result

here's the update on my recent handwringing:

Onion hands: GONE! I've even cooked with onions since but have learned my onion lesson.

Car anxiety: gone! They fixed it, it doesn't smell like gas anymore (cracked fuel return she said, like she knew what that meant), AND they also replaced my front breaks which means one less repair shop stop for me! It was all very reasonable, too, considering. If anyone in pdx needs a recommendation for a garage, I've had great luck with Gerbrock on Killingsworth.

I was surprised how much buried worry I had about the car. I knew it needed repair but I kept putting it off - I didn't really notice how much it was stressing me out until the gas smell came along and made me notice. But that's all done for now! I can gloat that if I have to drive, I can do so in my paid for ages ago good mileage now SAFE car! Woo! I'm currently obsessed with making new seat covers, maybe from some of the deco-weight Ikea fabrics (which are cheap, sturdy, and interesting.) I think it should be pretty easy to figure out - instead of elastic around the bottom (which always gets rucked up and drives me crazy), I'll sew on some nylon straps and put in some d rings. OR SOMETHING.

(photo note: this year for the grand floral parade, they invited a classic convertible club to drive the car-driven entries. Great idea! There were some pretty sweet cars and this was one of them.)