Well!  Things are moving quickly on the car front.

A while ago I posted about a car we had considered buying but decided against because we were told it was really rusty.  Rust is what killed our last car so we're a little leery of it!  Well, it turns out that the car wasn't as rusted as our informer thought it was, so it's still on the table.  DH got to test drive it day before yesterday.  I got to ride in it too for a few minutes (he had to get it back to the lot before they closed so he had to drop me back off pretty quickly).  He wasn't too sure - it was making some funny noises and idling really low.

I had a little fun with that because he was really worried that the engine seemed to want to choke every time he stopped at a light, and I got to say, "Oh, that's just the idle; they can adjust that easily enough!"  I'm no kind of mechanic, but this is the second relationship I've been in where I knew more about the basic workings of a car than the guy I was with!  My dad was one of those who made me learn all the basics before he let me drive.  Under his supervision, I even swapped out my own radiator when it died.  And I used to have a car that idled low and had to be reset - even stalled it myself once, in reverse with the A/C on - so I know that sound.

Anyway, it seemed that once the car had more time to warm up, DH warmed up to the car.  It's a red 97 Mazda Protege.  I can't drive it yet (need a Quebec driver's license and I can't get that until I get new glasses!) and I wasn't in it very long but I didn't have anything bad to say about it.  The interior was a lot nicer than I was expecting!

There's still a second car on the table, a 97 Toyota Camry.  We can get it for the same price as the Mazda and it's got power windows, cruise, etc.  But it's larger (our parking spot is small and even if we are joining the ranks of the gas-buying again we want to be conservative about it!), has more mileage, and it's beige.  I haven't seen it yet.  It's one of their courtesy cars so it's been out on loan - we'll get to test drive it today after DH gets off work.

Now that DH has fewer misgivings about the Mazda he's getting impatient and not so jazzed about the Toyota.  I had to be the voice of reason and remind him not to rush - in any case neither will be ready for sale before Friday so it's not like we could have a car sooner if we just picked the Mazda now.  Anyway it's been a year and a half with no car; one more day isn't going to kill us, and taking one day more to make a big decision like this is a good idea.  And if we don't even test drive the other one we'll always wonder afterwards if we should have!

I think it's funny to see him so impatient.  He's like a little kid who wants his dessert NOW!  I can almost see him bouncing up and down.  But I'm starting to get excited too.  Because one way or the other we are buying a car on FRIDAY! 

That means that Saturday, for the first time in 18 months, we'll be able to shop at Wal-Mart and the cheaper grocery stores across town without having to bum a ride or carry everything home on our backs!  It's a stupid little thing but it's hard for me to imagine.  It's like the world is opening up.  Especially since I'm the one at home, my horizons have really shrunk since being on foot.  I don't regret it.  We didn't really have the choice anyway, but like I said at the time, there are a lot of good things about having to work harder to get food and think twice about any shopping trip, about taking life a little slower, being more connected to the weather and the seasons, and getting more exercise. 

But I haven't noticed the walls closing in.  There are entire sectors of our town that I've practically forgotten about because I haven't been able to get to them.  Stores and restaurants I haven't been to in over a year.  Let alone visiting our friends who live 30 minutes outside town, or getting out of town completely for a weekend like we used to do two or three times a year!  Or going for a drive together on a nice sunny day.  He and I have logged a lot of bonding time on the highway and I miss that part of our relationsihp.  I don't like the way that cars make us consumers, and I'm very anxious about the whole fossil fuels issue.  I feel a little guilty that I will be contributing to that problem again.  But on the other hand, we have to admit that our modern society is designed around fast personal transportation and I am ready to take part in that "modern society" again!

So I'll be posting again in the near future to let you know which one we picked.  I have a feeling our restaurant/grocery budget and my calorie budget will be going out the window for a little while! ;)