Basketball

Mica and I took the little white dog to the dog park this afternoon. The small-dog side was empty, as it usually is this time of year, so we went in with the big dogs. There were a few labs, a couple of standard poodles, an adorable and sweet Irish setter mix, and then there was a bulldog and a husky. All was fine at first, then the bulldog decided she didn’t like the little white dog. Things went...

Read More

Whatever

I believe it was in February when we were told layoffs would be announced prior to April 1. It made sense that today, the Friday before the 1st, would be the day. No announcement. The uncertainty and the stress that accompanies that continues. I’m at a point where I need to blow up but have no idea how. I don’t feel like venting or being around people or being alone. Whatever. Stuff that wasn’t...

Read More

Easter egg hunt

Yesterday Eve came back from lunch with 200 plastic Easter eggs purchased from the dollar store and an assortment of candy from Sam’s to fill them. “What are you up to?” I asked when I saw her walk by. “People around here need to cheer up. I’m doing an Easter egg hunt.” That’s Eve! With budget cuts looming, the mood has been glum the last few weeks, and this week has been particularly quiet. We...

Read More

Hoops

“How about we skip getting together on Saturday,” I said to Blaine tonight. “Paint a Jayhawk on your face and go watch basketball somewhere fun with your friends.” He chuckled. “That’s very nice of you.” “You have been very nice about going out every Saturday this month and not spending all of your time glancing at televisions. I’ve appreciated that.” “I’m sure you’ll do the same for me during...

Read More

Mop struck

I went to my favorite big box retailer over the lunch hour to buy wax paper. That’s it. One box of wax paper. Had I not wanted a microwaved baked potato for supper, I would not have gone to the store and now it would not hurt to cough, sneeze or reach from left to right. As I was leaving the store with my box of wax paper, a bicyclist rolling down the sidewalk and carrying a mop across the top of...

Read More

You're trouble

We had been playing Trivial Pursuit for about an hour, the women on one team, the men on the other. Ty, Blaine’s son-in-law read the question: What is the only mammal that cannot jump? I answered, “White men.”Blaine had a mouthful of wine and wasn’t able to swallow before laughing, which sent a spray of cabernet toward the board. Laughing gave way to coughing. Wine had gone up his nose, and his eyes...

Read More

Flexibility

The other day I came across the restaurant gift certificate I won in the silent auction at the dog rescue fundraiser last month. When Blaine and I were talking about where we might go tonight, I asked if he liked sushi. He said he’d only tried it once. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he allowed. “I’m game to try it again.” The restaurant is in the historic part of downtown, which these...

Read More

Alignment

Henry. He stopped by my office toward the end of the day, didn't want anything but to say hello and see how things were going. We talked past 5:00. When he stood to leave, he asked if I had plans to go to Chicago this summer. I told him I'd be able to answer that in a week. I explained, "If I still have a job, I'm going in June." He stepped back in, closed the door and sat down. "Have you been told...

Read More

That relative

There was an article in the local newspaper today that fascinates me. Seven years ago a college student disappeared on her way home from a party. Her body was never found nor was direct evidence discovered to suggest that harm had come to her. A person of interest was identified in the case but he was never arrested. Popular opinion was he killed her and would be charged as soon as the body turned...

Read More

Leave worms

There’s a urologist in California who believes my personal email address belongs to his wife. He regularly sends correspondence to both that and her work account. Early on I replied to one of his emails to let him know he was using the incorrect address. I didn’t receive a response but I also didn’t receive any emails from him for a few months, then there was a flurry again. I emailed a second time...

Read More

Someone else in mind

I glanced back at what I posted Friday and realized it appears that I gave the French sounding guy the pseudonym Marcel, because of course it could only be that or Pierre, right? I promise Marcel is his true name. I was tired when I wrote it and it didn’t occur to me to change it. That’s happened a couple of times, but this is the first time the real name seems like it’s made up. One of the movie...

