HoopdyMama

After nearly nine months in the Berg, girlfriend's finally getting some wheels.  When we first arrived, I was terrified to drive here, and quite frankly, I still am; but the inconvenience of having to ask Sir to chaffeur me everywhere is outweighing the fear. 

So last weekend we circled the Lemon Lot* on post, hoping to find a reasonably priced POV**. 
* ** - for those of you who missed the explanatory post in the fall, a quick recap:  In military communities, especially overseas, soldiers and their families often buy very old, very inexpensive, very beat-up cars locally, drive them during the time of their assignment, and then sell them to other soldiers who are arriving.  There's actually a designated parking area on most army posts where these buy-and-sells take place.  POV is military-speak for "personally owned vehicle."  It makes me laugh every time, because can't we just call it a CAR?  The older and more rickety the vehicle, the more it qualifies for the term "hoopdy."  My parents had an old Buick when they were stationed in Germany in 1955.  It's probably still being driven by a soldier.

We had looked several times before, but had not really made the acquisition of a second car a priority.   This go-round, I was pretty sure it was time.  Fortunately, we found a winner-winner-chicken-dinner!

Allow me to introduce her:  A 1995  Volvo 940 Turbo wagon; navy blue with 138,000 miles. It's funny how few people I know in the States who would seriously consider buying a 16-year-old car, but here it seems completely normal.   I'm so thankful that she is big (for Europe,) safe, and reliable.  The folks who are selling her need her for a few more weeks, so I'll be actually getting her when I arrive back here after the Girl's graduation in May. 

Those of you who know me well will not be a bit surprised to learn that I have named her Volveeta.