Downpour -- trust me on this

OK, so it's hard to tell from the image, but it was pouring and pouring at the time. December is the rainy season for SoCal, what passes for winter here. After months of dryness, we got barrels of rain, almost every day. I was glad to not own a floodable basement, for once.

If you can read this, you're the man for me

The license plate frame says "Are you the" and the plate is "RYT1 4ME."

If the answer is yes, tailgate her until she marries you.

Summer rain

This is as close as it gets to rain for most of the summer around here. Time to go through the car wash again to get the dust off. Ellen went with me and enjoyed the surround-sound experience.

Lady in Pink

I wish I had been able to get a better shot of this. My shot-from-my-car-in-traffic oeuvre needs further development. This is an outstanding exemplar of a definitely noticeable SoCal subculture ... middle-aged Asian women who "pink out" their rides. You can't see much of the detail, but the entire inside of this off-the-rack Camry was decked out in pink Hello Kitty coverings. Pink leather seats, giant fluffy pink steering wheel cover, the works.

Delivery

First delivery! The truck with Rachel's car has arrived. He was also hauling several vintage Mustangs. I don't understand why the guy with a load of cars (all of which he had to pick up after loading ours) made it the day after I did, but the moving truck isn't coming for almost another week. It's going to be a long wait...

Backseat test driver

Rachel's trying out a used Dodge Magnum. She wants a "mom car" to replace my old Mercury. She doesn't want to go full monty minivan, so it's going to be a wagon, small SUV, or some kind of "crossover."