They're Here..........

 Can you feel it? It's like fire ants crawling up your legs.

Can you smell it? It's like living down wind of the stockyards.

Yes the bastards of baseball, the demons of the diamond, assholes of the American league are in town.

Those damn yankees.

And I will be at the game tonight with my lucky shirt and my voodoo doll (thanks to my friend Jean). Unfortunately I will be in a suite with clients and I won't be able to use the words I want to use.

I haven't always hated the yankees. When I was a kid I loved Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra (smarter than the average coach). I would root for them in the World Series. Then the Darth Vadar of baseball game to town -- George Steinbrenner -- and ruined baseball forever.

Not that I have any strong feelings about the topic.

It's The Little Things

Beth, a friend of mine from high school -- well I should say an classmate from high school because we were never good friends at that time but, thanks to Facebook, we have become good friends as "adults"  -- lives in Tennessee. She knows my love for elephants and when she saw Trunklines, a publication from the Elephant Sanctuary, she picked up a copy and mailed it to me. When I opened my mailbox last night and found that it just made me so happy, not just to have the newsletter but to have someone somewhere thinking of me and taking an action that she felt would make me happy.

Another friend, Kay, who I actually met via this blog made me the nicest bookmarks with pictures of Freckles on them. She said they were simple and not a big deal, but every time I see that bookmark I am not just reminded of Freckles, I am reminded that someone cares for me.

It is nice to be reminded of this every once in a while. The trendy phrase was (is? I'm not really up with all the big trends of the day) PRACTICE RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS. I once wrote an piece for Minnesota Monthly on Minnesota random acts of kindness. So in case you are wondering what you can do to make someone's day a little better here are some ideas:

Minnesotans are uniquely qualified to perform spontaneous acts of kindness – those usually anonymous gestures that help make the world a better place for all of us:

•  Give a bucket of bait to a stranger.

•  Turn your teammates’ bowling balls fingers-up when they aren’t looking.

•  Send a letter to a local news anchor thanking him for being Your Friend – then ask if he’ll lend you a few dollars till payday.

•  Buy someone a gift for no reason at all – then remind her of it every day for the rest of her life.

•  Pick up the trash in your neighborhood – then find a neighborhood that has no trash and donate it to them.

•  The next time you’re at Ingebretsen Scandinavian Foods, buy a pound of lutefisk to be given anonymously to the next customer who comes in.

•  Send someone as anonymous greeting card.  Don’t do it more than once, though.  You may be treading on stalking laws.

•  The next time you drive through a road-construction area, smile and wave at the MNDOT workers – using all of your fingers this time.

•  Give a homemade craft project to a friend.  Be sure to look for it every time you visit and express disappointment when you don’t see it.

•  Stand on the corner of Eighth and Nicollet and toss your hat into the air until you’ve turned the world on with your smile.

•  Hum the “Beer Barrel Polka” all day at work to give your co-workers a real lift.

WiFi Blues

Good morning my little butterflies .... no idea where that came from. Here's a photo of me and Daisy (duh). She is definitely a mama's girl. When I'm at the computer she wants to sit on my lap.

We had a visitor to meet her, our friend Peter came over the other night. She is getting much better with new people. And Peter is very scary so I was surprised. The first time Peter came over after I got Freckles he sat in her spot on the couch and after he got up she walked right over and marked it. That didn't happen this time.

Had a weekend trying to get my WiFi to work. Took my computer to the Apple store "Genius" bar and they couldn't find anything wrong with it -- except the screen was embarrassingly dirty. The Genius cleaned it for me. I wonder if I could get a Genius from Microsoft to come over and clean my windows -- get it Microsoft / Windows -- oh I am funny on a Monday morning.

Speaking of funny may I suggest you watch the new show on NBC called Go On. The first two episodes are available On Demand (and I'm sure also on line). I think it is hysterical. Then watch The New Normal -- also funny. I found out that it has been banned in Salt Lake City so even if it wasn't funny I'd watch it just because it was banned in Salt Lake City. In high school I read Catcher In The Rye because I heard a bunch of parents complaining about it. I guess I'm wired that way. There are people who see a sign that says "WET PAINT" and just avoid touching the walls and then there are people who see a sign that says "WET PAINT" and absolutely have to touch it just to be sure. I am the latter (I used to be the walrus but now I am the latter). They are probably rerunning episodes of Donny & Marie during that time slot or perhaps an infomercial on magic underwear.

And, finally, HAPPY NEW YEAR. It is the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the 1/4 or 1/8 of me that is Jewish wants to acknowledge that. Fortunately, as with the traditional New Year in January, I feel no obligation to make any resolutions to be a better person -- like I could get any better than this!!!!

I Am Age Inappropriate

I found this skirt and fell in love with it. I showed it to a friend who asked me if I thought it was "age appropriate." I wanted to suggest she take the broomstick out of her behind because I think we should wear what makes us happy. With the possible exception of the Catholic school girl plaid jumper, I really question if there is such a thing as "age appropriate" clothing. Of course the plaid jumper could be fun in a good old fashioned game of the naughty school girl and the school crossing guard but I digress.

Growing up it seemed like everything I wore was either navy blue, forest green, or brown and if there was any design it was either a very small print or horizontal stripes because all of those wonderful choices were so slimming. Really until recently if you were larger and wanted to wear anything with a little pizazz you had to make it yourself. Lane Bryant rarely had anything that was age appropriate for a teenager.

So here's a warning -- I'll wear whatever I want and if you don't like it, well I'll send a school crossing guard over to hit you on the head with a stop sign.

Have a great, age inappropriate day.

Goodbye Summer????

 Well it's going to be 90 degrees today ... I guess summer is over huh? I have one day left to Labor Day Weekend because, well I do.

Here are two of my favorite pics from the weekend. I am a big Clint Eastwood fan and it hurt to watch him talking to an empty chair. Not because of the politics -- I don't care if he likes Romney -- but it was so sad to see him rambling on and on. Oh well. I have to say it does make me feel better about talking to myself -- from now on I'll just pretend I'm talking to Abraham Lincoln.

The second picture is the result of my cleaning out my sock drawer. These are all socks to which I have no match. I have kept 3 of them -- the rainbow stripe, pink plaid, and olive green -- for a while because I keep hoping the match will show up. But alas, I think they will forever be orphans.

Today Daisy and I head over to the Humane Society. I want to take her to the Wallflower Play Group for shy dogs but first she has to be evaluated. I have, in my warped head, a picture of her laying on a little couch telling her dreams. "Well I'm in a room filled with cans of dog food and no can opener," "I invented a belly rubbing machine so I can have my needs met on demand," or the one all dogs have "I was at obedience school when I realized I had never gone to class and couldn't answer any questions on the test -- and I wasn't naked." I hope she passes mustard (or at least passes ketchup).

Finally, if you haven't seen Hope Springs I highly recommend it. Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steve Carell were all fantastic. Lots of laughs, a few tears, but more laughs. Go see it -- don't make me say it again.