So, Big Red is Gone, Here's Black Beauty!

So, Big Red is gone. Do you remember how excited we were three years ago when we bought her?

After the heartbreak of losing the deal on the 2010 truck we were indeed lucky to find this beauty last weekend. It took some real thought to decide to spend this amount of our savings on a vehicle but we think that we chose well. It took us a week to finalize the sale but Big Red came home yesterday and we think that it is just gorgeous. It is much prettier than the new truck we were considering and much better equipped. Oh yeah, and almost $20,000 less than the list price of the new one! I guess that the a__holes at the first dealership actually did us a big favour, and they probably didn't need our money anyway.

Big Red was beautiful when she first came home.

She was such a pretty vehicle that we had to think of it as "her". It turned out that it wasn't a good choice and it wasn't long into our relationship, that we started regretting our purchase. The issues stared early. We had an $800 brake job that was needed 4 months after we bought her, a failed 4 wheel drive system that took the dealer over 2 weeks to properly fix (thankfully I had insisted on the extended warranty!), seat fabric that was worn through to the foam, evil handling over bumps on the highway, faded and failing paint on the rocker panels and wheel wells and worst of all, rust in the rear quarter panels. It soured our feelings for this truck.

Before the disappointment set in...

So, Hubby started looking for a replacement early last year. He still wanted a full sized 4X4 pickup, primarily for winter driving even though the fuel costs are significant. It didn't help that he goes past the local Chrysler dealer on his way to work every day. Their lot is full of new trucks and they are offering huge discounts (as high as $12,000 off on some versions). He watched the inventory come and go on the dealer's websites waiting for just the right one to become available and every once in a while we would go and peer into the windows in the dealer's lots and gasp at the list prices. This is exactly what we were doing a couple of weeks ago when we came across Black Beauty!

Black Beauty, a 2011 Ram 1500 Sport

Pulling into the lot we were wondering why this new truck was parked with the used vehicles. As it happens, it was used, a 2011 Ram 1500 Sport with just 50,000 kilometres on it. It was exactly what Hubby had been looking for, the correct model and equipment and even the right colour.

We took it for a drive and it was nice. It drove well and felt solid on the road. The interior is loaded with just about everything you can imagine including automatic headlights, automatic dual-zone temperature controls, touch screen satellite radio that will also connect to a cell phone, built-in garage door openers, partial leather seats and auto-dimming mirrors. The outside has body coloured bumpers and mirrors, fog lamps, running boards, remote start, security alarm and 20 inch chrome wheels. Another very pretty vehicle, I decided to name her Black Beauty.

The interior wasn't muddy until
we brought it home!

The centre stack includes the touch screen
radio and climate controls.

The dance started as soon as we returned from the test drive. The dealer had looked at Big Red while we were out and had come up with a very disappointing offer. We went home to think things over and to do some research. Consumer Reports rated the model as above average in everything except fuel mileage. The asking price the dealer wanted was at the extreme end of the range according to the Canadian Black Book website while the amount they were offering for Big Red was thousands less than the minimum. We haggled with them for over a week, adding extended warranty again and a cover for the back end and don't forget the bloody taxes, before finally agreeing on a price. We came out at about half of what a new 2013 version would have cost. Vehicle depreciation is very scary in the first few years!

We were back to the dealer yesterday to pick up a missing spare key and found out that Big Red is already sold. The dealer was going to recondition her, fix up the paint and her other issues but they decided that that would be too expensive. So they have sold her off to used car wholesaler and we will probably never hear of her again. Too bad, she held such promise when she first came home. Maybe her problems stem from the financial crisis the manufacturers were in at the time it was made or maybe she was just a lemon. We'll never know I guess. I just hope someone buys her and fixes her back up and maybe loves her a little.

For us, I just hope that this new vehicle will last us a few years. Retirement is looming!

Poor Big Red, back on the dealer's lot.

You can see the missing paint from the rust bubble over the
wheel arch.

The new truck getting its first wash at home. You can see
why the floor mats are muddy in the shot above.

Saying goodbye to Big Red. She has been sold to a vehicle
wholesaler already. I hope she will find some love out there.

Clean again for a short while.

Food Bank Challenge

Recently Sam from "An Ostrich Named Sam" wrote:

”Many of us are so fortunate in being able to buy what we like at the grocery store and never having to choose between putting food in fridge or paying for rent. If you can, please give to your local food bank this Christmas. A box of pasta can make a difference to a family in need.”

and:

”Actually how about a challenge people? Give to the food bank and post your photos the month of December! Anyone in?”

Well, I’m up for your challenge Sam! In fact it was going to be pretty easy to do because donating to the food bank is something that I already do every year anyway. I was a volunteer at our local Salvation Army for over 10 years. They ran their Thrift Store and the food bank out of the same facility so I got to see some of the people who were using the services and hear some of their stories. Some of the stories were very tragic and they convinced me that I have been very fortunate in my life to be in a position to help others. So, among other things, I donate to that food bank regularly.

Also, once a year for the past dozen years or so, Hubby and his co-workers collect food donations from just about everyone in town and take them to the same food bank. I help with this too by driving Big Red while Hubby goes to the door to pick up food. We almost always bring in an entire truck load of stuff because people are so generous. The Salvation Army is always very grateful. It’s the single biggest donation they receive and it keeps the shelves stocked for months.

