On Saturday, 10 December 2011, Janice’s parents, her youngest sister Melinda, and Melinda’s children Amanda and Joshua came over to celebrate Janice’s birthday and to bake holiday cookies.

I took my nephew Josh to New England Comics and Newbury Comics in Norwood, Massachusetts. I later took Josh and Amanda to a talk about birds of prey at the local library, and the family had dinner together at Mick Morgan’s pub. We’ll be seeing them around Christmas.

In addition to housecleaning and shopping for gifts for family, friends, gamers, and co-workers, I’ve been dealing with automotive issues. A few weeks ago, I had some expensive repairs and maintenance done on my 1998 Honda Civic coupe. On my way from the local dump to work yesterday morning, my car started overheating.

I called into work and brought my beat-up green car (which I had bought used in 2000) to Boch Honda in Norwood. I’ve had to postpone several meetings to later this week. Another coolant hose had come loose, and more problems were likely coming soon. While waiting for the assessment, I went into the dealer area and eventually bought a 2011 Honda Fit Sport.

My family and friends are much more excited than I am about the new vehicle, which I consider merely a means to get from Point A to Point B in relative safety and comfort. I’m not a fan of gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles and the distracted soccer moms or cellphone-using drivers behind the wheel. Still, the Fit is pretty stylish.

I had hoped to nurse the Civic through another harsh New England winter. Ice, salt, potholes, and tree sap take their toll. In 12 years here, I’ve been hit several times — never my fault — and the engine may have had another 100,000 miles in it. I was also in no hurry to begin making car payments anew, but repair bills were starting to become bigger and more frequent.

My red Fit has more passenger and cargo space than the Civic, despite being about the same compact-car length. Although most of my driving is stop-and-go, short-distance commuting with the occasional out-of-state trip to visit family, I hope to get good mileage. As of this writing, the four-door hatchback has only 17 miles on it so far.

What do you think I should name my new car? I’m asking only readers of this blog! I nicknamed my first car, a used red Chevy Cavalier, the Millennium Falcon for its utility and temperament. I sometimes called my Civic a “Runabout,” after Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s long-range shuttlecraft.