Just another expensive Tuesday.

All right, boys and girls, I�m back with a vengeance. The Volvo, the grey beast that has ferried us for nigh 12 years through blizzard, through sunshine and through rain, ended up costing approximately $1,850.00 (in Canadian money, I dare you all to work out the exchange), but is now roadworthy for the next six months, in any case. We have asked Normand to keep his eyes open and let us know if he gets wind of a car for sale of a more recent vintage than la n�tre, either another Volvo or a Subaru, since this once glorious machine is getting very expensive to maintain.

Hubby and I have discussed the alternative, buying a small, American car that would be easy on gas (see Tcklyrpharsn�s rant) and our pocketbooks and perfect for short hops about town, and for the kids to drive if they ever get their licences (hint, hint), leaving the Outback for the heavy-duty family and winter driving. Right now we are ever-so-slightly broke, considering that I just got my Visa bill for the plane tickets to Calgary and the car rental, and next month�s bill will have the car repairs on it, and Hubby�s bill will have the hotel. We should be able to recoup some of the conference money from professional development funds, but until we do, we�re broke.

Writing group tonight was great fun. I did some of the best writing I�ve ever done, inspired by a bough of crabapple blossoms Janice brought in and printouts of random words found at the bottom of spam messages. She also had a pile of pictures that were once calendar illustrations, and we were to write a detailed description, utilizing all five senses, of one. Great stuff. If I run out of daily inspiration, I�ll reproduce some of them here.

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