Tiny Cars are Awesome!

We are a 2-vehicle family again.  Our 'new' car is a 2004 Citroen C2.  It's bigger than a Smart Car but smaller than anything I've ever owned.  It fits in every parking space very easily.  Rusty is enjoying going into work early so he can be home early.  He still carpools once in awhile, but he can now go to World of Golf every day for lunch if he wants to, and I can go anywhere I want without having to call someone for a ride.

The hailstorm last week was certainly an interesting event.  I hadn't expected my lawn (or 'garden' as everyone calls it here) to ever be white.  We lost a couple of small palm tree branches and the patios were covered in debris and leaves.  Luckily my gardener was scheduled to come the next day so it all got cleaned up nicely.  

Last week I visited the Byanston Organic Market which reminded me of the Apple Festival I used to go to at Ward Meade Park in Topeka.  It was an outside venue with different booths set up where people were selling their hand-crafted goods.  I found a hand-carved wooden candle holder, a couple of ostrich-feather hair clips, and several other things I will have to go back for someday.  I also had the most delicious spinach-quiche I ever tasted.  The weather was absolutely glorious!  I was able to leave Miranda and Jackson at home with Anna so I could have a much-needed kid-free outing with friends.

Miranda is now a bike owner again, this time with a JD Bug Training 'Balance' Bike.  It does not have pedals, the seat is low enough for the child to reach the ground, and it helps train kids to balance so they will not need training wheels when they switch over to a regular bike.  She is improving every day although she rejected it at first.  These bikes have been around for 10 years, originating in Germany.  They are very popular here.  Jackson is walking all over the place.  He takes more and more steps every day, although he still prefers to crawl or zoom around in his walker.  Today he walked all the way across the room and looks so proud every time.  He has figured out how to open the washing machine door and his favorite spot is to sit in the big drawer under the TV that houses all his toys.

The bird that got stuck in our chimney yesterday made his way into our fireplace this afternoon.  He spent a very long time trying to fly in and pecking at the glass door.  After an hour or so, Rusty was able to rescue it with a pitcher and a newspaper.  The bird was pretty exhausted, but after releasing him outside, he flew away.