Summer Thoughts

• The purpose of Scott's Colorful Songbird Food is not to promote healthier, glossier 12 pound chipmunks.

• If I were wealthy and eccentric I would devote my life to the eradication of the cottonwood tree. (Of course, if I were wealthy I could just stay inside, crank up the AC and hire someone to rake and sweep my yard twice daily until the cottonwood onslaught passes.) I saw what appeared to be a large fluffy white rat on the windshield of Rick's van this morning. To convey a better sense of disgust, allow me to paraphrase..."it look's like an explosion in a feminine hygiene products factory."

• I think I'm getting the hives. I look at the cottonwood and start to itch. Other things that cause intense itching:

1. The upstairs/downstairs Martha/Bridget room swap. Mellofahess. I'll say no more.
2. Our altar wine shipment. Which is coming from California...headed west. I'm thinking Somali pirates intercepting sail boats. That can be the only reason for the delay.
3. That obese chipmunk. I haven't seen one colorful songbird. No finches at the finch feeder, either. I'm wondering if I should sit near the window and play selections from the bird song book.
4. Thinking about cleaning my room, setting up a new bookcase and moving out the one-of-a-kind petite white hutch to give to Lilyanne. I haven't even found a new bookcase yet. Where are they on the curb when you need one? [I'm checking Craigslist, but rather than the fabulous antiquities that my sister finds for her Northwoods dream/nightmare house, the best I have found is a pair of taxidermied chickens for $450. They are for sale right in my town, but that doesn't make the price any more attractive. The chickens? They are attractive. But I don't need chickens. I need a bookshelf. For under $25.]
5. The laundry...
6. The phone calls...
7. The mess....