So, how do you like the new car?

People keep asking me that.

I keep saying that so far I haven't done anything with it but go to and from work.

I wish it were bigger. It's not big enough to take both dogs AND stop at Walgreens AND K-Mart AND the grocery store all in one trip.

I wish it were a different color. Silver shows dirt almost as much as white. Friday I noticed it looked like someone had dripped syrup all over one side of it, so I had to spray cleaner-polisher on it yesterday. I suppose that reaction may wear off after a year or so. I have a friend who has hers "detailed" (and how did cleaning a car come to be called "detailing," anyway?) once a month or so, but I can't afford that; any "detailing" done to this car will have to be done by Yours Truly. Also the black carpeting shows dirt like crazy. I haven't vacuumed it but I am going to have to get different floor mats. Maybe rubber ones.

I still wish the sound was better. I like having the CD player in it--I had to install one in the van--but for a car with 8 speakers the sound is disappointing.

I do like the sunglasses holder over the rearview mirror. I keep reading glasses in it. I like the sunroof (although I don't so much like trying to reach it to keep it clean). I like the way it smells (not a new-car smell; it's a different scent, and I like it).

I also like that the windows aren't tinted because--other people can see the dogs when I have them with me. *lol* Yesterday we drove through Wendy's and the servers at the window oohed and ahhed over them. Then when we were at a stoplight, the guy in the next lane honked to get my attention, then shouted "Beautiful dogs! We have three!"

While I was cleaning off the car yesterday I took a look at the license plates and worried that they might chip the paint. The van had a sort of built-in plate frame/holder, so I'm thinking I may need to get a couple for the Kia. GSD ones, of course. I need a couple of bumper stickers, too.

I finished the vest last night; now I need another project! I don't know that I'll wear it, but it was fun to make, and I recommend it as a project. It's in the Fall 1997 issue of Knitters (and that's exactly why I don't toss my knitting magazines out!), the Rib-Warming Trio, p. 80.

I used two skeins of hand-painted rayon boucle I got in a grab-bag sale. The colorways are related but not identical; as you can see above, the back and sides have green and the front has red, but the pink and lavender holds it together. Sort of.

I'd like to make something for my 2-year-old nephew, but I'm not sure what. I've been thinking of making one of the way-cute dinosaur sweaters from the Winter 1993 Knitters (p. 16), but I need to check the stash and see what colors in worsted weight I have. I'm also thinking of doing an Aran for him. He's very fair with very blue eyes, so a light blue would be pretty for him and still show off the stitches.

New car

Monday, thanks to my sister's generosity, I traded in my beloved van for a practically brand-new car, a 2008 Kia Rondo with about 7,000 miles and most of the warranty on it. It's either a station wagon or a micro-mini van, depending on how you look at things. Here's the Edmunds take on it.

It has full-length side-curtain airbags, stability control, anti-lock brakes, a front wiper de-icer (but for some reason not heated side mirrors), rear window defrost, interval wipers fore and aft, power locks and windows, cruise control, keyless entry, a sunroof, a couple of power points, an MP3 jack, and an 8-speaker 6-CD in-dash changer Infiniti sound system (which, btw, is merely mediocre). Also a 60/40 split bench seat, which I'm leaving half up and half down to make it easier for the dogs to get in, and a nifty plastic tray in the cargo area that will be great for hauling plants home next spring.

I've spent most evenings this week poring over the owner's manual trying to figure out how to work things, and discovering what features this car has. For someone coming from a 1992 van, it's kind of complicated and not at all straight forward--not what I would call intuitive at all. I'm having special problems with the windshield wipers. Also, apparently, I'm going to have to take it to the nearest Kia dealer (there's not one here) because every time I turn on the headlights, the inside roof light comes on and stays on. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to drive at night with inside lights on. Follow-up: A friend who's really good at fixing things was admiring my new car when I told him about this problem. He stuck his head through the window, took at look at the dashboard, pushed a button, and said, "There, that will fix it." He was right (of course). Now why couldn't I find that in the owner's manual??? Thank goodness for friends!

Although admirably color-coordinated with Taenzer, she doesn't like it, doesn't like getting in it, and after her first two rides produced a large, soft, green stress-poop as soon as her paws hit the grass when we got home (and yes, I'm grateful she waited until she was *out* of the car!).

