Marriage tips from Johnny & Chachi

This guy's (Chachi's) teeth make me laugh so hard!!

A new neighbor

The last few times we've walked out our front door, it's been a pretty sure thing that someone will get freaked out.

Unfortunately, it usually seems to be me.

See, we have a new neighbor. She moved in so quietly I didn't even realize she was there. But when I left the house in a hurry one day, the sudden flurry of wings right beside my ear gave her away. A mourning dove had been sitting in a hanging planter that sits about 4 feet from our front door.

Nice, I thought. She'll move on.


Nope.

For a couple weeks now, I've forgotten she's there. And whenever we leave, the flurry of wings as she launched herself off the planter have startled us into the siding in one of those evasive reflex actions.

Then one day, there was no flurry. So I glanced over ...

and freaked out anyways. She just sat there, watching me. Not a twitch. Not a stir. Just two little dark eyes watching me. Somehow that was even freakier.


So today we finally figured it out. The kids were playing outside and apparently it finally got to be too much for her. She left the planter and we saw why she's been so still.


So it appears we'll have more neighbors soon. And until then, we're trying to remember not to startle the neighbor lady.

TMI in marketing

As you may or may not know, I have a fair bit of curl in my hair. I've spent decades fighting it and the other decades trying to learn how to live with it. Of course, this means that the quest for hair care is an ongoing one. And usually about the time I find a product I like, they stop making/selling it. Obviously I don't buy the high end brands that have been available since Eve first realized her roots needed some attention.

The other day I ran out of a personal favorite and asked SG to pick up some more. They didn't have it. They didn't even have a space on the shelf anymore. (I know, I've checked to confirm this.) So he brought home another brand.

Standing in the shower the next morning, I glanced over to see this slogan:

"I'm deliciously bent and your hair is, too."*

That's getting a little personal, don't you think?

*The dilemma now is that I like the conditioner. But if I buy it again, will the makers take that as a sign their marketing approach is working? Do I dare encourage that sort of behaviour? Or do I just put black tape boxes over the slogan so I don't feel so mildly violated every morning?

Work that kazoo!

Today I found this clip from one of my favorite bands, NewWorldSon:



Love it!

Spring already? Spring already!!

Spring is popping out already here in Oregon. The "experts" tell me that it's 11 days early.

How do they know that?

Who sent the memo? And why does it matter? I mean, are they going to try to call off spring? Will they jump out in their white coats, wave their arms frantically and watch nature grind to a halt and then withdraw shame-faced because of their early cue? Do they want her to try again in the hopes of getting an 8.5 from the German judge this time?

I have my doubts.

So while they fret over the date, I've got daffodils, crocuses, irises, tulips and primroses starting their show and I think I'm ready.

Brasseur & Eisler

I watched some figure skating at the Olympics tonight and will say I enjoyed it but nothing for me beats the absolute jaw-dropping fun of watching Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler. They always chose fun music, they wore great costumes and the way he tossed her around was simply unbeaten.

I saw an interview with their coach once that said Brasseur's first reaction when asked to try out with Eisler was, "No way! I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair."

I'm glad she changed her mind.

Getting old ... my way

I celebrated another birthday an indeterminate number of days ago, and one of my children topped off the day by informing me, "You're only 9 years away from being old, Mom."

Ha! I'm way further than that from being old.

Right?

Then this morning I discovered that my routine has gotten a little more solidified these days.

*I like a certain type of spoon for my breakfast cereal and will dig through the drawer/dishwasher to find it.

*I have an optimal "milk moment" for that same cereal - when it's not too crunchy any more but not yet approaching soggy.

*I prefer when the comics and crossword are on the back page of a newspaper section and not hidden in the middle where it's harder to find and fold to my specifications. And if it's hidden for too many days in a row, I get a little testy.

*The shower can be before or after breakfast, but preferably not before 7am or after 9am (the beauty of being a writer is that I can choose to work in my PJs if I want to, but I've found there's a limit to the amount of warm fuzzy my brain can take before it just wants to sleep again.)

*I do have at least a fleeting thought about comfortable shoes each morning. Don't always give in but there's mental math sometimes about # of hours on feet x type of activity x chances to rest - is this a place I can kick my shoes off if need be + what lingering effects I might be feeling after yesterday's shoes ...

The good news is I'm still pretty flexible after 9 am. But maybe I should start writing these things down so the kids have the list ready for the home.

When it's time, of course. Because I'm not old yet.