Our new possession

We picked up the new car over the weekend. It's cute and comfortable and fun to drive, with lots of secret little cubbyholes that light up when you open them. You can plug the iPod into the stereo, and talk on the phone through the steering wheel. On the 25-mile drive home from the dealership I averaged just over 50 miles per gallon.

We got the white because it looks the most like the kind of municipal vehicle you would expect to see parked in an off-limits area where a pipeline is being torn up and examined. Also, theoretically at least, white cars stay cooler inside in the summer – especially when the windows are tinted extra-dark.

So this is what Mr. A will be driving to Sacramento every day for his new job. We're not moving – he's going to commute there. He accepted their offer last week after much deliberation ... I think it will be good for him, at least for awhile, to do something that feels like a risk but which has been called a smart career move by several industry people whose opinions he respects.

In other news, it's been raining again for the last three or four days. I've been outside every minute I can spare, savoring the last moments of truly fresh air we're likely to have for the next five months. Last night I pushed the windows all the way open and slept with just a sheet.

Oh, and I gave baths to both dogs yesterday so they, too, for the moment, smell delightfully clean and fresh. Next up: the summer haircut. I started it last night by trimming about one brown paper lunch bag's worth of dreads and feathers off Tater's left thigh. Tonight I'll do the right side, then his feet, and then the rest of his body starting next weekend.

Speaking of which, I was given tickets to the jazz festival here in town next weekend – we're going to see Herbie Hancock, with Ricki Lee Jones opening. With any luck it won't be hot.