Sunday, December 30, 2007

Jumpin' Jack Flat...

On 12/14/2007, I was driving down the road and a driver in another car alerted me that my front right tire was low. I thanked him, quickly turned around, and went to a Shell station three blocks back the other way.

I get to the Shell station, pull up to the air pump, and realize that I do not know how much air goes in a tire. The obvious answer to me would be "until it's not flat", but realizing this probably wasn't an exact estimate, I called dear hubby and the coversation went like this:

Me: "Hi honey, I have a front right tire that is very low, but I am sitting in a Shell station right by the air machine, how many pounds of air goes into a tire?"

Dear Hubby: "Take your car to the Ford dealership and ask for my service writer, Kevin; he will take care of it."

Me: "I am already here at the gas station, and surely I can put air in the tire. Just tell me how much air because I have several errands, and dealership will take forever just to look at it..."

Dear Hubby: "Do you know how to put air in your tire?"

Me: "I am sure I can figure it out, just tell me how much air..."
The conversation ended with him telling me how much air to put in, and then telling me to have a good day. In my mind, he had signed off on my idea to put the air in, and go about my way. In reality, not so much...

I filled the tire, replaced the cap, and went inside to get a drink and use the restroom. I waited for about ten minutes before leaving and the tire was still round, and appeared to be fine, fine, fine. I figured that was enough time to see if it was going to go flat again. Long story short, I drove downtown to 1919 Wyandotte in Kansas City to order my spinning wheel. After I came out of the fiber shop, full of joy at having just ordered my spinning wheel, I noticed that the wretched tire had gone completely flat. As you might guess, the second conversation with dear hubby was not nearly so cordial as the first, and went something like - "Why didn't you just go to the dealership like I told you to??? There are no service stations of any kind where you are, and now I will have to come and fix it!!!" Unfortunately, I have no clue how to change a tire - yes, I know it is pathetic. Before you all fuss at me too much, I have other skill sets... I can swim, whistle with my fingers, and drive a stick. I am getting AAA Motor Club, or so I am told...

Dear Hubby was there in less than 30 minutes. When the lug nuts (every one of them) seemed to be frozen on the wheel, he had to jump up and down on the jack to break them loose, and all I could think of was the chorus to the song "Jumpin' Jack Flash" or dear hubby's case, "Jumpin' Jack Flat." Luckily he did not see me snap this picture of him...
After the tire was changed, dear hubby asked me "Where are you going now?" My answer was to finish my errands - once again, not so much... I was sent straight away, do not pass go, do not collect $200, and go straight to the dealership without another errand!!! When I arrived at the dealership, I found out that dear hubby had made arrangements for four new tires, and all I had to do was show up.
All that behind me, the spinning wheel has been delivered, and it is a Louet S10 double treadle. The yarn I spun is from the roving that came with the wheel (corriedale silver), and I am hoping to make less ugly yarn in the future.. The brown yarn is what I have tied it with to keep it secure.

This is what I spent my Christmas money on. Thanks, Mom! This is my comfort yarn, Encore. It can be machine washed and dried, and will become the
Butterfly sweater from Plymouth Yarn. The wine color will be the majority of the sweater, and the ribbing at the bottom, cuffs, and neck will be with both the wine and the chocolate brown - gotta love that combination, right?
This will be the last post of 2007. I will leave you with my favorite quote, the author is unknown to me, and it will stand as my single New Year's Resolution.

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I will try again tomorrow.'"

Be happy, be well, and Happy New Year to all!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gee whiz...who knew that knitting and new tires would have so much in common! All these round things just go together, I guess..... Glad you're okay...I've never had to change a tire, either. I think I could figure it out..and there's always the car manual, but I'm glad I haven't had to, anyway!

jokir said...

What a nice, albeit infrequent post there girl.  And you told Christy Pink She  needed to update.  That chocolate brown will be really pretty with the deep red.  Kind of makes me think of chocolate covered cherries.

Linda said...

That yarn you spun is beautiful because you did it yourself! Way to go! I have had the unfortunate occasion to change a tire and I do not recommend it. At least you still got to order your spinning wheel.