I now have my car back. I'm embarassed to reveal how much I paid to have it fixed. Use your imagination. The mechanic who returned it to me indicated a couple of additional things the he thought would need to be replaced soon. I'm not sure what these things are because his english was almost as bad as my spanish. I think one of them is the distributor cap. He showed me the oil dipstick too. I'm not sure why. I wish I knew more about cars. The problem is, it has just never really interested me.
Jen talked to the mechanic who is working on the van, and he is keeping it for a few days in order to discover why it stalls. The other things are fixed, but we're not accepting the damn thing back until the stalling problem is rooted out and repaired.

The evening was full of pretty light, the remnants of which can be viewed out the window as I type. The sky is overcast with a thin layer of haze - more foglike than smoglike, which filters the sun, causing it to paint the westward facing walls a muted orange. I took Willow with me around the corner to the mailbox to mail the rent. She has developed an active interest in her surroundings. It's a delight to see her turn her little head this way and that as she tries to take it all in.

Jen is getting the kids to sleep in the other room. I'm sure we'll both follow soon.