There’s a Huge, Giant, Dragon-like Lizard at the Foot of My Garage Stairs.
Right now…it’s down there. I just saw it. I had to go down and close the cat door and lock her in for the night. I saw it as I was going down the stairs. I yelled at it to move. It didn’t. I stomped on the stairs to scare it. I didn’t. It just laid there. Mocking me. Daring me to come down the stairs to close the cat door. (I wonder if that’s how it got in?) I went down the stairs and sort of leapt over it…sideways. I closed the cat door and leapt over it … sideways…to get back up the stairs. Here’s the bad part–the cat is down there with it. You see, we have two cat do

Kitty Churchill Is My Stripper Name
No, I’m not moonlighting down at Th’ Catch (a real strip joint in Knoxville) or the Boobie Bungalow ( a real strip joint between here and the Alabama line). But I do have a stripper name. So do you. You’re supposed to take the name of your pet and the name of the street you live on. I fudge the rules a little and allow any combination of pet and street name. I think Kitty Churchill would be kind of a high-end stipper, maybe more of a Las Vegas showgirl with a huge headdress of ostrich feathers. It would also be a good name for a Bond girl. I went through several combinations before I landed on this one. At my age, there are a lot o

Pass the Soup
Last week, when I wasn’t paying attention, this crawled up my nose.  It’s a rhinovirus molecule and evidently it has found a new home because it–and all its little friends–have put down roots and seem to be dug in for the duration. And why not? I’m sure that as far as noses go, mine is a fine dwe

Guide to Trashy Book Genres
So yesterday I was over at Rassle’s place reading about her upcoming Cancun beach vacation. Lay on the beach, sip umbrella drinks, read trashy novels. Only Rass says she doesn’t read trashy novels, so I thought I’d help her out with my Personal Guide to Trashy Novels. 1. Vintage Trash–this includes anything by Jacqueline Susann or Judith Krantz–Valley of the Dolls or Princess Daisy are classic examples of Vintage Trash. 2. Historical Trash–The Wolf and the Dove is the gold standard here. Basically any book where a nobleman’s daughter is cap

The Flu Shot
One benefit of working where I do is that we get free flu shots every year. They set up little flu shot stations all around campus and you can just walk in, show your employee ID and walk away theoretically protected from whatever seasonal virus is out there. At some point, they’ll have H1N1 vaccine available too, but they’re a little iffy on exactly when. I walked across the street with two other colleagues this morning for my shot. I had even remembered to wear a top with easily rolled up sleeves. We three were the only ones there…no waiting. Some of you may remember my