when we last left our intrepid heroine, she was dropping the key to her car off at the garage so that the mechanic could take another look at the Problem That Won't Go Away.

later that afternoon, the mechanic called her up to say she could pick up the car and "drive it around and see what you think." when our heroine arrives, she is told that the mechanic's guy has taken a look and didn't find anything, but made "some adjustments", so she should take it and drive it around and see how it goes.

our heroine thanks her mechanic and takes the car. the next day (tuesday, yesterday) she heads out to the barn in the morning cold. about 30 miles into her 35 mile one-way journey, our heroine feels the first hiccups of the problem. sure enough, it escalates, and the car starts jerking as it temporarily looses power repeatedly. Sigh. Our heroine bravely continues on to the barn, a mere 5 miles on, and has a nice lesson. she does, however, dread the drive home.

the drive home was made more likely to succeed when the decision was made to take the back way home even though it double the drive time, in order to avoid highways and the highway speeds that seem to bring on the car's Issues. keeping it to 35 and under for the duration of the trip meant that the car was safely delivered once again to the mechanic. the key was handed over, the problem was re-described, and the mechanic promised to drive it around to feel the problem for himself.

stay tuned for the next installment, when our heroine gets her car back.