Car Keys – The Eternal Search and.. wait, that’s going to be HOW MUCH?!
I mentioned the other day how The Engineir was out cleaning the garage so I could once again park inside. My half of the garage was occupied by my motorcycle over the summer, and other detritus accumulated around it since the space wasn’t being fully used. Piles of recycling, things I’d cleaned out of my car.
These things happen.
It took him a couple of hours in freezing cold temperatures to get everything cleared away, and then he came in and asked me where my car keys were.
My car keys are always in one of three places:
- On the kitchen rack where we hang them
- In my coat pocket
- In the place where I lost them
Places one and two were empty, and we spent the next Quite Awhile turning everything upside looking for them. Nowhere to be seen.
Have I mentioned I only have one key for the Outback?
Thankfully, I did not lose my keys Up North in the middle of nowhere. Because that's something I would totally, totally do. In fact, I hid an emergency cottage key in the shed, because I was afraid I'd lock myself out of the house in the single-digit temperatures. In my jammies. At night. Without my cell phone. What can I say, I get mentally target-fixated and sometimes forget the little details. PS - this is the longest photo caption ever.
I figured they must have fallen out of my pocket when we went to the doctor’s office together for our checkups on Friday. I hadn’t driven in the 24 hours since that time, and I realized they probably fell out of my pocket there.
There, or in the chicken coop. Or on the way to it. Or in the driveway around my car.
We looked in all the usual places anyhow, though – in the fridge, in the grocery bags, in various places in the car, under couch cushions. Not present.
We have had very little snow this winter, as is becoming the case for Michigan (sadly,) but we were gifted with several inches of last snow during this time, making the key search outside rather difficult. The Engineir did his level best, though.
Finally, we (mostly) gave up and I realized I’d have to wait until the doctor’s office reopened today to call them. At 8:01 this morning, I learned they had not found any keys. Bugger!
The sun was fully up by this time, and perhaps thankfully, a pretty impressive thunderstorm last night had melted away nearly all the snow, and so I trudged back out to the chicken coop, and there they were, just inside the gate, off to the side, slightly off the beaten path. Victory!
We are technology buffs, The Engineir and I, and I’m considering getting one of those Lojack-type key fobs that will beep and flash when a remote is activated. Because goodness knows, this will happen again At Some Point.
Today, however, to mitigate this problem, I went to the local Subaru dealer (whom I loathe and despise,) and asked for two duplicate keys. After the parts guy spent literally 15 minutes typing very slowly on his parts computer, he presented me with two keys and a rather astonishing bit of information.
“That’ll be $71.50 for each key, plus a $41.00 programming fee.”
It took every ounce of my willpower not to say, “are you shitting me?!” However, I was raised to be excruciatingly polite in that Midwestern fashion, and instead said, “Wow, that’s a bit higher than I expected. I’ll just take one, please.”
Pretty sure I got ripped off by the dealer. This site lists the keys for an amazing $49.99.
Meanwhile, the burned out headlamp cost $19.99 and ten bucks to replace. It sort of boggles the mind, but I figure I’d expected to pay more for the headlight, and less for the key, so it all washes out.
After making a relatively cranky post on Google+, a few friends chimed in with the costs of their replacement keys:
- Smart car keys: “Wanna trade? It’s about $300 to replace a Smart car key, plus you need to take the car and any other keys to the dealer to have all the RFID crap reprogrammed so that the keys work with the car – there’s an anti-theft RFID dealybop inside the key fob. And it has to be a smart dealer; not all Benz dealers can do this. And the reprogramming will set you back another $80-100 or so.”
- Volkswagon keys: “When I bought my Passat back in 2001, the salesman said, “Don’t lose a key — it’s $600 to replace it.” Needless to say, I made sure I never lost one.”
I mean… the anti-theft geegaws are all well and good, but holy wow! It’s a damned key! Another helpful friend chimed in that his two replacement Tahoe keys cost him five bucks, total. THANKS, KEVIN.
Oy. There was not much I could do but sigh and suck it up, and so I did.
