On the way up the road to spend a holiday weekend with relatives, I noticed a license plate that said "TWORK." It could have referred to a name rather than an activity, and I doubted that the driver was headed to work at that hour on a Saturday morning a couple of days before Christmas. The tag suggested other interesting combinations, however, such as "TWHERE" the car traveled "TWORK," and "TWHAT" the job was. Playing with the twang in the message, I thought it might be appropriate to break into a lively chorus of "Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off t’work I go."

Facing the mirror a couple of weeks later, I felt less chipper about the whole process of going t’work. It was a morning when I had little material prepared in advance at work, so I knew the hours leading up to noon would be busy. In addition, I had a cold and it was cold outside, though both of those conditions were improving. I needed to leave the house in about half an hour. A cold plus cold air and a wet head did not make a promising combination. In short, my hair was washed on schedule, but there was another problem. The hair dryer in my hand was sputtering, and wiggling the plug didn’t help.

It had occurred to me that this could happen someday, but I had dismissed the concern. The dryer hadn’t failed me for a long time. That’s all the more indication it might break down, I suppose, but I grew complacent. Sometimes it would smell extra hot, but that was a passing phenomenon. I noticed it once in a while over a period of years and nothing bad happened.

I had told myself that if necessary I could wait for my hair to dry naturally, or I could turn up the furnace and put my head near a register. For added air circulation, I could get the box fan out of winter storage. I knew that those were not completely satisfactory substitutes for a working hair dryer, but again, it had a history of being reliable.

By contrast, I’ve often lamented the short life spans of the curling irons I’ve owned. The first one lasted longer than most, but I’ve lost count of how many I’ve bought. Sometimes I’ve chosen inexpensive models, since none lasted long anyway. Other times I spent more, trying for quality. To avoid a half-finished look from a curling iron malfunction in the middle of the job, I usually keep at least two of different sizes on hand, plus a couple with springs partly sprung but usable in an emergency.

The hair dryer was a different story. I had never replaced mine. I don’t even know exactly how long it has been around. I got it secondhand from an aunt. At school it became a popular item on a floor where I lived for a while. Other girls would borrow the dryer, and sometimes it would make several stops along the hall before coming back to me. Old-fashioned or not, it worked, and the airstream was powerful.

Fortunately, on the January morning when it may have been breathing out its last hot air, the motor continued sputtering enough to dry my hair more or less.

At the first opportunity, with a Christmas gift card handy, I set out to buy another dryer. I hadn’t checked on consumer reports about the best kinds. I had no experience in selecting one. I simply picked up a model that wasn’t the cheapest or the most expensive. It was marked as a special — a whole dollar off, but a sale is a sale.

The unexpected need did settle a question related to the Christmas gift card. My brother’s clue on the package said: Your guess is better than mine on what to use this for.

My guess got better with the ending of the hot air.

Among the customers ahead of me at the cash register, someone else with a gift card was also buying a hair dryer. It occurred to me that choosing a new one could be a routine event in some households instead of the first in a lifetime.

Evidently the design and features of some small appliances haven’t changed much in 30 years or so. Unpacking the box, I found the new dryer to be very similar to my hand-me-down except that the newer model felt lighter in weight and looked more colorful.

We’ll see how long it lasts. With a two-year warranty, it won’t be likely t’work as long as the old one, but I can always say it was a beginner’s mistake if it turns out that my choice wasn’t so hot.