Timber has no such problem, but I've always said that if someone wanted to steal Timber all they'd have to do is stop their car, open the door, and call "Here puppy!" and he'd be gone. Taenzer rides gingerly on the part of the seat that's up in seat-formation (when she's not trying to get in front with me) and Timber rides in the cargo area.

It will take me a while to get used to it. But I parked near a new blue Dodge Caliber today, and decided that I think I'll be happier with the Rondo than I would have been with a Caliber. More visibility for me and more headroom for the dogs. And the siver color looks pretty with the newly-painted garage.

socks, cars

Today's lesson: Always carry a sock-in-progress. We lost power in our building at work today and I sat around for half an hour while we waited for them to get us back on line. I could have been working on a sock!

Last night I did my second short-row heel ever. I think it looks good with this sock. I don't exactly know how it will fit--guess I'll have to work on the foot tonight so I can try it on and see.

Today's projected high of 87 degrees turned into 93 with a heat index of 101. Naturally this was the day I'd made an appointment to look at cars.

I drove a Malibu Maxx home. No, I didn't buy it on the spot, I'm just seeing if the Ts will fit into it. Here's the Edmunds review on it: http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/malibumaxx/2006/review.html I liked driving it--it's "agile," as they say, good pick-up, nice ride. And lots of goodies. I have two reservations: whether the Ts will fit in and whether my knees will deal with getting in and out of a car, rather than a higher-up van. It's also got more mileage than the Ford Freestar (see below) , almost 50k. So I asked if I could bring it home overnight, see if the Ts fit, read the owner's manual, play around with it a little bit.

The other thing I'm looking at is a 2004 Ford Freestar van. It's a nice light/mid-green sorta sage color, 30k miles, and has many of the things I'm looking for--rear heat/air, traction control, tilt, cruise, CD. It's bigger than my van, taller and longer both. It's got captains chairs instead of a middle bench seat, but maybe I could work around that. The 3rd row seat is stow-and-go, which I love, and there are metal thingies you could really secure a crate to so you wouldn't have to worry about it sliding around. You sit up higher in the Ford--even higher than my van, I think--the sound system is better than the Maxx, and I could keep my GSD VAN plates. And of course there's lots of cargo space (and it has lots of neat little cubbies). But it doesn't drive as well--the brakes were way soft and the pick-up was sluggish--I'd think two or three times before I tried to pass on a two-lane road (yes, we still have them around here). I think they're going to let me bring it home when I take the Maxx back.

Yeah, both of them cost more than I wanted--I'd be looking at 6 years of car payments (I don't want to tell you how old I'll be when the thing's paid off). But at this point, I'm about resigned to it. There were a couple of things that are more in my original range--one was a Taurus SE, which definitely doesn't have T-room, and the other was a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, which I like the looks of, but I bet it's a gas hog extraordinaire.

I told her I would decide by the end of the week. At least I don't feel as desperate as I did with the other van--I guess the feeling is if I have to buy something new I might as well get something I really like.

I'm going to be so poor for the next 6 years. *sigh*

nervous breakdowns

Me and Timber.

The weather. 107 heat index this afternoon. It's 75% humidity, and feels like 88 outside right now, at 10 p.m. As soon as I turned off the AC in the living room it started to heat up, the cool air didn't linger a bit, but there's no point in opening windows since it's worse outside than it is inside.

High humidity makes my joints ache--not temp, but humidity. My lower back, my knees, my elbows, my jaw, all hurt, and I have a hot-weather headache. I'll have to take aspirin to get to sleep tonight.

This stupid laptop is being more stupid than usual.

And Timber. I swear, I don't know what's happening with Timber. My bomb-proof boy has taken to spending all his time alone. I have to force him to stay in the air conditioning. I've got a baby gate across the bedroom door to keep him in here, and he had sort of settled down until I turned on the laptop. Then he just freaked, panted, paced, attacked the babygate and broke through it. I made him come back in and put him in his crate and he started pawing hysterically at the door. Now he's sitting by the door of his crate with his shoulders hunched and his head down and his ears drooping and looking so defeated and sad that it breaks my heart, so I'm going to do this as quickly as I can and turn the computer off so maybe he'll relax a little. Do you suppose it puts out some kind of frequency that bothers him? I've got dial-up, not wireless, so it can't be wireless signals. He had a blood panel done last month and everything came up okay. I'm having a nervous breakdown over his nervous breakdown.

