Let's all Play Nice

First of all, most of the participants in this discussion are not American citizens. I have lived abroad. Our government takes a beating overseas. Rightly so. I was in Germany when Ronald Reagan was president. The cowboy movie star. The joke president. We can all have opinions. Let's not get personal. Okay? If Clinton could run again, I would vote for him. How's that for crazy talk.

I remain disappointed in a President who is intelligent and can speak in complete sentences. BUT I watch West Wing and even Jed Bartlet, a Nobel prize winner, couldn't get a bill through Congress in his first two years, and West Wing is fiction. Obama has gotten his freshman year out of the way, he knows he made mistakes, he plans to make changes. He's still way too nice. He needs to put on his "mean eyes" and get busy. There's still hope.

I liken this feeling we're having to getting a beautifully wrapped gift. Wow. So many possibilities. And then you unwrap it and find white granny underpants in the box.

As always happens, G wanted to go out for dinner on his day off. And when G goes out to dinner he likes me to eat. Diet or no diet. I ate. I had only had a yogurt for breakfast so even if it was fried eggplant with cheese, I don't think it was a complete disaster. I had no dessert and no wine. I did eat three small garlic knots. I adore warm bread. Adore. I could live on bread and cheese. But today is another day, with a clean, fresh food diary page.

We stopped at the library yesterday to drop off and pick up books, twice. I had a very rude encounter with a sales person at Borders when I tried to order "A Homemade Life" by the blogger Orangette. So later, after dinner, I went on line to see if I could request the book from the library service. Wonder, of wonders, it had recently been returned. I put on my coat and went to tell G, on the couch reading, that I was off to the library, for the third visit in one day. He laughed and told me to have a good time. They also had another Wallander book waiting for me. After reading a few chapters of the "Homemade Life", I am thrilled that I didn't spend $25 for this book. I think she actually printed blog entries. And the recipes aren't interesting to me.

Know what is interesting? There are no Wallander books on the shelf on our library stacks. All checked out. Cosmic book club or something. Wallander is in the universal "stream" I guess and people, other than me, are reading him. Isn't that fantastic. I'm reading with a crowd of strangers.

In possibly more interesting "news", I have been exchanging emails with Orvis in regard to the second two Kanga sweatshirts I ordered. Which are much smaller, tighter, shorter etc. At first I was just asked to send them back for an exchange. But I persevered and explained my personal dilemma. Would I be getting sweatshirts the same size as the first two (good) or the size of the second two (not good). I mentioned Goldilocks. Too big, too small, just right. And it worked.

A specialist sent me the actual measurements. I measured all four Kangas. The last two are VERY different from the first two. Four inches smaller in the bust. Two inches small in the shoulder. One inch shorter in the sleeve. I think they are really size large with an XL label. Now, I can wear the large. It fits just fine. I wore the snug red one all day Wednesday. But I like sweatshirts to be loose. And I want to toss them in the dryer. Things shrink. So I ordered the XL. And I want XL. What is happening now, is the specialist has ordered several Kangas, in my colors, to be delivered to his desk. He will measure them. And if he finds a red one and a brown one (pomegranate/chocolate) with the correct measurements, he is going to send them to me. Lovely.

I think this specialist job at Orvis is the perfect job for me. Who knows, the "specialist" could be working out of a low security prison somewhere in Idaho. The job could be done just as well here in Maine by a woman in her pajamas and red robe. I shall apply for a job at Orvis, I think.

I'm trying to decide between cold cereal and hot oatmeal. Tomorrow is Orchid Class. Dog walking. We had one inch of snow last night and the plow trucks went by twice in 15 minutes (11.30 to 11.45, I had just gone to bed). For one inch of fricking snow. And when we had 4 to 6 inches of greasy slush? Never came until 4.30 in the afternoon. Bastards.