9-1-12

4:30pm

Today we went to the flea market,

junk yard and thrift store.

Flea market-

$1.00 Captain America 1977 Trans Am car

like this one HERE .

.25 cents each

2 bottles Miracle Whip

1 bottle Kraft BBQ sauce

Pair of half boots $1.00.

We stopped by the junk yard for the second

day in a row.  Went yesterday in search of

a steering box for Tony's Dodge truck.

Found one at Werthman Bros on Main St.

Was driving the Suburban then and

someone beside us told us we didn't

have any brake lights.  Great, just great!

Pulled over and checked it out.

They work when they want to.

If you press the brake pedal hard to the floor

they work when stopped.  Press lightly when coming to

a stop and they don't.

At Werthman's they pull the part off

the junk vehicle for you but it may take them

a couple hours to do so we had to go back

after getting the kids off the bus.

We took Tony's car then and on the way home

it started running really hot.

Hot to the point even the air conditioner

wasn't working and we sweated our woo hoo's off.

What the hell is wrong with all these

vehicles wanting to act up all at once???!!!

So we get home and let the car cool down

and gave it a drink of antifreeze in the radiator

and started looking around for the problem.

The Stratus has two electric cooling fans behind the

radiator and one of those motors locked causing the fan to come loose and damn neart

put a hole in the radiator.  Thank goodness it

didn't as that would have been an expensive fix. 

We found a replacement fan this morning

at the junk yard.  I priced these electric fans

at auto parts stores for $100 to $200.

Pick N Pull junk yard has them for $25

and the good things was that this weekend

all parts was half price so we got it

for $12.50!  Getting ready to put it on now.

And I want to get the car a new radiator cap.

And if it still has problems then will

get a new thermostat.  All these items

are under $10 new so will start with

the cheap items first trying to diagnose it.

Here is the old fan.

See the middle area that is supposed to be held

down by a bolt and screw?

It's all chewed up and completely gone. 

The fan should not be able to come off the shroud like this.

Here is a fan Tony pulled off a 

Mitsubishi car that is compatible with

the Stratus.  Note the middle is still in

tact and the screw is holding it in place.

Yesterday when we went to the first junk yard

where you pull your own parts off

I suggested taking our wagon along with

an exercise mat (cheap yard sale find) I got for Tony to lay on

while working on cars along with a tool box. I think other guys

were jealous because I could hear them

whispering to one another out in the junk yard,

"why didn't we think of that!"

Because you're not a woman, lol.

They were lugging around wheel barrows

provided by the junk yard that just looked

too difficult to maneuver and required two

hands.

Our other stop today was the thrift store.

My main things I wanted to get there

was some more shorts and shirts

for the boys.  I spent $15 and got

3 polo shirts,

4 basketball style shorts with pockets,

$10 for the 7 clothes items,

new in box Rain X anti-fog .90 cents,

100 count light clips new in bag .90 cents.

1 cook book called

A Man, A Can, A plan .90 cents,

and a Cooking definition book for mom

with funny sayings in it $1.91.

These are photos from yesterday.

Butterfly that was in the garden.

Some Zinnias I grew from seed this year.

I plan to harvest the seeds from them 

and replant next year.  I love these beautiful flowers.

They are easy to grow and drought tolerant.

And this year I planted Flying Saucer Morning Glories

which just started blooming.

The first rain looking clouds from Tropical Depression

Isaac came in yesterday evening.

Still haven't seen much rain other than

a few spot drops.  The gardens and trees

sure could use some rain!

Do you need a very quick and simple supper idea
that is cheap to make and very filling?
I made a potato soup tonight for supper.
This would be a great comfort food
that will make you warm and fuzzy 
on cold Winter evenings.

Almost Instant Potato Soup
(something I just made up)

1 pkt of loaded baked potato instant potatoes $1.00
1 pkt of country gravy mix $1.29
Onion Rings (like Funions) 
whole bag was $1.00 from Family Dollar
and you only use a couple crushed up on top of soup.
.10 cents for 3-4 servings

Dump instant potato mix and gravy mix
into a saucepan.  Add 4 cups of water
over medium heat.  Whisk ingredients together
until it thickens.  Serve with fried onion rings 
crushed up on top.

VERY filling!
Total cost to make 4 servings was $2.39
or .59 cents a serving.

I'd like to introduce to you the newest member
of our family as of 8-28, Honey Boo Boo.
Don't know why but after watching
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo that 
name had stuck in my head, LOL!
I think he's actually smiling for the camera.

I'm gonna guess he's about maybe 2 months old
and looks just like our other cat Mow Mow.
No that's not pronounced like what you do to your grass,
Think like a boo, boo and what you say
when you get one, OW!
That's what I call him anyway and he answers to that, lol.
Anyways, we're standing in the driveway late one
evening talking to someone when this little kitty
just walks up to us.  There's a lot of wild kitties
in the neighborhood that I'm sure are producing
more kitties and that's probably how this
one came about.  Found our last kitty this
same way.  He was hunkering down 
in someone's uncut grass, barely noticeable, meowing like
he was scared and wanted someone
to pick him up and comfort him. 
It's been a rough couple of days with
our kitty getting used to this one
wanting to beat him up because of being the
single kitty in the house for about a year now.  But it's getting
better each day as they get used to one another.
Honey Boo Boo is what I call a lap kitty.
He crawls up in your lap and zonks out
in every position possible.  Back, bottom,
sideways, legs stretched out, lol. 
He was so dirty when I found him.
I think he was going for the dirty blonde color.
He looked like he had been crawling around
cars and dirt and I had to give him a bath
and found him a flea collar since
he had been outside.