to work inside and I've got a lot going on. The Daughter unpacked most of her possessions and put them in the Art Studio Space and/or the 5th Wheel. So, right now I've got her stuff and The Grandson's stuff in the Art Studio Space, which means, working in there around it is complicated. I'm Hopeful that sometime in April the Grandsons might show up with a U-Haul and retrieve all their belongings, so at least I'll be rid of all that. Then I can begin to organize that Space the way it will be most functional for me. And Ideally, move The Daughter out into the 5th Wheel, or at least all of her stuff. *Smiles*
This was my Tiered Fabricated piece I bought from "Rusty Saturday", below is the Cherub part of it on the First Tier that you can't see in the above pix angle. Displays like this are very Useful to me and Display things nicely that I use often. Our Anniversary is Tomorrow and I doubt that The Man remembers, so, it's okay that I'll be spending it trying to get the Truck estimated and hopefully repaired. I'm only going to spend the Morning devoted to that, if the Estimate comes in too high I won't get it done, if it does come in affordable, I'll get done what we can afford to do now. I don't get Paid until Friday and that Check might cover most of it, we HOPE? Hard to tell, I know just getting 3 new Tires cost me over $800 this time around, Oil Changes are now over $100. So, even preventative maintenance can pose financially imposing.
It's why I'm focusing on Selling more and Merchandising it in an attractive way to draw in a Customer willing to spend more. You can't really appeal to the Impulse Shopper easily, since they are too random in what they Buy and how much they spend. I had some more Loss Prevention Issues, mostly due to Workers putting my Go-Backs of LPS Customers changed their Minds about, into my Showroom instead of back into the Locked Case where they should go, then, they get Stolen. *Le Sigh* So, even tho' Marked with a Case Number and not the Showroom Number on the Price Tags, I've now had Management make up some Stickers for each that says "LOCKED SHOWCASE" and I put #83 under that, in hopes it brings it more to the attention of inattentive, careless or lazy Workers where they should be putting it back!?
She's lost about $30 worth this Week of her LPS to Theft, due to being put back in the Showroom rather than back in the Locked Case, so, I did complain to Management about it. I managed to put back some that didn't get Stolen, but, which were in the Showroom and not the Case where they belong. So that saved not having Hundreds of Dollars worth potentially Stolen and not properly Secured. *Whew* I don't want any of those in the Showroom, but, you can't Control what Lazy or Careless and Inattentive Workers just do who aren't following the Rules or don't Care to do their Job right. Yes, it's frustrating becoz you do pay for the added Security of a Locked Case and what you have in your Locked Case should go back into it once taken out of it and not Sold.
States like Cali learned the hard way what happens when their Policing Force doesn't take ALL Crime Seriously, Businesses start Closing or pulling out and going elsewhere. Jobs are lost, people don't feel Safe anymore, more Criminals move in or people turn to Crime in desperation and before you know it, the indigent and vulnerable Populations increase. Population shifts soon follow, as an Exodus of those who can leave and were most beneficial to their Communities, do. Property Values plummet. It's a difficult and expensive proposition to attempt to reverse, better and far more economical to all Residents and the State, to not have it happen in the first place. And it's not just an Urban Problem, I've Traveled enuf to see Deaths of entire Small Towns and Rural areas. That's how Ghost Towns happened.
Once Abandoned, Communities decay and aren't enticing anyone to come back and re-invest in them. Urban blight is already happening in many areas. And the only ones who Love that are unscrupulous Investors and Developers who may even intentionally blight an area to scoop up Real Estate there Cheap, then Gentrify it and own enuf of it that they dictate to the City what they desire. This is how Amazon mega Warehouses that are over 800,000 sf each spring up in depressed or disadvantaged areas and exploit the Communities they operate in. Anyway... enuf of all that, now on to Positive Anniversary News!
