My Suburban Got A Piggy-Back Ride

I once again am exhausted and just fell asleep in the chair. I am trying a new mouth guard for my sleep apnea, and it is hurting my teeth, two in particular and it is keeping me from getting a good night sleep. 

I have been busy as well, so I just need to catch up on some sleep! I fell asleep in the chair and again and it is almost 4 a.m. 

I spent most of the day trying to figuring out why my suburban won't start. I was so happy when for the first time in years my suburban started right up for camping as I had a trickle charger on it. It did fine until after camping, we were cleaning out the trailer and I forgot to unplug it from the suburban. 

While draining the water tank etc, the battery drained on the suburban and we had to use my little battery pack to jump start it. We got to the field where were were storing it, and we were just about to pull the trailer onto wood planks for winter storage, and I turned the car off to make sure they were lined up and when I got back in, it wouldn't start. 

We tried jump starting it again using several different methods, and it wouldn't start, it would just click. I thought perhaps I damaged the battery. We had a trickle charger on it overnight and went back the next day and nothing. 

Today, I went by my mechanics and got a new battery thinking perhaps there was something wrong with the battery. I traded them out and nothing. I did notice that when I was connecting the red terminal, it was sparking each time I connected it and my mechanic told me there was something keeping it from connecting well. He thought it may be the rubber covers keeping it from connecting, so I cut those off. Still nothing, so my next guess was the starter. 

I purchased the started used, and got a few good years out of it. I hope it is a cheap and easy fix. I don't want to put much money into it as it is older than three of my girls and we use it once a year to go to the lake. 

Thank heavens for AAA. I have had it for more years than I can remember, but rarely use it. I have the RV plan, so I get 100 miles towing. I was able to have it towed to my mechanic and was grateful to the couple allowing me to store it in their field. It is so nice not having to deal with weeds, and prickers to hitch it. They visited with me as I waited for the tow truck for a few hours as they needed the big truck as my suburban is BIG. 

The problem was that it was still attached to the trailer and the trailer wasn't quite on the boards. The house owners helped me block the trailer, unhitch it, tow my suburban out of the way, then hitched up to the trailer and pulled it onto the wood planks, then sat and visited with me in the shade. They were very kind and sweet and allow me to park it on their lot for free! I covered the tires and had already winterized the pipes and it is such a relief to have that at least done. 

By the time we dropped it off, it was nearly 8. I visited with the tow truck driver and he went to school and was in percussion with Princess Three! In visiting with him, he shared that his mom had five kids and her former spouse was VERY similar to mine. This mad said he has nothing to do with his father. He said his dad stopped paying his alimony at the beginning of COVID as he knew the courts would be shut down and his mother couldn't get in anytime soon to get him to pay it and it is amazing to me that a man could give up spending time with this man as he was hard working, clean cut, respectable, an asset to the community and very kind! What a loss that father is to humanity in giving up contact with his son for money and laziness / pride / selfishness! We talked about how sad it is for him not to know his grandchildren! 

I shared with him that my oldest grandchild asked when Princess One's dad died a few years back. She just assumed since I was single, that he must be dead! So far as any of them know, he is. I can't understand some behaviors, but sometimes feel it is better to not have certain people in your life! I could see this man had sadness over his loss of a father in his world. I explained that he and his children are better off without that trauma and drama in their world, as if you let someone like that into your life, they get a hold and then you can't seem to get them out again, so it is better to draw a firm line and stick with it. 

I let Princess Three know he asked about her and said to tell her "hello" and she replied. It turned into a nice day, but it was VERY HOT and VERY LONG! I need to get some sleep. 

Have a blessed day!

Funny Rusty Car Idea - Jurassic Car

I went on a road trip with my friend this weekend and I am super tired. I am going to share something I saw while we were stopping to pick something up at the grocery store. 

We parked next to a rusty older car and I laughed so hard when I looked over to see this dinosaur logo on the door. I then noticed they had a larger one on the hood and in the front and back fenders, they had "Jurassic Park" like the cars in the movies had on them. 

