Grounded

Looks like I'm not going anywhere for the next 42 hours or so.

Gwendolyn started today with what sounded like the crack of a whip, slowed down by a factor of three, and when shortly thereafter both Battery and Brake lights clicked on, the sound was identified: broken drive belt. Unfortunately, I was at 39th and Meridian when the lights appeared; I was able to get back home without incident, but obviously I'm not going to be doing any driving.

I was going to restock the pantry today. Not gonna happen. I'm not out of food, technically, but meal planning will be essentially random for the duration.

Current plan: have her towed in Monday morning. If it's just the belt, and I suspect that it is, the fix is simple. This particular belt has only about 14,000 miles on it; however, the A/C compressor has been changed in the interim, and I have to wonder if maybe retensioning the belt at that time was hazardous to its health.

Update: I just clambered into the Forbidden Zone under the hood, and the belt looks to be more or less intact — which means that the alternator itself has probably seized up. Still a simple fix, though not so cheap.