Not in front of the refrigerator!

 J's check engine light had been on for a few days- well, not J's light, the one in his pickup truck! (Although wouldn't that be handy to have warning lights for people? But where would they be, oh and how would they be reset? Never mind- back on topic) Then on Saturday after he released the parking brake, the "brake on" light was on, as well as the ABS one on the other side. Setting and releasing the emergency brake made no difference, so we called our mechanic on Monday and brought the little fellow in to be checked.

 The good news was that the aging truck apparently had a loose gas cap gasket and a little dirt in a valve. That and we are ignoring the ABS module if it happens again, because the brakes are fine. But...our van apparently was jealous of the attention J's truck was getting, so decided to act up on the way over to the shop. After I paused before pulling out, the engine briefly raced and I glanced down to see the N light up for a second, then it changed back to D. What? Thank goodness J was there to witness it, and he said it had happened to him too, although it was so fast he had doubted his eyes. So we left the van there to be checked out, hoping it did not need a new transmission.  It's a 2000 model with about 160K miles on it and we do not want to have to replace it.

Why, vehicles, why? We feed you and oil you and I just took you to the car wash last week. I even washed the inside windows. We don't speed (excessively) or burn your rubber. Okay, we didn't build a garage for you, but the tools needed a home more than you did.. You are tough Maine autos, you can take the weather! And, if you rebel too much, we do have Ameranth's car here as a backup.
Just sayin'.

(We've even given it cosmetic surgery after a deer attack. Twice.)

When we sighed with relief that the bill for the truck was lower than we feared, even with the oil change, someone decided they needed equal time? (I'm looking at you Ms. Caravan)  I got the call this morning: They think the shift cable may need to be replaced, and it will be a few hours labor and an extra day. We are crossing our fingers that will do it this time.

And we are not discussing this in the kitchen or the laundry room. Just in case.