In Hibernation Mode

 This past week, I got Sweet Madame Blue ready for her long winter nap.  She is my fair weather ride, and I don't drive her during the months when the roads are slick, salted, or snowy.  I want her to last a long time, and I have a four-wheel drive vehicle I can use in the winter months, so Sweet Madame Blue never touches road salt, and sleeps the winter away in the garage.

First, she got a good bath on a sunny afternoon.

Then I pulled her into her sleeping spot on the west side of the garage. Versus the east side, which is closer to the steps to go into the mudroom from the garage.  The east is for the daily driver parking and is where she goes the rest of the year. 

There, I cleaned the inside of her windshield of the dust and smudges that had accumulated in the last few months.  I also used the shop vac to vacuum the seats and floor.

Once she was satisfactorily clean inside and out, I put her cover on.  The cover keeps off not just dust, but paw and belly-prints from the Yarn Thief who likes to climb up and sleep on her hood.

Now she's all tucked in and ready to hibernate until spring.

On a frugal note; once she was parked for the winter, I called my auto insurance company and had her insurance coverage changed from 'full coverage' to 'storage'.  This removes all the road hazard type coverages (any damage that might be incurred while she is parked in the garage is covered by our home owner's policy) and saves us a rather not-insignificant amount on our car insurance premium for the five-ish months of her hibernation.