I've got answers

Several have emailed me with questions, or left questions in the comments. Because I'm apparently too lazy, I'm going to answer the, all at once today.

Yes, I think I have an inner ear thing attached to whatever bug I've taken in from my six year old living petri dish. My hearing keeps fading and the dizziness is annoying.

I was diagnosed with bronchitis right before Christmas. He prescribed a z-pack I didn't fill, because he said it was viral. I just filled it yesterday. I'm going to give it everything I can just in case.

I use a neti pot daily. It helps, but obviously isn't a cure-all, since I currently can't hear out of my right ear.

Acupuncture continues to do nothing for me. I committed to 3 months of it, though, so we'll see.

We need a new car. Beerman is driving the very first new car I ever bought, a 1999 Dodge Avenger. It will take about $2000 to fix, and I'm quite sure that is about a grand more than it is worth. Plus, our minivan is 6 years old and approaching 100,000 miles. Unfortunately, it is time.

We aren't sure what we want to buy. Despite loving the BMW 3 series, I won't buy a "foreign" car. I worked too many years in the American auto industry to turn my back on it. And yes, you can give me all the gobbedly gook you want about "all cars are foreign" or "foreign cars are really domestic", but I don't want to hear it. At the end of the day, the vast majority of the profit made stays in the country of the company's headquarters. And this day in age, when middle class jobs are scarce, I will not contribute to the hollowing out of the American manufacturing industry.

I'm leaning toward a Ford Escape or Ford Flex, but the Chevy Traverse reviews have been good. I need to test drive them first before I make any solid decisions. I do know it needs to be comfortable to get in and out of, quiet, not be ridiculously priced, and get reasonable gas mileage. Something that is not all that easy to find.

I'm dreading the whole slimy experience. I've never not known what I wanted going into a dealership before and the experience has never been good. Ick.

Harry gets a bath almost every Sunday. He does not enjoy it, but like all things in his life, he tolerates it. The fact that he gets hugged and kissed the whole time and then given an inordinate amount of treats doesn't hurt either. But if he's going to get filthy like he loves, he's going to get bathed like I love.

I'm starting with the classic Catch-22 as the first of my classic reads. I've read 100 Years of Solitude, To Kill a Mockingburd, Lord of the Rings and Charlottes Web. (Incidentally, 100 Years of Solitude is a favorite.) The full list of Kansas City Library books are listed HERE.

And that concludes answer time for now.