My friends drove me out to look at the two vans today. Dean okayed both of them--it was pretty much 6 of one, half-dozen of another, except the blue one had a scratch on the hood and a warped hubcap, and Dean said the engine compartment looked like it had seen a lot of gravel-road miles, so I asked to bring the maroon one back to town for the service center guys to look at. We got back before they closed, so I was able to go in and ask if they would have time to look at it tomorrow and they said they would in the morning, so I guess we'll go from there. I'll have to try to remember to ask about transferring the CD player.

I've been so unhappy about having my van hauled off as scrap, but I remembered you can donate cars to charity. I don't care about the tax deduction--I fill out the 1040EZ form or its online equivalent, so I wouldn't bother with taking the deduction. But the idea of the van helping someone helps a lot. Some organizations will take them even if they don't run. An animal group would be good--like a GSD rescue. There's a for-profit group that will take the vehicle and sell it and you can specify a charity, which gets 50% of the selling price less the towing, and while I'd especially like the van to help Timber's rescue group, they'd probably wind up *owing* money to the car group with the van. So I'll have to research some different donate-a-car groups and see what I can find.

Okay, I'm turning this off and putting it far away and hopefully I can let Timber out of his crate and he'll settle down. Poor boy. I wish he'd let me comfort him.

I hate this weather

It is 82 degrees at 8:00. A.M. They're talking about a heat index of 105. I've got the ACs off at home, but a fan going in the bedroom, where the AC ran all night, so it's cool, and it's on the north side of the house away from the sun. Then when I go home at noon, the sun will have moved off the AC in the living room, and I'll turn that on, and I hope that dopey Timber will go into the living room and get cool!

It rained just enough last night to make sure it's nice and steamy. What a miserable day to go look at a van...

piglet okay, van questionable

It's hot here, and the guinea pig I'm taking care of is up in a remodeled attic, full of nooks and crannies and not much circulation, very stuffy. Not good for a critter that evolved in the Andes. But there are window ACs in both kids' rooms, which are at right angles to each other, so I turned them on high and dragged the stand down to the hallway by the bedroom doors, and put the cage on top of it. The ACs ran 24 hours, and it was *so* much more comfortable up there tonight. I noticed that he'd consumed a lot less water. I've been giving him things out of the fridge--little pieces of watermelon (with rind), a couple of grapes--yesterday it was a baby carrot and some baby spinach leaves. Today I left him some more spinach and a piece of apple. He was quite thrilled about the apple and started munching it while I was still there. I turned the ACs off, to give them a rest, but I'll turn them back on when I go back tomorrow--24 hours on, 24 off. He should be okay. The cat watches everything with great interest, and every once in a while stands up to peek into the cage. The piglet seems unfazed; I suppose he's used to it and realized by now that the cat can't get to him.

The Illinois state legislature is adding to my stress level, sitting around down there in Springfield bickering instead of passing a budget, which was supposed to have been finished in May. They passed an emergency budget for July, but have decided not to do it for August, so those of us who get paid like next Friday have started biting our nails--and of course schools, social services, etc., are all stuck because they can't budget until the legislature gets off their fannies and stops playing games and passes a freaking budget.

Esp. since I wasn't quite sure I was going to get back to work after lunch today--the van did NOT want to shift into gear. I got out onto the side street and had all kinds of problems with it, so I finally put it into reverse, backed up about 50 feet, then shifted back into drive, and so the little old lady got back to work that afternoon.

But I was thoroughly scared, and after I got back to the office I started making phone calls--the bank--yes, I can probably afford this maroon van--my friend who volunteered her husband to come look at it, the service station I want to look at it. I've sent an e-mail to the dealer to see if we can go look at it Monday afternoon (yes, 3:30, and the blue van is still available as well). If my friend's husband okays either of them, I'm going to see if I can bring it back overnight (it's in a little town about 15 miles from where I live) to take to the service station Tuesday morning, and if they okay it, then I'll go talk to the bank.

Meanwhile, I hope the van will keep going another week. Then I guess I'll have to locate a scrap dealer.

I also have to find out how to get my CD player out of the old van and put into the new one, unless the blue one has a CD player; the maroon one doesn't.

*sigh* I don't want to do this. I don't like that van. But I've been searching for months, and it's the only thing that meets my minimum requirements (sorta) that I can afford and don't have to drive two hours to look at.

