Recovery!

Last Friday night we got the call every parent dreads. Our youngest blacked

out behind the wheel and totaled the truck. Thankfully, he walked away and

there was no one else involved... Just a couple of eyewitnesses that rushed

over to assist him... And, as a bonus, it appears that the tree will live too!

My husband loved that truck. So much so, that long after it was paid off and about

the time other guys begin looking for something new and shinier, he was still in

love with it. And, when the old girl's engine gave out he bought her a new one

and kept on rolling. I asked him once how long he intended to keep driving

that old truck and he told me he'd drive it for as long as he intended to stay

married to me. Which he followed up with... Forever. I was almost jealous!

The morning after we lost the truck, the garage door cracked right down the

middle. It's true what they say, when it rains, it pours! This was aggravating

since we put these garage doors in only a year after we bought the house. The

old wooden doors, original to the house, were roughly twenty five years old

but still going strong. But they were also drafty and required painting so we

traded them in for something brand new, that required no maintenance and

that we were told would certainly be more energy efficient and last forever...

However, over the years we've had to replace springs five times! So when one of

the springs snapped again on Monday night we weren't surprised. However, this

was the first time our garage door cracked in half! Finally fed up, we called a new

repair company this time, and while the technician figured up his estimate for a

new garage door and installation, I did a little reading... And right there, I noticed

that Amarr, the manufacturer, recommends a strut support be installed onto the

top of the door whenever a garage door opener is used with this door! So I looked...

No strut support there! So I phoned Lowe's to report a defect in their installation. But

they couldn't find us in their system. So I called Amarr who first told me the only life-

time warranty with these doors is for paint used to finish the doors. But then I pushed

a little and asked to speak to someone in warranty and Lanette in Kansas came on the

line. She knew exactly what I was talking about and after I connected her to the garage

door contractor who spoke all the garage-door lingo about the ways my garage door

was not installed correctly, I had a claim number for a FREE replacement garage door!

Which that evening called for a little retail therapy with SpaBoy to celebrate!

Seriously, how do the new Sur la Table

catalogs always feature something I need?

By the way... This photo I took of the installer contracted by Lowe's for Amarr

to install the garage doors those many years ago was instrumental in dating our

project, (since we are no longer in the system) and proved we did not install the

garage doors or the opener to the door. I recommend everyone document home

improvements this way. You just never know when you're going to need the proof!

My first concern after the garage door could no longer be operated was how I would

store the Mini since she's a convertible and not used to being left outside at night...

But just as I was fretting, Flow Mini in Winston-Salem called to remind me

of my service appointment and offered me a loaner! Even better than that,

a part they had to order still hasn't arrived, so I've had their Mini all week!

Don't you just love when a plan comes together like that?! Here's another plan that

came together in our favor... Instead of sending out the guys that have been putting

in what we now know were the wrong spring sets for our garage door, Ammarr sent

us the pros at AA American Garage Door. Honestly, the service we received from

Annette at the office couldn't have been friendlier or more helpful. She really went

the extra mile after we learned we'd have to deliver the title for our truck to the

salvage yard in order to complete the insurance claim. Why was that such a big

deal? Because the truck was moved to China Grove, NC, an hour and a half away,

and AA American was already on their way! But that didn't phase Annette at all...

Instead of rescheduling the job, she offered to send her husband and owner of the

company, saying he would come as late as we needed. On a Friday night, no less!

And, just like that...

The broken door came down!

We decided to replace the garage door opener with the Free garage door. This

cost was on us, but so well worth the $100 AA American charged. You see...

We installed the garage door opener for our new home in California, and

after the project was complete, there was well over $100 in the swear jar!

There are some things better left to the professionals! So while

Annette's dear husband installed the garage door and opener...

My dear husband did what he does best for me around the house...

And, while they did their best things... I did mine!

Oh, hush!

What's one more little cake stand?

Look at all this progress!

Am I the only girl that loves to watch men at work?

I don't know about you but it's pretty high on my list of past-times!

See that beautiful metal bar across the top of my beautiful

new Amarr Stratford 3000 garage door? That's a strut, which

provides support to the door against the force of the opener!

This once again proves that my middle name is No-sale-is-ever-final!

So what began as a pretty stressful week has ended...

In a pretty spectacular way!

Now if you'll excuse me, we're off to shop for a new truck in Charlotte. Which may

include a little hop across the border to the Pottery Barn outlet in Gaffney, SC!