Can you believe that it has been about a year and two months and I just got my first oil change in the 2008 BMW X5?
The dealer says to bring the vehicle in for it’s first service at either one year or 15,000 miles. I didn’t here the “one year” part. I was going on the mileage and it only reads a bit more than 13,000. Why the one year? Does oil get old if the car just sits? I mean, I drive it enough, just not a lot. Whatever.
A few days ago, I called the service manager and asked about bringing it in. He said that I should and we set up an appointment. The nice part is that BMWs come with a maintenance plan for four years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. They handle all maintenance issues except for gas and tires. That’s makes the checkout at the dealer somewhat fun. You don’t even have to open your wallet. All you do is sign a few forms that describe the service that was performed and leave.
So here’s what happened. I pulled up to the dealership last Friday. Since I had never been there before for service, I had no idea where to leave the car. I walked inside and asked someone. They told me to pull the car right up to the big service door and it would open automatically. I thought that was neat. I got back in the car and pull it into the service bay. I parked the car and a few guys ran over to me. They pulled my paperwork and took my key. They plugged the key into the computer and downloaded all the information that was recorded on it. Don’t ask, I have no idea. Apparently, the car is a big computer that records all sorts of information, such as average MPH, MPG, seat settings and all sorts of stuff. It’s for them to know and for me not to care.
Anyway, I let them do their thing and I had a seat in the waiting area.
One thing I wasn’t aware of was the fact that there was a wireless connection in the waiting area. I could have brought my laptop to get some work done. Next time. Instead, I read a few pages of the book I brought along. I was probably better off doing that anyway.
There was also a guy walking about asking everyone if they needed a ride into Hartford. He had a shuttle and really wanted to drive someone someplace. If I had something to do, I may have taken him up on his offer. Since I am a fairly boring person, I sat there and waited.
I did start chatting with the young fella next to me though. He was 25 and interested in business. My eyes lit up when I saw how eager he was to learn. I sat there for about an hour teaching him about all sorts of things. He was all ears and made me feel very important. He must have read Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to win friends and influence people.”
2008 BMW X5 oil cap
Let’s get to the fun stuff. What does the dealer do for the first maintenance visit?
- Standard scope: basically hooks a machine to the PCM/computer and asks the car what it needs
- Brake fluid service: brake fluid flush
- Microfilter service: swap out the microfilter that filters the cabin air
- Low mileage annual oil service: change oil and filter
- Windshield cleaner: add windshield wiper fluid
- Wash and vacuum: I thought that was nice
The car was filthy and the wash and vacuum was the cherry on top.
There was also some software download that needed to get done, but would have taken another two hours. I was told that they could take care of that next time. Since 15,000 miles is almost here, I will have to go back for another service. That’s right around the corner. As the service guy put it, I’ll get another free oil change. I would prefer they not call it “free.” It’s more like, “included.”
For information on Hunt Christmas Tree Farm, please click here.
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Here we go, Christmas tree 2009.
Thursday was the day. We didn’t know if the weather was going to cooperate any more than it has and there is nothing worse than trying to find and cut down a Christmas tree in the snow. Actually, I have never done that and now that I think about it, it might be fun. Either way, I truly enjoy walking around Christmas tree farms hunting for the “one.”
As usual, I didn’t have much of a choice. When she gets going, she gets going. It’s like I walk around talking to myself. Have you ever seen “Napoleon Dynamite?” Do you know who Deb is? That’s who she is like. She walks around with her hand on her chin, completely focused. She usually gets the third or fourth tree she wants. I have to snap her back to reality regarding dimensions. “No dear, I am not pulling that thing back to the car. No dear, I am not dragging that through the front door. No dear, the bottom won’t even fit in the stand.”
This year, we visited Hunt Christmas Tree Farm in Coventry, CT to cut down our 2009 Christmas tree. We were pretty much the only ones on the lot. We planned it that way because I didn’t want to be bothered by anyone. I like peace and quiet when I have to make important decisions.
I decided to bring my trailer instead of lugging the tree back to the house on the roof of my car. Last year, a big burly type of a fellow decided to give a hand throwing the tree on the car roof. He stepped on my running boards and nearly collapsed them. Then, he almost shattered the sunroof with his toss. I am grateful that nothing broke, but I still have nightmares of vacuuming up little pieces of tempered glass from the interior. The trailer worked out perfectly.
