Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes? Every month a group of six bloggers share their work-spaces, homes, towns, and more!

This month we’re taking a look at our cars.

I’ve had…10 (?) cars…and I’ve loved them all (except the Heartbreaker…the VW Passat Wagon that I’d so coveted but that turned out to be a LEMM. ON.)

I’ve killed some…I’m looking at you VW Scirroco whose engine seized when I failed to pay attention to the oil light…

And Mustang #1 (my first car…my BELOVED first car)

He looked like hell, but he had the back-up lights on a SWITCH, that I could turn on at will and terrify the drivers behind me…and an actual air conditioning unit installed under the dashboard and two fans (like…desk fans) mounted on either side of the rear window…and a hole in the floor on the driver’s side so I could watch the road fly past beneath as I drove.

I totaled him on my way home from a horse show. I was following the horse trailer and…didn’t realize I was going through a red light and CRASH we were hit from the side and that was that. I got some stitches in my forehead and about a week’s worth of silent treatment from my father after – whoever – called him to say I’d been in an accident and mentioned following the horse trailer home…the one with MY HORSE in it.

He did not know I HAD a horse. That I had bought a horse. It did not go over well.

But I digress.

Mustang #1 was replaced by Mustang #2…or as he was for some reason called, “Deathmobile.” A more appropriate name would have been Trashmobile, but whatever.

DM also had an engine issue, so it got a new engine and a paint job…

He was BYOOTEEFUL.

My friends and I had a lot of good times in that car. We used to pick out cute boys driving on one of the main roads and just follow them til we got their attention…sometimes it resulted in smiles and waves…SOMETIMES (cuz we were stupid stupid girls) it resulted in cars stopping and actual introductions being made. I remember I met my dentist’s SUPER CUTE son like this. I always wondered if he told his father about that.

I think I ended up totaling him, too, though I can’t remember the details.

He was followed by a series of hand-me-downs, barn trucks, this-is-all-I-can-afford cars, The Lemon…but they all have good memories attached.

Because, okay. I have to say it. My car is my BFF. Most of them.

One of The Most comfortable places for me to be is…my car.

There’s just something about the depth of the seat itself, the fact that I can easily control the incline of the back, that I have somewhere to put my hands (steering wheel), I can adjust the temperature to EXACTLY what I want, as well as the volume of whatever I’m listening to. I can talk to myself, sing as loud as I want, cry, scream, ANYTHING…and I’m not disturbing anyone, no one else can hear me…I feel invisible…and I like that.

I love BEING in my car. I love DRIVING. I almost always volunteer to be the designated driver…for the comfort and control.

My car takes me on amazing adventures. We’ve been a LOT of places together.

My car is my storage unit. I do prefer a small station wagon-type vehicle (and 4 doors are a must) so I can cram as much stuff as possible into it: dog crates, large plants, boxes, furniture off the side of the road, bicycles, etc.

I certainly miss my co-pilot of many years (Dog is My Co-Pilot).

My car takes care of me…

Keeps me cool when it’s hot…

Takes me to the doctor.

However, my nickname is The Queen of Flat Tires.

And I’m not known for keeping a neat car (Mistress of the Trashmobile).

But I try.

My current car is (I hope I don’t jinx myself) the most reliable, low-maintenance car I’ve ever had…and I thank her ALL THE TIME. It’s just a blah blah car…Hyundai something something (a Korean car, ha ha ha)…but she just keeps going.

But she may be my last car. My “after retirement” budget will probably not allow for car expenses (car payments, insurance, gas, maintenance, etc), so…THAT will be interesting.

Not just the loss of convenience of having transportation at my doorstep…but…the loss of MY PRIVATE SPACE. My traveling companion. My adventure buddy.

She just needs to hang in there til then. Fingers crossed.

But til then, we’ll continue to go on adventures, schlep junk from here to there…and she’ll be my safe place Out in the World.

Make sure to check out the other ladies’ chariots.

Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After
Em at Dust and Doghair