Duct tape doesn't work?

Rodney and I were on our way into the city when there was a beep from my car. It's the noise that says one of the gauges need attending. It was, unfortunately, the thermostat.

Last year, I had to replace the water pump. That died and the engine overheated. I"ll never forget stopping at a light on my way to Sycamore quarry and the steam just rolling out from under the hood. I'm no mechanic, but even I know that's not a good thing.

This time, we were in stop and go traffic on the Eisenhower Expressway. The gauge went into the red, went down, went back up and then went all the way up. Fortunately, we were near an exit. Rodney looked and there was no antifreeze in the bottle. Quickly dashing to this Target, I got a bottle and we overfilled the container.

My car sounded better, I think, but that could just be the 'placebo' effect, that because you've done something, you expect results. We got to the job site and Rodney had another look. All the antifreeze we had poured into the bottle was gone.

When we left, we looked under the car and there was no puddle. I don't know how long this has been going on, but there's never been a puddle under my car after a day of driving. I looked this morning before going to work. I drove into the city again today and the gauge didn't move. It was fine. Traffic wasn't as bad as yesterday, but it was still stop and go. If there was a problem, wouldn't it show up again?

I found some antifreeze in the basement last night when I was doing laundry. I have no idea of its age. The container was covered in dust. Does it go bad? I cannot pay for repairs for this car. I realize that the online payment of a couple of bills did not go through at the end of last month so tonight I have to redo that. It makes me angry because I did last Sunday. I feel as if my bank will make their system so convoluted that you're sure to default or incur overage or late fees because they want to make scads of money off you. So the prospect of having a major repair such as the water pump again or the radiator fills me with dread.

Rodney said we'd look at it tomorrow and see if it's a minor thing. Minor, I can handle. Anything else is a kick in the shins.

Beverage: Water

Deb