How about that summer in November? I almost saw more shorts wearers in the past weeks than all summer long. My bulbs probably are very confused as to what is going on after they were planted. Wasn’t it supposed to be getting colder after they got tucked in? By the time you read this the cooler fall weather will most likely be back and practicing to bring on that other season that begins with a “W” and brings a lot of “S”.

This November has for sure been a month to remember in so many ways and each of us has had different events happening. I was feeling pretty smug that the bulbs got planted out and the stock tank that is Sitka Thor Bear’s summer swimming pool got drained. Yes, we should be almost all ready for winter! Then Husband Larry happens to mention that the Red Mustang’s heater wasn’t working and we better get that fixed before more snow flies. Some of my loyal readers may recall my fun and games with driving for several weeks in the middle of summer without the air conditioning. I thought maybe the heater said it also needed attention and it was its turn to get a trip to local Ford garage for a bit of maintenance. We had it in a few days before to put on the winter tires and put in 2 new tire pressure sensors. If only it would have been that easy. When I parked the car in the bay to get it checked in for maintenance the service advisor noticed that there was puddle of oil and coolant on the floor from the car and said that might be the reason it was not heating and they would take a look at it the next day since they were all booked for that day. We drive home thinking that maybe it would be a few hundred dollars to get it all ready for upcoming season. The call from the Ford garage the next day was TOTALLY UNEXPECTED. The reason the car was not heating and was dripping was because it had a blown head gasket and the cost of repair probably would exceed the car’s value. Talk about being hit between the eyes with that news. A possible repair but not guaranteed it would be all okay was $3,000 at the low end and then $6700 on the high end for a new engine! That news was not even a twinkle in my eye. Between the age and condition of “Pet”, we decided it would be best to declare it dead in the water and move on to a different vehicle. Yes, there were a few tears shed. I said I would be okay with something from Cranky Ape that might cost a few thousand dollars. Not the usual me but I was trying to be really practical. Husband Larry said he would want another Mustang.

Okay, permission granted to start the hunt for a used Mustang! I Googled and found several possible cars in the price range we would be thinking of and an older, yellow Mustang jumped out and said look at me!. To make a long story short, I booked an appointment at Hudson (WI) Ford. We get there and the yellow one was front and center. We did not say we really wanted to see that one but the young sales person suggested we look at it. It was “screaming yellow clear coat” and looked like it was just off the showroom floor. Must have been a summer only drive with winter storage and 49,000 miles. Its history was very clean. Husband Larry was not really ready for a yellow car but seeing it and its history helped him sign on the dotted line. We got the “new” car shopping down to 2 hours total including the miles of paper work. I very carefully drove it home and I did not do any speeding or anything like that. I also got the new car jitters parking it in the garage.

We are going to take the Instruction Manual and sit in the car to figure out all the things that make it run, especially the radio system. I probably will not be driving it much at first on our dirt road but if you see a screaming yellow Mustang with hood scoop and spoiler it will be a Westerberg. I can tell you we passed up the 2018 Orange Mustang with a top of the line package deal and upgrades to make it almost race ready. Next Time? Vroooom!