It was such a creative way to make a VERY rusted out car look "Cool" by just adding a few pieces of vinyl cut outs in a few spots. 

Someone has a good sense of humor and a creative thought process. 

It reminded me when we were younger and had a white boring van. My family made it into a joke by putting a bar code on it and painting "Generic van" on the sides as it was during the time that "no name" generic food came out as the people selling it didn't have to pay for printing and color ink on the boxes, so they just labeled everything in black on white boxes and slashed the prices super low. 

I have a post where I talk about it a little here and found this photo I put in that post talking about it. So, when I saw that car, it "spoke to me" bringing back some nostalgia for creative times with cars. 

Hope it brings a smile to your face as it did mine. Have a blessed day!

Honda Giveth and Honda Taketh - Ha Ha My Brother-in-Law Giveth

Since Princess Two has a new car, I am trying to fix up her old 2007 Honda Pilot for my use. I am still giving Gratitude for my friend Julie and her husband who made her getting the new Pilot possible. 

I paid my daughter $5000 for the car, and in my area which has larger families, it goes for about $1000 more than in other areas of the states. On eBay and other areas, it goes for about $6000. So, it could go for $7000 in the area. It may even go for a bit more, due to low mileage.

However, it needed all new tires, an alignment, the CD player wasn't working, it needed detailing, the doors weren't staying open, the springs in the second seat are bad, and there is a cigarette smell. I have spent the last week, putting in a used stereo, added a Bluetooth, USB, and aux cord component. 

I steamed the entire interior scrubbing every surface, got four new tires, ordered new door checkers to keep the front doors open, got the parts, asked my brother-in-law to help me figure out how to take off the interior door panel so I could install the parts I bought. I was able to install the cd player I got from a junk yard by myself, but I don't have the tools needed to get the door panel off, so I figured if he could get the panels off, I could install the parts. 

When I opened the packaging from a Honda parts place I ordered off of Amazon, one of the bags was open and the part looked scratched, like someone had tried to put it in. My brother in law said it was new even if it was scratched, so we went ahead and tried to put the parts in. 

The good news, is that the drivers side door part is the right one! The bad news is that the passenger door side part, the open and scratched part, didn't fit, wasn't the right part in the parts bag. 

The best part of this entire thing, is that I got to hold my nieces baby while he put the part in! He didn't want me to take a picture, but in the end I got one. 

I laughed when I opened the part and saw that the Tracking number on the package had a 111 on it! I have so much going on currently that I have been a bit stressed. 

It has been comforting to see all the 111's, finding coins to remind me to Trust in God, and seeing rainbows, and hearing songs that are important to me. Yesterday, I was talking to my sister about wedding plans for my daughter on the phone and the song playing on the overhead at the store is one that is specific to my individual family. We all used to sing it while growing up together and sing it often wen camping together. 

I contacted the parts company today and left a message and haven't heard back on the other part, but all I have left to do hopefully, is get the alignment done. 

I also noticed that when looking up the cars online, that Honda Pilot for that year was one of the top 10 rated cars. I hope I can get it to where I can drive it. I may see if I can replace the seats with ones from a newer version since the cloth seats are holding the cigarette smell and car seats have overrun the springs. Maybe if I can replace those, I can drive the car without allergies. 

Any way I look at it, I can still sell the car for what I paid for it! I didn't want Princess Two to have to worry about selling her car and knew it needed some work. I LOVE that I can charge my phone now in it, and that I can now listen to my audio books on the CD player. I enjoy listening to them as they help me stay awake. Here is a link to my love of those.  

I am so grateful to have cars that run and work properly. I am grateful for family who will help me fix broken things! I am grateful for friends that care enough to help my daughters be safe! I am feeling very blessed!  

Have a blessed day!

How To Organize Car Repair Receipts, Warranties, Oil Changes, Tire Rotation, Registration & Insurance

I want to share in this post how I organize my car papers, tire warranties, oil changes and tire rotation schedule, repair receipts, registration and insurance information in the car glove or jockey box. 

