Keep your car happy this winter

With another winter storm on the way for large parts of the country, we thought it seemed like the perfect timing to pass along Randy Williams' tips on winter car care.

EMERGENCIES
Like a good boy scout, your first order of business is to be prepared! A pair of warm gloves, a can of de-icer, and a window scraper are three essentials to every car north of Atlanta for the winter. If you live in the North or in areas of the country that are routinely hit with large amounts of snow and ice, don’t forget to carry tire chains or something similar in the trunk of your car. You’ll be forever thankful for these things if you ever need them.

PROPER TIRE TREAD
The next order of business is to make sure your tires have proper tread. Slick or heavily worn tires are extremely dangerous in all kinds of weather, but especially in winter weather. A little trick (taken from off-roading) for driving in slushy or snowy conditions is to slightly deflate your tires. This allows for more of the tread to make contact with the road. But remember, this is only for extreme conditions. Otherwise, tires should always be properly and fully inflated.

ANTIFREEZE
Cold weather can really mess with your engine, too. Think about it: all that metal is below freezing when the engine is off. Then, you start the car and within a minute, things heat up to well over 100 degrees in some cases. That’s why anti-freeze is a MUST in the winter. If you can’t afford to have your cooling system flushed, you can simply top off the radiator with an equal mix of antifreeze and water (a little more antifreeze if you’re living up in the tundra). You cannot, however, have only water in there because it’ll freeze and can crack the engine (because water expands when it freezes).

WIPERS
Windshield wipers really take a beating during the winter, so keep an eye on their condition. Streaky patterns or dangling pieces mean it’s time to change them. Also, refill your reservoir with winterized washer fluid.

INTERIOR/EXTERIOR
Although it has nothing to do with the performance of your car, you should still remember to take care of the interior and finish of your car. Salt and sand on the roads can really pile up, so a good rinsing every week can go a long way to preserving your car’s finish. (Don’t forget the headlights and mirrors!) Inside, find a good conditioning protectant for any plastic and leather. In the long run, this will keep cracks and damage from appearing.

If you’re like me, most of your car care happens when the clunker won’t start (or stop, or simply can’t decide). But, preventative maintenance can save us all a headache or two. Following these easy tips will help make your winter a little more carefree, as far as your car is concerned.

Homework, tests, and projects? You’re on your own.

SNOW DAY!

In case you can't tell, it's snowing in Nashville. Well, at least it was, a little. And that made us wish for a snow day, which sadly, as working adults we don't get very often. So count your blessings!

But if you're stuck inside because of ice, snow, and otherwise yucky conditions, we do have some ideas to help liven up your day. Check them out on page 56 of the January issue of ec. Whatever you do, don't just sit around and count the hours until the day is over. And if that list of ideas isn't good enough for you, what about some of these:

• Stage a movie marathon. Pick a bunch of movies starring an actor you like, movies that all deal with a specific theme, movies by a certain director, or even movies in a trilogy or with several sequels, like LOTR or Indiana Jones.

• Cook. If you're not dealing with power outages because of the ice storm affecting much of the U.S., you might have the opportunity to make something really good or something that takes awhile to make. So get out the cookbooks, find the measuring cups, and amp up your culinary creativity!

• Games. Games. Games. You're stuck inside, but that doesn't mean sports have to go by the wayside. Check out Sportscenter on ESPN and see how your favorite teams are doing, especially your favorite college basketball teams since March Madness isn't all that far away. (BTW, Duke plays arch-rival Wake Forest tonight. Duke is the #1 team in the nation this week!) You could recruit your siblings to play video games with you or test out the Wii Fit you got for Christmas. Or just make up some sort of low-impact game you and your family can play inside. And if all else fails, when there's snow, there's always opportunity for a snowball fight!

• Read. Books aren't the enemy. Read some of the classics or a contemporary writer you like. Pick a genre or topic you usually don't read about. Ask your mom or dad to name their favorite books and see if they'll let you borrow it. You can discuss it at some later date. Or find out if some of your favorite movies were based on books. We think you'll find most of the books are better.

• Catch up. We hate to be the voice of reason, but if you're behind in your homework, a snow day could be the perfect day to catch up. Read. Do the problems, write the paper, look over your notes. It won't kill you, and it probably won't take all day.

• Bored games. If you're bored, locate some board games and enlist family members to play with you. Mandy, ec's editor, loves the game "Clue" even though it's probably meant for much younger players. “Trivial Pursuit” is fun and challenging. “Cranium” is also a good option.

Whatever you do, this is the day that God has made. Rejoice in it!