I Finally Hit The Bottle

It was a very good day, but a very LONG day.  Here's my baby, my Dream Machine.  No really, that's the name of the best embroidery/sewing machine I've ever owned.  It definitely is a dream and worth every penny I paid for it.  With all machinery however, it requires maintenance.

There's no way I was going to touch THIS baby with a screwdriver, so a couple years ago, I purchased a ridiculously priced service plan.  $1,000.00   Don't you know I regretted THAT purchase, until I realized it was for SIX years.  The cost to service these beasts is a minimum of $200.  With the plan, parts are included for free.

SO ... I made an appointment to have it cleaned and serviced WHILE I WAITED.  Three magic words, right?  Off I went to the big town of Fresno in my Jeep, because I have not received my truck license since paying for it three months ago.  Good ole California DMV.

I dropped off the machine at 9:00 am, reminding them I had to wait.  What to do, what to do.  Since my good friends the Westerfields were over in Death Valley, I opted to check out the one quilt shop left in town.  Wouldn't you know, I found this PineCone pattern, a paper pieced project similar to the one I just completed.

Picking fabric is not my forte.  TWO hours later, in spite of my determination to NOT purchase fabric, I broke my own resolution and picked up these.  The good news, it was $50 less than I expected.  YAY!!

I figured by the time I had lunch, my machine would be done.  My choices (because now I'm being cheap again) were Taco Bell and McDonalds.  I chose wrong.  I was totally surprised to find a plastic straw in my drink.  Didn't California outlaw plastic straws???  Apparently not.  The pepsi that was there, disappeared rather fast due to the amount of ice.  

The chicken burrito had no substance in it at all that resembled meat.  It WAS full of drippy, mushy beans with WAY too much sauce and maybe three pieces of wilted lettuce.  The taco had so much sour cream, that's all I could taste.  I knew this wasn't going to end well.

At 1:00 I headed back to get my machine.  Oh dear, they said.  It won't be done till around 4:00.  Wait .... I made a special appointment to have it done while I waited.  No one said I would be waiting ALL DAY LONG!  I have a long drive home ........

I suppose I should have camped on their couch.  I didn't want to go shopping at the mall, knowing I would spend too much.  I figured I'd find an ice cream store ... like ColdStone ... and sooth my savage nature over the sewing machine.  

The coffee lovers loaded with heath bar crunch was just the ticket.  I relished every single bite as I sat in my car admiring the colors in the trees around me.

That's when it hit me.  I haven't exactly been watching my diet.  7,239 calories later and my stomach decided to do some back flips.  Back to the store I went, hoping they would call.  They did not.  Finally at 2:30 I got the message it was ready for pickup.    It didn't cost me a dime, making my stomach feel MUCH better.

I drove home going the speed limit, amidst everyone else going at least 80 mph.  There are two sections of 70 mph speed limit, where they upped it to 85.  Not a CHP in sight.  It is interesting to note that half of the repair to the highway through Madera, just completed last year, is again completely under construction.  

There are two more LONG sections of repairs also being torn up.  Seems whoever the contractor was that did the work, didn't make the roadbed compliant, and it now is breaking down completely, causing big rigs to crash.  Doesn't that make you feel safe??

The second I walked in the door, I hit the bottle.  TUMS are my little friends.  I was sure three of them would negate all those calories I ate and calm my stomach.  Momma's a happy camper.  She can sew again without the agony of Taco Bell and ColdStone.