My Honda has a radio code that needs to be input every time the battery is disconnected. I replaced the radio and needed to put the new code from the other salvage Honda into the new car. While I was putting the new information in and after I got new tires today, I needed to update my information on the tire warranties. Walmart didn't give me any information on the tires until I asked and had to have them write the warranty on the tires on the paperwork. I was super frustrated as they are selling "Warranties" for $10 each tire to people and never even mention that the tire company offers warranties on the tires so their tire warranty is not used as they know and probably use the warranty on the tire first if you go in with a tire issue. 

I decided to share the information on how I write the warranty information on tape or on the item. I have another video on how I write it on anything I purchase so I don't forget that I have a warranty, or have to go to the file cabinet and dig for the warranty information if something goes wrong. Here is a link to that video. 

I have the papers in order of date and the new receipts go in the front so I can find them, the registration and insurance information go to the back so I can get to them quickly if pulled over, and the manuals for the car are in the center. 

I put the warranty information for anything that deals with the car on tape on the holder for the car papers so that they are easily visible and a reminder that I have a warranty on the item as so many times, we just replace the items not remembering there is a warranty. Now, I will know for sure what the tires warranty is on the new tires. 

Have a blessed day! 

Princess Two Got a New Car Thanks to Some Great Friends

I shared in a post a few weeks back that Princess Two wanted to buy a new car. Here is a link to that post.  In the post, I shared that she tried all day at different dealerships driving all different brands of cars and after driving many different makers and models of cars, she realized that she really loves her Honda Pilot. 

While she was test driving at the Honda Dealership, I had a thought to call my good friend Julie that I have mentioned many times on my blog. She and her husband always drive Honda cars and have always driven the cars for two years and then upgrade. 

I called Julie and asked her when they were planning on trading their Honda Pilot in as Princess Two had decided after all the test driving, that she wanted another Honda Pilot. Her reason is she is really tall and when getting into the smaller cars, or her head was high into the ceiling and she has to duck down to see out the windshield which makes her lean forward in the seat and then her back strains, so it is important that she finds a car that helps her be comfortable while driving. 

Julie said she and her husband were going to travel the 3 hour drive to the Honda Dealership and see if they had the car they wanted to purchase. They went down at the end of June and test drove the only car the Honda Dealership had that they would like. It didn't have the tow package, the roof rack or the running boards. They asked if they would be able to get one anytime soon with those options and in the color that they wanted, and they were told due to COVID, they just can't get the cars they want. 

Due to the situation with COVID you have to take what you can take. So, with that, they decided to go ahead and get the beautiful blue Honda Pilot. 

They paid off the old pilot from the lease company and had the car parked in my driveway. I couldn't register or insure the vehicle until the title came. About a week later, the title came and we transferred the title and I got it registered and insured, but in the craziness of everything, I forgot to pay them for a day or two. My daughter asked me why she had so much money in her account and if I had payed them. 

I kept thinking in the back of my mind that I needed to do something else with the car, but felt like such a dingbat not paying them for the car! It was a HUGE amount of money as the car is worth more now than when they bought it due to COVID! 

I called them and apologized for my blonde behavior. I asked why they didn't say anything to me and her husband told me that after I left with the title, he asked her if I had said anything to her about paying. She told him that she would not worry about it and would let me get to it on my own. 

Have I not told you in the past how amazing my friends are?!?! They just trusted I was stressed with the wedding and in trying to get the car registered and ready for Princess Two. I apologized so many time and just felt horrible I left them hanging. I think because the title took so long to come and the car sat in my driveway for a week or more, the transaction just wasn't a smooth one as usually I pay and they give me the car at the same time. 

I got them a cashiers check and Princess Two came down for the wedding shower we had in town this past weekend and she got to drive it for the first time! She got more and more excited. She stared looking how to use things while I was driving and I would look up things to figure out how they worked while she drove. I guess I drove the entire trip on the way there in all wheel drive. ha ha. I figured it out when I drove back. 

Princess Four asked me to take a picture of her and send it to Julie and her husband and I took it but haven't sent it with the crazy that is going on. She said, "Today is the first time I've felt like I can get in my car and relax without worrying that the car may break down." 