But this is a good time to do it--both my license plates and parking tag need updating by the end of the month; might as well put them on a new vehicle. And since it's a van, I can keep my vanity plates: GSD VAN 2 So if Dean and the service station give it a go, I guess I'd just better make up my mind to like it.


Taenzer: How do I get that ball out of there?

Timber: I'll help!

Timber: Yup, it's in there.

Taenzer: Maybe this will work.

Taenzer: Still in there


Timber: It's awful hot. I think I'll just lie here and chew on my jolly ball, 'kay?

Taenzer: GOT IT!!

Honorary GSD

(My poor computer is going to explode--I have dial-up, and at the moment I'm downloading a YouTube video, marking an NPR feature I want to listen to, doing a search for a phrase, AND working on this blog entry.)

Honorary GSD, that's me. I took the Ts out on the front porch this afternoon, where they can't get away, and took the shedding rake to them. I love shedding rakes--they really drag out the hair. I got an astonishing amount from Taenzer. Timber I had to do more carefully because of his phobia, but I still got enough hair to make a good-sized Persian cat.

I don't know why it was, but no matter where I was in relation to the dog, I was ALWAYS downwind! That's what made me an honorary GSD--a thin coat of GSD hair.

I was stupid--(a) I didn't take pictures of the huge wafts of undercoat floating around like gossamer tumbleweeds and (b) I didn't put it into a bag as it came off the dogs. At this rate I really am going to have to learn to spin--I have 5 bags of undercoat from Stella, and half a bag of Timber's, and if I can make my brain work, I'll obviously collect a lot more. I really really want it spun up. I've knit things with spun Samoyed undercoat and spun Shiba Inu undercoat, and I love working with dog hair. The shiba was particularly nice because it was undyed and from a red, so there were beautiful variations of color that made the fabric look so rich. Timber's undercoat is *really* fine. I know they measure these things in microns, and I bet this is down there with quiviut and bison (two other fibers I'm simply perishing to work with. Undyed bison is the most gorgeous deep brown I've ever seen. And I'd love to see if quiviut gloves over silk glove liners might actually keep my fingers warm). There's a place that spins pet hair professionally, but I don't think I can afford to have them do it. On the other hand--if I don't have it spun, that's something I'll genuinely regret, so maybe I should just pack the stuff up and mail it off and swallow the cost.

A friend suggested Timber might have diabetes. Of course I did't want to hear *that*. But after reading and thinking about it, I decided probably not--he doesn't have the appetite; if anything he seems reluctant to eat, as if he might be queasy or nauseous. I took his temp with the ear thermometer (my good boy--no problem at all), and it's nice and normal--101--so that's a relief.

I'm having a small nervous breakdown over the van. It's getting kind of dangerous to drive. I cannot--I cannot decide between that 2001 Taurus wagon which for no particular reason I just don't like and the 2003 Caravan which looks great and handles great and rides great and doesn't have any of the options I want. I'm getting backed into a corner here. I wish something I *do* like--and can afford--would pop up. Maybe I'll just see about getting the transmission fixed on the van and deal with the rusty door panels.

Plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose. I've been reading a biography of the great 17th century French letter writer, Madame de Sevigne, illustrated copiously, of course, with translations of her letters. I ran across this last night:

"I have been here eight days in a peace and quiet which has cured me of a frightful cold. I have drunk water, I have not talked, I have eaten no supper, and although I have not shortened my walks, I am cured.... I am convinced that most of our ills come from keeping our rumps glued to the seat of a chair." (Madame de Sevigne: The Life and Letters, Frances Mossiker, Alfred A. Knopf Pub., 1983, p. 124)

That was written in1671, almost 350 years ago, and yet how modern it sounds: exercise, fresh air, fresh water to drink, watching one's intake of food.

I been a bad girl

I ordered yarn. I'm trying to stay off the credit cards as much as I can, but I had to order some vitamins and supplements for me (much cheaper than buying them in town), and food for Annie and the Ts, and Apple Laine is a yarn I've been lusting after and they're going to change the composition and a good friend (the only kind I knit for!) wants socks, sooooooo.... The yarn was a lot cheaper than the pet food and vitamins, believe me.

Annie slept in the "spare room" last night, and I about cried myself to sleep. She doesn't seem to have minded too much, though (and I can't get over how much better she looks after her weekly sponge bath and brushing).

