Jan. 2-8, 2022

Weather | 1/2, -2°, 11° | 1/3, 2°, 30° | 1/4, 21°, 39° | 1/5, 8°, 17° | 1/6, 1°, 9° | 1/7, -3°, 18° | 1/8, 15°, 36° |

• Sunday, 1/2: Driving Home, NO, to Clear Lake, Iowa
  
  • We woke up in Minneapolis around 8 a.m. The temperature outside was -17. By 9:45, we headed south. At noon, we pulled into Clear Lake, Iowa and fueled up. Upon starting the Cadillac, a growing groan from the front of the engine when it first started turned into a severe engine miss and a weird smell from the exhaust. I put in a can of STP gasline water remover...nothing changed. I bought 2 cans of Heet, poured them in...still nothing. I got information from the guy inside the gas station on local motels and mechanics. Unfortunatly, no mechanic was at work the day after New Year's Day.
    
  • We limped the car through the parking lot of a Chevrolet dealer, then limped to an AmericInn hotel. I called Wells Fargo, asking about the credit card, which is still on its way in the mail to our home. I was told I could access it through a Wells Fargo app, load it into Apple Pay, and use it from my cell phone. But, upon checking in, AmericInn doesn't accept Apple Pay, so Bill used his credit card. We checked in just before 3 p.m., after several calls to Mary. The temperature was 1 at that time.
  • Plans are to limp the car back to the Chevy dealer when they open at 8 in the morning and see what's wrong with the engine.
  • At home, Mary did a bunch of housecleaning and developed a list of floss she needs to do cross stitch projects.
    
    
• Monday, 1/3: Dead Caddy Engine...Towed It Home
  
  • I woke at 4 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. Bill and I ate the hotel's continental breakfast, packed our stuff, started the Cadillac with a badly missing engine at 8 a.m., and drove a couple blocks to the Prichards Lake Chevrolet dealership in Clear Lake.
  • The mechanic took our car in immediately. They diagnosed it for just over an hour. It has a broken timing chain/gear and in their hands, it jumped a few more teeth on the gear and won't start at all. The bill was $130. We used Bill's credit card, since nobody in northern Iowa is set up to take Apple Pay. I called a Clear Lake, Iowa U-Haul dealership, which is at a truck wash business. I was told there isn't a car-hauling trailer anywhere in northern Iowa, but he had trucks. We were within walking distance of that business, so Bill and I walked to it.
  • This dealership was really hokey. The guy who rented us a 10-foot truck really didn't know what he was doing. He said there were no U-Haul dealers in Quincy, IL. There are several. We rented the truck, which is really a GMC van with a box on the back, at 11 a.m.. Again, we used Bill's credit card. We drove to an Ace Hardware store in Clear Lake. That guy said their other store, in Mason City, was a U-Haul dealer. I called that store and their U-Haul employee went home, earlier, for a family emergency, and I needed to call the U-Haul 800 number.
  • I rented a car dolly, via my phone call, from a tire company in Manly, Iowa. Bill and I drove the U-Haul van there, which was 9 miles north on I-35, then 7 miles east. Bill's credit card was used, again. With the dolly hooked on the van, at 12:30 p.m., we drove back to the Chevy dealer in Clear Lake. About 6-8 dealership employees helped push the Cadillac out of the garage and onto the dolly. I asked how much of a job it was to replace a timing gear and chain on this engine. A mechanic said he did it once on a Northstar engine and the first step is to remove both the engine and the transmission. The head bolts are 10 inches long and there's not enough room to work on it while the engine is in the car. Furthermore, these all-aluminum engines are known to blow head gaskets, so it's really better to just replace the engine, which at GM prices, runs over $8,000. Bill and I did a couple laps around their new car lot to make sure everything towed correctly (see photo, below).
  • Bill and I first filled the van with gas, then drove to a McDonalds and grabbed something to eat. While eating, we called Mary. We decided to junk out the Cadillac and be rid of its problems. We decided that Mary would call B&W Truck in West Quincy, MO, to check on how to move the title over to them, when we haven't switched it back to us after the bank relinquished the lien on the car. We left Clear Lake after talking to Mary. It was 3:15 p.m.
  • Bill and I stopped after 20 miles and 50 miles down the road, a suggestion by the mechanic at the dealership, to check the tightness of the straps holding the front tires of the Cadillac on the car dolly and only tightened them at the first stop. The straps were tight at the second stop, so we drove steady, making good time.
  • Mary texted us that the woman at B&W told her just to bring in all of the paperwork and it will be fine to turn over the car title to them. Whew...that saves us from the cost of switching over the title. 
  • We decided to park the U-Haul and the Cadillac at the Fastlane truck stop and have Mary drive Bill's car there to pick us up. But, Mary couldn't get Bill's car to move, due to a lack of traction with 2 inches of snow/ice on grass. So, Bill and I parked the van/towed car at the intersection of the gravel road and State Highway J, then walked a mile west, to our house. Bill and I stepped through the door around 9 p.m. Mary had shoveled down the lane a short distance.
  • Bill ate a spaghetti meal. I backed the pickup up on the east lawn to get in front of Bill's car and got stuck. I loaded 5 concrete blocks into the pickup's bed. Bill and Mary pushed and I loaded Bill's pants with snow and grass and got ahead of Bill's car. Then, Mary pushed Bill's car with Bill in it and got his vehicle rolling. Bill and I drove back to the U-Haul rig and unloaded his belongings out of it. Bill left for his place around 11 p.m. He texted that he got home at 12:58 a.m.