That piece of mind really makes what Julie and her husband did for her HUGE. They were so cute that they got the windshield replace, filled the car with gas and left her the rubber side and back of chair mats. They have gone above and beyond kind! I know he wanted the car to be perfect for her and it is! It is amazing to me that my friends husband cares more about my daughter than many in her life who SHOULD care about her. She is truly blessed to have such great role models of what a good man / father / and husband looks like. It meant a lot to her that he would do all those things for her. 

She said it was such a smooth ride home and she is thinking that the more she drives it, the more she will love it! She isn't planning on getting a new car for a LONG time!  

THANK YOU JULIE AND HUSBAND FOR BLESSING OUR LIFE!

Cleaning The Car - Delivering Food Is a Messy Affair

Last week I delivered food for two days. On one day, I had three car loads of food in cardboard boxes. I would take the food around and let people shop around the car. 

Opening all those boxes in my car left a trail of tiny cardboard bits and I hadn't vacuumed it since the last time I delivered boxes two weeks prior. My car was so dusty and looked horrible. 

Having some of my girls home for the past two weekends has been fun but I was embarrassed having the girls ride in my car. It was so dusty and I usually don't allow it to get so messy but with the Covid nightmare and being so tired after, I just didn't have the energy.

After I got home last night after serving my sister and niece, I still had a bit of energy left so I vacuumed and washed my car. It feels so good to have my car clean. When I got in it to run errands today, it was wonderful to open the door and see it clean. 

I have decided that in the future when I am delivering food, I will put down a blanket so I can just shake it off after and not have to vacuum it. I have delivered so much in the past few months that my back seats are constantly folded down. 

I am so grateful for my car. I am grateful for my dad and his wife for helping me get a car that is exactly what I need! I am truly blessed! 

Have a blessed day!

Tee Pee and Hammock - Camping Fun

I am exhausted and have tried to get a few things done today since we went camping this weekend for our annual Easter Camp-out with my family. 

I haven't gone in five years now as my girls were all busy, or I didn't feel up to going and getting the trailer and suburban ready. I had LOTS of help from family getting things ready and helping with issues on the trailer. 

I helped a neighbor a few months back to clean out her basement. While doing that, she had a homemade tee pee she was getting rid of and I thought my grandchildren would enjoy playing in it. I decided to take it camping and it was a hit with the kids! 

I ordered a hammock for my father for Christmas a few years back and that was also a hit with the grandchildren. They would climb in and beg for someone to push them. 

I am hoping I feel better tomorrow. I am still exhausted and finished cleaning up all the coolers and other food items today. It was nice to be able to sleep in as I have had the grand-kids and love them when they are around, but I also love to be able to catch up on sleep when I can. 

I found a similar tee pee online and it is $100. It's more authentic being light in color, but I like that mine is darker in color so I don't worry about it getting dirty camping and think I will leave it in the trailer for our reunion. 

Here is a link to the similar tee pee in case you are interested in getting one.  

Here is a link to the post where I share about the Hammock I researched and bought for my father. 

I would recommend both of these items for camping. Both are easy to set up and are enjoyable for all ages. 

Have a blessed day!

I Haven't Gone Even 600 Miles in Five Years in My Suburban

I got my suburban started the other day for the first time in 2 years. I was able to get the car started by putting all the gas from a five gallon gas can into the tank and cranking it for a long time to prime the line. 

I had checked the fluids and while doing that, I
noticed that the serpentine belt had cracks in it and I didn't want to take any chances on it breaking while I was driving, so I called my mechanic to ask if he could fit it in and he said he could. 

Luckily, Princess One was here with her family so I had someone to help me drop the car off and pick it up as living alone, I have to find help to do that. 

I mentioned to my mechanic that I wanted him to check a few of the fluids as I didn't have those at home, and wanted to make sure I could travel safely. He had it much longer than expected and he said the fuel filter was oozing black gunk. 

He was able to update some of the older parts that could cause an issue and as I was driving down to his shop to have the work done that I realized that I hadn't driven the car even 600 miles since 2016! We haven't been Easter camping in five years now. I go to the lake reunions and since I started organizing those from the beginning, I got to pick the lake! 

