Day 1 and 2 in Austin

Yesterday I spent doing just a few little things around Beth's house - I swept up the leaves on the back deck, dug up (more like chipped out) a few of the tiniest potatoes I've ever seen, made some food for Hope, went for a walk with Beth, Kate, Westley and Hope, got Hope used to being here (she was a little out of sorts yesterday). Last night I got to meet Beth's friend and ex-employer Howard and his wife Laura Sue. That was nice.

The mornings are nice and mellow so far. We ease into the day with feeding the kids, email, food, sitting around in our pj's for a while. This morning I took Westley for a walk to the grocery store while Hope slept. You know what? Texas is stinking hot and Austin? Stinking humid. Beth laughed when I said that and told me this wasn't hot or humid. I guess it's like tourists complaining about the cold weather in Ottawa in November.

After lunch we loaded up the wee ones and headed to REI for a bit of shopping. Beth needed to pick up the Chariot stroller attachment and I needed to get some travel mugs for John. Seems odd but he loves the clip handle that just isn't available on Canadian versions. And his last installment was run over after he left it on the roof of our car. This will be a theme you will soon see. Anyway, I bought him two.

We were on our way to our next stop, Beth's chiropractor, when I realized I had left my wallet on the roof of the car. This after totally making fun of John for leaving the keys on the roof of our car last week (the full saga of that mishap will follow in the next few days) and the aforementioned REI mug. We retraced our route back to REI/Book People. I searched around our parking spot and the route we took out of the parking lot. I asked in Book People, REI and Whole Foods. No luck. I felt sick to my stomach. I had $250 in there, birth certificates, health cards, Emily's SIN card, not to even mention my Bridgehead coffee card and my Fabricland stamp card.

I called VISA and put a block on my card. I called TD Bank and asked what I should do. I called and emailed John so he could start dealing with the birth certificates and health cards.

John called me back right at the end of the day to tell me there was a message on our home phone from a woman from Texas who got my phone number from the Ottawa Early Years Centre. She had my wallet. I was to call her. I left a message and will likely see her tomorrow with gifts in hand.

Laura, you rule.