Don't even know what to call this post

I know I need to do a regular post. Sorry. It's 11:00 at night and a friend is picking J and I up tomorrow morning at 7:45 to head to school (zoiks!!) for registration, etc. Why is a friend picking us up, you might ask? That's because Big Mama (what we call our Ford Expedition) hauled us and our camper all the way up to Door County WI and all the way back home before the transmission decided it had had enough of hauling our butts around and gave up the ghost. Let me back up a little.

There was a time or two during the trip that something felt "off" and T and I would look at each other like, did you just feel that? or what was that? We got home Sunday evening and when I drove to work Monday morning there was kind of a big clunk at one point. T checked the tranny fluid and added a little just to make sure. He drove it Tuesday evening and it seemed fine until we got back to the driveway and it did the big clunk for him.

Wed. morning I took J to his dentist appointment for his second filling. He threw a fit. It wasn't pretty. Let's just say we are rescheduled for a later date and this next appointment will begin with laughing gas (maybe they can give me some too). Big Mama was really acting up too so I drove to autozone and they checked the fluid and said it was fine. He suggested taking it straight to a transmission specialist. I called T and he called my brother and it was decided I should try to get it home and T would look at it that evening. Ha!

I started it up and it wouldn't even go into reverse. So I called T back and he made arrangements for my dad and him to come get us and put Big Mama on my brother's trailer. T had to unhook the driveshaft to release the rear wheels (Big Mama's rear end was locked up). That took about 45 minutes. Then they began to pull it up on to the trailer. It barely fit, or didn't quite fit. T had to take the running boards off. It was slow going and 103 degrees. I thought T was going to pass out a time or two. 3 1/2 hours in the sun in 103 degree heat is not good.

Getting it off the trailer once we got to my brother's was interesting and slow going too. We spent about 6 hoursjust trying to get it to my brother's shop. When T dropped the transmission pan there where pieces of gears in it. Sigh...

The good news in all of this is we found a used transmission for a reasonable price and T can do most of the work himself. He never ceases to amaze me. He is in the transmissions 101 class. It's a sink or swim and learn as you go class. I'm sure he'll ace it with my brother's help this evening getting the old transmission out and my nephew's help Sat. morning putting a new one in.

So, I spent yesterday evening doing the things I planned to do yesterday during the day and spent today working, practicing music and trying to vote. Due to ridiculously long lines I wasn't able to vote. I am so bummed about that. If one of the people I planned to vote for misses it by one vote I just may loose it. Sigh...that's what's going on in our neck of the woods.