new arrivals

First of all, happy Father's Day to all applicable parties. I myself was honored to receive a very long-awaited toaster, among other delights. The toaster may sound insignificant, but there is a history behind the concept of a toaster in our house that I will not subject you to at this time. Anyway, I am excited to start on English Muffins.


















Recently we added two new members to the family -- and I'm not talking about Solomon and Yehudah, who are still pending. But our change in demographics necessitated a change in vehicles. First, a tribute to our beloved Accord:


















It was so great. We thought we'd keep it forever. But with the twins coming, our numbers would exceed the available seats. Also, the trusty Honda was just not made for the challenging yard reconstruction projects we have taken on. And so, we traded it in for not one, but two new (used) vehicles.

Up first, in order of acquisition, is the truck. It's a 2003 Chevy Silverado with plenty of mileage. But this is not intended to be one of those useless luxo-trucks. It's a worker.



















Seats six on good old-fashioned benches, for those times the whole fam is going camping, or just in case we all need to go off-roading together. Yes, you can turn off the airbags.


















Had to get the Z71 package. Nico appreciates this.


















It's already been very useful. I use its truckish capabilities almost every weekend.

I haul stuff to the landfill...


















...or drag heavy objects around.


















I also drive it to the train station when I'm feeling too lazy to ride my bike (which is most of the time, at that hour). But for transporting large quantities of humans and groceries, etc., you just can't beat... the Odyssey.


















Sharp-eyed observers will notice the same license plate. This is because the new NY license plates are aesthetically unfortunate, especially when paired with the vehicle color we chose. Fortunately, we were able to transfer our old plate over. And this way, we can always remember our old Honda as well as East Germany.

So these minivans have improved in amazing ways since the days of my parents' Caravan (which was revolutionary in its time). Ours is the mid-level model, but that still gets you leather seats and a vast array of features. Moonroof, three separate climate control zones, electrical outlets all over, cd changer, heated seats, half the cylinders shut down while cruising to save fuel, on and on. The rear seats fold completely flat in about 15 seconds:




















































You can also take out the middle seats for a completely cargo van setup, or fold up a middle seat in the middle row to seat a maximum of 8. (Hey, with the truck, that gives us a total capacity of 14! We need more kids!) Suffice it to say, this van rocks. And of course, there's the critical power sliding doors -- how did we live without them?



Makes me wonder what the minivans of the future will look like. But for now, if you're coming to visit, look for these two in the driveway!