At noon yesterday we became a one-car family. I've been thinking about this for a while, a couple of years at least. I've been full-time WFH since 2016. Owning 2 cars has been a convenience and not a need for quite a while. My Camry has been paid off for years, so the cost of ownership is low, which has been the main reason we didn't bother to get rid of it.

However, last summer the Camry's AC system started leaking refrigerant. I ended up recharging the system 3 or 4 times over the course of the summer. The Evap. coil is leaking, and replacing that part requires removing the entire dash in the car. It's an 8 hour book job, but fairly uncommon so everyone pads those hours. I was getting $2000+ quotes. I put off dealing with it last year because I was buying a house, and I made it through summer so I wouldn't need the AC for a while.

This year, I've been tracking how often we needed 2 cars. It was once in a six week period, and we could have worked around that if we needed to. A few weeks ago I did an online quote with CarMax and the offer was fair, right in line with what I expected for a trade-in. I was just curious at that time. Last week I was more serious about becoming a one-car family so I redid the quote, as they expire in a week. Somehow, the car gained $1200 in value in a couple of weeks. I was expecting them to lower the offer after the appraiser inspection today but it didn't happen. They offered me exactly what they offered online. So I took it.

The process of selling a car to CarMax could not be easier. I was out of there in 60 minutes, check in hand.

One surprise (not a happy one) is that adding rental car reimbursement to the insurance policy offset a big chunk of the savings from not having the 2nd car to insure.

So now we start the grand experiment of sharing a car for the first time since I was borrowing Michelle's 84 Z-28 in college. I'm not expecting any issues. I don't leave the house for work, the local pub is only a mile away, and the library is across the street from the pub. What more do I need? :)

I am looking at bicycles, but that is a separate blog post.

I tried Surreal Brewing Company's 7 Mile Porter. It's not bad. It has strong notes of chocolate and burnt coffee. The chocolate notes are more dark chocolate than milk chocolate. It didn't taste bad, it just didn't taste like beer. It needed something, more hops maybe, to offset the sweetness of the malts.

Cheers!

It's a constant theme around here of late -- will there remain a bit of sunshine to enjoy at the end of the work day? On a recent cool evening while the sun set, a new cigar, the Amendola West Side Story, provided a pleasant opportunity to enjoy the sunset with a smoke.

To Michelle, on our 36th Valentine's Day together.

You are
the puzzle piece
under the couch cushion
that makes my life and world complete
Love you!

At the risk of angering the one person that actually looks forward to my annual attempt at haiku, I'm taking the poetry in a different direction this time.

Is there one person? I'm occasionally reminded when I forget to do this, so somebody is paying attention. Note - it is not my wife that reminds me when I don't write her poetry.

Anyway, I give you the Cinquain, which is a 5-line poem in which the first line has 2 syllables, the 2nd line has 4, third line has 6, 4th line has 8, and then the 5th and final line has two again.

Also, this poem is inspired by the final line of the song Allison Is Starting to Happen which was written by Evan Dando of The Lemonheads.

The days are getting longer. Ever so slowly, but it's beginning to be noticeable. It's nice to start the evening smoke with a bit of sunlight still available. I kicked off the weekend with a Rocky Patel Disciple paired with some Old Forester 1910 Old Fine Whisky. (Old Forester uses the Old World spelling without the 'e'.)

Today, February 10, is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint José Sánchez del Río. On this date in 1928, this 14 year old boy was killed by Mexican troops for refusing to renounce his Catholic faith during the Cristero War. The story of this period of Catholic persecution led by Mexican President Calles was told in the movie "For Greater Glory." The young martyr was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 20, 2005, and later canonized by Pope Francis on October 16, 2016.

The Saint's story is one with which few American Catholics are familiar. That is a tragedy in its own right. Though they might not know the Saint's story, many Americans are no doubt familiar with his face. The picture, shown below, of the young boy with Cristeros fighters is one we often see hanging in Mexican restaurants throughout the United States, among other old photos. Probably not too many diners know that a Saint and fighter for religious freedom is looking down at them while they eat.


After José was captured by government forces fighting the Cristero, he was forced to witness the torture and execution of fellow Catholic countrymen, yet he never wavered in his faithful resolve. He was himself was tortured and urged to shout "Death to Christ the King" with the promise his suffering would be over. On the day of his torturous execution, the soldiers cut the soles of his feet and he was made to walk barefooted to the grave they had dug for him. He was repeatedly stabbed with bayonets as he made his way to the place of his martyrdom.

Even after he had been shot he continued to cry out "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" ("Long live Christ the King!") The commander of the soldiers was so furious that he was able to resist the government barbarism, he finally shot the boy in the head. As he died he is said to have drawn a cross on the ground with his own blood as a final act of defiance.

During the Cristeros War many Catholics were killed by the Mexican government for their faith. This tragic part of recent history is pointedly ignored by the history books in both the United States and Mexico. It is a story that needs to be told and learned by all free people.

Saint José Sánchez del Río is truly a Saint for our times. His faithfulness in the face of torture and death should be a model for all of us. I pray we can be as strong when our own persecution comes.

A sunny afternoon and moderately warm temperature allowed for an unexpected return to our tradition of Sunday afternoon cocktails on the deck. I decided to mix up a slight variation on the Cranberry Citrus Cocktail we enjoyed over the holidays. We didn't have any cranberry simple syrup made up, or fresh cranberries, but we did have some cranberry juice on hand. I had also recently restocked the Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon that we enjoy so much for cocktails. The rosemary and cranberry garnish was skipped, but the drinks actually were still quite tasty and refreshing.

I ordered this bottle of Tumblin' Dice 8 Year Single Barrel Rye truly on a whim. The email promoting the Seelbach's pick intrigued me, exactly why I don't recall now. I decided to do a "fresh crack Friday" and open it to kick off the weekend. I turns out that my spur of the moment purchase was a worthy one.