And the pocketbook takes another hit

Well, it wouldn't be a birthday week if at least two major things didn't break.  First the stove...which we have ordered a replacement electric stove due to cost...it would have cost us an additional $1,000 for a gas stove, gas line install, and 110 electrical outlet, so we decided to go with the electric.  In addition, the electric stoves had better ratings on Consumer Reports.  

Then yesterday, after picking up the kids, I drove about three blocks from the school and the power steering went out.  I didn't know what went wrong, but figured that driving any distance--even just to the dealership--was too far and probably asking for trouble.  I called Kelly several times although I'm not sure why he didn't hear the phone ringing.  I tried calling home, calling his work desk, and apparently he was driving home and didn't hear the phone.  So, I called Renee, who was still at the school, and she took Emma home.  Her husband, Tom, came and picked up the other two kids and took them home.  Just before he arrived, I was finally able to get ahold of Kelly.  He agreed to meet me and while he was in transit, I called the insurance company who ordered a tow truck.  The tow truck arrived just after 4:30.  

The verdict came in--it was a serpentine belt and tensioner that went out, and driving it any distance would, indeed, have been bad for the car.  I'm glad I made the decision not to drive it.  It was finished just under 24 hours later, so I have it back now, but the car is still making groaning noises.  Not sure if it's the brakes or what.  Just what I need.

Working on Lauri's quilt--a rather large round robin style with suns in the corners--and I got two new baby quilts to work on after this, and finished the Anglo-Saxon #8 weaving project.  It was a bit of a pain to get that last few feet done with the twisting and running out of ways to let out the tension, so I resorted to anchoring the weave onto various parts of the loom.  I had to get creative.  I have more ideas on how to make this work better....but I'll have to save that for another time.

<-- Front end of loom <--and the back end