Yes, it's our Anniversary and I began it with trepidation since I had to go straight to our Dealership with the Truck this Morning after dropping Princess T off at School. The Diagnostics were gonna be $180 and I got to talking with a Delightful Young Man who Sells the New Vehicles and he was able to work out a Sweetheart Deal for me to just buy a new 2024 Nissan Frontier Truck with tons of Extras, extended Warranty and Four Years of Free Oil Changes for Zero out of Pocket expense, a great Dealer Floored Interest Rate, Gap Insurance and a very good Trade In allowance on my 2019 Nissan Frontier. They really want Used Small Trucks becoz they have a high demand for them and had none in Stock, so, they were eager to get my Old Frontier.
The only regret I have is that I JUST had put $800 worth of Tires on it... dammit. *LOL* But, they let me keep my Bed Extender and I've got some Step Ups on Back Order that they will install when they come in, which was an expensive Extra they threw in too for us. The 2024 is built higher than the 2019's were, so the Steps into the Vehicle are Helpful to us, I'm Short and Old, The Man is Disabled and Old, so, I liked that Feature and the Truck I chose didn't have it yet installed already. There are so many New Features that are Stock on all New Trucks that they didn't even have in 2019, so, I'm impressed. The Truck basically is a Smart Truck and does everything FOR you now. *LOL*
The Frontiers don't come in a multitude of Colors, they only had them in a Deep Forrest Green, Two Greys {one Light Dove Grey, one Dark Gunmetal Grey}, White and a single Black one. The Black one I liked best and it had the sprayed Bed Liner and the Paint Job wasn't an Upgrade added Cost like the Green/Greys were. I didn't want another White one. And, I wouldn't have had Hundreds or Thousands to put towards a repair on an Older Vehicle with 91,000 miles on it, so, this worked out perfectly for us. I had been considering a Trade-In due to using the Old Nissan as a Work Truck and putting a lot of Miles on it. I want a Truck to be easier on now, we don't drive as much, don't Travel anymore, and aren't Working, so, we can Baby this one.
This is about as Clean as it's ever gonna be, so, tho' I plan to keep myself more accountable about not cluttering up the inside and keeping it cleaner, right now it's been professionally Detailed. *Winks* They also filled up the Tank, and I'd driven my Old one in on Fumes. *Ha ha ha* So, with the price of Gas, well, that was a nice Bonus. I had Equity in the Old one since I'd financed it during Pandemic at 0% so all payments had gone off Principal. I was surprised what a good Rate I was still able to get from the Dealership financing me at 5%, since I have been a repeat Customer and this is the 3rd Vehicle in a row I've bought from them. That is below all the National Rates right now, which range from 5.64%-15% or more, depending on your FICO Score. I like that this Nissan Dealership doesn't dick around and waste your time or play games, they make purchasing a Vehicle easy, quick and treat you right.
So, this was a very nice Anniversary Pressy to ourselves and we'll easily remember the Date of it being Bought ON our Anniversary. We were out of there in the New Truck in time for Brunch and they'd had Complimentary Gourmet Coffees there at the Dealership. So, Breakfast for me had pretty much been flavored Cappuccinos and Espressos, compliments of Nissan. *Bwahahaha* After we were done, I took The Man to "Chipotle", we hadn't been there in a while, then we went to "Baskin Robbins" for Ice-Cream. Then we did some Environmental Cleanup and turned in our Aluminum at the Recycle Center. All the Guys working there saw we had a new Truck and gave us a Thumbs Up and laughed that we must be doing very well with Recycling our Cans. *Winks and LMAO*
It is a nice Feeling to have a Brand New Vehicle and under Warranty for everything. Once the Warranties expire is usually when things become uber expensive and start to go wrong anyway. I need Vehicles to be reliable and safe, I don't want to end up stranded or without transportation. I don't like to pour a lot of Money into an Older Vehicle with lotsa Miles on it, even if it's Paid Off.
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So it was a very unexpectedly nice Anniversary after all... Dawn... The Bohemian