Hi, I'm back!

I thought I'd wrench the canine off the keyboard, and start up this blog again. Today, 6 months, I will be married!!! EEK! Boy, it sure is getting nearer!

Today we had our first snow -- I dig the white stuff initially, but it gets old fast, especially when a 20 pound dog is dragging you along the slippery street and you're hanging on for dear life.

Since last writing, life has been up and down as it is wont to be, but things are mostly up nowadays. The Mouse Spouse is happily employed again. Axel is a delight. And life is pretty good. What else can one hope for?

I just designed and wrote a new website for a kid's entertainment company - it was a lot of fun and some nice extra cash (just kidding INS...). I hope I get more freelance web gigs soon! You can see the site at www.birthdaybuddiesinc.com!

Later,
SM

My Blog for a Dog (with apologies to Shakespeare)

You may be wondering, or maybe not, why I have been so remiss in my blogging activities. The truth is, my computer has been hijacked by a 7 pound wire-fox terrier pup named Axel, who has commandeered my computer in order to launch his OWN blog which he updates many times a day, every day. I can't get near my computer. If I try, he growls at me and I am forced to back away.

So dear readers, what can I say? The Scarlet Mouse has been usurped by the Wiry Canine. I will still blog, but it will be sporadic for the next while. I will probably devise a way to rid myself of the canine threat as it gets nearer to the wedding...at which time I hope to blog more!

SM

Vehicular Vexation

So two weeks ago, some idiot smashed into the Mouse Spouse's brand new SUV as it was parked meters from our home. The same idiot also smashed into two other parked cars. Of course, he didn't stop to leave his details on the windshields, god forbid he should show an ounce of decency. The entire right side of the SUV was smashed up, and two weeks later, we out of pocket $500 on the deductible and $200 on car rental supplementation as the Mouse Spouse needed a rental truck to be able to continue working!

Then yesterday, deciding to buy a lottery ticket, I was pulled up near the store waiting for someone to pull out of a metered spot, when the car in front of me who was pulling out, reversed back into my little Toyota. The driver was in a big Nissan Pathfinder, high off the ground, and failed to see my lowly Toyota. And so, within a matter of seconds, my bumper and hood were bent and dented out of shape. At least this driver was extremely decent, gave me his info etc, and hopefully this will not result in huge hassles...but let's face it, hassle is what I'm in for just to get it fixed, get a rental etc...

I know all this could have been worse, we could have been in a real car accident, gotten hurt etc, so we do count our blessings, but what a damn pain in the neck, especially for the Mouse Spouse who lost a lot of money through NO fault of his own. That $700 should have gone towards a weekend away in celebration of his upcoming (tomorrow) 40th birthday!

Get on the bus Gus. May not be a bad idea.

SM

Climbing the Walls

I have to vent.

At last count, I had 28 frigging mosquito bites on my body. Given that my body is not very big, that's a shitload of red welts that are driving me nuts because they are so itchy!! I slept fitfully last night as a result, and I am sick to death of this incessant itch! I trekked to Eckards in search of a panacea, and bought some anti-itch ointment. I slathered the stuff all over me, and it was completely useless. I tried a hot shower. I tried some lidocaine left over from our sunburnt trip to Costa Rica. Nothing fucking helps!!! I am going nuts!

If I was in SA, this would not be happening, because over there they have these marvelous inventions nicknamed "the stinker" by my father. They are pads that slot into a little device that you plug in each night. The pads give off a scent noxious only to mosquitos and they stay away. I have never been devoured in this way before! Alas, these are not available in the grand ol' USA!

My guess is the mozzies have been feasting on my sweet flesh every time I go out with Axel to beseech him to pee/poop. I sit there, sometimes for as long as 10-15 minutes, wishing the pup would crouch and do his ablutions. Now I realize, while I was patiently waiting, the mosquitos were enjoying a healthy repast! To save my flesh (I can't take this much longer), I have left long sleeved attire by the door to our yard, and I plan to cover up next time I venture out. I have also sprayed copious amounts of vile-smelling anti-mosquito liquid all over myself. The liquid seems to have the same effect on the Mouse Spouse. He is staying away from me too.

SM