  

  Cadillac loaded on car dolly behind the U-Haul van in Clear Lake, Iowa.
  

• Tuesday, 1/4: Cadillac is Gone
  • I drove the pickup to the van/Cadillac around 10 a.m. and pulled everything out of the Caddy, including floor mats and license plates. In Missouri, you keep license plates and transfer them from one vehicle to the next.
  • At 11:15 a.m., we tried moving the van/towed car, but an empty rental van with highway tires equaled no traction. A highway snow plow stopped and added a bit of sand in front of the van, which was very nice. After digging out snow, and a lot of cussing, I backed the van up on tractor tire chains laid out behind the van's rear tires, got the van moving forward, but spun out, again, while turning. The draw bar on the dolly was at an extreme angle, so I jacked it up with the pickup's jack, and unhooked it from the van. We dug more snow, this time on gravel, and I eased the van out on asphalt, then carefully backed it onto the gravel road's turnout onto the Highway J. Next, I drove home and got the draw bar with our 2-inch ball for the pickup and a better jack. After returning to the end of the gravel, I backed the pickup up to hook up the car dolly. The wimpy jack on the car dolly's draw bar started tipping, so I got the better jack under it, hooked the car dolly onto the pickup, then carefully backed the Cadillac up the gravel road. We unhooked the pickup, backed the van and hooked up the dolly. At 3:15 p.m., we headed off to West Quincy, with Mary behind me in the pickup.
  • The narrower highways were horrible, with deep slush and ice. Mary said while following me, she saw me slide right at one point. It was as scary for me as it was for her to see it. We proceeded slowly and once we were on Highway 6 at Ewing, roads were clear and dry.
  • I signed the title over at B&W, the salvage yard. They removed the car with a big front-end loader, lifting it up with long forks. Goodbye, Caddy. We got $315 for it.
  • I dropped off the rental van/car dolly at Haymaker's, a gas station in West Quincy. We were charged $15 more for extra mileage and they didn't refund anything for getting it in early. I was told to call U-Haul to see if I can get a refund. 
  • Mary and I got home in the pickup around 5 p.m., with enough daylight to get evening chores done.
  • Mom texted, wondering about our trip status. I texted back a brief synopsis.
    
  • I made a batch of waffles and we watched 3 episodes of Keeping Up Appearances, although I slept through them all. For some unknown reason, I'm very, very tired.
    
    
• Wednesday, 1/5: R&R Day
  • Mary figured out how much money to put in our various savings accounts and paid bills.
  • I sat around a lot and stayed indoors, since it was nasty outside with a strong NW wind.
  • Our new credit cards came in today's mail. It's too bad I didn't have them prior to the recent trip north.
  • Once receiving the cards, I immediately ordered a package of 10 KN95 respirator masks.
    
  • I chatted online with a U-Haul representative. We didn't receive a refund for getting the rental units in early, like Bill and I were promised when we got the rental van. U-Haul figures the price and turn-in date based on the estimated mileage. They don't refund for turning the rental in early. I asked that they explain their policy to the U-Haul rental place in Clear Lake, Iowa, since they're lying to customers at that location.
  • Bill, Mary and I all agreed on an amount to reimburse Bill for the use of his credit card on the trip. I'm sending Bill a check in tomorrow's mail.
  • Mary made a large amount of venison General Tso. She asked me when the garlic wine is ready, because she said it's better than store-bought cooking sherry. I'll be bottling the garlic wine on my birthday, Feb. 20th.
  • We drank 2 pots, each, of loose leaf China Keemun tea and watched 2 episodes of a 2008 HBO mini-series called John Adams, a Christmas gift from Bill. The show is very good. We also watched the extras, one of which keyed in on David McCollough, the author of the book that this mini-series is based upon. McCullough received a Pulitzer prize for this book, and his biography on Harry Truman. I've already read McCullough's Truman book. Now, I'll need to read John Adams. Naturally, we have the book, since Mary makes sure we have an abundance of books in our home. No library card needed in this household! I fell in love with David McCullough's writing shack. I told Mary that I need to build one just like his.
    