Read More

Survive tornado season

I spent the afternoon celebrating the fifth birthday of the youngest in the family. The party was out of town at a fun center. The kids had a blast running around, shouting, bouncing and then filling up on pizza and ice cream. The adults reminisced about the days when Pin the Tail on the Donkey was big entertainment. When I arrived back to town I drove to [Sports Bar] where Eve and Paul had arranged...

Read More

Networked

I took the day off to attend a grant writing workshop in case I want to apply for a position where that skill or, in my case, a general knowledge of how to write one is desired. The speaker was excellent and the material rich and dense. I scribbled until my fingers cramped. By noon my head was so full of information I had a hard time paying attention to the small talk occurring at my table during...

Read More

Spring refresh

Just finished ordering three pairs of shoes from Zappos. This includes a pair of heels that will go with the dress I tried on at the department store last week and bought tonight. I was on my way home after work and suddenly didn’t want another night of going home, binging on “Younger” and hopping into bed. So, I drove on, planning to check on the dress in case it had been marked down. It had, but...

Read More

2:30 a.m.

I woke from a bad dream just before 2:30 this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. Imagine how much joy I brought to those around me today. Eve was back at work (yay!). While she is feeling better, two others are not. Given how bad the flu has been all winter, I suppose it was inevitable that eventually it would reach our office. I have mixed feelings about potentially catching it. Right now would...

Read More

And no one was there

Back to work today. For the first time in several years I didn’t check work email while I was on vacation. When I opened my account this morning I had over 1,563 new emails. I considered putting my coat back on and leaving. Someone on a listserv had “replied all” and then others did too until it was out of control. Worse, someone I work with must have looked only at the subject line (something about...

Read More

Dinnerish and a movie

When I set my drink down, Blaine reached for my hand. He ran a finger across the back, from one pink mark just off center to another near my little finger. “I see you’re still healing.” He reached out with his other arm, and the cuff of his sleeve pulled back far enough to reveal his battle wounds—two faint scrapes on his wrist. “Izzy’s way of making sure we don’t forget her,” I said. “My assistant...

Read More

Gifts

I met Mica and Sophie for lunch. I haven’t seen Sophie since the rescue fundraiser, and there was much to catch up on. I’d like the three of us to get together more often again. We used to play cards on Friday nights until Mica cooled on the idea. If not cards, maybe we can start Friday dinners. After I dropped Mica at home I did some shopping. One could argue I do not need another piece of clothing,...

Read More

Taxing logins

The only thing less fun than updating a resume is preparing the tax file for the accountant. I know because I worked on both today. Every year there is one piece of tax information that I can only access online, but I can never get into the account. I believe they require a password change every six months, and I don’t do it for reasons that amount to laziness. Every spring I face this and swear...

Read More

Tired

One of my favorite authors, Jojo Moyes, has a new book out. It’s the third in a trilogy that began with the amazing “Me Before You.” I hope to spend long stretches reading it, but I’ve been hit with something that is making me extraordinarily tired. Over two days I’ve read a whole four chapters. And written one entry. I had a tough time writing about Saturday and finally decided to just hit “Publish.” I’m...

Read More

Dirt roads

Eve and Paul’s daughter sent a text yesterday morning saying she was driving in a day early. She arrived just after dark. I gave Izzy one last full body rub and a kiss on top of her head before leaving. All I did when I arrived home was take a long, steamy shower, put on my favorite pajamas and crawl into bed to read until I fell asleep. This morning I decided it was time for a pedicure. On a whim,...

Read More

Slow down, do little

Izzy has a friend who comes to visit each night. Beautiful face (and she's grown into her ears)! "Hey, this show about comedians in cars getting coffee is unexpectedly entertaining!" I can't remember if I mentioned that I'm on vacation. Yesterday was my first day off and I'll go back on the the 12th. Taking so many days at once always causes people to ask if I'm going somewhere or have...

Read More