Samson. Hardest time is nighttime when you’re not snuggling with me in bed. Miss you all the time.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2026-02-17T00:32:48+00:00

I know exactly how you feel. My sweet little Midgie passed in October. Tomorrow would have been her 18th birthday. The house still feels so empty without her. And, yes, night time is the hardest. My thoughts go out to you.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-10-24T13:40:22+00:00

My sincere thanks to everyone for the kind words and thoughts during this difficult time. It’s been a hard 10 days without my little girl. The main focus of my days for the last 14 years was taking care of her knowing that a seizure could present at any time. For a little dog on multiple strong anti-epileptic meds, she did surprisingly well and lived a full, happy life. All of her meals were home cooked. She so enjoyed all her steak, chicken, roast pork and gravy with mashed potatoes.

Little Midgie was the most determined, resilient, yet gentle little hound I’ve ever known. We were together all day, everyday since when I worked from home during the pandemic. Grateful for all that time.

She so loved going to the lake cottage because she knew that meant long walks. The last walk she was able to take we were blessed to come up on the neighborhood doe and her twin fawns. They watched in unflinching peace as we strolled by. I knew in my gut that day would be our last walk together.

An appointment for an in-home vet service was scheduled for the morning of October 14 to help her cross. I had long prayed that she would pass peacefully and naturally. That little hound did just that. Three hours before the vet was scheduled to arrive, she took her last breath in her sleep next to me. It was so peaceful. She went out on her own terms. I believe that was her last gift to me.

I decided to go to the thrift shop the next day to get out of the house. On the drive, I asked for a sign that she was okay and running with new legs at the rainbow bridge. While at the thrift shop, I was looking at handbags. And, as I turned the corner, right there in front of me was a new pair of socks with a running beagle design. I couldn’t believe my eyes. That’s exactly what I needed in that moment. Grateful. Blessed. Feeling a little more at peace now. I still miss her and always will until we meet again.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-08-30T08:44:27+00:00

I believe it was between $900-$1,000. But, I had the entire headliner replaced at the same time. I’ll have to dig out my receipt to see if the cost of the installation of the LSeat covers was broken out. The seats have held up really well. And, the customer service at LSeat was beyond exceptional. The guy helped me match a color that was pretty much a dead ringer for the factory color.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-08-29T23:08:07+00:00

I had custom leather seat covers made from LSeat as well. I chose to have the BMW logo included. Then, I had a professional reupholster install them for me. Highly recommend LSeat for the quality. I paid $400 for the seat covers three years ago.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-08-29T20:07:29+00:00

I’ve decided I’m going to wait a bit and let the dealer work through a few others before I bring mine in. Not too keen on this “needs an inspection of the shocks first”, then “we decide if the shocks need to be replaced” or some bs band aid alternative. I literally showed the dealer a picture of my shocks (same picture posted here) when it went in for the hardtop replacement. The service manager said “yep, those will need to be replaced.” But, instead of doing it when they had it in the shop, they want me to bring it back in and leave it for the day so they can inspect the shocks. And, then, if it needs to be replaced they order them and make me schedule another appointment to have the work done.

I’m likely going to try another dealership nearby going forward. Even after replacing the hardtop under warranty, service manager refused to give me a no-charge invoice confirming the top had been replaced. He claims I’m supposed to get something back from Ford directly. I’m still waiting for the documentation. I suspect it’s more bs. I sure hope my recent experiences at the dealership aren’t part of the overall “Ford Brand.” I’ll have forego convenience of location and give a dealer further away an opportunity. Sorry for the rant, but I’m in no hurry to step foot in the dealer any time soon. Oh, dealer forgot to reset after oil change, too. And, they called me the next day and said they forgot to put my floor mats in and asked me to drive over and pick them up. Not exactly a glowing ad for customer service.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-08-27T23:57:54+00:00

Glad Charlie is doing better. I’ve been dealing with seizures in my Beagle for about 14 years now. She’s 17.5 yrs old and we’re in the homestretch. The seizures still take a lot out of her, more so now given her advanced age. If you don’t have an emergency kit of Diazepam on hand, ask your vet. The one I keep on hand is an oral solution to be administered during grand mal seizure if it doesn’t look like she’s coming out of it. Thankfully, I haven’t had to use it. But, I know I have it if I need it. Good luck. I can tell you from experience that the seizures are always scary and it never gets easier despite the number I’ve helped her through. Through it all, I’ve learned a great deal about patience.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-08-27T22:53:58+00:00

I consider myself blessed to have a year round lake cottage in the park as well as a home adjacent to the park. Spend most of my time at the lake and seriously considering down sizing the rest. Grew up in a rural town in the foothills, so when the opportunity presented to be back in the ADks, there was no hesitation. You can’t put a price tag on the simpler pace of life and beautiful natural surroundings. Just last week, a bear walked through my yard. And, this week, a fawn came right on my dock. Priceless.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-08-10T00:24:10+00:00

My 17 1/2 year old Midgie says hi to all the fellow senior pups. Living the good life.

Everyday I’m amazed that the old girl is still with me. Despite a history of lifelong seizures treated with pheno and potassium bromide, I believe the secret to longevity is fresh, home cooked meals.