Incidentally, the service guy who put the headlight in for me took less time than the parts guy did to find the right stuff. I’ve worked a parts counter before, so I understand navigating the parts “fiches” can be tricky business, but OY! Oy, I say.
I am now the proud owner of a new valet key.
Also, The Engineir attached a large D-ring to my keys, so I can clip them to myself, much like one clips mittens to a first grader’s winter coat. Not that I don’t deserve it.
As an unrelated side note, my mom is starting to think she’s qualified to drive again. This is profoundly untrue, as she demonstrated in the next sentence she spoke to my husband: “When I’ve lost the car, it’s not because I forgot where I parked – I just forgot what it looked like.” Ah yes, of course – by all means, please, drive on our public roadways!
Also, she just sent me the following email, which is an improvement on her communication skills: “My glasses are out of work. Could you please get me a screw glasses package?” I know what she means, of course, but wow.
ANYHOW.
Thus endeth The Rant.
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Out, damned clutter! Out, I say!
While I suspect Lady Macbeth’s demons were a touch more serious than mine, I’ve lately come to realize how much the clutter in our house has paralyzed and stressed me.
Five weeks away from all my stuff was cleansing, and coming home, I realized a lot of it could go. It’s hard to believe it was only a week ago I was looking out the windows to the sun rising over Lake Huron – it’s fading so quickly.
The time away really helped me get myself together, break out of some ruts and bad habits and work on creating restful, meaningful time and space for myself. I got a lot of Perspective, which is something of which I am often in dire need.
I have once again accumulated Too Much Stuff. I’m owned by it – it burdens me. Heavily. While this feeling is usually something mostly in the background of my psyche, lately it’s been making me really … mentally itchy.
Coming home from Up North, I had a huge list of tasks and chores I want to get done to improve life in our household.
As I was getting ready to get started yesterday, though, I sat here at my desk and tried to think of where I wanted to begin. I couldn’t. I have 1000 things to do, none of which I’m really looking forward to doing, but which need to get done. Each is of relatively similar import. Where to begin?
It took longer than it should have to decide – I mean, just pick something, right? I have a terrible time choosing among equally appealing (or unappealing) options.
But I started with bringing the laundry up from the basement, which morphed into separating out easily 100 pounds of clothing for the Goodwill. I was fairly ruthless – things I’d worn only once but spent “good money” on, things I’m pretty sure I’ll never fit into again (although I did hold onto a pair of Pipe Dream Jeans, because they’re so stinkin’ cute,) things that were too worn out to wear anywhere.
Some of these were hard decisions – especially stuff I’d only worn once or twice since its purchase. What finally got me, though, was thinking it was only taking up much-needed space here, whereas someone else might put it to good use, someone else surely needs it more than I do. Into the pile everything I hesitated on went.
A good twenty pairs of socks I haven’t worn in forever went in, bras that were cute but uncomfortable or ill-fitting, shirts I “liked the idea of” but couldn’t pull off myself.
Thus far, that pile looks like this:
It seems somehow less impressive there. Hm. Well, trust me – the hamper weighs probably 60 pounds on its own, and that left pile consists mostly of heavy jeans and sweatshirts.
Whereas my closet shelves were jam-packed full of crap I’ll never wear, they are now completely empty! \o/
Next up was my office. When I started, it looked like this (I’m not proud:)
While it’s still far from perfect, I’ve made some progress:
Today’s troublespot: The Craft Room (I’m rather ashamed of its condition)
The Christmas fabric is awaiting ironing so it can be made into reusable Christmas present bags, which I use instead of wrapping paper. The rest is just “I don’t have a spot for this right now, so I’m just going to set it down for the time being.” Mm-hmm. “The time being” turns into weeks, months or worse.
Even with just one day of decluttering behind me, I feel lighter. I know there’s so much more to go (I don’t even want to think about getting started on the basement,) but taking steps in the right direction is helping me to feel a little bit less crazy.
Thankfully, The Engineir is helpful and awesome and is, as I write, cleaning out the garage in 18-degree temperatures. This will be great, because it means I’ll have a parking spot inside! Woohoo!