The tree farm is pretty large. There were plenty of trees to choose from and the really neat thing is that there is a dirt road around the entire thing. This means that you get to drive around and park where ever you feel like your tree might be. There was even a dude who drove around to help out people who were ready to make the cut. He gave you the “good” saw and then brought the tree back and wrapped it up. The trees cost $35 each and that includes the wrapping and a tree bag for when you are all finished. The tree bag goes underneath the stand and when it’s time for the tree to be removed from the house, you just slide the bag right up and around the entire thing. Of course, we have woods outside, so you won’t find me trying to put anything out near the road. I’ll clip it up into small pieces.
The rumor on the street is that you want to see some pictures. Okay, they are below, but let me tell you something amusing. When I was trimming the bottom branches to get a better fit into the tree stand, I cut one that mattered. I know this has probably happened to a lot of you, but there was nothing I could do about it. I only took off three little twigs. One of them was not as little as the other two. Oh well…what’s a tree without some character? We actually just stuffed that branch into the stand and made the best of it. Gee, that reminds me of the good ol’ days.
Hunt Christmas Tree Farm in Coventry, CT
Our 2009 Christmas tree
Me cutting down the Christmas tree
The Christmas stump
The Christmas tree in the trailer
2009 Christmas tree all decorated
The decorated fireplace mantel
My lady’s hand made Christmas orament
We even picked up a few pine cones from our walk today
You know, I was going to start this post off with a rant about how much local radio really bugs me. Then, I thought better of it. I try not to do too much insulting these days.
What made me want to rant about radio? Was it the years and years of listening to the same five songs on repeat all day long? No. Was it the fact that I have to constantly change the station I am listening to in search for something that comes in better? No. Was it how I listened to cheesy commercials for about twelve minutes out of my twenty minute drive to Glastonbury a few days ago? Bingo.
I swear, they started playing commercials the minute I got on Rt. 2. When I got off Rt. 2, the commercials were still going. There is just no reason for this. I mean, if you want to sprinkle a few in here and there, that’s fine. It’s what you have to do. To run them back to back for a quarter hour, that’s just crazy. No wonder no one has anything nice to say about that whole section of media anymore.
Gee, I guess I did have a rant after all. But it wasn’t bad. I don’t hate radio, I hate the commercials. Especially the idiotic local ones. Like where a car dealer has their kid doing the talking…”My daddy wants to you come down and buy a new Subaru…” I mean, seriously?
I do like John Tesh. He’s my favorite.
Anyway, since I got so frustrated the other day, I thought I should do something about it instead of complaining for the rest of my life. I decided to order two “6ft 3.5mm M/M Stereo Audio Cables” from Amazon. They were a total of $5.86 delivered. Not bad. I got one for me and one for the lady. They arrived a few days later.
I know I talked about my new Droid’s music playing capabilities. What I didn’t know was that both of our cars have nice little auxiliary jacks just waiting to have something plugged into them. How did I miss this for a whole year? She has an iPod and we actually bought a different adapter a while back. All she needed was this cheap little wire.
6ft 3.5mm M/M Stereo Audio Cable
Auxiliary jack in 2008 BMW X5
You should have seen us out in the garage the night we got these new audio cables. We were like little kids on Christmas morning. We had both stereos up nice and loud. So loud, I jumped on one of the hoods and started dancing. Okay, didn’t happen, but it was an enlightening experience realizing the capabilities of what joy this could bring.
I listened to my Droid in my car the next day. It was perfect.
The other day (the same day I forgot my wallet), I was driving around. I drove through our little town here because I needed to pick up some stuffing mix and vegetable broth. I stopped at the local food store and bought what I needed to buy. On the way back to the car, I turned around. Why did I turn around? I’m not sure. It was like something was calling me.
I put the food in the car and started walking back to the store. When I got about half way between the car and the store, I began veering to the left and ended up in the liquor store. Now I know how that happens. It’s involuntary.
