Shhhh....

Thanks to Hubster's excellent bidding techniques on eBay, we're off to Paris to collect a rowing machine.

Should be fun trying to fit 6 people in and a large, cumbersome piece of exercise equipment on our little station wagon, but we're hoping that the roof bars hold and it'll get back to our house in one piece.

The fun part is that we are going to stay the night at Cindy's castle.

You all remember Cindy, right? She's that nice young girl who's stepmother is a right nightmare and won't buy her shoes or a decent dress.

Well, it turns out, Cindy's had a string of good luck and now has a fabulous castle. Well, actually, two. One in Florida and one near Paris.

She's become sort of a fairy foster mother as well so there are all kinds of animals, talking tea-cups and strange not-quite human like people hanging at her place. Being the kind hearted soul she is, Cindy has asked us to come and play with her and all the gang when we are up near her place.

I'm ever so excited.

We haven't told the tribe yet where we are going and I'm hoping we can keep it secret until we get there. There aren't enough fun surprises in this world so we're trying to make this one a really good one for them.

I can see us now on the drive home.

Rowing machine strapped on top of the car and every free spot inside the car stuffed with all sorts of gifts from Cindy and her friends. I wonder if she might be persuaded to lend us one of her pumpkins...