Putputputclankclankclank

On my way to the shop today my Suburu started to shimmy. The steering wheel started to do the jig.

An hour later, coming from another direction, heading to the shop, it started to slip out of gear. The needle started dancing from 30mph to 60mph to 80mph and back and forth and back and forth. But the car was going the same speed, except for the occasional lurches when the transmission felt like it was throwing in the towel. Just going to bed. But we made it. Rolled right into Johnson. Gassed up before I dialed AAA. When I pulled up to the pump and put it in park, the little-red-car-that-could just kept right on rolling. Pulled the emergency brake and got on the cell phone with AAA.

We'd just come from the bank where we began to digest the fact that we're dumping a whole lot of money into a whole lot of land, so the idea of dumping a whole lot of money into a potentially fried car wasn't real comforting.

I had her towed to my local mechanic, Bruce, and his nephew James (who bears a striking resemblence to Orlando Bloom, much to Ella's absolute delight). A couple hours later I learned that it's a quick $100 fix and that I need to start driving slower over potholes.... which I really truly thought I was being so very good at this year. Really.

Now, I just have to figure out how to get to the shop tomorrow morning at 5:30am, get Ella to school at 8am and get Bill to Johnson at some point in the early am... with one pickup truck.

It's too cold to bike.
Especially in a forecasted Noreaster.