    
• Thursday, 1/6: Indoors Day
  
  • This is Day 2 of a strong NW wind, so it's also Day 2 of a day inside.
  • Mary made a chicken midday meal with sweet potatoes and a green bean casserole.
    
  • I balanced the checkbook after sending Bill a check for his credit card charges on the trip.
  • I put a bunch of items away from the trip.
  • I shifted the car insurance from the Cadillac to our 2000 Buick Park Avenue. When it warms, I'll work to get the Buick ready for an inspection and update the plates on it.
    
  • Our garden seeds came in from Fedco in today's mail.
    
  • I asked Mom about Montana temperatures. She had -29° at her house, this morning. It warmed up to -1°. She said yesterday was even colder and with a wind. She added that her house stays warm and cozy. She's stayed home all week, due to a dry, raspy throat, but it's getting better.
  • I noticed that the snow cover between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, Iowa is between 7-12 inches, which means it's significantly higher than when Bill and I drove through the area just a couple days ago. Bill texted, "Beat the bullet on that, gheez."
    
  • Katie called. She did CPR and first aid training at work and gets Jan. 17th off. That means she has a day off after she gets back to Anchorage, flying her 2 dogs and 2 cats north from Gulfport, MS. She flies out of Anchorage for Gulfport tonight with a 10:25 p.m. departure. She gets into Gulfport at 3:52 p.m., tomorrow (1/7).
  • Mary and I did a bunch of reading.
    
    
• Friday, 1/7: Pear Wine Labeled
  
  • I'm finally feeling somewhat rested, after returning from the north 3 days ago.
  • Mary made 2 quiche pies. We ate one.
    
  • I cleaned up the tractor tire chains, jacks, and jack handles out of the back end of the pickup. They had a half inch of ice stuck to their bottoms, so I set the newest jack just inside the door on our entry room floor to thaw.
    
  • I read 4 more chapters of the book that Bill played over the speaker while we drove to and from Minneapolis. It's Over Sea, Under Stone, by Susan Cooper. We only got to the end of chapter 8 with the audio book.
  • An online check showed several N95 masks available at Home Depot. For 2 days, my online order for KN95 masks was in a replenishing mode. I canceled the order. The masks at Home Depot are made by 3M and have several positive reviews.
    
  • I labeled the 31 bottles of 2021 pear wine and stored them on their sides in 2 coolers in the upstairs north bedroom.
  • The cherry wine emits a bubble once every minute or so. It's full of fines on the bottom of the carboy and the half-gallon jug, so I need to rack it to a new carboy, probably tomorrow.
  • The weather prediction is for freezing rain, tomorrow. We're staying home.
    
    
• Saturday, 1/8: Freezing Mist
  
  • Freezing mist in the morning and evening made road conditions slick. The Quincy Airport is 7 miles east of the east side of Quincy. Halfway to the airport, a 5-car accident resulted in a death and 2 severely injured children. The Quincy Sheriff told residents to stay home. We're fortunate that we don't have to go anywhere.
    
  • I racked the cherry wine for the second time, this time from one 5-gallon carboy to another 5-gallon carboy (see photo, below), due to Christmas gifts from Bill of two 5-gallon carboys. The cherry wine must looks like pink lemonade. The specific gravity is 0.994, resulting in an 11.8% alcohol content. I read online about SO2 content in wine and decided to forgo using the SO2 testing kit and estimated that I needed to add 1.69 Campden tablets. I crushed 2 tablets, mixed them with about 2 ounces of cherry wine must heated to 95°, stirred the mix thoroughly, added it to the must, then stirred the must in the carboy. Over a half-inch of fines were in the carboy and half-gallon jug. I filled the new carboy to within 3/4-inch from the top and had about 175 ml left, which we drank. The wine has a slight cherry taste, it's tangy, with a strong yeast flavor. I think with aging, as it clears, the cherry flavor will get stronger.
  • I finished Susan Cooper's book, Over Sea, Under Stone. It's a very good book.
  • Katie is in the Florida panhandle, doing her military things. She's hoping this is her last visit and she gets to transfer her Air National Guard assignment to what used to be called Elmendorf Air Force Base, but is now known as Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) at Anchorage.
  • After dark, we heard our first owls for 2022. A great horned owl and a barred owl called from the woods just west of the house.

  

  Racking Cherry Wine into a new carboy.