Car Half Back

 I was looking forward to having my car back today. 

I left for the mechanic's about 10:30, to walk the mile and a half to the shop.  I'd been without the car since Tuesday morning.

It was sitting there, like it was ready.  I went in and paid the bill.  They'd put the rear bumper back on and changed the oil too, besides the new catalytic with new O2 sensors each end of it.   

So I drive off and there's a horrible noise when I push on the gas.  Exhaust leak noise.  I make a U turn and go back.   I tell him, it's leaking and making noise.  So he says to come back Monday with it, that they'll fix the leak.  I don't know which end of the new cat is leaking, but if they'd taken it on a half block test drive they'd have known and could have had it fixed.  I wasn't happy at all.  Another day of car crap on Monday, and walking to and from.

The dash lights that were constantly on aren't on anymore, at least so far.  But....there's a new one on now.  The airbag light.  It would come on now and then before, but now its constantly on.  Great.  Lol.

Once home, I saw that the middle console was not quite properly reinstalled.  I couldn't figure out why they'd take that off anyhow, but suddenly now a center pop out is caved under.  I decided to take the whole thing out and vacuum under it, to distract myself.   So I did.

I found treasure!!!

I don't wear ear rings.  Those are from some previous owner.

I found over $2 in change!

There's the new catalytic on the left.  It's rear is clamped on, in front of the resonator.  Maybe that's where its leaking. Or maybe its leaking up at the front.  I don't know.

And from the other side of the car, the new cat on the right.  Look at that brand new O2 sensor sticking out of its rear end.

Car runs its just noisy now.  I should have left all that coin under the center console for emergency use.

So anyhow, now its New Year's Eve.  No plans here.

I wasn't myself today.  Yesterday I lost Stiletto, one of the business nine cats, whom I caught for fixing about ten years ago.  All were adults.  The business had said they could come back, once fixed, then renigged.  I couldn't find them homes.  Then I realized, when I saw Rogue drooling pus, he had bad teeth.  That's when I discovered the coast clinic.  The first vet I took him to said he should be euthanized because all his teeth needed pulled and he was a feral.  But I took him to the coast clinic and for incredibly affordable price, they pulled all his teeth except a couple canines.  Then it was Cougie who needed the same.  And the other 7 had to have many teeth out too.  Stiletto had two dentals but in a computer crash incident, I lost some of her records so I don't know if she had a third.

Anyhow, Sassy, another of the Business Nine, died of kidney failure shortly after another dental.  Tilly died suddenly after suffering a saddle clot.  Then Stiletto, always a tiny cat, mostly staying in the cat yard, started hanging out a few feet from me, although she wouldn't let me near.   She was abnormally hungry and had lost weight.  I finally caught her on Christmas Day  and got her into the bathroom and realized how deydrated she was.

I began giving her sub cu fluids but I couldn't keep her hydrated.  I was going to take her in to be euthanized on Monday, before my car went into the shop on Tuesday then got cold feet.  I hate playing god.  Then I regretted not taking her because now I had no car.  The car was originally supposed to be done that same day but he called me and said it wouldn't be done til Thursday and I had a terrible feeling in my gut then, to think of Stiletto's plight and me not acting on Monday when I had a car.  But she got so much worse on Tuesday and some friends volunteered to take her over to Heartland for me Wednesday morning.  By then she couldn't walk more than a couple of feet.

I feel such horror playing god but she was in terrible shape and I had to.   But I'm not myself yet again after it.  I loved her.  She wasn't one I could pet or cuddle or anything but that didn't matter.  She had many friends and was about 12 years old or so.  I don't know exactly.  So long little Stiletto, my butterfly, flitting around on the outskirts of my vision, happy and busy.

The Business Nine are down to the Business Six.  And none of them are young anymore.  I wasn't going to post about since I still feel such sadness.   

Stiletto on the left, with Tilly and Rogue.  Tilly preceded her in death, as did Sassy, another relative.