Okay I took my car in to the dealer on Tuesday night. The next day I talked to the dealer to see what was going on. First I had to leave a voice message, no problem. Tim called me back and said that they had no idea of what was in the letter that was sent to me because they did not have any thing on file and could not find anything. He asked me to fax the letter to him, then they would look at the letter, look at the car and then get back to me. Well a few hours later they called and said that they found the information from GM and have ordered the parts for my car and it woudl be ready the next day. I asked if what the letter described was the reason the car was acting up and he said yes. I asked if Gm was covering it and he said yes. Needless to say I was very happy, that did not last long. I asked for an oil change because I was past due and he said that if I got a maintence instpection done at the same time I would save $15.00. I asked how much he said $89.00. I thought it was a good idea that way I can find out if there is anything else that may go wrong. Well the next day I get the call. He asked if I wanted the good news, the good news or the bad news. I said hit me with the good news first. First my car is mechanically sound the back brakes are in the yellow so in the future I would have to get them changed but not for a while. Second good news they talked to GM on my behalf to get some bushings covered on the fornt end. It wasn't part of the "special coverage" (GM will not call it a recall) but Gm said to cover them (132.00 each). The bad news the part comes from Montreal. They were hoping that the part would come in on Monday. I asked about a courtesy car but they said no. Damn. I sent an email to the head office and a really nice lady called me. She apologized for the problems with my car but she could not provide me with a car either. But she said she would contact the dealer to make sure I was satisfied. Today, Monday, I get the call that the part did not come in and they were hoping for tomarrow. I asked if they could pick me up at work if it was ready. He said that it would not be a problem.

I guess I will have to see what tomarrow brings. Cross your fingers for me

Well not long after my last post we had a bad snowstorm with over 15 inches of snow. My poor snowblower had a work out. It got to the point I could no longer see over the snowbanks and trying to blow the snow to the top of the banks was a losing battle. I did get the driveway cleaned and that was that.

Now on Tuesday I was driving home from work and my steering felt loose. I thought that I was low on air. I checked the pressure and the one tire needed some air. Problem solved I thought, boy was I soooo wrong. I pulled out of the gas station and when I stopped at the light my steering wheel turned to the left on its own. I thought, what the f**k? I started to travel down the road and the whole front end started to shake like it was possessed. I put the 4 ways on and pulled over. I do not have a cell phone so I decided to try and get home. Well I started out good until I hit a bump. Then the shaking started again. I pulled over and tried to fiqure out what to do. I started off again and made it to a pay phone. I called home and said I was taking it to the garage I go to but I needed a ride home from the garage. Then I changed my mind and decided to come home. When I got home the stupid hydro started to go all wonky. It would go out, come on, go out again for at least an hour.

As I was talking on the phone getting a ride arranged to work the next day I remembered that I had a letter from General Motors about work that needed to be checked for the Tracker. I found the letter and guess what everything that the letter said the car would do it was doing. There was a problem with the 1999-2000 trackers that they were fixing at their cost. A front suspension crossmember did not receive adequate corrosion protection. In short the rust causes some brackets to rust away and the steering is affected. More in part two of the story of me, the tracker, the dealer and gm head office.

Well today has not been a great day. The snow started last night and hasn't let up yet. Later the wind is suppose to pick up and cause whiteout conditions. I went to Home Depot last night to pick up some stuff for painting today. So far I have washed the trim and walls now I just have to rinse them and prime the surface. I got this really good primer that is suppose to adhere to varnish without sanding. At least that saves some time so I can maybe get all the door frames and woodwork primed this week-end. I also bought some new ceiling fixtures that I am going to try and install on Sunday. The idiot that lived here before put a ceiling fan in the foyer. The ceiling is about 9 feet high and he did not put in a switch for the fan part of the light. The fan works but you need a ladder to reach the pull cords to turn on the fan. I am thinking that he screwed up with the wires because the light bulbs keep blowing. He must have hooked it up wrong. I know for the one my mother has there were a lot of wires that had to be hooked up properly.

I am trying to get things done around here and then the house will probably be going on the market. I have lived here for six years and this was always gong to be a way to get a foot in the door with home ownership. I want to get a detached home, away from the city. I am not sure where exactly but some place quieter and more space would be great.

Well I am going to cover my Moms side. She has one sister who is divorced and married for the second time. There is a child from both unions. My one cousin who I know the most and the other one who I have seen only three times in my life. There are 20 years between the cousins. The older one is married but with no kids. My grandmother is still living and is 83 years old. She is giving up driving this year and I am happy about that. I have been in a car with her and she uses two feet, one on the brake, one on the gas. My grandfather died in 1972(?) from stomach cancer. Most of my great aunts and uncles are in their 70's and older. Two have died.

My immediate family is just me and my Mom. My brother was killed in a car accident in 1989. He was in pick up and was hit by a school teacher who went through a yield sign. The teacher was killed also. My father died in Sept 2001. He never really got over my brothers death. Since my dads death my mother has got involved with an idiot. He is an entry all by itself.

Well I wonder if the old saying is true, in like a lion out like a lamb? Today it is sunny but we do have a winter storm watch in effect. My back is starting to feel better. I have been taking some meds and using hot packs on it and so far so good. I still have moments where I twist the wrong way and I go up the wall, but for the most of the time it is just a dull pain. Not painful but I know it is there.

I thought with this post I would tell you a bit more about myself. I was suppose to be born on Feb 14th but came 11 days early. My Father wanted to name me Peggy Sue but thank god my Mother won out and I was named after mt paternal grandmother. My middle name is after my materal great-grandmother. She was a great lady. She played bingo everyday until she broke her hip coming out of the bingo hall. After that she had some health issues but lived to the ripe old age of 93. I never knew my paternal grandparents. My grandmother was in the hospital dying with cancer when I was born. The nurses were constantly taking me out of the nursery and to her. My grandfather I am not really sure about. My Dad never talked too much about his parents and I never asked. It wasn't like he and they did not get along I guess it was painful for him. His mother died when he was only 23. I only recently found out that my one uncle was the result of a relationship that my grandmother had before she met my grandfather. On my Dads side I have his sister (deceased) her husband (deceased) three brothers and their spouses (one spouse deceased). There are cousins and their kids and my one cousin just became a grandmother. It makes you feel old when you start to think about how cousins had kids and now their kids are having kids.

I guess that is all for this post. I will post next time about the other side of the family.