But I hauled the soiled rug out to the puppy pen last night, where I have a bunch of old used rugs and pieces of carpet spread out around the edges, where the combination of roots and shade makes it impossible for anything to grow, so I put down the carpet pieces to try to cut down on the mud and dust. ANYway, I was looking at the stain on the back of that carpet last night and it's huge. I don't think Annie could have done it. I'm thinking I ought to try to get urine samples from the Ts to take in for testing. Esp. for Timber, who I continue to worry about, and who, after peeing a river when I let them out this morning, peed a substantial amount again when we went out just an hour later. (Yeah, just bear with me. I'm a charter member of the PPO: Paranoid Puppy Owners. I should have been a vet just so I could run my own tests.)

I frogged the Cannon Beach sock but haven't restarted it. It was my puppy pen knitting, and at the moment I'm trying to finish up that circular jacket, to get it off my plate. Finished one sleeve and picked up stitches for the 2nd this afternoon. Pictures soon, I think. Once I get that finished and put away until it finds a home, I can take the Cannon Beach sock back outside, and then I can unearth the Bayerische sock (which I may finish about 2011) to work on in the living room. I've got that trinity-stitch shawl going in the bedroom--I guess now I need a little project for the bathroom and I'm all set! Or, wait, maybe a plain-vanilla sock to keep in the van. Then I'd be all set! *lol*

Speaking of vans, I'm still working on the transportation problem. I'm trying to bring myself to accept either the Taurus wagon (which my sister tells me gets the best marks from Consumer Reports) or that stripped-down Dodge wagon. Everyone tells me "You need a car you like" and I completely agree, but the transmission on the van is getting iffier and iffier, and there's nothing on the horizon. I'm trying to stay open to the bounty of the Universe and all that, but I wish it would work just a little faster.

tonight's question

So. Is it worth spending $75 a month on vitamins and supplements?

It's true I'm not sick much (hardly at all, except mystery flu once a winter), and since it's decidedly not my diet, the vitamins and supplements must be helping some.

Are they helping my mood, energy level, and memory (which is primarily what I select them for)? Good question. They all leave something to be desired--but I'm not sure I want to experiment with what they'd be like if I didn't take all that stuff for a month.

But it sure seems like a lot of money. Like, no wonder I can't afford bigger car payments!

I'm not sure I want to add up what I spend on Annie and the Ts, although I'm sure Annie is much more affordable than two Ts (which reminds me, I have to get their Sentinel, which I can only buy 6 at a time--or 3 months' worth--because the stuff is so freaking expensive). I've already cut back drastically on their treats, toys, and chewies. Maybe I can see how they do on Evo and canned tripe--although treats, toys, and chewies would be cheaper; dog food and cans cost a small fortune to ship.

On a happier note, I started another pair of socks. Yes, I know, I've got a gazillion pairs going. These are with Regia Surf (cotton blend) in those soft colors--two soft blues and a sand. I'm looking for a stitch pattern that will suggest waves on sand--not big crashing waves, but the ones that come sliding in like silk and leave the sand shimmering. I'm looking at a scallop pattern--sort of a feather and fan variation but without the YOs. They put their purl row in every 6 rows, but I think I might like it better farther apart. And I'm wondering if I can offset them... In the picture, the color is much closer to the out-of-focus skein on the left than to the ribbing, which isn't nearly that dark.

new wheels

No, I don't have any yet. I spent the afternoon searching around on the internet for something. I have 3 problems:

1. I want something big enough to carry both Ts--just in case we should ever take a trip (and anyway they do ride around town with me when it's cool enough to be safe for them). But I don't want an SUV--I loathe SUVs--and besides I couldn't lift a sick Timber or even a sick Taenzer into an SUV. I could, however, boost them into a van or station wagon. I got this van originally because of Stella's bad hips--I knew as she got older she'd never be able to jump into the pick-up I was driving at the time, and towards the end she sometimes needed a little help even with the low step-in height of the van. If I had just one T I might be able to make do with a sedan with a roomy trunk (to carry the travel crate), though I don't really like sitting down that low--after about 15 years of driving a Silverado pick-up and another 11 of driving the van, when I sit in a regular car I feel like I'm going to be killed at any moment by on-coming traffic. But I don't have one T, I have two, so it's a moot point.

2. I can only afford payments of about $250 a month and I have no trade-in or downpayment.

3. I don't want to be making car payments for longer than three years. Four absolute tops. I saw some vans where payments were like $200--for SIX YEARS. I don't want to be making car payments for SIX YEARS. No way!

