nothing says fun like a gas-fueled explosion

I got my ring off last night! The swelling went down just enough so that I could pry it over my puffy knuckle and not rip any skin off with it. The tidy little surgical cut is healing nicely, and I'm evidently not nearly as sensitive to bee stings as I am to hornets or wasps. Those stings swell to the point I might have risked losing the finger over cutting the ring off because I have priorities that are wildly out of whack.

In related news, the light on Pepe's dash that said "DO NOT DRIVE ME LONG DISTANCES" isn't the simple computer re-set that I thought. We'd gone over some pretty rough and muddy roads on our way to and from the cabin (of ATV-rolling fame) in July, and rather than simply mud gumming up some valve or exhaust part, a rock actually ripped a hole in the evaporation system. When the gal at the shop starts her message with an apology about how expensive the repair is going to be, you can pretty much be sure that you'll need either a hanky or a change of pants once the message is over. GUESS WHICH ONE I PICKED?

So, the evaporation system, whatever that is, needs to be completely replaced. The owner of shop said the car was unsafe to drive, and I scoffed a bit because how important can a system I'm unfamiliar with actually BE? They then assured me that, with a full tank of gas in the hot sun, the raw vapors escaping my car could actually ignite.

How exciting!

The good news is that they should be able to find salvage parts that are one-tenth what parts would cost through the dealer (who is back ordered until October anyway). And maybe I can have my little Pepe back before the snow flies or even before next week is out, depending on if they let me pay for the labor in installments.

The downside is that it's one more blow to our already shaky financial picture. Rob and I believe that we were obedient to the Lord in getting married as quickly as we did, despite it being one of the poorer financial decisions we could have made, though him moving to Bozeman was a close second. We've taken a number of financial steps of trust while also trying to be sure we do not step beyond God's instruction. We are now out on a thin limb of faith, striving to be diligent and wise and fiscally prudent, and then this discovery makes me feel like God's taken a saw to our limb! Our precious limb that's so uncomfy but right now so much more secure than whatever is down below! There might be a safety net, BUT I CAN'T SEE IT. Also nearly invisible to my naked eye: mustard seeds.

My knee-jerk reaction to all this bad news surrounding one ill-fated trip was to declare to Rob that I will never go to this dear friend's cabin ever again. It is too expensive. He wryly pointed out that we might not get invited back, so that problem is solved!

Our first few months of marriage have been quite the thrill ride, wouldn't you agree? At least I'm not pregnant (don't worry - I checked before daring to write that!).