Oma and Opa's car just pulled away a few minutes ago to speed toward Dulles airport and a Turkish vacation. They were here (with a one-day run up to Philly to see my Aunts Dottie and Lee) for about six days now. On Tuesday, Opa and I went car shopping; the result of which you can see right behind them in the photo of everyone posed in their church best by my 2006 Subaru Outback. YES - it is loaded with all sorts of cool things; a sun roof, leather seats, seats that HEAT up plus it's a cool color. And nifty things like a CD player (first time I have had one of those) and a gauge that tells you the outside temperature from inside the car.
Opa and I first spotted the car Tuesday in a Toyota parking lot (someone must have traded it in for a Prius) and from experience I knew that some of the best buys are when you buy a car of one make in the parking lot of a dealer specializing in something else. I'd bought my Honda Accord 9 years ago in a Toyota lot too - usually the dealers want to off load them fast, so they are willing to make some discounts. They did not take our first offer on Tuesday but by Wednesday night we had agreed on a price that everyone was pleased with. Opa and I had gone to another dealer to try out some Subaru Forresters but this Outback was by far the superior car. It was so nice to have someone with me who knew how to bargain down the dealers. Y'all know what it's like when you're a female alone doing the car shopping. Did that nine years ago - never again.
The Accord, by the way, went to a Christian car ministry to be given away after being spruced up a bit, as it has another 1-2 years on it. But at 185,000 miles, I figured it was time to switch.
Thursday, Oma and Opa and I went househunting in the area I wish to live in which, again, was helpful insofar as having more than one pair of eyes present. Basically though, they pretty much hung out, giving me some much needed time to catch up on stuff, such as going to the county courthouse to register Veeka's adoption with the state of Virginia and yesterday going to see the new movie "Prince Caspian." I have not been to a movie in SO long....
Thursday night, we went to a pretty waterfront restaurant to celebrate Oma's big day. They brought out a dessert with one candle so Opa and I sang to her softly. There were also lots of walks to the park, the Saturday market and time spent petting the kitties. Oma pioneered a new technique in putting pigtails in Veeka's hair as is shone in another photo taken this morning.
Tomorrow (Monday) is MY birthday.
In the top photo, by the way, Opa is holding Veeka's Sunday school drawing.
2 comments:
OH, Happy Birthday, Oma aka Aunt Phyllis. May we all be as smart, funny and eager to see the world when we reach 80.
What a lovely visit you all must have had! Everybody looks SPECIAL and SPECIALLY HAPPY! Must be all the birthday celebrations! And hurrah for the new car! Having followed your old one around the area last March, I know it was time for a new one. We have a 99 Outback and it is still going strong. It is a worker car...and with some sweet luxuries in yours. Nice.
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