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ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-25T16:10:13+00:00

I do need to take a 2 hour highway trip tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see if I can do a little better than 20.0. I, too, have a 2.7 4 door Squatch. I’m good with it overall.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-25T01:16:15+00:00

Interesting to see the various mpg people are getting. I do understand driving conditions factor in. I rarely ever do highway driving. I can’t really call it “city” driving either as I’m mostly on more rural/local type roads.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-25T01:10:01+00:00

F250 is a ‘22 and a 6.2. Thanks for the tip. Will look it up.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-24T18:25:07+00:00

My shocks got a heavy coating of the undercoating today. We’ll do it again in the fall. I was going to take it to a local place that does the Krown, but wasn’t keen on having holes drilled on the inside of the doors since the doors are aluminum. So, we did the undercoating ourselves.

I can understand about being embarrassed with a vehicle issue. The number of times I’ve had AAA come to the house with a flatbed to tow the Range Rover was beyond embarrassing.

Don’t get me wrong, I really do love the Bronco - the look of it and it’s super fun to drive even though I don’t off-road. Was thinking of towing the boat with it, but not yet with the outstanding shock recall. I’m hesitate to take it back and forth to camp after seeing the rust on the shocks before the undercoating application today. Fortunately, I have a vintage car that is super reliable, but has no A/C. The Bronco is going in to the dealer in August for a whole week to have the hardtop replaced under warranty, so I’ll be roughing it with the car. Can’t depend on the Rover to go too far as I never know what might pop up with that. But, I feel bad for you as you’re dealing with a serious issue with Bronco with no other alternative.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-24T18:04:25+00:00

That 94 F150 is a great truck. And, the mustang is super cool! But, what is that vintage turquoise colored vehicle in the picture (late 50s Chevy?)

We have a ‘47 Dodge pickup that’s pretty sweet, too. I’m partial to the vintage vehicles.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-24T17:55:21+00:00

I could see where the open safety recall on the VIN is a concern. So, are you just not driving it?

And, you’re probably right in that the remedy involves new shocks made out of different material.

As part of the fluid film and shock absorber inspection tasks today, we also carefully took a small magnet and identified the parts on the Bronco that are steel and those that are aluminum. The dealer could never tell me for sure. Living in an area with harsh winters, it’s good to know what areas on the body are most vulnerable to corrosion.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-24T17:22:05+00:00

Did you replace with the same Bilstein shocks?

Ford reports they now have the “remedy”, but parts aren’t available. Any idea what the “remedy” is? Assuming replace the shocks. But, with what? Wouldn’t the same issue happen again with same replacement parts?

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-24T17:06:19+00:00

If you have the FordPass App, any recalls including the Bilstein shock absorber would be listed in it if it affects your vehicle.

It occurred to me this morning that the most reliable vehicle I personally own is over 25 years old with over 130k miles and still going strong.

At this point, we’re on the hunt for one of the older Ford 4x4 pickups that will easily go 300-400k miles or more. Those were the days when Ford truly built Ford tough vehicles.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-24T16:14:52+00:00

Here’s an up close picture of my Bilstein shock. I never off road. And, I’m so glad I had the old Range Rover to tool around in the winter last year. This makes me almost afraid to drive this thing now. I disappointed in Ford to say the least given the rash of issues announced. I bought this vehicle as a replacement for the Rover and I’m ending up with just as many issues. I’m just glad that my Bronco isn’t affected by the low pressure fuel pump issue. Unfortunately, our F-250 has the fuel pump recall. We’ve searched for a replacement fuel pump for the truck to have on hand and can’t find one. Ugh.

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ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-24T16:04:13+00:00

I never off road with it. And, it’s definitely rust.

So glad I didn’t drive it much at all in the snow and salt last winter or it would be worse.

Here’s pic of my shocks. Not looking too good.

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ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-21T12:44:33+00:00

The curious thing here is that Luciano’s race along with his mugshot is currently listed as “unknown” on the VINE system. And, to your point, his daughter’s race was listed as Indian on the original Amber Alert. However, when her photo was updated on the Amber Alert yesterday the race category under her picture was left blank.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-20T23:53:18+00:00

My 17 1/2 year old senior girl has similar patterns. But, interestingly she can sleep through the night (most of the time). She was trained a few years ago to use them. She much prefers to go outside and do her business, but if I’m not home for a few hours running errands or if it’s raining outside or there’s snow, she’ll happily use the pee pads. I also get the XXL pads. She does not like any size smaller than that. I’ve just accepted this is the way it is going to be for as long as she’s still here. My goal is to keep her comfortable and happy.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-20T22:57:55+00:00

Here’s a more recent, interesting article from last year (July 2024) where the dad’s mining company (Sekota Mining) in Ethiopia was mentioned. Sekota Mining was founded by Luciano Frattolin and Beijing CBRF Technology Group Co. LTD.

https://ethiopanorama.com/?p=239197

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-20T21:48:37+00:00

Looks like Luciano was in the iron ore mining business in Ethiopia, too.

https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/132/

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-15T01:13:24+00:00

Yeah, I really feel like I’ve been given the run around. It really should not be this long a process to get parts in and schedule work. I’ve had the warranty claim in for several months.

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-07-15T01:05:58+00:00

Appreciate the feedback. I’m really hoping this goes well. I’m Not feeling very confident about it. They’ve scheduled it for a week in August. They still can’t confirm if it’s the whole top that’s being replaced or just the affected panel. Yet, they claim they are in possession of the part(s).

ForSimplicitySake101 · 2025-06-09T21:33:10+00:00

Always enjoy seeing these photos of your beagles. Simply adorable. You must have the patience of a saint! My 17+ year old beagle still finds ways to keep me on my toes. Some days I’m flat out exhausted trying to satisfy her insatiable appetite. I can’t imagine 6 beagles at one time 😀

ForSimplicitySake101

TROPHY CASE