We used to visit another lake much further away, but the camp grounds were so angled that it made it hard to do anything except a zip line. I like this lake much more as do my family as there is a covered pavilion and the water is not really close, so it is safer for kids.  

I have been really happy with the lake as there are showers and bathrooms which is always nice! ha ha

Have a blessed day!

Temple Day and Fixing the Car

I was up early for my weekly temple day. I enjoy going

 with my sister and friends. It takes much of the day as we have a drive to get there and I got home in the afternoon. 

I got working on the car parts and had to go to the mechanics to figure out a few things and didn't finish until 1 a.m. Once again, I am super tired with the long day, but as you can see, I finished the car and will share a bit more later. 

Have a blessed day! 

My First Accident in nearly 30 years - Ice took a Toll

My girls were so sweet to help me in the yard on Christmas Eve and we didn't quite finish 

Princess Four decided to come home after my family skating party the day after Christmas as she wanted to help me finish the last two piles in the back yard. However, the good weather we had couldn't hold forever so the snow hit and we weren't able to finish the branches. 

Princess Four had taken out six cans full of branches and about five bundles of branches for the garbage men and was so sweet to bring in the cans after the garbage men took all the branches. 

The weather didn't get any better and it was so cold and snowy Saturday that I  didn't leave the house. 

This morning I could see that it was still icy and cold. I headed out to church but worried about the roads so I went very slow. We have a small hill over a canal in our neighborhood and there is a T at the bottom of the hill. I know of 2 people who have hit that wall due to ice on that road so knowing that my car isn't good on icy roads, I decided to go really slow. 

I had pushed on my antilock off switch the other night when it was snowy and I am wondering if it got frozen or something as I was going so slow and kept tapping and stepping on the brakes and NOTHING happened. I tried to hurry and turn but knew I was going to hit as I didn't have any brakes at all. 

Knowing I was going to hit the wall, I thought if I kept trying to turn I was going to broadside the wall damaging the entire side of my car and knocking out a larger portion of the wall. I decided to turn my car into the wall and try to hit it head on. I did worry that if I hit it on any portion of the front of the car that my air bags may deploy and total the car or cause injury to my face but I was going quite slow so I thought that was the best options. 

It is funny that all those thoughts can go through your mind in the few seconds before gravity and ice caused me to hit the wall. Worrying that the air bags would deploy I lifted my arms up to protect my face. I was actually shocked when the air bags didn't deploy but was relieved as well. 

My car was still running, the wall was dented in but didn't come down on the car. I put the car in reverse and was able to get it back a few feet but was stuck in a rut. I had two neighbors stop in their trucks on their way out and about so they pushed the front of my car after I pulled off some of the bumper that was hanging down. 

With their help, I was able to get out and turn the car around and head home. I really think that I had some ice on the brakes as I wasn't able to even push the anti-lock button when I was driving before the accident. I was able to drive home and park with no problem so I think it was a combination of things that caused the accident. 

I got a ride to church with a neighbor and left a note on the door of the home that owns the wall with my phone number. I arrived home after church and spent a few minute unscrewing the rest of the bumper that was hanging down. I did have to cut off a big piece of the bumper that was hanging but the screw wouldn't come out of the metal portion. 

Once I had taped the light plastic back together, I drove to the home where I hit the wall to make sure they got my note. I noticed my note was still in the door so I knocked and they came to the door and let me know they didn't hear anything. She came out and looked at the wall and I told her I got the name of a brick layer and would find out when they can do it and hope it can be taken care of quickly. 

The owner told me that she had two large garden boxes just behind the section of the wall I hit and it I had hit on the side where I was headed, I probably would have gone through the wall and the bricks would have ended up on the car. So, I was feeling very blessed that I hit where I did. 

I am hoping that I can get the brick layer on it as soon as possible. I will try and find some parts at a wrecking yard to replace the ones that got damaged. I think I will be able to replace the light and bumper that got damaged and pray that there isn't any more damage that I can't see.

