Quick catch-up

I had hoped to post photos, etc, but that will have to wait. I have been asked about how things went in Austin and how the car is doing, so here is a quick summary...

Our trip to Austin happened Thursday, and went very smoothly. We got everything certified and mailed off to the Consulate in Houston. Hopefully it will all come back in the next week or so, and we'll be ready to send everything to our agency for translation. That will be the last time we handle the dossier, as the agency will send it to China directly when it is ready!

Sydney did really well with all of the driving, largely because we had her "Bob" videos on my laptop where she could watch. That is her term for Veggie Tales (and all other videos that she is able to watch), and this was by far the most she had gotten to watch. Normally she watches for 5 minutes and is then ready to do something else, but being strapped in to the car seat gave her little else to do but watch and laugh. We were afraid she might grow accustomed to having videos in the car, but her rides since have been as easy as before with no mention of Bob.

We got the Passat back the evening of Friday the 6th after all, and then had to take it back the following week to have a few wrinkles ironed out (figuratively speaking, of course). We got it back Thursday morning of last week and it seems to be good as new aside from some routine maintenance that needed to be done. We're delighted to have it back!

Also on the auto front, the ever-faithful Integra will be driven for the last time by our family tomorrow, as we have lined up a buyer for it. Actually, the buyer lined himself up. I was having a new battery put in the car a few weeks ago when one of the mechanics at the establishment stuck his head into the waiting room and said "I don't suppose you want to sell that Integra?" Talk about an easy sell!

It has been almost 10 years since I bought it as a shiny new bachelor-mobile, and it has been so dependable we have come to take it for granted. No matter what was going on with the other cars we have had through the years, the Integra just kept on running with only routine maintenance. I will be sorry to see it go, despite the difficulty of getting Sydney and her car seat in and out.

Perhaps we can all observe a moment of silence for the dear old Integra...