Hodge-Podge of Stuff

OK, today I put a new background on my blog (I am slowly - and I won't add "but surely" - learning how to figure out this blog), so I think it's time for a new post.

This post is a hodge-podge of stuff.

First, I have to relate that something amusing came out of facebook, which I am very inept at navigating my way around. Sharon had posted some elementary school pictures and people have been "tagging" them. I used to think that meant someone had posted the pictures, but now, Sharon, a recent facebook subscriber, tells me means the that "tagging" a picture means labeling who is in it. So Sharon managed to find Jonathan, someone from our kindergarten class. They befriended each other on facebook. Then I also befriended Jonathan. I have not seen Jonathan since 2nd grade, when I left that school district, but when I viewed his facebook picture, I thought he looks EXACTLY the same as he did in kindergarten. Well yesterday I went to Trader Joe's, and as I was leaving, I saw a guy walking in. I thought to myself "OMG, I think that's Jonathan!" He looked at me with just a flicker of recognition (oh, I need to add that I have no current pix of myself on facebook). He walked past me, I stopped, and said "Jonathan?" and he turned around, and I introduced myself, and he gave me a big hug. I know facebook is a place to "play" online, but I never thought I'd actually see someone in person who I had discovered on facebook! So I got in the car and immediately called Sharon. I said "you will never guess who I just saw outside of Trader Joe's" and she amused me greatly by saying "Jonathan!" She didn't ask; she just said it. I said "how the hell did you know that?" And she laughed and said "who else would you be calling to tell me you saw?"

Last night I watched the movie Real Women Have Curves. I loved this movie. Maybe cause I could relate SO much cause the mother in the movie keeps telling her daughter she needs to lose weight. My absolutely favorite scene in the movie is when the women, working in a factory, strip down to their undies to cool off AND to compare stretch marks. The movie was only 86 minutes long, and my only complaint is that it ends kind of abruptly.

Pepper the dog has lots of sores by her belly. She had these months ago and I took her to the vet, who diagnosed "seasonal allergies." I know anyone (and anything) can develop new allergies at any time, but a 14.5 year old dog suddenly developing allergies seemed kind of weird. He put her on steroids and the sores cleared up. Pepper loves to roll around on her back (that's supposed to be the sign of a happy dog, I'm glad to hear), and when she was rolling yesterday, I went to rub her tummy and noticed all the sores. I don't believe these are seasonal allergies. I will either take her to the other vet in the practice or maybe to a new practice.

Our house is a nightmare right now in this weather. Water is dripping from half the windows and the windowsills are lined with plastic cups. And tomorrow our family is coming for dinner to celebrate my father's 86th birthday. The house doesn't really look presentable, but it's family. And so much ice attached to our garage that the automatic garage opener stopped working cause a piece of wood snapped off. David yesterday decided he would go to the hardware store to get stuff to fix the garage. He announced this when I got home yesterday and I asked him if he was crazy. I said "call the garage door guy." Years ago, a garage door guy left a leaflet in our mailbox, announcing that he used to work for a garage door company and was now on his own. We have used him twice and he's great. I put him in our address book under "G" for "garage door guy." The last time he came, David went to write him a check and said "I"m sorry, I don't remember your name; my wife put you in our address book under 'G' for 'garage door guy.'" The guys told David "tell her to put me under 'J' for 'jack of all trades.'" So David said "we can't call him; he does garage door motors." I said "no, he told you he's a jack-of-all-trades!" David finally relented and called the guy. I heard him on the phone saying "I was going to try to tackle this project myself but my wife says I'm crazy and I think she's right." THAT'S RIGHT - he said "'I THINK SHE'S RIGHT"!!!!! There is a first for everything. So Mr. garage door guy/jack-of-all-trades came out this morning and fixed the door. For $40. The best $40 we've ever spent.

We are going to a super-bowl party at Howard and Mary's tonight. I still never learned all the rules of football but I made my Mexican dip (I can't tell you how many recipes I cut out each year of food to bring to superbowl parties and I never make them) and I'm gonna go be a pig tonight and enjoy those commercials. Son Joe is delivering pizza. I hope it is a very profitable day cause he owes us $190 from his last car accident.