Want some cheese with your wine?

Yeah, as a matter of fact I do. I would like the whole bottle, minus the cheese. Confused? Let me back up a minute so you can catch up.......

Last summer, the Exploder had some issues. Surprised right? Not.

Anyway, thanks to a generous donation from Grandma P, I was able to get the car back up and running in just a few days. Want the whole story? Click here.

Sooooooo, Tuesday, around dinner time, the Exploder, so lovingly named by Jess-eee-ka as FEFE, started to make the SAME noises again. Only this time? You guessed it. It didn't go away.

This is not MY Exploder, but it's what mine looks like.

Yesterday it was so bad the entire car was shuddering as I drove it. Not to mention the loud metal clanking that you could hear a couple blocks away.

I took it to the same repair shop as I did last summer. They took it for a stroll, heard the noise, and made the assessment. (Personal victory #1: they actually heard the damn noise this time AND I told them exactly where it was coming from! Not bad for a city girl.......)

The boys at the shop tell me it is either the drive shaft or the transfer case. Both of these things are Greek to me. This particular shop doesn't do that kind of work, so they referred me to a shop down the road. Of course by now it's 5 pm and all these guys are headed home. Yay. At least I was able to make an appointment for the following day.

I limped the car another 2 miles down the road home, thank goodness my work is so close to my house! Bonus of the night? Got to drive PB's huge, ginormous, massive truck to the grocery store. I swear, like 5 guys did double takes to see all 5 foot of me driving this mammoth thing....... it was awesome!

That's his truck in the background........ I am barely as tall as the side mirrors. Just sayin.

Today I got the car to work and then back to the shop at lunch time. They could hear me coming 3 blocks away. Not kidding. The shop owner was surprised nothing fell off the car it was so dang loud.

They took it a couple of blocks, then got it up on the rack, and in less than 10 minutes they have the solution to the noisy problem. It's the drive shaft. Good news? After labor and parts, it will cost 1/2 of what the transfer case would have cost me.

I was seriously polishing my halo in the lobby of the repair shop, nervously biting my nails to make sure that I was gonna have enough money to fix my FEFE. And, the results.......... I have just enough! Thanks Goodness!!!! I guess I was just good enough to earn this "reward" from the car fairies......

So, FEFE is in the shop until tomorrow. I feel so naked without my car. They asked me before they took my keys if I needed anything else. I took a minute to mentally review what was in the car....... no, I'm good. Uh-huh. Until I got back to the office and realized my cell phone charger was on the front seat of the car.

Fingers crossed everything goes well and FEFE and I reunited tomorrow no worse for the wear. Now, how about that bottle of wine? Tonight, as soon as I get home. Oh yeah, Happy St. Patrick's day folks! Now if only the "green" fairy had visited me in the night. Then I would be flush with the big bucks to pay for my car!