the best dog in the world

Thes 08.18.92 - 01.30.09


Spent a lot of time at the vet's today, talking to the Dr. The outlook was grim no matter what. I knew that. I mean, even if the tumor in her abdomen is removable, the rest of her body is still 100 years old. And she had so many other things going on.

I didn't get to do what I wanted -- which was spend hours laying with her telling her how much she was loved and then cook and feed her a NY strip steak. But I thought even one more night would be cruel to her.

I'm going to spread her ashes in the woods behind my parents' house, where I used to sneak off to as a teenager with her (then a puppy), and where my dad took her for long walks when they kept her when I went to Australia. Great memories, a wonderful dog. She'll be coming back as a queen of a very rich nation.

I'm wearing one of my Mom's favorite shirts for comfort -- one she wore all the time the year before she died. It's a horrible cotton/poly blend from KMart, but somehow it feels like cashmere.

best seat in the house

My view of the inauguration:


Okay, okay, I know, it's lame. I'm an easy metro ride into the city, and I'm living back here for the first time in years, and I didn't go. It was 30 degrees and I wanted to actually see the inauguration. I was in the city every other day or night that week. I got the buzz. And very much enjoyed it from my couch.

A feat of genetic engineering, a stroke of good luck, an achievement in packaging technology?

Grocery shopping at 11 pm last week: Being the responsible inhabitant of the planet I try to be, I took all of my reusable bags. But I was restocking my house for the first time since Christmas, really, and everything didn't fit. I got one plastic grocery bag with my dozen eggs and bunch of tulips.

I put it in the child seat of the grocery cart. The parking lot is on a severe hill, which presents a challenge when unloading the cart into the car. At some point the bag tipped out of the cart and landed on the ground. I couldn't bear to look at the condition of the eggs and just put it in the car with the other groceries, figuring I'd deal with it when I got home.

Unloading the groceries I left the eggs/flowers bag for last. I was shocked to find only one egg was broken.

It's just not possible.

mob hit in the stables?

One of the shepherds on my manger scene appears to be the victim of a mob hit. Check him out. Right at the knees.


Well, a knee and and an ankle. I tried some SupahGloo (that's the brand name in Malaysia.) Didn't take. Not sure if it was chemistry or lack of patience (I didn't wait for it to set.) Any other suggestions? Some kind of plastic epoxy? I inherited the manger scene from my grandmother several years ago, so there's no telling how old it is or what it's actually made of.

rednecks recycle, too!

Rednecks care about the planet, y'all! Saw the funniest scene in a while yesterday in the Giant grocery store parking lot. I was visiting my dad for the long weekend. You have to understand where my parents have lived for the past 18 years. It is so backwards, so southern, so completely redneck, it's right out of a Jeff Foxworthy skit. Lots of gun racks, bass fishing boats, and confederate flags.

I had just pulled into a parking spot and what appeared before my eyes was the typical citizen: male, probably mid-40s, but looks more late-50s, scruffy grey beard, camouflage polyester baseball hat unable to tame the wild salt-and-pepper mane underneath, beer belly protruding from a quilted flannel shirt left unbuttoned over a dirty, stained t-shirt, and sweatpants with hunting boots. Got the complete picture? But dangling from his hand was a richly-colored purple reusable Giant grocery bag. It just didn't fit.