Today has been a momentous day.

While we were slotted today to walk up to the vending machine for a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan GT from Carvana, I was nervous about it when I awoke at 2:30 AM—OK, so that might have been from the dream I had about "stealing" books from a dumpster that doubled as a pharmacy run by a very irate baglady Jane Lynch...

While the paperwork was complete for the minivan, I just couldn't get on board with giving up a chunk of savings while paying $317 + insurance + gas + maintenance on it—let's make it an even $450/month. Yes, it would come in handy for DIY and hauling the kids around, but I have the kid hauler already. The DIY bit can be resolved by some timely planning by an INTJ and a U-Haul pickup. Is it wiser to...

• Shove a treasure chest of savings and take that ~$450/month lickin'?
• Or, pay $19.95 plus $0.69/mile (and gas) for a Saturday morning as needed?

No, you don't need to own a truck to do stuff. More importantly, I can apply the money saved toward projects AND the tools needed to do them!

This afternoon, I was reminded of tools long gone. After teaching homeschool classes then hanging up the last set of blinds, I demo'd the built-in "workbench" in the garage. I no longer own my crowbar, sledgehammer, or reciprocating saw, all those lovely tools I used to tear down that deck and turn that storm shelter into a raging kiln.

No, what did I use? A handsaw, a chisel, and...a rubber mallet. I literally was knocking holes in it with a rubber mallet! Either I can't find my way back to Asgard or the top of the bench was made up of some shady materials!

I worked on it as I listened to YTM's '80s Lost-Love Ballads—I know, I know, I should have been listening to early Metallica, something like Fight Fire With Fire, but I had my woodworker mindset on as I tore it down. I think of the history of the piece, where I was at the time, and how there were designs by a couple of different homeowners along the way. You can tell a lot about someone from their craftsmanship.

Today is also the first day I rolled a new site template! OK, structurally, it's just a new paint job with a bit of tidying up the place— yanked content, cleaned up CSS, etc. I ripped out all Javascript beyond the menu for mobile users. Also—and this is a big one—I removed the Fit page. I had 5-year-old content there! Don't worry, I'm still doing GREAT as I'm finishing up my 30th day of carnivore! It's just that 2024 isn't about weightloss itself as you can see on the new Quests page: the 2024 New Year's resolution page.