I've seen a few of the Ford Focus years out there.

Had my first mandatory-mask-adorned outing today (requirement began at midnight), to get some groceries. i was happy to see that 100% of the other supermarket denizens were wearing their masks. Or thus it was until I was checking out and saw some naked-faced guy entering the store. And then walking back to the car, I passed another guy wearing a mask - on his forehead. And then grabbed the thing in his mitt, full contact, to put it over his face as he passed. (Which protects me, I guess?) And then two more guys who just didn't have masks at all.

Melbourne! You were so close!

(Meanwhile, the foggy glasses thing was a bit of a nuisance, but aside from that it wasn't any great drama. fingers crossed this actually gets the outbreak under control.)

My 2005 Chevy Cobalt is still running smoothly at 208k miles (34+ mpg on the highway!) and has seen me safely through a couple of wrecks, so I'd recommend those as used cars. I still occasionally see Cavaliers (the 90s models the Cobalts replaced) on the road, so at least outliers of those are pretty hardy too. Mine crapped out at 175k miles though.

Toyotas have always had a really good rep for durability and being low maintenance. I'm not sure about their safety ratings though.

Toyotas have always had a really good rep for durability and being low maintenance.

I'm on Toyota #3 in the past 25 years (we still have #2, which is a 2000 Echo, along with #3, a 2013 Corolla), and yeah, they are super durable and pretty low maintenance.

the foggy glasses thing

I have found that it helps to attach a rolled-up tissue to the inside of the top edge of the mask.

Matilda is going over to Juliana's today to look after Peanut as mother's helper.

I'm torn between thinking that surely matilda is too young for that and also that perhaps time flies so quickly that maybe peanut is too old for that. I don't even know anymore I'm upside down!

I have also accomplished almost no work this week. Because there were very few urgent tasks. But I didn't like, work on anything else either.

But my new side yard with stairs and AstroTurf looks awesome!! I'm super excited by it.

I don't know how I got sick but I've been feverish for three days and woke up coughing this morning. Despite staying home, washing hands, sanitizing keys and credit card and having Outside shoes. This is not convenient at all. I needed groceries two days ago but cannot take my ick out into the world.

Reckon we will have to try our first grocery delivery or DH will go after work? I can't wrap my stuffy head around this problem right now. Instead I'll have a nap.

Take care of yourself, Katie Bee. You are right, can't be spreading that around.

Oh you went ahead with the turfing, meara! Glad it turned out well!

My current urgent work thing is trying to make sure Target has enough stockpots Nov/Dec. Supply chain drama.

I think 2005-2011 Focus are the good years.

Yes, these are good. Definitely DO NOT get a 2012 or newer. They have been subject to a class action lawsuit over bad transmissions. I had a 2012 and sued Ford over it and won, and that was just the infotainment system, and then the transmission started failing at less than 2 years old and less than 20k miles.

Almost anything Toyota will be super reliable, but because of that they hold their value really well, so it's harder to find one that is cheap that isn't also old with lots of miles.

Ford Ranger pickups with the 4 Cylinder engine tend to be very reliable and easy to work on. Not a ton of power but that's the trade off. The two 6 Cylinder engines in them have different issues. The 3.0 is not super reliable. the 4.0 is good, but at about 150k miles the timing chain guides start to fail and you have to pull the motor to replace them. If that work has been done then it's a great engine.

Also if you are buying in the Northeast you need to really watch out for rust, especially frame rust, on any used car. I always need to remind myself about that since here California that's just not a thing we worry about, and I'm sure it's the same in FL.