The back of Big Red was full again this year.

Ready to off-load.

So Sam, here’s my response to your challenge. I’m a little early but that’s just my nature! I included lots of KD, soup, peanut butter, spaghetti and sauce, beans, sugar and Kleenex. I look forward to seeing everyone else’s donations.

Okay Sam here’s my contribution.

Lots of KD because who doesn’t like KD?

All boxed up and ready to go!

Weekend Get-Away

The Witch, her Hubby and her broom (okay, it was Big Red) went flying off Witch's Island this weekend for some shopping and some fun in the far-off city and we had a great time! Hubby suggested that we should go away on Friday afternoon and spend the night rather than just dashing over for the day on Saturday. He left it up to me to decide but it didn’t take much convincing to get the Witch to fly!

While he was still at work I checked the ‘net for places to stay, found one I liked and booked a room. Hubby got home nice and early and before he could even get the truck in the garage I came out the door and said "Leave ‘er out there. We’re going!" He was a little shocked but away he went to get ready. I had everything I needed packed and waiting at the door.

The afternoon was beautiful, weather-wise and we had a quick and comfy cruise to the motel where we signed in and dumped our bags. Then it was off to Costco! My sweet little brother gave us a membership voucher and gift cards for Christmas knowing that we are too cheap to buy into a membership ourselves. He is our Costco evangelist and routinely informs us of the amazing deals he finds there. We have been looking forward since December to becoming converts.

In the past we have snuck into the store just to see what the excitement was all about but we knew that we weren’t going to be able to buy anything. Not this time, though. We got our membership cards (and we even got a refund of $5.00 because of where we live) and then headed off into the store to inspect the goods. I loved it!

Oh yeah, we purchased quite a few things. I scored big on some new heavy duty baking sheets. They weigh a ton so these suckers aren't going to twist in the oven. The old ones will go in to our flea market box with the old pots. Hubby got some new windshield wiper blades. We saw lots of interesting grocery items, too but we left them for the next day. So, were there lots of bargains to be had? Well, not as many as I expected but there was a great variety of brands and products that we just don’t see on the Witch’s Island.

After shopping we went back to the motel and parked the truck and then it was off to our favourite Chinese restaurant where we had a great meal and a nice bottle of wine. The evening was so warm that we were able to walk a mile to a pool hall to play a few games. I love billiards but Hubby was hot and I was no match for his superior playing that night.

The next morning we were up early and off to the Farmer’s Market. Every other time we have been to this one it has been later in the morning and it is so crowded that it is hard to get up and down the aisles. This time there were very few customers and we just breezed through! We bought three loaves of bread and a big bag of Honey Crisp apples.

After that we toured around some furniture stores looking for new tables for the TV room but we didn’t find anything we liked. We went to a few other stores including a big building supply chain where Hubby got to look at the power tools (gotta keep your man happy) but the only thing we bought was a planter for the kitchen windowsill and some new plants. Then, we went shopping again at Costco! This time I actually bought quite a bit of food, mostly baking supplies (nuts, vanilla, and SunMaid raisins), oranges and a big bottle of whole cashews. Next we cruised through the mall and bought nothing though Danier Leather had a fitted red jacket that I would have died for but I'm glad I managed to pry myself away. Okay, Hubby, you can stop slapping my fingers now! The thrift stores were next. I bought jeans, one top, a brand new white ball cap, and a flower pot.



By this time it was getting late in the day and we were getting hungry so it was back to Lam’s for dinner (we ordered extra to take home, too) and then we loaded up the broom to fly back home. It was a great little unplanned get-away and I'm still loving it.

"New to Me" Boots & Homemade Baked Beans

Saturday was a windfall day for me at my favorite boutique (Value Village). I spent, (well actually I didn't spend because I used my Christmas gift certificates) a grand total of $41.00 and I want to show you everything that I picked up.



I got two types of boots, one is very dressy in maybe an outdated style but since I'm not up to-date on the fashion trends, who cares, and the other type is a hiking style, which I really needed. The dress boots were actually made in Canada which is always a bonus to me. Hubby was kind enough to put a coat of water-proofing on them for me so I won't have any salt stains. He does look after me.



I also bought two old-style Corelle casserole dishes. I have been looking to replace the chipped glass lids on my old set and these ones are just like new, so I’m very happy! The patterns don't match but who cares.

I found an Oakland Raiders hoody, it’s missing the string but otherwise it’s in great shape and of course Oakland just happens to be my favorite NFL football team. I plan on wearing this tomorrow. I purchased two other tops for work and found a nice quilting pattern book which I guess someone just got tired of. Some days it just pays to be at the right place at the right time.

We are making a big pot of baked beans for supper tonight and I'm going to bake some poppy seed biscuits to go with them. I can smell the beans cooking away downstairs right now and they’re driving me crazy. It might be a good night for an early dinner.







So far today I've planned the menu for the rest of the week, cleaned the house, helped Hubby clean the garage floor and finished the laundry. Hubby is outside right now washing the car and the truck and I can see the suds freezing on top of his wash pail. It may be sunny out there but it’s still damn cold. We can't have Big Red looking dirty, though. It really is a pretty truck and we may as well keep it clean. We’ve had it about a month now and we’re still loving it.



I hope you enjoy the pictures. I’m including one more of the Witch’s Island because everyone seemed to enjoy yesterday’s so much. Bye for now.