We’ve been having some real cold weather with the high something like 5 degrees F. We were on our way to granddaughter, Delilah’s birthday party at her other grandparents in the car. We got about halfway when BANG! I told Will the only time I’d heard that before was when the serpentine belt broke. All of a sudden, the “no charging” light came on. Guess what? Nope, it wasn’t the belt. The belt tensioner had broken right off, with two bolts broken off in the block.

Now we were nearly an hour away from home, so we went on to the party with no heater and no lights whatsoever, including brake and turn signals, to conserve what little battery we had left. Long story short, David figured out a long jumper cable onto a borrowed battery and charging up our battery while we partied. But night comes fast, so we only stayed an hour.

This is our little popsicle car.

Home, we went on our old car battery with Wade’s jumper cables run through the passenger’s door, into the back seat, where his borrowed battery sat on the floor. We got about a third of the way home and the car started losing power. I steered while Will reached back and hooked the jumper cables up to the borrowed battery. We decided to stop in Hibbing and get another battery in case Wade’s lost juice. Car died at the store and Will had to get a jump. By then it was almost dark. He exceeded the speed limit, trying to beat darkness. Remember, no heater, no lights. Fortunately, Wade’s battery got us home. In the dark. Whew! We were a couple of cold popsicles!

The next day we were supposed to go to our granddaughter, Ava’s, birthday party two hours south of us. It was snowing like crazy with six inches already on the ground. Toward evening it started letting up. Meanwhile, Will had talked to our friend Jason, who lives about 45 minutes north of us. He is a welder by trade and homesteader at heart. Plus, he has a heated shop. So, off we went again. I drove the big red Dodge and Will drove the limping car. It took two days, but Jason got it fixed. No amount of pay could be enough! Thank you, Jason! Homesteading isn’t all fun and bright sunshine! Just like life.

Just a taste of what’s coming! Think SEEDS!
Warm weather is just a few weeks away. I thought you might enjoy this pic.

— Jackie

24 COMMENTS

  1. Wow first the gorgeous tomato plants?? then realized -you needed the hope of the coming seasons -after reading the trials of your mis adventures! Thank The Lord for good old fashion can do, family, friends, especially with heated shop! receive The Catalog! Know what ill be doing to escape the January weather!
    TAKE care . Stay warm.

    • Thanks Mary. We are so appreciative for our family and friends! And not just when they bail us out, either. We’re headed for another cold snap so it’s stuff the wood stoves, clean out the kitchen range and haul in more wood. But I promise spring IS coming.

  2. Yikes! What an adventure. What a genius idea to hook up a second battery to get home. Where I live, we call this Redneck Engineering, lol. Those kinds of skills are necessary to live and survive in the country. These things always happen when it is cold and snowy out or hot and rainy. It certainly makes things more challenging. I received you seed catalog and am looking and choosing seeds for this year. I am looking forward to spring. Sending prayers for a blessed week.

    • Thanks so much. I’m so glad both David and Will are adept at “coloring outside the lines”. Such thinking has saved us many times!
      We’re looking forward to spring too.

  3. Just holding my breath, reading that
    Adventure. Relieved you got home
    Safe. (I’m from ND and do understand
    Winter). Received my catalog and
    Sent my order. Extended the Safety
    Net of Food Safety you provide to
    My sister. Having you send variety
    Of garden seeds to her. They already
    Have garden, but OP Heirloom will
    Be upgrade and your 2 books on
    Gardening and canning. Just trying
    To do my part to get the word out

    • Will’s on his way to the post office with both your and your sister’s orders. What a nice thing for you to gift her with!! Now that’s real love.

  4. I’m so thankful you and will got to the birthday party and Wade supplied you with the battery to get home. Especially being so cold.
    I know you and Will are thankful for a friend like Jason to do the repair needed on the car.
    Take care and hopefully a break from challenges for awhile for you two.

    • Yep, we are so grateful for Wade, David and Jason for helping us out. We sure hate it when we have to have help. But are very thankful that such folks are around for us. We always try to reciprocate when we can.

  5. Glad all is back in order and everyone is safe and sound! Our seed catalogs arrived this week, just in time to occupy our thoughts as we are in the mid 30s and fogged in. Looking forward to garden planning. Thank you!

    • Yesterday was strange here. After -21, it warmed up to 28 above when I had to drive down to Duluth (93 miles) to see my cardiologist prior to having my new heart valve. It was dark when I started, and the roads were snow covered. Then it started freezing rain. Oh oh!! Thankfully, it stopped before icing up the roads. All went well and I drove home in sunshine and dry roads. Yea!!

  6. Time to start germinating peppers and tomatoes here in far north California, zone 9. God bless you, Jackie.

    • We’re a little behind you here in Zone 3, but February is coming and we’ll start our peppers then, with tomatoes waiting a month. Thank you.

  7. Your work ethic and can do attitude rubbed off on your boys. Kudos to David for rigging something up to get you started. Both boys have shown time and again their talents.
    It’s always something. Keep on keeping on, and thanks for sharing and inspiring.

    • I’m so happy they both have that can-do attitude. It sure carries one through the rough patches in life, one patch at a time. So happy you can join us here on the blog.

  8. Found myself holding my breath while reading your post…..praise be you got home safely thanks to ingenious people and courage!!!!!!

  10. Life can be interesting at times. My catalog arrived on Tuesday. Now, to figure out what new seeds I want! Oh what fun!

    • I’m doing that too. Hey, in February I’ll be starting some of our peppers. Spring’s just around the corner. Sort of….

  11. Wow, what an adventure for you two! I’m glad that you had those guardian angels working to provide assistance to eventually get you home. Just received my catalog. Hurray!

    • Yep, I know I prayed every step of the way. And, hey, we got here!! Thanks to David, Wade and Will. I was so cold when we got home I couldn’t feel my feet. (I couldn’t reach over the seat to grab the sleeping bag or quilt in the back!) I jumped in a hot shower and found I did have feet after all!

  13. A good mechanic is worth his/her weight in gold. Glad you got from A to B and back to A safely. Kinda put a bit of a damper on the events however.

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