One Last Kick at the Can?
So, I'm probably going to purchase one more new (er) car. I know I keep saying each motorcycle is the last, but that has been a relatively inexpensive indulgence. The bikes I buy are old and cheap, just like me. I only have to pay the sales tax, the safety, maybe some odds and sods to get out of one and into another. Call it a thousand a switch. This is not the case with any car. More like twenty thousand. Through the largesse of my parents' estate, I inherited a car. I drove it for little while, but it had sat in a moldy garage for the last few years. Subarus like crisp mountain air, not humid valley mists, apparently. We were facing some blindingly expensive repairs. It was worth fifteen on a trade, and I was melting RRSP funds, so the month I retired, we decided it was time to purchase my first new car since my VW Rabbit in 1980. It was nine grand. This time, we settled on a Mazda CX-5. It was forty. Every vehicle in between has been some sort of beater. I tell you this because next year, I will complete the meltdown of my registered funds. We have thirty thousand klicks on the Mazda, and this will probably be our last chance to write a cheque and set the odometer back to zero. We are almost certainly not buying one from the dickhead down south! It amazes me how many people I see bleating about Carney having his elbows down, then they throw $100,000 over the border to support Trump and U.S. jobs? A car made in Ontario would be my first choice. Here is what that might look like:
- Dodge Charger Daytona (nope)
- Chrysler Pacifica (nope)
- Chrysler Voyager (hell nope)
- Chevrolet Silverado (eighty grand)
- Lincoln Nautilus (a hundred grand)
- Ford Edge & Ford GT (Oakville plant has been shuttered since 2023)
- Toyota RAV4 (almost bought one last time)
- Lexus RX (whatever)
- Honda Civic Sedan (car)
- Honda Civic Coupe (smaller car)
- Honda CR-V (I like them but don't want a turbocharged lawnmower engine)
Mmmm. Toyota is far and away the leading automotive manufacturer in Canada. The nice lady at Toyota told me that 2025 was the last model year to get a RAV4 with a real gas engine, so no sense waiting. I am not convinced that hybrids or EVs are the answer. Horror stories abound. It looks like around $48,000 for a notch above base, my snows on rims won't fit and my trade is worth twenty-five. Not exactly blowing wind up my kilt? I may just keep the Mazda or trade for a newer one? Those are at least built in Japan. I will let you know how we make out.
Science Experiment = Meal
I had a sketchy block of NoName cheese. After removing the portions that no longer resembled cheese, I grated the rest and made this. A notch above recipes that I have tried in the past. When I laid it out in the pan, I did half real elbow macaroni and half whole wheat rotini cardboard. Blood sugar behaved.
Lauren Allen
Our Optimum Week
We bought almost everything on sale (flyers) and picked up 64,600 points on a $253 spend. Pretty neat, eh? This week, the flyer was good. Offers were OK, but we do not have a new spate of the larger monthly variety yet. Big points on a couple of medicine cabinet essentials and ten percent on a Golden Arches gift card. We keep it in an envelope in the glove box with the latest coupons for meal deals. It's the only way you can eat there and face yourself in the mirror later. Here's the list ...
What I'm Reading
Daniel Keyes
We Are Watching
Scott and Bailey on Britbox - Finished all five seasons. Well worth your time.
The Leafs. The Jays. The Ferraris and Maclarens (F1). Two of them wrap up shortly so we can get back to a normal night's sleep.
Cleanliness Is Next To ...
SWMBO uses a manual toothbrush. I have an Oral B rechargeable. It was out on the counter on the charger, and I got blasted by her about the state of it. OMFG, clean it! I can't believe you put it that thing in your mouth. Point taken. There was some build-up. So , I finish charging it, find the new heads I bought last year. I take it apart and I'm running it under hot water ... .
The built up toothpaste is not coming off. I need something to scrub it with. Oh, look, a manual toothbrush right here in a cup beside the sink. Halleluiah! Later, she finds it wet and accuses me (me!) of using her toothbrush to brush my teeth. "Honey, as God is my witness, I did not use your toothbrush to brush my teeth." MLK said it best. The truth will set you free.