I ran out of my Blackberry Brandy and needed to get some more. I’m not sure if you remember this, but a long time ago I told you that I really wanted to try Christian Brothers Brandy. For the longest time, I have been drinking the cheap flavored stuff and thought that I should probably up it a notch. You know, as you get older, you should probably get better things.
Well, just as luck would have it, while I was reaching for the Mr. Boston Blackberry Brandy, my hand swiped a nice shiny bottle of Christian Brother VS Brandy (which stands for very smooth). I picked the bottle up and almost brought it to the counter. Then I remembered back to the last time I did that. I bought some ginger flavored brandy and hated it. I put the bottle down and grabbed the big bottle of the cheap stuff.
On the way to the counter, I asked the guy if he had any little bottles of Christian Brothers. He said yes and grabbed me one of them. He also suggested that I try some Courvoisier Cognac. Since these were only those little mini bottles, I agreed.
When I got back to the house, I showed my little friend what I bought. She thought that was neat and watched me take two quick sips, one from each bottle. I closed them up and said, “Why does everything taste like Irish Whiskey? I didn’t like either of them. She told me that I should probably pour some in a real glass like a human and give it another try. I am actually letting some Christian Brothers breathe in a glass right in front of me as I type this.
I’ll taste it now.
Okay, I’m back. It’s actually very good. Of course, there is that twang of liquor, but they weren’t lying when they put “VS” on the bottle. It has such a smooth start and then tastes more like Brandy as it sits in your mouth. Interesting.
Tomorrow, I am going to try the Courvoisier Cognac. I hope that’s as good as what I just tried.
I love writing about this kind of stuff. It fills my heart with happiness.
I got the greatest deal yesterday when I went to the Home Depot. It came in the form of four pine trees for the price of one.
When I visit the Home Depot, I usually walk in through the garden center. I don’t know, I guess it’s a habit of mine. Even if I don’t plan on buying anything, I just like to see what they have. Usually, I browse the aisles in search of those ever elusive Blue Spruces that pop up every so often. Yesterday’s trip was no different.
As I was walking into the garden center yesterday, I passed by a truck parked right in front of the sidewalk. I took a look in the back of it and it was chock full of everything that used to be in the store (plant-wise). As I continued in, I bumped into the guy who was filling up the truck. He was pulling a pallet jack full of bushes and shrubs. I wanted to know what he was doing, so I struck up a conversation. First, I asked where he was bringing all the plants. He told me that he was heading towards Fairfield County because they were selling very well down there while nothing was really happening up here. I was pretty familiar with this type of event because I have struck up many conversations with garden workers over the years, especially at the very end of the growing season when there are tons of good deals.
After I absorbed that little tidbit of information, I asked if he ever brought in any small spruce trees. He told me that he did every once in a while, and he started walking towards the larger spruces they had left over from this past season. There were four of them and he told me he would give me a great deal just to get rid of them. I asked when kind of great deal and he replied that he would give me four for the price of one. About ten seconds later I was pulling the car up to the front and popping the trunk.
The prices of these trees varied from around $45 to $60. He said he would give me everything for $45. I thought that was great. Then, I was walking towards him after I got out of the car, he said he would do even better because some of the branches were bare. He said he would give me everything for $30. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. See what happens when you have a nice smile and a friendly attitude? You get a price reduction on some spruce trees.
Both of us stacked the trees up in the back of the car. I was very thankful for the trees and the fact that they fit. Now, I have the lovely task of planting these things tomorrow. Check ‘em out.
I’m not even sure I am going to head down this road. I don’t want to use too many tools offered by one company. It is a good idea though…
Here’s the problem. Google offers the tools that rock. I mean seriously. I have mentioned this before, but it’s true now more than ever. I use a lot of tools online that are offered by a variety of companies. The one company that seems to really get it right is Google. Somehow, they have gotten in my head and figured out what I want.
I don’t know how they did that.
Perhaps it’s the median age of their employees. I bet it’s the same age as I am. I also bet that many of Google’s employees like the same things I do and do what I do. We appreciate the same types of cars and read the same magazines. I suppose I am a market for them.
So, what’s Google Voice?
