New pal(s)

Two new additions to the family in the last ten days.

The first to arrive was our fancy new used car. It's a 2003 Volkswagon Jetta Wagon. We wanted a diesel, but those were few and far between. We got a good deal. But now we've found out that owning a car is like owning a house (or owning anything, probably), and that with it comes glitches, and funnies, and all sorts of good times. We drove it down to Seattle the other day to watch the Mariners beat the Red Sox. We got to experience some electrical hauntings, but everything seems fine now. We'll keep an eye on it.

Then today we drove down to Mount Vernon to check out a dog. We had looked at a few last week, but none quite met my approval. Erin would have brought them all home. That's why I came along.

Then today we drove back to Bellingham with a dog.

She's about one-and-a-half, is a straight-up mutt (a bit of lab, a bit of pointer, and a bit of everything else!), and is very mellow. She doesn't seem to bark, doesn't slobber, and hardly smells! The perfect dog! She is very submissive, and needs a lot of work on her confidence. She bonded right up with us, and liked Alice, but was very afraid and wary of a man walking down the street who came up to her. So some things to work on there.

Right now her name is Sasha. It's a fine name, but we think we want to change it. You can help us. Here are our top picks so far:

• Quimby - from the Ramona and Beezus books by Beverly Cleary
• Frisby - from Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
• Kimball - for Sally Kimball, Encyclopedia Brown's tough-girl partner
• Brindza - for Will Brindza, former Bellingham Bell player
• Mia - for Mia Hamm, soccer superstar
• Annie - from something I can't remember...just Annie

We're sort of leaning toward Brindza, or "Brindzy." What's she look like to you?

By the way, here's what we had for dinner the other night. Salmon and tomatoes skewered on rosemary twigs, with brown rice and Greek salad. Zow!