Monday, February 21, 2005
Bad Day
First it snowed last night - hard. Unfortunately, it wasn't the nice, light dry stuff, but the heavy, heart attack causing wet stuff. Luckily, my neighbor had someone do her side, so I only had mine. I did most, then took a break, then finished it. It was about 8 inches deep and very wet and heavy. I could only push a little row at a time and then had to pile it up often. No fun this time.
One good thing is that I had a batch of chili in the slow-cooker overnight and was able to eat a nice big bowl of chili when I came in from the snow. I use a lot of beans and this time had some flank steak cut up in it. No whole tomatoes, just tomato sauce and paste. I don't like tomatoes in my chili, but do some of those hot teensy-tiny chilies. It cooked up nice and tender. Mmmmm.
Naturally, during the blizzard yesterday, I noticed my headlight burned out. It must have happened when I turned them on Sunday, since I checked them Saturday and they both worked fine. I needed some groceries so left before the blizzard was too bad (we're tough Michiganders you know - we thrive on white-outs and icy roads) and stopped at NAPA to pick up the bulbs - $5.99 each. On the way to the store I was able to watch a couple of SUVs running sideways down the road. Unfortunately, they didn't end up in the ditch. They don't seem to understand that even when you have AWD, you can't drive like a NASCAR driver when the roads are icy and covered in blowing snow.
Today, I changed the bulbs. I have a New Beetle that uses an odd method of holding the lights in. At least I think it's odd, I haven't seen the method used anywhere else. BTW, the manual states you should have the dealer replace the bulbs for you. Under the hood the light assembly has a small lever and near it a cross-hatched button. You press down on the button and push the lever up to loosen the headlight. The whole assembly then slides out. The back of the headlight has a plastic cover that snaps on. Once that is off, you can then get to the bulbs themselves. There's all kinds of stuff (all plastic) that snaps and slides in place. You have to be very patient and careful otherwise you'll break one of the little fiddly bits and then have to spend a fortune to replace it.
2fers: Chili Recipes and Alka-Seltzer
