The Day of Reckoning and Other Flurries of News
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Well? It finally happened. Readers, we are now free from the clutches of Kia and all that comes with that package. Terry sat me down on Tuesday morning and informed me that the loan had been paid off on our Kia Sportage, and money had been deposited into our account, ending our lawsuit for good. What does this mean? It means they will stop taking money out of our account every month, to the tune of almost $600 per month for a payment on a car we were not in possession of, plus it means we can get another car and call it a day. I would also add that we could call it the nasty experience it was.
We woke on Wednesday morning and climbed into the car to go to the next town southward, Winston. Terry had an appointment, so off we drove. Once we were finished with his appointment, we drove further south to the Mercedes car lot in Medford. Why? Because we could.
There was a white Ford Escape sitting on the lot that was just right for us. The price point was perfect, the car would fit our needs, and it was a combination of the stars, moon, sun, Mercury, Mars, and the rest of the planets all lining up to greet us with a gift of a new car that would not break down time and time again. This car would be our salvation, or at least we hope. Keep your fingers crossed for us, and send good vibes, please?
I climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. The first feel, that first look, the indications were all good. I could immediately feel a connection to the car. It was perfect. It felt good, looked good, and I could see me driving this vehicle for work. Now, let's get down to the tough stuff. The paperwork. .
Terry and I sat in the office for a while, deliberating over the price, the fees, and all the extras they attempt to slip past the buyer. Terry stood firm, wanted what he wanted, and did an excellent job in debating the price and the terms we were about to face.
After quite a while, we came up with a plan. All was set, now it was time to give them our first born children to complete the deal. We stood up and were escorted to the rear office to whip out pens. Here we go ... first Terry signs, then I sign. We had a good pattern going.
As we sat in silence for a while so the financial guy could do his thing, I went out to snap a photo or two of our beautiful new car. It hit me that it had been six months since I have driven any other vehicle besides Terry's Xterra. Now that would change. A car that I won't have to have towed away every three days due to issues. Or at least I hope.
I walked along the side of the car, rubbing my hand across the beautiful white paint. Glossy, smooth, gorgeous. I do love a white car. They are so classy and nice. I am in seventh heaven!
I am absolutely in love with this cutie. In fact, the license plate even matches ... Q-TE.
Signing more papers. My back was beginning to ache. We had been sitting for a couple of hours, along with the 90 mile drive here. I was done. The urge to go home and snuggle up in pajamas with my hubby and fur babies was real, and it was strong. The thought of the entire lawsuit that had lasted far too long is what kept us going.
The salesman we started talking with came up and said they would get the paperwork done and send it to us. He wanted to be able to let us go, bless his heart. We were hungry and there was a Texas Roadhouse down the road. Dinner, and then the long drive home again, although this time it would be in a beautiful new car. I was excited.
But first, our dinner.
Walking into Texas Roadhouse, we were greeted by a once gorgeous moose, now stuck to a wall in a restaurant, wearing a Santa hat and a scarf to say, "Merry Christmas." I'm not quite sure how a dead animal nailed to a wall says that, but hey, I'm game. Yes, pun intended.
Immediately, our industrious hostess drops these delectable, luscious rolls in front of us. That's not a safe place for fresh baked rolls to be. Grabbing one, the aroma of these baked rolls hit me, making my mouth water a bit. They were warm, delicious, and smothered in butter. Yes, the angels came upon us and played their lovely harps, shining the light down on us. Heavens opened and it was good. The angelic choir brought plenty of cinnamon butter with them too.
***
The ride home was fantastic, besides it being a long ride home. I wanted to get out of the car, new or not. We finally arrived home. Both of us climbed out of the car and made our way into comfy clothes and our comfortable position on the couch. I turned on the TV and about drooled on myself I was so tired. It didn't take long before I was in bed, dreaming about new cars and oh, the fun I would have. It was a beautiful day, with Spirit blessing us beyond belief again. Not financially, but the car is going to get my back on the road to work again. I have been sitting at home for so long now that my brain is like oatmeal. Togo and I are out of things to discuss.
***
Thursday, December 4, 2025
Ah, our first day with the new car. We had a couple of things to take care of during the day or at least we had stuff to do to give us an excuse to try out the new car. Later in the afternoon, Terry suggested I go to the store and grab car seat covers and items I had mentioned to keep the car nice while Togo rides with me. I grabbed two bucket seat covers for the front, and a bench seat cover in the back, plus a blanket for the very back of the car to help keep our car nice. At least now I do have the very powerful vacuum we got to suck up all the fibers of love Togo leaves behind. It's a win-win.
***
As most of you know, Togo is our Siberian husky. I've been wanting to take him with me in the car so that we can find a nice park to walk through, plus take him to be groomed, and all the other places a dog needs to go to be happy, healthy, and beautiful. Today, Saturday, I was able to take my Togo to our local park for a nice long walk. You would have thought our baby boy had never been outside before!
I made sure he had plenty of time to have fun, while the car had plenty of coverage on my seats. It's a beautiful thing.
Telling Mr. Swanky Pants to "Load up," he did so immediately and it began our new adventure. I rolled the back window down for him to stick his snotty little nose out to get plenty of air. He sniffed every scent on the wind.
Arriving at the park, he was told to stay until I could get everything ready to walk. He sat like a boss, and was very patient while waiting for my command. I told him to stay, opened the door, grabbed the leash, and asked him to unload. He jumped down and waited again while I closed the door and locked it. He was a happy, excited boy.
