Or at least trade them in. While I can’t really afford a car payment right about now (I’ll be needing to break the news to the dogs that they’ll have to start catching their own food – and the cats won’t make much of a meal), I decided that the only way to get peace of mind on my daily commute was to get a new car that I won’t have to worry about for a few years. So if all goes as planned, after ten mostly happy years with my 2004 Hyundai Elantra, I’ll be picking up my new vehicle after work today. Just don’t tell my current car. I once traded in an old junker of a Chevy Impala station wagon that never failed to start – until the day I was to trade it in. I wound up having AAA tow it to the dealer – “here’s your trade-in!”

Speaking of cars and car repair, if you haven’t read Alex Magliozzi’s eulogy for his dad, Tommy, you should.

In other news, apropos of getting a new vehicle, the weather around here is about to head straight into the crapper. Yesterday was gorgeous – sunny and 66°, and by the time I get home tonight, it should be down to 40 – which will look good come Friday, when it isn’t supposed to get above 35. Oh, and did I mention snow? Yeah, snow. They don’t know how much just yet (speculation is that our friends to the north will bear the brunt of it – as they should), but I might have to mount the plow on the tractor and push some snow around this weekend.

It also means I’ll have to think about snow tires, which sucks because I was pricing them out online yesterday, and damn they’re expensive.

Good thing I probably won’t live long enough to retire.