From Wikipedia: “Google Voice (formerly GrandCentral) is a telecommunications service by Google launched on March 11, 2009. The service provisions a U.S. phone number, chosen by the user from available numbers in selected area codes, free of charge to each user account. Inbound calls to this number are forwarded to other phone numbers of the subscriber. Outbound calls may be placed to domestic and international destinations by dialing the Google Voice number or from a web-based application.”
Kind of reminds my of Skype, except Skype has video as well, which is really cool. I bet (if they don’t already), Google Voice will have that soon too.
Well folks, as you can see, this is where things are heading. Get ready to use your cell phone with some sort of a voice app on it. Also, get ready for video calls on your cell phone. Oh wait, that’s probably already available. Where have I been?
By the way, if you are interested in getting in on Google Voice, you can click here to visit Google’s blog post with instructions on what to do.
I have always wanted an under sink water filter. I’m not sure why, especially since we have a whole house filter. I guess it’s because the whole house filter is all the way down in the basement and I keep thinking the water gets all screwed up traveling through the pipes. I like the idea of having a filter close to the tap.
I decided that I had the capabilities to install an under sink water filter myself. I mean, I do have the brains and the patience. It’s not really a hard job, just one that you have to psych yourself into doing because you have to clean out under the sink. You know…all those bottles of who knows what and cans of what the heck it this. Throw in a few old sponges and there you have it – the area below a kitchen sink.
There was one little issue that was in the way of me installing a water filter. The faucet we had installed on the kitchen sink was a bit out dated. It was one of those “one handle” ones that sits right in the middle. Some people prefer that style, but I always liked the two handle ones. In this case, the two handles are preferred because the water filter only runs on the cold line. I like knowing that when I turn on the cold water, only the cold water is running. So, I basically needed a water filter and a new kitchen faucet. Not a problem, I’m really cheap when it comes to kitchen faucets and the filter setup was only $34. It even came with the insert.
Off to Lowe’s I went. When I got there, I strolled down the filter aisle and picked out a “Whirlpool Drop in Filtration System – WHKF-DUF.” This is the $34 jobber I just told you about. I knew what to expect because I already picked it out online. I put the filter in the cart and went over to the next aisle that had all the faucets. There they were, all lined up on the wall. I knew I wanted the chrome Peerless for around $44, but I was forced to get the $68 model because we have a four hole sink. That means that we have that extra little sprayer. You know, the one that you can wrap a rubber band around and sit back in its holder. When someone comes by to turn on the sink, they get sprayed. Yeah, that one.
I picked up the model I needed and put it in my cart. Or what I thought was my cart.
Here’s a funny little story. When I rolled my cart into the faucet aisle, I saw a nice family standing there trying to pick out a kitchen faucet. I noticed that they were kind of just randomly picking things out and didn’t know why. There are differentiating factors in faucets such as the one handle or two that I spoke of above. Also, there is the height of the faucet end. Our old faucet was low, so when I tried to get a large pot filled with water, I had to angle it such a way. Anyway, I broke the ice by saying, “Boy, I feel like I’m part of the family.” They laughed and I laughed. The father just looked at me. There were three of them…the mother, the father and the daughter. Okay, on with the story. I told them about the height issue and why and they were just amazed. As far as I was concerned, they thought I was the cat’s meow. I left the aisle to go out to the garden center.
When I got out to the garden center, I picked out two trees and put them into the cart. I stood back and looked at the faucet. Then, I wondered where the filter was. For the first time in my life, I grabbed the wrong cart. I think it was the faucet aisle family’s cart that I had taken. I left the cart outside in the garden area (because I already had the trees in it) and walked back into the faucet aisle. There it was, my cart with the filter in it. I felt bad for the poor family that had to walk away with no cart, carrying the faucet in their hands. They probably thought I was just fluffing them up earlier so I could steal their cart.
Okay, story time is over. Here are some pictures of the kitchen faucet and under sink water filter installation.
Under kitchen sink looking up at botton of old faucet
Under kitchen sink looking at hot and cold plumbing pipes
Top of sink with old faucet removed
Under sink with old faucet removed
New Peerless kitchen faucet installed
Whirlpool under sink water filter installed
Peerless kitchen faucet box
Peerless kitchen faucet model P99587-D
Whirlpool under sink water model WHKF-DUF
Everything works great and the installation took me about an hour and a half.
