Explaining the car in our driveway

In our life together, Sandy and I have had many more than our share of memorable motoring adventures, fortunately very few of them actually life-threatening.
In other words, there haven’t been a lot of incidents comparable to that time in 1970 on a very icy highway just south of 100 Mile House when I lost control of our Karmann Ghia and ended up doing several 360’s before stopping, completely enervated, facing back towards Quesnel on the wrong side of the road... Happily, the road was straight and there was no oncoming traffic at the time.
Sandy likes to claim that we’ve broken down at least once in every province in Canada except Newfoundland, but I think she’s exaggerating: as I recall it, we haven’t broken down in Prince Edward Island, or Nova Scotia either. Of course we weren’t there for very long, thus lessening our chances, and we did nearly break down in Nova Scotia, before we found the propane station in Springhill, just as we were pretty much down to fumes.
But I digress.
Although she appears to handle these events with more equanimity and resignation than I do, Sandy does not enjoy them at all. So it was a good thing that, when I slid our Corolla off the highway just north of Parksville while driving Robin to the ferry during the snows of the week before Christmas, she was not with us. And it was also a very good thing that the car came to a soft rest in a bank of lovely powdery snow, and that, after we had done a little digging, several people stopped and helped push us out. We could complete the errand, and I returned to Campbell River, expecting something dire to happen at any time.
Because the entire engine compartment had filled with snow, it first looked as if, apart from a large but only decorative piece of bumper missing, I’d gotten off lightly. We decided to live with it. Then I noticed the plate that protects the underside of the engine had come partially unmoored, so I took the car in to ICBC and from there to the body shop.
Well, it turns out it needs a new radiator as well, plus the fan housing is cracked and needs replacement. The parts are on their way; meanwhile, the car is in the shop.
So yesterday we took the Vanagon out to go up the mountain skiing. We had already turned onto the highway when I remembered I hadn’t put in the chains, and then the road surface deteriorated, so we decided to return home.
We were nearly back at the turnoff to Campbell River, when suddenly the alternator and oil warning lights went beserk.
We were hauled to the Mazda dealership, which is also our body shop and our VW mechanic when we have work done in Campbell River.
Turns out the belt that drives the alternator had shredded, and, flying about, threw off all the other belts. It would be nice if that’s the total extent, but it’s a 1989 van with over 350,000 km on the odometer, so we’re always prepared for more.
Anyway, today is New Years Day, and the garage is closed. We have a brand-new Mazda 3 in the driveway until one of our vehicles is returned to us, and we have another chapter in our motoring history.