His dad is a really good woodworker, and built us some custom drawers for our pantry. I think that really kick-started my Need to Organize. Once I realized how much easier it was to find stuff with it neatly arranged in drawers, I wanted the rest of our house to work that well.
It will surely be awhile before everything else looks that nice, but wow do I love those drawers!
He’s also working on a spice rack for us that will go under the upper cupboards, which will be fantastic – I lose an entire segment of counterspace to my herbs and spices right now, because the bottles are all different shapes and sizes, and don’t fit into commercial racks.
It’s pretty darned handy having an expert woodworkers in the family!
Someday, I might show you The Plaid Room. Maybe. It’s possibly the most embarrassing room the in house (given you’ve seen the craft room, you understand the enormity of that statement.) For now, though, I just keep the door closed and try to pretend it doesn’t exist, except as The Place to Throw Crap I Won’t Need for Awhile. Eek.
Hokay – I’ve put off doing the craft room as much as I can allow. Once more unto the breach, dear friends; once more!
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Hiatus from the World
My retreat from society is very nearly over. When I came up to The Engineir’s family cottage on Lake Huron in mid-December, the sheer, vast expanse of four to five weeks alone sprawled out in front of me; it seemed like All The Time in the World.
In truth, though, it’s gone by remarkably quickly. It’s been wonderful, but I’m about ready to head home.
I will surely miss being right on the lake, though, with views like this:
and bald eagles hanging out nearby:
I’ll miss watching the rolling waves, ships going by, and being within an easy drive of neat places like the Soo Locks, M119, the Straits of Mackinaw and the Upper Peninsula. I’ll miss the beaches and lighthouses.
However, I also miss my husband, my chickens, my Stuff. I miss being within easy driving distance of groceries and conveniences to a certain degree. I miss having in-home laundry machines!
The Engineir visited several times, including for the weekend of Christmas, so I wasn’t entirely alone the whole time. I visited a friend passing through to Houghton, too, but otherwise, have spent my time pretty quietly.
Being away from it all has let me unwind a bit, though, gather myself and sort some things out. I quit my job, started a new business, did some knitting, watched “Arrested Development,” caught up on sleep, and took thousands of photos and read thousands of pages. I cut my hair to less than half its length. I traveled all over the place in Northern lower Michigan, and to a few places in upper Michigan. I didn’t have time to do everything I wanted, of course, but it’s been grand.
I was hoping for heaps of snow whilst I’ve been here, but the weather has mostly been grey and too warm for snow. Alas.
A week ago, I was not liking the idea of Going Home. This week, though, I’m ready.
I have to remember to bring the changes I’m making home with me, though, and break the patterns I came here to rid myself of. It’ll be an ongoing process, but I am enthusiastic and hopeful.
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A New Venture
Howdy folks!
Apart from publishing that short, previously-written Tip #2 a moment ago, I know it’s been a long time since you’ve heard from me.
About a month ago, I decided to chuck it and head Up North to The Engineir’s family cottage on the shores of Lake Huron, and I’ll be here for another week.
It has been glorious. For the first three weeks, I was also working full-time and largely hating it. A long talk on Christmas Eve had my husband convincing me to quit and focus on something else, so I did – Yay! \o/
I’m launching my own business – a web hosting company geared toward busy homesteaders and people interested in sustainability!
While I have all the infrastructure in place, there are still a lot of details yet to come in terms of site content and design (thanks to The Web Guy (“organic web design”) for the upcoming awesome visual stuff.)
If you’re looking for a web host, domain registration, SSL certificates or other online presence points, I’m your girl!
In addition to web hosting, there will be homesteading/sustainability tips and resources, as well as homesteady giveaways for customers. A portion of our profits will go toward conservation and sustainability non-profit organizations, too!
I’m really excited about launching this business, and I hope some of you might be interested in the services I have to offer. When everything is ready to go live, I’d be very happy to exchange free services for write-ups on your blogs and websites, or for ad space upon them. Contact me (airynd at gmail dot com) for more details.