I have always wondered why there is such a big price difference between faucets, and doorknobs for that matter. Either I have never used a really high quality faucet or doorknob or I am just missing something. Every time I go shopping for either, I always get the cheapest available and find that they work just great. Maybe I am missing something. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.
This is a project that I have been waiting all year to do. It’s called, “Overseeding the lawn” (the correct time of year).
Every time I have put down grass seed, it was during the hottest, driest time of year. The seed didn’t do much because there was nothing much to do. Eventually, I think it actually grew, but that was months later when things cooled off and the rain returned.
They say to overseed your lawn in early September. This is because, like I said above, the Summertime drought is most likely over and rain falls more frequently. Unfortunately for me, the ten day forecast shows ten perfectly orange pictures of sunshine. Only me.
The reason I did the whole lawn dethatch, aerate and overseed the day I did was because of the rain we got the previous two days. In order to properly aerate, you need moist soil. If the soil is too dry, the aerator can’t get down into the dirt deep enough and you won’t pull a substantial plug. I got plugs that were about one and a half to two inches long. I would offer a picture, but it’s been about a week since I did this job and the plugs are all dried up and not very attractive.
I thought I would breeze through this particular project. In actuality, it took longer than expected. First, I dethatched the grass. I did this by towing the dethatcher I bought at Home Depot around the yard. Since grass and thatch kept clumping up in the tines, I had to stop frequently to clean it out. After that was done, I put the bagger back on the mower and mowed the grass at a height of three inches. I know the general advice is to mow at one inch or less when overseeding, but I just didn’t have the heart to scrape the dirt when I had no guarantee of rain in the future. I am not about to water 11,000 square feet of grass either. Mother Nature is going to have to take care of this one.
After I dethatched and mowed, I pulled out the tow behind plug aerator and did my thing. I did a few passes over the lawn to make sure I roughed up the dirt enough. I did a good job, but I still think I should have done more. It’s just that while doing this kind of thing, you want to get it done. Driving around in circles isn’t all that entertaining.
Okay, so once the aerating was finished, I filled the seed spreader up with my custom mixture of Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass. I chose these two types of grass because the Kentucky Bluegrass is just awesome looking and it is supposed to spread to fill in bare spots. The thing is, it takes forever to germinate. The Perennial Ryegrass is a good looking durable grass that germinates much faster and will fill things in while waiting for the Bluegrass.
As I said above, it’s been about a week with no rain and there isn’t much action out there. I have been watering certain areas with my sprinkler because I have no illusions that a huge thunderstorm isn’t going to come and wash all the seed off the front hillside. I want to get that grass sort of anchored in there before that happens. Otherwise, I will have to let nature take its course and wait for the grass to grow on it’s own. I also have some seed left over to spread out if need be.
Here are some pictures for you.
Bare spot in lawn with hole from tow behind plug aerator
Bare spot in lawn with Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass grass seed
Bag of Scotts starter fertilizer
Oh yeah, I also bought two bags of Scotts starter fertilizer. Each bag is supposed to cover 5,000 square feet. I haven’t applied this yet because the directions say to water in immediately after application. Since I can’t water the entire lawn, I am going to wait for right before the next rainfall to spread this stuff around.
This was an exciting day. I had trouble holding back from writing yesterday because I wanted to wait for some pictures. I guess it was worth it – now I can write everything in one post.
Okay, here goes…Laura has been driving a 1999 Honda Civic since, well 1999. The car served her well. That is, until I got in it a few days ago to go for a ride. We knew that she needed a new car, we just didn’t know she needed it so soon.
After I drove her car for a few miles, I got out and told her that the last time she drove her car was the last time she was going to drive her car. That means that the car was finished. The front end was loose, the ball joints were worn and the tires were uneven. That was that. It even made some rubbing sound when the car turned to the left. Now, this isn’t to say that the car isn’t going to have a second life somewhere else, it just means that someone else is going to have to make the necessary repairs, not us.
