Three birds with one stone!

We all have those days - you get "lots" done but have nothing to show for it! 

Yesterday was the day to get the car's tires switched. In the morning, I worked on the project for this morning's applique class, which I am able to double-dip for tomorrow's digital cutter class. 

All I can say about that, for the moment, is that cutting fabric with my Brother Scan and Cut is child's play. Why was I "afraid" of using it before? Oh -- I know -- because I had no idea how to make it work and had never used it. But the more I use it, the easier it becomes. Now I have other things to learn, like cutting different materials, using different mats, etc. But when it comes to scanning and cutting fabric? I'm good! I've experimented, sometimes with success and sometimes not, so more learning is required. 

OK, so then I went to the dealer to get the tires changed. I had a whole list of things that I needed help with on the car, and I had sent the list to them when I made the appointment online. Yep, no one calls for appointments anymore. You book them online. 

Question one was whether I could change when the FUEL light comes on. It comes on at 35 KM left, and I don't like that. My other car was 100 km, and the warning was larger on the dashboard. I know this car is different, but I find the fuel warning light is small, and the gas gauge is not super accurate. The answer is NO, but there are reserves, and I forgot to ask what the reserve amount is. Many of you would never let the car get past half, but the half indicator is NOT half! We'll learn to live with it! 

Question number two was, can we permanently shut off the device that stops the car engine when you're at a stop light? The answer is NO. Apparently, since 2015, all automatic transmissions have had this "fuel-saving, emission-reducing" feature. You can temporarily shut it off in the car or not apply the brakes all the way. 

Hmm—so far, I'm not getting the answers I want! But it's things I can live with. The third question really needed to be addressed: how to dim the navigation screen at night. I had checked and found the settings, and it was set to automatic, so it should have dimmed at night. But it did not. 

Turns out there is a MANUAL setting on the left-hand side (practically hidden) on the underside of the dash that needs to be set BEFORE the automatic setting will work. That was NOT intuitive to ensure that it was in the right spot. But the problem is solved. 

The dash lights dial

This is good; this screen can be pretty bright and distracting in the morning on the way to the gym. 

This screen is bright at NIGHT

Of course, I had to report all to DH last night at dinner and he said -- if he had read the manual, he would have figured it out. Seriously? I just checked the manual, and although that dial is indicated in TWO spots (which both say the same thing - why?), NOWHERE does it say that it has to be in a certain spot in order for the automatic feature in the navigation screen to work. Car manuals are useless as far as I'm concerned - GASP -- another oxymoron from me! They are WAY longer than needed -- so repetitive in information and extremely hard to find anything. The first part is so ridiculous, but it is necessary as they explain the safety required to drive a car. 

I got my tires changed, and for the first time, we got to drive the car with the fancy rims. I wasn't happy when they installed the winter tires, as I purchased sensors (tire pressure) on those rims, and they did not install them correctly, so the sensor light was on all winter. YES—I checked the tire pressure to ensure all was OK. And I couldn't be bothered to go back, so I reminded the young gentleman who served me about that. I can see the tire pressure lights from the app on my phone, so next winter, I can check that before I leave the dealer. 

The car with its fancy rims

It will cost $500 to fix the tail light that DH broke the first time he parked in the garage. Don't even ask -- but men are so rigid. Did he think to get out and see what his surroundings were before he backed into the garage? Nope- he relied 100% on the camera (low) and didn't notice the shelf (tail light height) where he put his empty beer cans! Sigh... So that will have to be fixed later on. I didn't have time before to deal with it. 

And the last issue is the wind whistling on the passenger side. So, this was an eye-opener. It appears our car was made in New Zealand. Seriously? And of course, we know that some of the workmanship in building the vehicle may not be the best. The young gentleman told me that the best builds are those from Japan. It appears this wind issue is a known thing. And yes -- we could have them look at it, but it'll take several days, so I will hold out on that for a bit. 

It'll be fixed under warranty, so I'm going to hold out on that for a bit. They will need the car for about a week as they pull it apart to try and fix it. I'm not sure I want them to do it or wait until it becomes a company-wide fix. So, if you have a Toyota Corolla Cross and have wind whistling issues, complain! 

Lastly, I bought a touch-up pen to fix the door ding that someone put on the driver's side passenger door. But we're all good for the next 6 months unless I deal with those two issues before then, which I think I will. 

However, the appointment was LONG—it was going to be four hours. I appreciated David's response when I asked the time frame because he was honest and said—four hours. OK—if it's going to take long, be upfront. Don't say two hours when you know that's not going to happen. The attitude of the guest (me) is much better! 

I knew it was going to be long, so I went for a walk. I needed to get to Michael's, which was about a 20-minute walk away—easy for me. I went and picked up a couple of things, stopping at Indigo on the way. Then, I needed some more fabric at Fabricland and stopped at Value Village. Yes, this is the street on which I do the errands with the car, but since I was close, I walked the entire strip. 

I took my folding shopping bag with me, and by the time I made it back to the dealer, it was full. 

My shopping bag was filled with goodies

By then, only two hours had elapsed, so I took the opportunity to read my book. I think I nodded off at one point. 

Then I got the car, and I was on my way home. David also told me that they have an inventory of cars. Yes, I could walk onto the lot and likely buy a car and come home with it. I may not get my choice of color, but it's nice to know that things are finally getting back to normal in the car world. Not all models of cars are available, but there were plenty of RAV4s in the lot, in boring colors like white and black. 

So it truly was a three-birds-with-one-stone day—I got the car serviced, I went for a walk, and I completed my errands. 

I will say that it's a good thing this thrift store is not the one near me. They didn't have much in the way of craft books to look at, but puzzles? Oh boy, and I love the note on this one. Someone wrote, "It was fun to do even with two pieces missing!"

A door puzzle

I did not buy any puzzles. I do NOT need any puzzles. 

I worked on my project for the class this morning, and now I must finish putting the presentation together. Which I'll do as soon as I'm done walking the girls; that's a quick job. 

Remember the virtual retreat this weekend. 

It starts tonight at 6 PM. Here's the link. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816483795?pwd=Mjc3M3pvVmZPdjdsQzlHS3Zhck52dz09

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667

Here's the link for Sunday, when we start at noon. It may be a bit later since it's the digital cutter class right before; sometimes, we exceed our allotted time. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82983517671?pwd=ODdsa1FJenQwdFNaQWFTNGd4bEhPZz09

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

It's going to be a fun day—there's a quilt show in Paris, Ontario, today. Remember to bring cash—I've got mine lined up at the door. Virtual Retreat tonight! 

On top of that, it's my Dad's 91st birthday today! I must get a call into him!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!