1) I recorded "That Bike" at the KQED studio yesterday. Very cool -- to sit in a sound room working with the engineer, to read the essay the way I wanted it to be heard and in exactly 2 minutes. Fortunately, I was more excited than nervous. Don't know when it will air yet.

2) Mick took his 3 finals! Sounds like they were progressively challenging throughout the day, but he's confident (hopeful?) he passed. He got up this morning for 7 a.m. Paint Ball with some classmates.

3) Last night Mick was supposed to go out for dinner after his final final (that's fun to write) with friends in the city, but our van broke down while I was taking Aubs to a birthday party! I had to pull over into a driveway on a hill in Mill Valley. So... after I managed rides and care for each of the kids (Aubs to her party, Dane a ride home from school with a neighbor), I sat with the van for an hour while waiting for the tow truck. Mick thought it would be nice to skip the dinner and come home. I actually appreciated that -- even though he took a 2-hour nap and then borrowed a car to gear up for paint ball!

4) Mick picked up the van from the shop after Paint Ball this morning. There was some minor malfunctioning going on with the engine oil light/buzzer the past week; as a result, we'd each added (unbeknownst to the other) extra oil, which caused huge clouds of smoke and minor shut down. The mechanic has disconnected the light/buzzer (a common problem in Vanagons w/ 200k miles on them) and told us just to rely on the dipstick. We're good at that (when a buzzer isn't freaking us out) so that shouldn't be a problem.

5) We're getting excited for Jan & Mike to arrive on Monday. Mike'll be here for 9 days, Jan for 3 weeks. (Yes, in case you're wondering, I'm THRILLED that my mother-in-law will be in our home that long -- she's a treat to have around and we usually know how to give each other space as needed.)

6) Blogger's ticking me off and I can't download any pix. Will have to report that. I have friends who are really chapped about the blogger glitches and are giving up the ghost with their blogs. I'm going to keep plugging away. But if you have problems, email me or blogger and we'll let 'em have it!

Bike/Van Update

Lucky for us, Dane's friend Vincent got a new bike for Christmas and was happy to let Dane borrow his old Spiderman bike (with hand brakes!) until we get Dane a new one. This has been particularly nice, since we're still riding bikes to/from school while the van's in the shop.

The van might be ready today or tomorrow. Mick found Paul at Valley Wagonworks via some nerdy Vanagon listserv Mick's on. Paul only does Volkswagon vans, on his own, and at his home. The word from Paul is that he's replaced our clutch, our front brakes, and our back brakes. He still doesn't like the sound the brake pedal makes, though, (sounds like a low, um, farty leak -- those of you who have driven with us have heard it) and he'd like to get that figured out. Other than that, he took it for a drive yesterday and says the engine still sounds good; says we got a really good year Vanagon (which we knew). Can't you just feel the love there?

Transportation Update

Dane's Dinosoaur bike (including dino squeaker!) was taken from our garage on Saturday when new neighbors left their door open. Aaaargh! Dane's handling it better than we are, though: he's already planning that his next bike will "be a little bit big for me, and have hand brakes and flames."

The van's still in the shop, It's been out of service 10 days now. When we get it back it'll have a new clutch, new brakes, and a much needed tune-up. Thanks to everyone who sent Christmas money! :)

Aubs and I are off to her class now via bike and trail-a-bike. It's sunny and crisp out. As Aubs says, time to feel the wind on our skin.