(no subject)

I took my car to the garage today so that they could inspect it and get it ready for our MFF trip. I also wanted them to check out a strange noise it's been making for some time. I think it's a wheel bearing, or maybe a strut. Fortunately it's a noise that's easy to reproduce; all you have to do is get in the car and drive because it makes the sound all the time.

Except when you have a mechanic in the car with you. Argh!

Well, it made a couple of token "thunk" sounds when we first started out, and was then stubbornly silent for the rest of the drive - but at least he heard it right at the outset, so he knows that I'm not just imagining it. I'm hoping that it's not something too expen$ive. =/

(no subject)

The furnace guy came and went. He did some routine inspection and cleaning and pronounced everything good and fit. He made a few interesting remarks about the furnace while he was here. Firstly he commented on the installation job, and said that it was one of the better installations he'd seen - very clean and professional. He said that this is one of the better boiler designs out there, and it should give us years of trouble-free heat.

What surprised me, though, was that this furnace is much newer than I though. I figured it was from the late 50s, or early 60s, but he says that this furnace is 12 years old, or 15 years old tops. That means that they installed it a couple of years before I bought the house. As such, he said that we're wasting money by having it serviced every year. A furnace this new can go 2-3 years between inspection and cleaning.

Sweet.

Now I just have to wait on news of the car and election to see how positive a day this ultimately turns out to be.