L'Auto Bitch

This weekend I had to say goodbye to my ever faithful first car, my 95 Mazda Protege. She took me through years of field work in environmental consulting, road trips home to 100 Mile, and whereever I needed to go.

She was named "L'Auto Bitch" by some former colleagues at the Friday after-work beer night, while trying to deduce a suitable nickname. Here is how the conversation went:

1) All cars are girls
2) "Protege" sounds French
3) What is "the girl car" in French?
4) How about, "L'Auto Bitch"? (Said with a French accent)

And so, the name stuck.

There was also the fun time last May when it was tagged, obviously not female. 8 hours later, and the spray paint (only) came off with a lot of elbow grease, and some acetone- not before I had to drive it to my boyfriend's apartment, which was the longest drive EVER:

In case I had to drive it, we focussed on removing the "I" first....

I love Pens!

She was on her last "wheels" last week when she couldn't go more than 20 km/hr randomly, and started surging.

My car on the tow truck:

The next day, she was fine. Hmmm..not so much trust any more.

So, she had to go.

To get something for her, I decided to go to the BC Scrap It program, as it's a 1995 (1995 or older qualify). So I will be getting $300 back from the BC Govt - more than I would get selling her, unfortunately.

My sis and I took a convoy out to Amix Scrap Yards under the Patullo Bridge to drop her off for the last time. By the time the paperwork was done, she was being wheeled away with a number 17 spray painted on her side. 17th to be assassinated. Yes, I took her to her death. It was surprising how emotional I have been over it. Not crying in public, people, but tight chested. The Amix secretary said that some people just couldn't let go and actually had to come back later to give up their cars.

I left her for...my new hot rod!

My 1998 Honda CRV! It feels like a mini bus, and although it's very used, I am loving it!

As for my knitting:

1) My mystery shawl is coming along - need to finish the last two clues. There are some people that I swear don't sleep. And, if I finish by Sept. 1, then I can enter the draw for the prizes! Cool!

I'm such a cheater - you can look at the spoiler photo forums in Ravelry and see the finished projects. Totally went and checked it out. Some crazy shawls in there!

I'm almost complete my Daybreak Shawl by Steven West also - loving Gourmet Crafter's yarn!

I completed this book last week also:

 And my review:

For anyone who likes to learn history through fiction, this is a fantastic place to start to learn about the Canadian residential school catastrophe, and how it shapes the following generations.
I found it to be a good jumping off point to learn more, and from the first page, a smooth read that covers difficult topics.You can listen to the author's talk with Sheilagh Rogers on The Next Chapter podcast from last season. This is how I picked it up. One commenter on the fantastic new VPL commented that this book should be mandatory reading material for Canadian children in school.

I agree!


Oh, and thank you so much to Miso Crafty - I was the winner of one of her AWESOME project bags...can't believe I won.


Question - I am looking to name my new CRV - any suggestions?