BABY'S GOT A NEW PAIR OF SHOES!

Baby's new shoes!

Yesterday I took my car in for a new set of tires. None too soon, what with winter approaching.

She had become somewhat ditzy on wet roadways, preferring to hydroplane through the puddles rather than even attempt to grip the road. That necessitated some thoughtful surface road travel plans during thunderstorms when I left the expressway to the thundering semis spraying water and idiots who don’t know how to slow down when it’s impossible to even see the road, let alone the lane markers.

Do you have any idea how difficult it has become to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B without an expressway intervening! Just try to find a route on your GPS – it will take you on an expressway every time – and then leave you hanging with “exit right, then turn . . . . . . “. Oh yes, just when you needed it most (but that’s a whole other story!)

Anyway . . . . every time She went in for a service call in the past year or so, the service technicians all suggested that it was time for her to get some new rubber.

Well, yesterday was the day.

They are Michelin Defenders, nice tread, sturdy looking. I like their name - anything that wants to Defend me kinda makes me happy. Especially if they are going to keep me safe on the road.

So, She and I drove home in style, cornering nicely and making a few “road maneuvers” I wouldn’t have made just that morning. (By “road maneuvers” I mean the kind that, when I’m not the one behind the wheel, I’m the one in the passenger seat, all puckered up, hanging onto the overhead strap, praying, eyes squished shut while I hold my breath and anticipate impact).

In other words, I drove for a few minutes the way my husband does all the time*, just to see how the tires performed on their maiden voyage. Admirably.

So, until it’s time for the snow tires – studded – the driving performance of which always makes me think of a woman running in high heels, the sound of which startles everyone, but the ability of which keeps me well grounded on ice – quite a boon 2 years ago during a sudden ice storm, whereupon I was passing everyone wondering what the problem was, until I saw SUV’s and pick up trucks in odd positions scattered along the interstate and it finally dawned on me “oh, there’s ice out there!” – I’ll be enjoying my Defenders!**

* I’m pretty sure I’ll be hearing about this from my hubby!
**My apologies to my high school English teacher, Irene Walters, for the above sentence, may she rest in peace.

NOTE: Art related posts are coming, soon, I promise!