It’s snowing outside. It’s March 20. This is a condition I’ve gotten used to, living in the mid-Atlantic region, and I’ve developed a corollary theory about it: the chance of getting snow the week after my birthday increases in proportion to the rise in temperature the week preceding it.

I decided to get the Scout running before it got snowed in again, so we put Finn to bed and I ran out to do some errands. She started right up and idled happily, and the new seats make a huge difference in driving position and feel. The truck doesn’t drive any better, but I’d swear it feels like it does, because the seats are sturdy and firm where the old Shelby seats were limp and doughy. They have more fine adjustment both horizontally and vertically, which is nice. And my biggest fear–that the steering wheel would be too close to my legs (these seats are about 1-2″ higher than the Shelby or stock Scout seats) is pretty much a non-issue.