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I used to think of myself as the ultimate multi-tasker. A handle on everything, and everything handled. And while I would love to say I am completely 100% in control of every aspect of my life, it would be a big fat lie.

When it comes to all things vehicles, there was no more important knowledge instilled from The Father. "Regular oil changes... keep an eye on the tire pressure. Always carry a set of jumper cables. Check your fluid levels. Are you listening to me? These things are vital to the life of your car." And I have always followed those principals to the T - that is until a few years ago when I seemed to have misplaced my internal mileage clock. Oh I am all about the oil changes, but were it not for The Sticker from the nice oil-changer man, I would never remember. And while some of you may be thinking, "Why doesn't The Husband handle that..." Well, he would. Were it not for my Holier-Than-Thou insistence on taking care of things myself. And - you know - it is 2007 and we don't do the traditional gender roll thing where men deal with cars while women scrub the toilets. The fact is - The Husband cleans a toilet like nobody's business, and I am fully capable of watching over The Car.

Or so I thought.

So - I noticed a low tire on The Car, and decided to stop in for a quick check at my local tire shop. And as the nice Tire Man went outside I busied myself with a couple of voice mails and notes in my calendar when he came back in with a funny look on his face. He typed a few things in to his computer and handed me a piece of paper. "I can't make you do anything. But I really can't in good conscience let you leave today without new tires. Did you know you had dry rot in the rear ones?"

I looked up from my calendar and didn't want to make eye contact - it was embarassing enough that he had to be overcome with the vinegar smell. (I will explain that later...) And now to find out I had been driving on rotting tires - I sighed deeply and dropped my head in shame. I knew the tires weren't great. But like that sour cream I found in the back my refrigerator last night, I just kept putting off the enevitable until the fermentation process had taken them beyond repair and recognition.

So what I thought would be a simple/possible tire patch turned into a $400 adventure, and very important life lesson.

Take it from me - when the sour cream goes bad, it's time to check your tires.

*The vinegar thing - I stopped by The Friend's house the other night and he insisted on giving me some of the trout he made for dinner. I declined - politely - but he insisted I take some home to try. So after the journey home The Car smelled like... trout. And in all my wisdom I filled a ramekin with vinegar and a little lemon, because that's what I do at home. I was just going to leave it in The Car for a little bit but then I must have gotten distracted by something shiny because I left it in there all night. So you can imagine my lovely surprise when I opened the door the next morning. It was like going face down in a pickle tub - only not that good. And not nearly as delicious...

Posted by Foodwhore at October 31, 2007 11:51 AM

Posted by: christianne at October 31, 2007 02:19 PM

Posted by: Nana at October 31, 2007 02:55 PM

Posted by: Barb McMahon at November 1, 2007 07:14 AM

Posted by: Shelley at November 1, 2007 03:04 PM