Good News All Around

I've been feeling very lucky recently and I hope it keeps up. My dad came through town with my step-mom a week and a half ago. They were on their way to a real estate conference in California. They had an old '89 Corolla that they were not using any more and so they decided to give it to us. It was a wonderful and generous gift. We were worried about our '84 Civic. It hasn't been very easy to get it to pass the emissions test that is required where I live and I was worried about whether it would pass this next year. It also has over 223,000 miles on it. Quite old. So we were very excited about it. I was excited for other reasons as well. For one, the Corolla has power steering so I no longer have to crank the wheel every time I make a sharp turn. Also, our Honda had a draft in the driver's side door, and the heater didn't really work (and it's been between 20 and 40 degrees F here, so cold), and there was no radio. So it's good to have a car that has no draft, has a working heater, and has a radio. Yea!

So that's one good thing. Another is my mother-in-law came to town last weekend and we were able to have fun with her. She took us out to eat twice and to a movie, plus she reimbursed us for gas (which was very generous). So that was great. I guess she is giving us money for our birthdays and Christmas, so I'm grateful for that since if we move in December, we'll need it for stuff.

Finally, I was able to get a great deal on a washer and dryer set. My co-worker used to help the bank on foreclosed homes and now two of his sons have taken over. When they do this, they need to deal with anything in the house that is deemed hazardous or unsafe. This includes food, chemicals, refrigerators, and washers and dryers. At a house recently, that was actually in pretty good condition, they found a washer and dryer that was not too old and in good condition (as well as an almost brand new pool table that they decided to keep). I asked how much he'd sell it for and he said normally they'd sell for at least $300 for the set (although I wonder if it might not be more), but he agreed to sell them to me for only $200, since we're friends and all. And not only that, but his other son, who used to be in the washer/dryer business would clean them out and improve them so they will work better than new ones. Isn't that awesome! I'll be getting them Friday, but right now we're not in an apartment with washer/dryer hookups. We're planning on finding an apartment to move into that does and if that happens we'll move in December. Until then, our hometeacher is going to keep them in his garage. So nice! I'm just so excited. It seems to all be working out. Now all I need to do is find an apartment for us to move into that is bigger (with 2 bedrooms), has washer and dryer hookups, and is near a bus route to UVSC (that we can afford). Then we'll be set.