Please be safe in driving on Icy Winter Roads! 

Making / Using a Home Made Car Air Freshener Out of Wood

I have a neighbor and a family member who own Laser Cutters that can cut and write on wood.

Last year, my neighbor made cute little wood cut outs saying "#LighttheWorld" to remind us to do kind deeds of service through the holiday season. 

I put it on a string and use it in my car as an air freshener and put a drop of essential oil on it and turn on the vent to circulate the smell through the car. 

My sister made keychains for all her friends and family, but she used the man made fabricated type of wood for her keychains and the oil doesn't absorb or stay on that wood, so you need to make sure that the wood you are using is a natural wood and not a fabricated wood. 

You don't have to make it into fancy shapes or use a laser cutter, you can just use a saw to cut out any wood shape you want and sand it smooth. Basically, you just need wood that will hold the oil. 

Make sure that you put the lace, ribbon or elastic through the hole in the top like I show in the video or the knot, bow, or tied area will fall to the bottom as it will be the heaviest part of the ribbon. it will also hang sideways on the string if you just put the ribbon through the hole. 

By putting the two ends through the hole and then pulling them back through the loop created on the opposite side, you are creating the heaviest point at the bottom and the tie will then stay at the top. Also, this will make the piece face forward so you can always see the words if you choose to do laser engraving on the wood piece. 

When you are putting oil on the piece, make sure that you hold the piece level and drop the oil on top and hold the piece up and even until the drop of oil is absorbed so that the oils don't drop onto your car interior. You can hold a tissue or something under it as you apply the oil if you are concerned. Make sure you use a dropper top so the oil doesn't pour out and damage your interior. 

Oils can damage plastics and wood finishes so be careful when applying the oil and make sure you use wood that is absorbent BEFORE trying it in your car. You don't want to find out that it isn't absorbing the oil in the car as you don't want the oil dripping in the car. 

I have used old air fresheners for year in the car and just put my own oils on them when the smell is gone from the store bought ones. I really enjoy having these wooden ones as you can put whatever words you want on them. The can enlighten and be refreshing at the same time. Here is a link to my older post about this. 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. 

Have a Blessed Day! 

Bridges May Be Icy When Wet - Scary Realty of My Day

I am SO tired lately. I have gone to bed about 8 p.m. twice this week and am so tired right now that I just want to climb in my bed but I washed my sheets and need to put them back on the bed and finish blogging first. 

I started a new medication  / treatment today to see how it works on the parasite. I probably should have waited until I had more energy but I have had the treatment for a month or more but didn't want to take it before Princess Five left so I could get done what I needed to for her. I'll share more about it later.

Yesterday, I got up to head out of town and my Tire Pressure low indicator was on in my car. I had taken in it the afternoon before as it came on and had the check it out and they said the passenger rear tire was low. The put some air in and then it was on again in the morning. I had my brother and his wife's homecoming from serving as missionaries in Puerto Rico for the past few years. Here is a post about them serving during hurricane Maria. Here is one about them in the aftermath and how they helped by staying instead of evacuating.  

About 1/2 hour into my 6 hour round trip drive, a truck pulling a camp trailer passed me going the other direction and threw up a rock that was large enough for me to see it coming and it put a dent and crack in my drivers side window! It was super loud and scared me. It has three little branches coming off of it and I am hoping it doesn't crack further with the cold mornings and warmer days. 

I thought about turning around at that point and heading home thinking "something" didn't want me heading on that drive. I was just over an hour into the drive and there was an overpass that I have driven over thousands of times in the past 22 years. I hit it and the car started to turn sideways! Everything started to be in slow motion. I turned the wheel opposite the slide and when I hit pavement again, I was half into the next lane and the car tires were headed in the opposite direction and the car lurched toward the shoulder of the road and thank HEAVENS I had both hands on the wheel as if I hadn't, I know I would have gone off the road and if I hadn't turned the wheels the opposite direction, I think I would have gone off the road airborne in to the median and if I had turned them harder in either direction, I think I would have rolled the car! I am sure I need an alignment now though.

