New rings.

I had a little accident yesterday with a power tool. It smashed my hand and my ring pretty well. The little ordeal precipitated a conversation between Ed and I.

We came to the conclusion that 6.5 years together as a loyal, happy, dedicated couple, we're as married as two people can possibly be without the sanction of the state or the church. Neither of us is religious, so the church holds no power over us, and the state is......well, the USA. Every possible piece of legal work has been done to make one another equivalent to a spouse, so the state is taken care of. We could go to Canada for a license and a ceremony but there are practical issues involved right now.

We're married. So, we went out and bought new rings today.

Anniversary

November 15 was the 6th anniversary of Ed and I moving in under the same roof. It's sort of our tertiary anniversary, but it's a milestone none the less.

This weekend

We got the catalytic converters replaced on Ed's car this weekend. The dealer told us we were on the verge of cat failure and O2 sensor failure, and that's why the car stumbled and stalled when the temps got low. Trouble was, the dealer wanted $4400 for new cats and sensors. A local shop did the deed for $1000 and the car seems to run OK. Ed thinks it's not quite as powerful as it was, but since he's never (and I mean never) stomped on the gas pedal in his car, he might not be a good judge.

I have a small worry that the local shop might not have done something right...... simple price/value/correctness concern, but we'll see what comes of it.

In any case, it was a productive weekend. House cleaning, garage cleaning, car repair, just "stuff".

Oh, the main pump on the hot tub failed. Looks like it's locked up. Guess I'll have to attend to that in the middle of winter. Yippee. C'est la vie.

Good people

Ok, so I ordered the Kawasaki and told the good folks at D&H Cycles in Cullman, Alabama I might need to unwind the deal if the cancer and chemo thing didn't work out.

Since then, I've gotten two very nice signed cards from their staff with psalms and good thoughts. I'm not a religious man, but it seems to me these are decent folk who are just doing what they see as the right thing. You have to give credit to people who follow their beliefs and who support others.

I don't know of another dealership on the planet that would do this. That's why I still trade with a dealer in Alabama and I'm in Seattle. Some things have value.