Ouchie.

Hubby's truck needed some work. Work that couldn't be put off, because, you see, the four-wheel-drive functionality for which we actually purchased the truck was non-operational. Also, it was making these scary clunking noises. The bill? $783.34. Thank goodness for home equity lines of credit. Credit. God, I hate credit. On the one hand, it acts all like it's your best friend, the one who talks you into doing fun, nice things for yourself that you'd never do if left to your own devices. But then, it sends you a bill for the fun. It tries to offer you pretty little low interest rates to disguise the fact that you're getting deeper and deeper into a hole, but really, even a low interest rate isn't going to save you when you charge more *every single month* than you pay on your various credit instruments. I don't know how I can be earning the salary I earn and still be relying so heavily on credit.

But anyway, the truck is running pretty nicely now. And we'll be ready the next time it snows. Only, perhaps, now that we've spent so much money we don't have making the truck snow-worthy, it won't snow at all anymore this winter? It would be ironic, but a worthwhile trade-off.