Slight Detour: Hello, February

Ever had one of those days when it starts out with one miscue after another, suggesting that it's gonna be a bad day.

Well, mine started that way on this first day of February. I wore my Fitbit around the house for several minutes before realizing the battery needed charging. Lost all those documented steps.

Later, I went to change the calendar in the bathroom, and one of the push pins dropped to the floor next to the toilet. When I bent over to pick up the pin, the whole calendar came down from the wall, hitting me in the head and threatening to dive into the toilet.

It also seemed to take forever to put on my clothes after my morning bath. Why is it that some mornings socks slip right on and zippers zip right up, while on others, this items are just as grumpy as their owner.

Adding to the fun, while I was sitting on the commode in our upstairs bathroom, loose change started dropping from my pocket. As I leaned forward to pick it up, more change hit the floor. Some coins even rolled out of my reach.

By that time, I knew it probably wasn't worth leaning too far forward to gather up the mess, lest my nose would head for the floor and maybe smash smack dab in the middle of one of those errant quarters.

Not good to have George Washington or an Alaskan grizzly bear imprinted on the end of your nose, be it heads or tails.

Well, since then, things have improved, and it looks like it may be an okay day. I'm thinking it has to be better than my experience at the car wash yesterday afternoon.

We were planning to go to Bonners Ferry with my brother and sister-in-law, so I thought that trip provided a good excuse to wash the dirty, dirty car. So, I drove to the car wash down by Wal-Mart, put 10 quarters in the machine where the minimum to get a wash is seven.

I figured $2.50 should give me enough time to work off all the frozen crusty stuff on the bottom of the car. And, sure enough it did. Pleased at the improved look of the Suburu, I climbed in, drove about two feet forward and heard a big THUMP on the passenger side of the car.

Turns out that hose for washing the car (as Bill explains it) probably rotated back around because of pressure, caught hold of my side view mirror and almost decapitated it. The mirror is still hanging off the side of the car, but stuff kept breaking off as I gently tried to persuade it back into place.

Sick. Sick. Sick. That's how I felt on an otherwise gorgeous, productive day. So, I drove home, and after pulling off from Selle Road, I found Anderson Autobody's phone number on my cell phone, punched it in and hoped he would answer so I'd have some $$$$ information by the time I pulled into the driveway.

He answered. He said probably about $300-$350, but he'd check around and get back to me. Bill was walking toward the house with an armload of wood and did not notice the side view mirror dangling from the Suburu.

So, I got out of the car and said it sure was an expensive car wash and then explained my incident at the car wash.

I guess the only good that came out of that trip to give the car a much needed $302.50 or $352.50 car wash is to tell folks to watch out for that high pressure hose when you pull out of the stall, even if you have put it back into its slot.

It may attack your car and make you wish you would have just settled for the crusty mud until the next rainfall.

Other than that, January ended okay for Bill and me as we accompanied my brother and his wife to the game in Bonners Ferry. Twas supposed to be TWO games, but for some reason Jacob's was postponed until Thursday.

So, we walked around the high school and then gathered in the bleachers to watch the Coeur d'Alene Charter girls, including triplet Justine and her "quadruplet" buddy Jade, put in a great effort against the Badgers.

The team came up short, but they have a great coach and they're enjoying the experience. That's what's important.

Later, we stopped at the Mexican Restaurant in downtown Bonners and enjoyed a wonderful meal, complete with great and friendly service. The staff puts out some excellent food, even for Gringos like me who have stomachs not too receptive to Mexican dishes.

I enjoyed an excellent cheeseburger and crispy, tasty fries.

A good time was had by all, and for a time, I forgot about the car wash catastrophe.

Today's highlight includes a trip to the vets for Liam to get his booster shot. Liam loves the vets so I'm looking forward to the visit. As for the rest of the day, I'm hoping to keep the $$$ that roll from my pockets or out of my checkbook down to a minimum.

Happy Wednesday.