It snowed on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of last week! I was up at 4am every one of those days cleaning the driveway so I could get out of my driveway without sliding into traffic. Three out of the four nights, I had to clear the driveway again! By Wednesday, I was very tired and quite irritable from the snow and lack of regular sleep. To top off the week, I was working on the last pass with the snowblower and the shear pin broke. Argh! The snowblower was out of commission and I ended up shoveling the last bit. The weekend was beautiful. But, guess what? Tonight, it's supposed to snow and we're due to get another 6-10" of heavy wet stuff. Where I work (45min from home) is due to get up to 12"!
THE ENGINE LIGHT
Several weeks ago, the Check Engine light went on in my car. The BF checked it with his code reader and it said it was the EGR valve. A couple days later the light went off. It was off for a week or so then came on for a day, then went off. It came back on toward the middle of last week. Since it kept going off and we did some research on EGR valves, we didn't think it was a dire problem. The BF's light comes on and off all the time and it's not a serious problem either.
Then the car started idling and running really rough. So, I looked online for symptoms of a problem EGR valve. Mine matched, so I checked online for prices and got one from the local auto parts store. On Sunday, the BF dug into the engine and replaced the valve.
Since the car needed an oil change, I checked the oil while he was finishing up putting the car back together. Imagine both our surprises when there was NO OIL in the car! Not even on the tip of the dip stick. For those who might not know, that is NOT good. Not good at all. There was no evidence of leaking oil at work or at home so the BF thinks because the EGR valve was more than likely stuck open, the engine was burning the oil and sending it out the exaust. I was very lucky we decided to replace the valve when we did since there was no oil in the car. The BF said I'd probably would've never made it to work today... and I would've ended up replacing the engine for around $5K, installed. He put oil in the car and reset the codes. We drove it for about 30 minutes and it runs and sounds so much better! I'm going to check the oil frequently for a while to make sure the car has enough. Since I've always had newer cars, I've never had to worry about checking the oil between the regular oil changes.
For fixing my car and the snowblower, I took the BF out to lunch at a China Buffet. Good trade, don'tcha think?
STITCHY STUFF
I frogged the lazy daisy stitches on the January Hardanger SAL and redid them with four strands of DMC instead of the perle cotton.
I also started and finished the February Hardanger SAL. The cutouts are a bit rough and the doves eyes aren't the greatest, but for the first time around I don't think they turned out bad.
I've also worked on JG, but there's not enough progress to show (maybe in my next post!).
TREASURE HUNTING
I have always wanted one of these.....
So when I saw it at the thrift store, I had to get it. Since I've never used a serger, it'll be a learning process for sure. I am so excited!
TREASURE HUNTING
I have always wanted one of these.....
Singer Serger
So when I saw it at the thrift store, I had to get it. Since I've never used a serger, it'll be a learning process for sure. I am so excited!
Until next time,
