I Do My Own Car Repairs!

Just teasing!  I most definitely do not actually do any car repairs.  However!  A month or two ago, my airbag light came on.  And several weeks later I asked my mechanic to take a look.  I not only don't do car repairs, I just barely have car repairs done.  Anyway...

My mechanic plugged the whatever into the whatever, and it came back with the code that means my airbag's weight sensors have been blown.  And, when your weight sensors are blown, your airbags are deactivated!  It's not going to work incorrectly, it's not going to work at all.  Bad news, I'd have to take my car to the dealer to have the weight sensors reset.  Good news, I'm not doing it!  I told my mechanic, for my sake, I don't want the airbag to work.  He gave me a crazy look for half a second, but then he was on board.  

In the event of my airbag deploying while I'm driving, I have a very good chance of being decapitated.  Airbags are meant to protect people who are sitting at least 10 inches away from them, which is why you should never let children sit in the front seat.  The force of an airbag within 10 inches is deadly.  I qualify to have an on/off switch installed, but last time I checked, that costs like $2,000.00, so um, no.  Plus, you have to apply for permission from the government to do it, which feels awfully big-brotherish to me.  Can't we just pretend it's the 80's and airbags haven't been invented?  They suggest drivers just move their seats back if they're sitting to close, which would be okay, except the part where I couldn't reach the pedals anymore if I moved my seat back.

Then my mechanic mentioned that the red light on the dash would drive him crazy.  Me too.  I told him I might put a sticker over it, and in his professional opinion he suggested I use black electrical tape.  That's why I pay him the big bucks!

And voila!  No more offending red light on the dash!  And no more deadly airbag worries!  I'm thinking about posting a notice on the passenger side, advising my (very, very, very infrequent) passengers that they may sit in the back seat if they're overly worried about the no-airbag-thing.

Hawks

Well, the football game was very exciting, and then quite a bummer.

So, I took some pictures, which I hope will cheer us up a little.

Pretty sunset yesterday.

That's a flying hawk.

And he landed.

Flying the other way.  Kind of like a Where's Waldo.

Frosty things.  These are Red Hot Poker leaves.

Monkey Puzzle tree.

Willow.

Quince.  Looks like spring!

Mossy rock.

Rose bush.

Rhododendron.

Fern.

Robins.

Birds love fences to perch on.

This one's not a Robin.  Bottom's up!

Resolutions

Well, it's been several weeks since I last posted.  And judging by all the blogs I've read in that time, I'm supposed to be talking about resolutions.  So, last year I had two unofficial resolutions.  Unofficial, because making them official seems too heavy.  What a let down when you can't keep your official resolutions!  But no big whoop when you can't keep your unofficial resolutions.  They weren't official anyway.  

So, my unofficial resolutions were:  

1.  No more urine samples.  I hate giving urine samples.  It's one of my least favorite things.  There was a certain urine sample incident that involved having to drink 16 cups of water to get one tiny sample, and I was in actual pain for a week.  Hence, my resolution.  But!  Then I got a huge rock in my windshield, and it prompted me to buy life insurance, and guess what?  They require a urine sample.  So, no urine samples fail. No big whoop.

Aforementioned rock in windshield situation

2.  No more being in the front of group photos.  I am, and have always been, the shortest person in most rooms, and short people always get put in the front of group photos.  Well, after 35 years of this, I am tired of seeing myself in the front.  Booooring.  So, last year I managed to get in the back of every photo.  I just determined if I have to stand on a chair, or get on someone's back, I will not be in the front.  Thanks to my determination, and the support of my friends I did it.  Unofficial resolution success.  Feels just as good as official resolution success.

So, this year my only unofficial resolution was to quit karate kicking my boyfriend.  It never ends well.  Well, we broke up, so I think I have a good chance of keeping this one.  Was the karate kicking a factor in the break up?  I don't think so, because I did tell him my resolution, and had kept it for a week already.  But it's a fair question.

If your resolution is to read more blogs, may I recommend this one.  If you're only going to read one blog, this is the one.  If the recent posts don't strike your fancy, just search the archives for "penguins".  You won't be disappointed.