I’m the proud owner of an actual car, and it’s a doll!  The tiny Peugeot 107 but it’s just right for me, Antonia, and the picnic basket.  Also it’s a pretty blue colour and has a CD player, so we are both very happy.  It came a couple of months earlier than expected, causing an unexpected cash flow situation.  On the other hand I came back from the UK to find we were still a one car family so its arrival really eases that strain.  No more choosing between being a prisoner at home or tagging along on major driving around sessions where everyone tries to get all their conflicting activities done!  This car is tiny, relatively green and cheap to run, and drives very nicely so far. Many people have this suspicion that since we live on a mountain we need a big, powerful car. This is not quite true.  These little city cars are strong on the lower gears with less power in 4th and 5th.  To drive on hills you mostly need the lower gears (to American readers:  the car is a stick shift, like 99 percent of cars driven in Europe). Also the car is very light.  What with one thing and another, it climbs at the same speed and in the same gear as our SUV.  Mike thinks it will fare badly in the snow, but I think it will only be grounded on the four or five days a year when it is actually snowing.

Now I am thinking that with all the excitement of having a new car, and because it is a very simple car, now is a fine time to teach Antonia some basic car mechanics and maintenance.