Wow. The bushes he had to choose from to share pee with his fellow pooches were endless.
Togo emptied his bladder on every bush he ran across, tree trunks, and even a pine cone or two. Coming upon another large tree, he lifted his leg for the finale, but he was running on empty. The dog had drained everything within his body.
Togo stopped to lick every adult and kiss every child. Most people remark that he is gorgeous and ask if they can pet him. Are you kidding? This dog adores people, and especially kids. He shared that love all the way around the park and back again. It was time to load up again and head for home. Just for tonight, little man. Just for tonight.
***
Tuesday, Mallory asked me if she could come by and see me, then wait for her dad to get home to see him. I would say, "Duh," but that's pretty cliche and doesn't make for good reading. But "Duh" did happen to come out of my mouth. Sorry. It's the way this old brain works.
She arrived, and after greeting each other, we sat on either end of the couch. Setting down a large, heavy box, she began to tell me the story of all of these items being part of her great-grandfather's jewelry collection from 1940. She giggled and said she felt as though it was all garbage, but she wanted to know if I would be interested in any part of it, as it was jewelry making items.
Are you kidding me? I dug into the old metal boxes she began to hand me, speaking about each one as though they were garbage she had picked up along the road on the way over. My first thought was, "Oh, my. What is she handing me?"
I dug into the first box and my eyes lit up. These were pearls, turquoise, and metal items that were crafted by Native Americans. The heavy silver they used to form cuff bracelets with large pieces of real turquoise on them, alongside oblong shaped pieces of coral were amazing. This was Christmas!
I found small beads that were all natural stones and things such as old 1940 belt buckles, bolo tie slides and bolo ties for me. Various cuff bracelets made from heavy silver. A child's bracelet that had 11 charms along the gold chain, all symbolizing the Ten Commandments. The 11th charm was a shiny, gorgeous charm representing the bible, made of mother of pearl. I'm still processing all of these lovely pieces from this era and am loving each moment. Everything I'm touching makes me wonder what that piece has been through. It's a very cool project that I'm happy to be working on.
Meanwhile, as I am on cloud nine and my heart is racing with all the cool stuff coming from the boxes, Mallory is telling me she can just take it all home and throw it out. She said she felt like she was giving me crap that I would have to deal with now.
I looked the apologetic girl in the eyes and said, "Mallory, you have given me a gift. A very nice gift, and you have no idea about the amount of hours you have provided me to wander into history, into jewelry made by Native Americans, and crafted by others too. But all from that period is amazing to me. Thank you for thinking of me." I began my journey into the '40s a couple of nights ago, and I am slowly finding out more about all of it. I genuinely love each piece in these "junk" boxes she gave me. Wow, the items!
***
Driving to the store and back, I ran across a roadblock of emergency vehicles spanning across the entire main street. I caught this picture down a ways from the actual roadblock though. I took various side streets to see how to return home without using the main avenue. Each turn I made onto another side street led me into groups of men in camouflage holding long rifles at the ready. I was starting to be concerned as to what situation I was driving into. Scary.
Cars were finally let onto another side street where we could drive to Stewart Parkway. Stewart Parkway leads to Harvard and that can take me home. Police were by the freeway exits too, banning us from traveling. It must have been something pretty serious to have the entire town full of police, ready to fight it out.
Later I found this to identify the issue: (Bobalou Billiards is right along the main road known as NE Stephens. We live on SE Stephens. It all made sense after reading this).
ROSEBURG, Ore. — Around 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, Roseburg Police officers were dispatched to a disturbance involving a gunshot in the 1000 block of NE Stephens.
According to Roseburg PD, a Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy was in the area and confronted 30-year-old Chandler Scott Corwin Miller in the parking lot of Bobalou Billards. This contact resulted in a deputy-involved shooting.
No one was injured and Corwin was located in the area, arrested on gun-related charges and lodged at Douglas County Corrections.
There is no on-going threat to the public, RPD said.
Roseburg Police, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, Winston Police and the Cow Creek Tribal Police assisted with the investigation.
***
No more Kia. No more money removed from our bank account each month to pay for a car we don't own, as I said above. Today was the finale. We were paid the final payment on what they owed us in returning the money we paid as a car payment during the months we did not own the car. Now we have our money back in the savings account we depleted over this time. I could not work while the car was gone. This left Terry's paychecks. He makes plenty, however, when things came up, we took money from the savings to cover them.
I saw this beautiful sky tonight while I was at the store. We are completely finished with the stress from that car and the lawsuit. Now I have the awesome Ford Escape and am loving it beyond what most people feel for a car. Maybe it's because of the length of time (over six months) just to get the lawsuit completed. Or maybe it is a nice, comfortable, lovely vehicle that will bring us joy again. Life is good. Tonight's sky and the knowledge that it is time to take a deep breath and let all of that go made for a glorious ride home.
Ah, life is wonderful, isn't it?
When things are getting stressful, just remember that this too shall pass. There are blessings and reasoning behind everything that happens. I feel, in our case, we came out way ahead of the game, even though it put us through a long time of stressful days, we definitely still counted our beautiful blessings!
***
Until our next post, take care of yourselves. Don't let stress and problems bring you down.
Love to all of you, and thank you, readers, for reading the blog.
Terry & Vicki Macrae
Partners in life
Remember to stay cool and smile!
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