And then the other problem is that I have champagne tastes and a generic soda budget. I *need* cruise control and a CD player. I'm sorry, I just need them in a vehicle. I would love to have safety features for the Ts: side curtain airbags, traction control, ABS, rear window wiper and defrost, rear heat/air, heat-reflective glass. I love bells and whistles like remote entry; headlights that give you time to get in the house and then shut off by themselves; lights that indicate low oil, low washer fluid, and low tire pressure; back-up assist; a drawer under the front passenger seat; big cup holders; 6 (or 10!) speakers; stow-and-go seats; exterior temperature.

The Caravan SE I looked at would be fine. It's just so--basic. (whimper) And it's maroon. With a beige interior. A beige interior.

Well, if I procrastinate a little longer, the transmission guy will be back in town and I can get an estimate on my van's transmission. I don't know if it's really worth spending anything on it, since really, I really do need new wheels. I haven't left town in months because I'm afraid we'll break down and get stranded. I need new tires and the mechanic guys tell me I'm going to need new rear brakes and new struts and shocks.

But beige!

new wheels

Car shopping wouldn't be so stressful if I had any money.

The transmission on my van, a 1992 Dodge Caravan, is about to give out, and it looks like it will be in the neighborhood of $2000 to repair/replace. So I decided maybe it's time to look for something else.

I hate car shopping. I don't know anything about cars. I hate hassling and bargaining; I don't want to get into it with car salesmen (I've got a couple of friends who just love it). I can't afford anything really nice--the van is as nice as I've ever had, and I've had it maybe 10 years, so it was about 5 years old when I bought it. (Does that math add up?) It's just a terrible hassle, plus it gets emotional--I drive my vehicles for so long that I get very attached to them. And this has been a really good, reliable, comfortable, easy-handling ride. Yes, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat, and in fact, I'd borrow money and replace the transmission in this one if it wasn't starting to rust out.

I went back to the place where I bought the van--the guy who owns the place used to have a nice little boxer named Madison, and she and Stella played together when they were about a year old. He was the only guy besides my brother that Stella ever really took to. (He has an English Mastiff now--I haven't seen him, but I've seen a picture of his dog and his family--the dog's head is bigger than his youngest child!)

Anyway, I went there partly because they have a non-commission staff and partly because I got a good deal from them before and partly because they were advertising a 2001 Taurus wagon with 75K miles on their website for $6,000, which is about as much as I can afford (and which doesn't buy as much car as it did 10 years ago) and which would be big enough to carry both Ts.

I brought it home for a 24-hour test drive, but I can pretty much tell I'm not going to love it. I don't like being so low, for one thing. It's hard enough to see around trucks and SUVs in the van; it's impossible in a regular car. And my knees don't like getting out of something so low. For another, it feels a little sluggish in the pickup--the van's always been quick and nimble, light and responsive; a good drive. And it bumps something awful. Our streets aren't that great, and it could be just because the car is, well, low, but it's not quite as comfortable.

I'm going to put the seats down and put the Ts in to see what they think, and take it out for a short drive on a little rural stretch of 2-lane divided highway, to see how it does at speed. Put a CD in the CD player and mess around with the sound system. Come home and let the Ts play while I play with all the gadgets--it's got electronic everything practically, including adjustable pedals.

But I asked the sales rep if she could keep her eye peeled for a nice Dodge Caravan in my price range. With bench seats. They didn't start putting stow-and-go seats in those things until 2005, so I need a seat for each T. I was thinking a wagon might be nice for them--I could put the seats flat and they could lie down and look out the windows (and these windows roll down!). I'm not quite sure how I'd anchor their seat belt harnesses, but I'm sure I could figure out a way. With bench seats in the van, I can attach the harnesses to (duh) the seatbelts. Although anythine more than a couple of miles Taenzer does better if she rides in the travel crate. Take out the middle seat and slide it in there, although at that time I didn't worry about securing it. I would now. Timber's a good traveler; once he realizes we'll be on the road a while he just lies down and goes to sleep. Stella used to sit between the front seats; she was tall enough to see out over the dashboard, and I could put an arm around her. Not very safe, but we both valued the contact. When she got tired she'd get up on one of the bench seats and go to sleep. She was a very good traveler.

Well. Anyway. I hope the transmission on my current van will hold out until I can get another mode of transportation.