Monday, September 30, 2013

Emerald Isle


I've been out of the blogosphere for a while, but we're back from Ireland and ready to post pictures! Well, almost, that is. "Almost" applying to the picture posts, I mean. We're definitely back, and not even too jet lagged. But between the unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping, make-up class work, and bill paying, I haven't gotten the photos off the camera just yet.

I don't think I mentioned it in previous posts, but Jeff and I were in Ireland for almost two weeks. We toured the island from sea to shining sea; at least, east to west. We went from Dublin to Enfield (in County Meath), and from there toured down to Kildare and over to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher. We saw the Hill of Tara, Loughcrew, Irish National Stud (complete with an $80 million dollar racehorse!) Trim Castle (where parts of Braveheart were filmed), and more sheep than I can count. I'll have more details and the promised pics in the next post, but I'm off to catch up on chores now!

Friday, September 13, 2013

Driving in Style

Meet Jeff's new love:

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This is Cooper, the desire of Jeff's heart. You have to understand that Jeff really loves driving. I only see it as a means to an end, but driving is relaxing and enjoyable for Jeff.  He has never been one to lust after any material possession, but given his pleasure in driving, it's understandable that Jeff really likes convertibles.

So when his old commuter car started having major mechanical problems last year, we talked about replacing it with a convertible. It was a luxury, not a necessity, but since he took his old, bare bones 2000 Dodge Neon from cradle to grave (bought it new and put all 230,000+ miles on it), we felt it wasn't unreasonable.

We spent quite a lot of time this summer researching and test driving used convertibles, trying to find one that was reliable, gas efficient, and at the right price point. The Miata was too small, the Sebring too big, the BMW too expensive, the Honda hard to find, the Bug too "girly", the Mustang too much a gas-guzzler.  We drove hours each way to little used auto dealers to look and talk and haggle and ultimately walk away for one reason or another.

College started back, and Jeff had basically given up and decided to limp the old car through when he checked the local used auto websites again and saw this Mini Cooper! It was our "Goldilocks" moment. It's adorable, but still sporty and retro enough to be manly; has good gas mileage, but the 6 speed transmission and supercharger make it fun to drive; roomy enough for the nieces or other small guests to ride in the back seat on occasion; relatively spacious with the fold-down backseats and exterior luggage compartment; and packed with upgrades like electric seat warmers that will make those chilly days that much more comfortable when Jeff still wants the top down ;-).

Plus it's blue, which really brings out Jeff's eyes (okay, that last part factored not a bit, but it's still a bonus)!

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