Lazy Wednesday & Part Deux

Readers who have been here for a while will know that the kids and I love Wednesdays. This is basically what we like to do:

Ahhhhhhh. :-)

In spite of the Wednesdayness of it all, however, Trillian refused to shirk her self-imposed Dripping Tap Sentry Duty.

She's very good at timing the drips and swatting them into the tub. Good thing, too, since otherwise they'd end up. . . in the tub.

After a lapse of yucky snain (snow mixed with rain) Spring renewed it's efforts.



Daffodils and grape hyacinths are coming up all over the place.

John is watching part of a Scrubs DVD and it's the one with Colin Hay from Men At Work singing "Overkill." The title, for ironic personal reasons, cracks me up just now. But what a great song. And the recording for the show is beautiful. That combined with an extremely clever sequence played out during the song makes this one of my favourite episodes. Here's a funny thing, though. We both thought all this time it was "goes to beer and fade away." Turns out it's "ghosts appear and fade away," LOL! I think I like the beer version better. I just figured it meant that every night he drank 'til he saw everything "through beer goggles" and gradually faded out for the night.

Today was the big Spring Clothing Event at our house in which we optimistically dragged out all the Spring and Summer stuff and figured out what fit who and what wouldn't be staying and whom we would give it to. We have been really blessed by a few TKD families. With 4 kids we're considered a large family these days, so people think of us when their kids grow out of stuff and have given us a lot of great clothing for the younguns. This is especially great for The Littles (who score the most clothes) since there are no boy hand-me downs for Gogo (my stepson is grown and on his own) and a lot of the girl stuff is wearing out by the time it gets to The Prawn.

Of course now that we've done that, we'll probably have a blizzard, but we ARE prepared in case of freakishly warm weather. :-)

At the library today I picked up "Because of Winn-Dixie" and actually started reading it. I've checked it out at least twice before, intending to preview it for the kids and have never gotten around to reading it. Silly me. It's maybe an hour and a half read - maybe less. So far it's very sweet. And a lot more meaningful than much of the pretentious crap out for adults these days, LOL! I'm going to write the author a hate letter if she kills off the dog in the end, though. Speaking of which, there's an entertaining YA book out called "No More Dead Dogs." We've borrowed that, too, and I'm looking forward to checking it out. It's about a kid who is sick to death of being assigned books in which the dog buys the farm at the end. Our sentiments exactly!

That's one of the great things about having kids; no one looks at you like you're a half-wit when you read kids' books. :-) And there are so many good ones out there. I realise very few of my readers have kids, but for those who do or someday plan to, or who just like good books, I highly recommend Chinaberry's catalog. They have superb book descriptions and keep their selection to books that they have personally chosen as great stories. They have introduced us to tons of magical books. And their cookbook rocks! Best pumpkin cake recipe ever, mocha cookies, plenty of delicious entrees. Mmmmmm!

On the topic of great kids' books, the Eddie Dickens Trilogy by Philip Ardagh is a total riot. OMG. Rarely have I laughed so much at a children's book. The others that spring to mind are the Sophie books by Dick King-Smith and Arabel's Raven and its sequels, by Joan Aiken (of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase fame.)

I'm fighting losing my voice, but the rest of me seems fine. Lots of ginger tea, Zicam, echinacea and water. :-P Teaching class is just a little more work - ever have that feeling like you kind of have to push to get your voice out? Blah.

The satin sheets are still lovely, though the pillows tend to zing off the bed. Fortunately I do have more than 6, and only 2 of those have satin cases (which set up an almost friction-free phenomenon. I forsee quite a few physics experiments in our future.) I refuse to have hard, decorative lurkers on the bed, so anything in arm's range is soft enough for sleeping. Erm, we're still talking about cushions and pillows, just so you're clear.

***

OK so I'll post a wee bit more of my short story, but I don't think I'm comfortable plastering the rest on out in open cyberspace.


***

“Do I get to guess who sent you?” André asked.

“You won’t have heard of my organization,” Sofia replied.

“Really? I’ve heard of a lot of organizations.”

“Trust me,” she said.

“Not that it matters, I suppose.” He shrugged.

“That’s right.”

Sofia had swapped her rifle for a small pistol she'd had concealed in an ankle holster. Now she guided him at gunpoint to her car and into the driver’s seat. She kept the pistol trained on him as she seated herself.

“Strap in,” she said.

André raised an eyebrow, but complied.

After instructing him to drive to the deserted mountain lodge she had rented, Sofia motioned for André to get out and walk down to the lake.

"Out to the end of the dock," she said. "The water's deeper there."

He complied and half-turned to look out over the water as if contemplating his escape.

“Going to dispose of me in the lake?” he asked.

“Maybe,” she said. “Undress.”

André turned back to her, a small smile beginning to play at the corners of his mouth.

“Undress?” he asked.

She nodded.

The smile grew and spread confidently across his face.

“Whom did you say sent you?” he asked.

“I didn’t,” she replied. “Undress.”

“Why didn’t you shoot me back there?”

“Because you could be worth more than the Sisterhood is willing to pay me.”

“And how’s that?”

“Well,” she said, smiling, “you might be willing to bargain for your life.”

His smile broadened even more and he began removing his clothing.

“How much?” he asked.

“Two and a half million,” she said.

André looked slightly disappointed.

“Is that all?”

She chuckled. “I’m afraid so.”

“Well, I can certainly top that." He dropped the last of his clothing onto the dock.

“Yes,” she replied. “I should think so.”

With a smooth movement Sofia flung the pistol far out into the lake. André watched the splash, then turned back in surprise.

“And what makes you think I won’t run?”

She smiled a knowing smile.

"Because," she explained, "now I'm going to undress."

With that, she began to undo the top button of her blouse.

***