Aaaand we're off!

 Today marks the first day we will see temperatures BELOW 100 degrees since something like the 9th of August.

It MIGHT just be in the 80s today... we shall see.

That will make it a good day to get the car ready for a road trip!

Heading to Santa Fe tomorrow for a few days. Just a short trip, because it was kind of "spur of the moment," and we didn't have time to save up much money.  We can never just go somewhere, because we have to save up first.

Living pay check to pay check, even now, at our ages, having worked our entire lives, with two full time jobs.  It's pathetic.

I sold a week of my vacation hours (was supposed to be two weeks, but H/R messed up, so we have half as much money for the trip as I had ASKED for), which will pay for our inexpensive lodgings.

We will take most of our own food, but hope to eat out at least once, maybe twice, to get the local flavor.

Other than that, the Georgia O'Keefe museum will be our biggest expense. 

We hope to visit the Santa Fe National Forest, and I have connected with a cousin of a friend who has promised to show us an easy hiking trail.

We will take our first day there to adapt to the altitude, and will play things by ear, depending on the weather, and such. 

Last Sunday, Sammie came back with all of the surviving kittens, who are all thriving and growing.  Unfortunately, NOW is the time for them to be caught, socialized, and adopted out....but the shelters are all full, and we have nowhere to take them. 

The family has been living under our car port, around/behind the trash cans, this past week.

Our house sitter is adept at helping our feral cats, so she will take care of them while we are away.

My treatment last week went okay, but I had to take an Uber, and get a ride home from a friend.  The kittens had decided to go up INSIDE of the engine compartment of our car to hide that day.

Dave saw one run under the car as we were trying to leave, and I got down on the ground, and could see up under the panel under the engine.  There was a tiny face looking out at me.

So, Dave opened the hood, and there were two more in there.... and they WOULD NOT leave.

I suggested the hose, but Dave refused, and I had to LEAVE, so he got me an Uber.  That was money we did not need to spend ahead of a vacation with a really low budget!

He stayed home, and tried for a few more minutes to get the kittens out of the car, but failed, and since it was 109 degrees he gave up and went inside.

When I got home from treatment, it was 111 degrees, but we went outside to try to get the kittens out of the car.  

I suggested the hose, and Dave refused again....trying everything else that he could think of.

Ultimately, our tempers flared, and he yelled at me, and I yelled back, and then I punched one of the trash cans (because I had just gotten home from going to chem alone for the first time ever, I was hopped up on steroids, it was 111 degrees, and DAMN, he had pissed me off!!).... and he decided maybe the hose was a good idea.

It worked like a charm. If only he had listened the first time, none of this stress would have happened.

We moved the car back to the bottom of the driveway, and set another plastic bin shelter under the car port. 

We saw the kittens going into the two shelters at dusk, and decided to keep the car down there until we could get that panel fixed.

Dave was to take the car the next day, but he was not able to, so he took it the day after that.  The oil change place we use had left it unattached the last time, so they fixed it for no charge.

This needed to be done before high speed highway driving anyway....so it's all good.

I'm off to make brunch for us, and then Dave needs to do all of the stuff he put off until the last possible moment to get ready for the trip.  

I can have an easy day, since I've done all of my chores.

Have a great week!