I Said Goodbye

to my Volvo wagon last Wednesday. The lease was up. I've always believed a car is a tool -- it just has to get you places safely -- but I loved that car. I really, really loved that car.

We thought long and hard about buying it, or extending the lease, or getting a new one but in the end we decided to get a Toyota Rav 4. I need something big enough to cart my inventory around to shows and we like to have one all wheel drive for the snow. We've spent a lot of money this year, what with the renovation and sending Clara to study in Florence (the exchange rate is really bad!), so we thought we would be thrifty and get a cheaper car with better gas mileage. Also, we were pretty ticked off with the Volvo dealership (Eagle Auto Mall) in Riverhead. They were supposed to call me with the May special offers -- here it is June and I still haven't received them -- after visiting twice and calling twice. So they won't get our business again. And we will get another Volvo wagon -- I told Pete to be prepared, because in three years, when the lease with Toyota is up, I expect to have heated seats again.