A neighbor came over with some apple bananas from her backyard tree and advised me that my car tail lights were on. I can’t understand how they got left on, but since she came over at 7:30pm and I got home and out of the car around 1:30pm, the battery was well and truly run down. I had to beg help from her to get the thing recharged.

That was fairly amusing. Her husband has a new car and he hasn’t had to open the hood yet, nor is he sure where the battery is in it. So we borrowed his wife’s car and then tried to figure out how to open the hood on my Mini. I finally found the lever under the bonnet (not hood, mind you; British car, remember?) and then had to remove the battery cover to get at the posts to attach the clips.

We got that done and it started. I let it run for about ten minutes and then drove up and down the hill. When I parked it I turned it off and restarted it without trouble; we’ll see if it works in the morning. Fortunately I have no major errands to run or doctors to visit tomorrow.

Fun, yeah? When I got back I got to clean up the kitchen from dinner, too, which I’d neglected while dealing with the car crisis. What an evening!