The flash and dash of Christmas time.

I love Christmas lights - pretty ones, not the gaudy Disney crap. They add brightness and cheer to the long dark days of winter. It should be the law that houses have Christmas lights from September 22 until March 22 while the nights are longer than the days.

However that being said, because the siding is only half finished and inside the finishing touches haven't been added to the addition, I myself have not really gotten into the festiveness of the season. Jed has lights twinkling in his windows so we don't look completely like grinches.

Until 4 o'clock yesterday, our grass was green and as I typically do every November and December, I held a small glimmer of hope that winter wouldn't actually materialize. Of course this yearning is partially spurred on by the fact that I still have aging summer tires on my car. And my drivers side wiper is about as useful as a soggy kleenex.

The snow started falling at 4 yesterday and shows no sign of stopping. Winter has arrived. I left a few minutes early for work, knowing that I'd be pushing snow with my bumper as I back out of the garage and down the driveway. Alb shoveled a walking path from the door to the car but didn't have time to get the drive done before it was time for me to leave.

I made it about 6 feet before the poor little Jetta pouted and spun her wheels and made me take a second run. The second run she just flatly refused and the dash lit up like my non-existent Christmas bulbs flashing all sorts of pretty colours. My trusty little owners manual tells me that my ABS breaking system has failed and my car will not handle safely. In my great mechanical know-how, I decided that if I shut the car off and started it again perhaps the lights would go out and my car would be healed. Nope. Didn't work. The lights still flashed and warned.

So what could I do but phone in and take the day off work. I'm not sure what staying snuggly indoors is supposed to do to help and I'm sure I'm gonna need the missed wages to take the Jetta to the doctor. But for now I'm warm and dry and wishing the flashing lights were in my window, not my dashboard.