We have finally finished moving I think and are able to catch up a bit. A lot has gone on. I don't think I have mentioned this but our van broke down a few more times. A while back a spark blew out (literally) taking the ignition coil with it; so, we had it towed and a new fitting put in to replace the plug and coil. I probably got it cross threaded when I changed them. After that the coolant reservoir ruptured with a crack in the plastic along one edge so the van overheated and wouldn't hold water... So we had to get towed again and replaced that. Each time we have broken down on the side of the H1. The tow truck driver recognized us from before.
In moving we are down to our last penny because we had to effectively pay rent three times in one month. We rationed out so many dollars per day for gas and groceries and were almost out when a check came in the mail. We drove straight to the bank to deposit it and made it just minutes before closing, which was a big relief. Then the van wouldn't start up and we were in the bank parking lot under the building which was going to be locked up soon. I have had this happen before where the starter solenoid is rusted and seized up; once just hitting its casing with a hammer shook it loose so it could start up. However, that time there was no turning over sound and this time I could hear it almost start to turn a split second before dying. We replaced the battery not long ago and the lights worked fine... I rummaged around in the van to see what I had to work with and came up with, among other things, a pack of ketchup, some diluted coke that had ice melted in it, some napkins, and a plastic straw. I applied the ketchup (which has a lot of ions and is acidic, but is a paste so it won't run across the surface of the battery and accidentally short anything like coke might) with the straw (which is an insulator) to the terminals of the battery and let it sit for a minute. Then I got back in and tried to start it up. It was dramatic. The first try it was the same thing as before. The next try a minute later it sustained longer and made some more noise turning before dying. Then on the third try it caught hold and started up! The terminals had become corroded and weren't connecting the current from the battery, but the acid quickly removed the corroded surface and flooded the gap with conductive ions. At least one disaster was avoided.
Then there are the issues with moving. Long story short, our old landlord is trying to blame us for things wrong with the house from before we moved in (so she can keep our deposit). She is letting the house fall apart and does not invest any money in repairs to the place (other than having a tree cut down in our yard for some random reason). Our new apartment is run by a large company and we tried to get off on the right note. We used a website to pay the rent (which they recommended to us). We paid four days early and received confirmation that it was paid. However, just one minute (to the second) before midnight (according to the online payment history) the payment was returned and 60 seconds later it was late because we had missed the payment due date. I found out in the morning and immediately went to the bank, took out a cashier's check for the rent, went back to the apartment and gave it to the resident manager. However, they want an additional $10 for a late fee (however we originally paid it on time) and $25 for a non-sufficient funds fee (we had the money, obviously, I gave them a cashier's check for it). I absolutely refused to pay the late fee and I went by the bank to see why the payment did not go through. I am still trying to sort this out but it is taking time away from my job.
OK, I guess I am venting a bit, but these are the kinds of things we have to deal with day to day. For something different, we had an easter egg hunt the last day of the month and our last day in the rental house. Basically the older two kids hid eggs around the yard for F to find. Here are some pictures.
In the last picture, F found an egg that had been there for a year. The kids had missed it on the easter egg hunt last year.
At our new apartment F even found some eggs hidden in a hedge next to the building. I suspect a parent had put them there and their kids had missed them.