A blurb from our forthcoming website:
“We know “living simply” is far from “easy living;” committing to a sustainable lifestyle requires a lot more hard work than buying everything from big-box stores. You have many important things to do everyday, and taking care of your website probably isn’t at the top of the list. Whether you have cows or goats to milk, firewood to split, gardens to tend, quilts to make or fencing to repair, you don’t want to worry about your online presence.
That’s why we’re here!
In addition to taking care of our own homestead, we’ll feed and water your website. If it misbehaves, we know how to gently wrangle it back into shape.
Homestead Host shares your values: We are committed to sustainability, responsibility and accountability. A percentage of our profits are donated to leading conservation charities! We are not Just Another Hosting Company – Homestead Host believes in spreading the word about living sustainably and homesteading, and the best way to do that is to attract people like you who want to participate in the online experience, sharing your blog or products with the whole online world.
Whether you have a 5000-acre ranch or a half-acre urban homestead, 10,000 website views per day or three views per week, you’re an important part of the sustainability movement! We are here to serve you and to make sure your online presence is available 24/7/365.”
I’ll post updates here when we’re really ready to start spreading the word. If you’re interested in signing up right now, we can do that, too! Everything is in place.
Thanks!
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Time Management Tip #2 – Apply Yourself
“Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” ~Swami Sivananda
As I was writing the last post, “Stop Waiting,” a niggling part of me was saying… “well, that’s not necessarily the best thing, is it?
I frequently joke about being The World’s Worst Buddhist. This is not true, of course; I am neither the best nor the worst anything in the world – I am merely Below Average. Of the many Buddhist teachings which I have failed to take entirely to heart is applying oneself to the moment’s task – “being in the moment,” as we so often heard it phrased.
When walking, walk: Be aware of the feeling of the ground as it touches each part of the foot, of the sensation of the air passing over the skin, of each muscle group tensing and releasing through the motions, of the breath in and out. This is a glorious thing when one can achieve it, but some of us have a horrifically active and strong-willed monkey mind, and crave ever-more stimulation.
Personally, I blame the internet.
Before computers and all this marvelous technology game along, I had an attention span a mile wide and twice as deep. I could focus like a laser and be completely content doing one thing at a time (usually.) I was seldom bored. Since 1988, however, the year I went to college and discovered The Internet, my brain has been the equivalent of a hopped-up meth-head ferret. I continually seek distractions, preferably multiple distractions, at any given time.
- I play EVE, have a TV show or movie going, and do email.
- I clean the kitchen, and listen to a podcast, while wishing I had something to watch on TV
- I knit, have something on television and still feel like there’s something else I should be paying attention to or doing
This is ridiculous, of course. It is not healthy for me, personally, and it’s not especially productive.
As Aaron noted in a comment two posts ago, applying oneself to one’s tasks is a really good idea. He linked this page.
When I do chores, I tend to do multiple chores – I’ve never been a particularly focused chore-doer, I admit, but it’s a schizophrenic trainwreck these days. I’ll spend five or ten minutes on the kitchen, do half a bathroom, go back to the kitchen, get bored/fed up and go plop in front of the computer because I don’t see any noticeable results from my efforts.
Well, of course I don’t – my efforts are as all over the place as my brain is.
I would imagine, were I to apply myself to one room rather than going betwixt multiple rooms, I would get more noticeable results more quickly. I would probably feel as if I were getting “more done.”
More than a little ironically, I started writing this post weeks ago and never finished. Bah!
But I have other important news to share with you, so it is going to be cut short. For now. 
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Now Reading
Planned books:
- Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food by Wendell Berry
- The Lovely Bones by Sebold Alice
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
- Luka and the Fire of Life: A Novel by Salman Rushdie
- The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
Current books:
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The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry by Wendell Berry
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The Girl Who Played with Fire (Vintage) by Stieg Larsson
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Poachers: Stories by Tom Franklin
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Song of Ice and Fire Set: A Game of Thrones, a Clash of Kings, a Storm of Swords, a Feast for Crows, by George R. R. Martin
Recent books:
- Ill Wind by Nevada Barr
- A Superior Death (An Anna Pigeon Novel) by Nevada Barr
- Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr
- Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. by Tom Franklin by Tom Franklin
- Safe from the Sea by Peter Geye
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