I am SO grateful that there were NO other cars on the road at that early hour! It was terrifying! In all my years driving, that has never happened to me. Nothing even close! I think the new car is lighter in weight and has a higher center of gravity and is higher off the ground, and that may have been the reason. After that, I took my foot off the gas pedal and put both hands on the wheel on every bridge. 

I seriously thought about heading home again at that point. I thought there really must be a reason I needed to go to have so much opposition in going. I had a wonderful visit with my family and after my brothers homecoming, I went to my nieces farewell and then drove home. 

I was blessed to be surprised by Princess Four showing up with my brother who lives near where she attends college. Princess Two showed up at my nieces farewell so I was blessed to be able to see two of my princesses which is always lovely. I think I was so thrown off that I didn't take any photos all day... 

By the time I got home last night, I was so tired. Driving and sitting for 8 hours, all the stress of the car issues and worry about the roads and I was so grateful to get home. I went to bed so early but woke several times with pain in one of my root canal / crown covered tooth. I eventually got up and took some pills and went back to sleep finally. I think that maybe the tooth is keeping me from getting a good night sleep lately and that is why I am so tired. Whatever the problem, I need to get better sleep as I am dragging so much. 

I am so grateful that I got home safely last night. I am headed to bed now and pray I can get some good sleep. 

Have a Blessed and rested day! 

Getting Something Out of the Gas Tank Feed Line / Hose

As you know, I have been working on my trailer. I posted several things recently about polishing my trailer and fixing leaks etc. 

I took and stored my trailer and brought my suburban home and it had over half a tank of gas in it. I live on a dark street in a small town and for some reason, so many times over the past 20 years, someone syphons gas out of our cars. Two of our cars gas floats have been damaged so we can't tell how much gas we have. 

Years back, I put a lock on my suburban tank. I locked the doors on my car but I guess that didn't lock the back doors and someone stole several things out of the car and I kept a gas tank key in the glove box. Well, they took that key and every time I get in it to use it, it is empty. 

When I brought it home from storing the trailer, it had over $50 in gas still in the tank. I have a gas syphon pump so I filled a few gas cans and filled both of our cars with gas from the suburban but when I pulled out the syphon pump, the tube disconnected and left the hose inside the gas line to the gas tank. 

I called my mechanic asking him what I should do as I knew it had a rubber stopper at the end and having that in the gas over time would disintegrate and maybe gum up the fuel system as I don't use it but a few times a year.  

I LOVE my mechanic, he is such a good man and helps me so many times over the years. He suggested I go buy a little tool that has a clamp hand on the bottom of it and you push the pump action at the top and the little metal clamps come out and then grab the item and then you can pull it out. He wasn't sure where one would be but thought Ace may sell one. He told me if that didn't work, there was a hose that goes into the gas tank that can be undone and we could take that off and get to the hose as it was probably still stuck in that line. 

I found the cool little tool at Ace for under $5 and it was really kind of fun to play with and could be useful to get items behind the dresser or dryer. My mechanic said his disappeared one day so I think I will give the tool to him. Anyway, I tried to use the tool but the flap on the tank opening kept closing down so when I tried to pull the tool out, it kept getting caught and since I couldn't see the tube so it was just guessing at where to try it. It only took one or two tries for me to know it wouldn't work. 

I then looked under the car and saw that the hose was just held on by a screw clamp so instead of having to take it to the mechanic and pay him to do it, I just climbed under the car and did it myself. I took a video showing how easy it was. I got the hose off and I pulled it down to look and the syphon tube was right inside that rubber hose. I used a screw driver to get the hose out of the gas-line hose as it wasn't that far into the hose. 

I put it back and clamped it on again and I was surprised how easy it was. I have never done much under a car before so that was fun. I am grateful I didn't have to take it to the mechanic. 

It is amazing to me how many things I have learned to do over the years due to not having the funds to hire someone to do it. It was nice to be able to fill Princess Five's car as well as mine with the gas that would have been lost saving me two fill ups at the gas station and finishing the trailer and getting it stored and ready for winter. I LOVE getting things off my "to do" list! 

Have a Blessed Day!