Since we knew a new car was in the works, we had to make a few choices. Over the months, we narrowed things down to three cars. 1. The Honda Pilot, 2. the Subaru Legacy and 3. the BMW 328ix (I thought of this one last). One thing was for certain, we needed all wheel drive. This was an undebatable must. I didn’t want to stand outside on the driveway in my boxers on cold January mornings throwing salt on the driveway anymore. I am sick of that.
Laura kind of had her heart set on the Subaru. She is the type of person who gets used to one thought and really plans on that. It’s like when we used to walk by each other in college over and over and over again. I guess I wore her down and she finally went out with me. Anyway, she had been looking at the Subaru website for a while and seemed to be content with getting the Legacy. She wanted to visit a dealer to give the car a once over, so when her Honda finally gave out, we could just run over fast and pick one up. Yeah, that was before I drove the Honda and realized that she really shouldn’t be driving it, especially in the snow and rain.
Yesterday, we went over to the Honda dealer in Manchester, CT. We talked to a sales guy and took a Honda Pilot out for a test drive. I must say, the car drove beautifully. If you are in the market for an SUV, you should really check out the Pilot. It’s quiet and roomy. I liked it and Laura liked it, she just didn’t think she could fit in some of the more “skinny” parking spaces around here and there. I agreed and figured that we already had an SUV, so why get another one. It was good to get out there and drive one though, just to get it out of our systems.
For a few days, I had been really talking up the BMW. I wasn’t really sure about the Subaru anymore, just because I had already fallen in love with the BMW brand. I don’t care, tear the logo off the damn car and toss it on the ground. The cars are awesome and it’s really hard to go back to something else once you drive one. It’s so stupid, I know.
Since we were in the test driving mood and I had her in the car, I drove her over to New Country BMW in Hartford. This is the place I bought my car. It was so exciting. I love going to this dealership because everyone is really cool and they show you all the neat cars. I even got to bring Laura back into the service area for some quick pictures of the shop. That was awesome.
When we got there, I saw the guy who sold me the X5. He no longer works in sales, but introduced me to the sales guy I had secretly been talking to on the phone. Oh they were only too happy to see me. I asked if he was in the mood to take a quick ride in a 3 series, just so I could get Laura acclimated to the feeling of driving the ultimate driving machine. He was like, “Hell yeah, let’s go.” I drove, she liked, we made an offer. The highway is the perfect place to try out one of these road hugging pieces of perfection.
I know you don’t care about all my writing. You just want to see pictures of the New 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan. I’d be amazed if you even got through what I just wrote.
Okay, here you go…Laura’s new car (that I get to drive whenever I want).
New Country BMW in Hartford CT showroom
New 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan
Back of 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan
xDrive logo of 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan
Front grill of 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan leatherette interior
New Country BMW in Hartford service shop
New Country BMW in Hartford service shop huge fan
2009 BMW 328i xDrive engine
BMW logo
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan front end
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan front side view
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan rear side view
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan radio and climate control
2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan steering wheel and gauges
Just a few minutes ago, I read an article on Yahoo! about the biggest car flops in the past 25 years. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’m sure you will. Yahoo! (and everyone else these days) seems to have a little issue with rerunning old stories when the run out of current news. Actually, I think I may have written about this myself already, but I think it’s worth mentioning again.
Here is my vote for the more annoying vehicle ever created on this earth – The Chevrolet SSR. I truly apologize if you have one of these vehicles, but there is something about it that just rubs me the wrong way. I think it’s the way it looks. I really couldn’t care less about what’s under the hood or what the interior looks like because I can’t get past the exterior. I dislike this vehicle so much, I would like to opportunity to crush a few of them in a car crusher. That’s that about that.
I am a little shocked and disappointed about Yahoo!’s number one flop choice, the Vector W-2. I bet not many people have ever heard of this car, but I used to have a poster of it hanging on my wall when I was a kid. I had no idea who made it or why, but I liked the fact that it went “0-60 in 3.9 seconds.” That’s all I know. I bought it from the poster section over at Ames (when they were in business) a long, long time ago. Who knew that it would eventually become a flop in something called the “internet” many years in the future. I was so naïve.
Still, I really think someone should do something about all of the remaining Chevrolet SSRs on the road out there. While they’re at it, they may as well wipe the streets clean of the PT Cruiser as well. Yee Haw.
