Well here it is Tuesday evening, and I haven't written a blog since Sunday... Blogging about Loyce's passing is going to be rather hard, so just know that it weighs heavily on me from the moment I wake up in the morning, until sleep gives me some peace... So alone.....
Sleep is not something that has been in great supply, as Biscuit is not leaving me alone much in the middle of the night.... She knows exactly what has happened and is spooked by the upstairs of our house.. Well for that matter so am I...
We go in our bedroom in the front of the house and close the door... Loyce always slept in the back master bedroom... We did that since we retired, as one or the other of us seemed to always snore... Biscuit slept in with Loyce on most nights, so I am now awakened by her shaking or licking herself in the middle of the night... She's on the bed and off the bed, and then repeat... Can't find comfort.... Then she sleeps during the day, so she can stay awake all night.. She might get her own bedroom, if I get frustrated enough.
She goes into the big bedroom looking for Loyce but seems to understand she isn't there... But she doesn't stay in there for any length of time..
Chris, my older son helped me to deliver cars to their respective repair facilities on Monday... The CRV had a scheduled bumper skin repair last week that didn't happen... And we just took it over to our body shop friend yesterday and said when ever you get to it...
And my hobby car needed some scratch touch up where they replaced the headlight... Seems that the fixture didn't come out without prying on it... That was at the expense of the top of the bumper reveal trim... They scraped it up and just returned it without even pointing it out...
Of course it was less than 24 hours before I noticed it... I thought BMW would be better than that.. The service manager didn't even make any excuses, but it took two weeks to get it back into the body shop for touch up paint..
I did have a loaner over night, which was a brand new 2013 328i fourdoor... This car had a four cylinder, 2 liter engine which was surprisingly peppy... I think it has small turbos on it.. But it is weird!
When you come to a stop, and press the brake to hold yourself in place, the engine shuts off.. Dead silence.. And as you remove your foot from the pedal, the computer starts the car again.. The little engine cranks effortlessly... And is running before your foot gets to the gas...
This is to save gas from idling... And its saves emissions as well........ But it drives me nuts!!! In stop and go traffic going back to the dealer this afternoon, it must have cycled about 50 times....
We went thru a construction area where I was rolling ahead two or three feet at a time.. over more than a block of backed up traffic... engine on... roll ahead... brakes... engine off..... over and over again.... That has to be hard on things, I would think..
I was glad to give that car back to them..... I would be demanding they disable that feature, were it mine... Surely they can come up with something better than that...
The computer did say it was achieving 24 mpg in city driving which is good for a fairly heavy car... I haven't looked, but would think the highway mileage would be in the thirties.. That beats my older 6 cylinder as it only gets about 26 on the road..
The gear shift was weird too, as it has a button on its top that puts things in Park.. And a squeeze button on the side to use along with the brake to put it in gear... The lever only moves forward and backward from the center detent in a spring loaded fashion.. So foot on brake and squeeze the lever and pull towards the back of the car, and you are in gear and running... Then pull the car ahead and put your foot back on the brake and the engine stops... Take your foot off of the brake to go again and the engine starts instantly....
My car is older before they thought all of that up... I seemed to be waiting for it to crap out on me at a stop light too, after driving the new one... Since it is older, it doesn't have any computer screen for the radio or heater either... They call that iDrive in the newer cars... That's been around for a number of years in BMWs though... But only the really expensive ones... But now that Ford and Chevy are doing it, they all have it...
Oddly enough, the screen in my Ford is way more complicated than any Beemer I have driven... But that may not be good..
Biscuit keeps looking at me wondering why I have to type away on this keyboard... Its upsetting her sleeping on my lap...
Enough for now, as I need to try and get some sleep... We are going on a cycle ride in the morning, and younger son Ben will be attending as well.... Perhaps that will be some good therapy for both of us...
Retired Rod
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enjoy the ride :) so good to hear from you
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back.
ReplyDeleteRide safe.
So glad to hear from you. Think about you and Biscuit often. Hope you have a great ride.
ReplyDeleteI've thought of you and little Biscuit often over the last few days--glad you posted a blog--be careful riding and hope you have a wonderful time!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see you back and posting. It will take a long time for both you and Biscuit to settle down and settle into a new routine, but every week will get a little easier.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you're out getting things done and going for your m/c rides even though it's tough. You and Biscuit need each other right now. Dogs are supposed to destress a person (well, maybe not always LOL).
ReplyDeleteYes, glad to see you posting. Like so many others, I think of you--and Biscuit--often. My husband and I are a few years older than you and Loyce, but lead similar lives.
ReplyDeleteWe got a second Yorkie to help provide entertainment, companionship, etc. for our first one. Then, we lost the first one to cancer after 9 years. No peace for the lonely one! We got a puppy. So now we have a 9-year-old girl and a one-year-old puppy. They really are good buddies. Took a while to house-break the little one, but well worth it! That might help Biscuit cope. Glad you have your sons to help........
Our 320d didn't have that feature, thankfully. But, there were a couple rentals that we had that had it. Of course, in Europe most if not all rental cars are standard (hence my reason for being, wife doesn't do standard all that well) and the first time the car stopped at a light it freaked me out. Thought the thing had quit on me. Shoved in the clutch and it started again. So I would just sit at a light riding the clutch. If the car was in neutral with the clutch out (engaged) it would shut off. Just too weird.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be able to handle a pet in bed with me. Tried it years ago, and learned right off that the cat had to be sequestered. He didn't mind. Same later on with my daughter's dog and cat. Out you go!
They all sleep in bed in a great heap. I have no idea how anyone gets any sleep! Well, and then there's the pet dander....
Rod, it takes time to get over a loss such as yours, for both of you. When my Mom passed in July her cat became very depressed but and now follows my Dad around constantly, insisting on sitting on him all the time and even sleeping pressed next to his body at night. Actually I think it gives Dad some comfort.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us all know what you're doing and how you're coping Rod.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that Biscuit will soon bond with you in much the same way she bonded with Loyce. It must be hard on our pets to lose a loved one too but they have a different way of expressing their emotions.
That stop/start car would drive me crazy - sort of reminds me of the way golf carts operate - are you sure it wasn't a golf cart you were driving around in???
Good to see you around Rod. Know that we are thinking of you and Biscuit a lot. Those BMW's are to complicated for me, but I if things hold true Detroit will be doing the same thing in 2020. When I had the Benz, although it was an 87 it had things that took until almost the end of the century for Detroit to implement but as a rule most of them eventually made their way across the pond.
ReplyDeleteYou and Biscuit will bond and help each other, I would think.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you staying active & getting out. Biscuit is going to need extra care & attention & you are the only one she knows who can help her with that right now. I hope you both help each other in these saddened times.
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