Wheels

We seem to be on the threshold of winter. Over the next 10 days temperatures are forecast to hover around freezing - a couple of degrees above zero, a couple of degrees below. No snow is forecast so it isn’t REAL winter, but it’s getting close. It’s a bit icy in patches, and a bit soggy in other places but the sogginess is slowly crisping up. The soil in the garden is frozen so that’s that for the next 4 or 5 months.
It seemed time to put the winter wheels / tyres on the bigger car. I’m no longer sure I’d want to try the somewhat icy hill up to our village on summer tyres with no studs. Dressed warmly I started work, wheelbarrowing the wheels to the parking spot, getting out the necessary equipment, loosening all the wheel nuts. It all went remarkably smoothly. Usually there’s a wheel or two that remains frozen in position even when all the nuts are removed, but today it was as one hopes for. Jack up the car, remove summer wheel, replace with winter wheel, a drop of oil on the threads, replace nuts, lower car to ground, tighten nuts, and move on to next wheel. There was no swearing, no injuries, no flat tyres, no freezing fingers, and 90 minutes from when I stepped out of the house the job was done and the summer wheels stored in the cellar, as blipped. I finished off by finding the cable to plug in the car to warm the engine before setting off, and the special fan heater to similarly warm the inside of the car. Not necessary yet but winter is coming...
I celebrated the event with a long hot bath, including a bit of reading, a glass of sherry and a small bowl of crisps, How easy it is to achieve luxury!