I’ve been tormented for a while by the lyrics to Jo Dee Messina’s “Bye Bye” – a song I love.

Got my left foot down on my accelerator, and my rear view mirror torn off, ‘cauze I’m not lookin’ back and that’s a fact

Today while I was driving I was thinking about how wrong this is. You should always have your right foot on the accelerator in this country, never the left, and you should always check your mirrors. Scanning is an essential safety measure while driving.

Well, then I realized the lyrics are actually:

Got *a lead* foot down on my accelerator

So that is a little better. The mirrors are still a problem.

Last year when we moved out to San Diego from Virginia we took many, many photos starring this dog: Pickles. Here he is at the Petrified Forest in Arizona.

That photo has now been published in Fodor’s The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West, 2nd Edition.

Way to go, Pickles!

Our neighbors in the building behind us do not know how to use their inside voices. I guess they might be inside voices on, like, the stage at the Opera house. Both of them have a really funny Valley Girl way of talking.

Sometimes they stay up all night, yelling and carrying on.

Loud Chick: WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF COCAINE!
Louder Chick: (RAUNCHY LAUGHTER)

Some mornings they get up at 5 and shout about what to have for breakfast.

Loud Chick: DO YOU WANT EGGS? OR CEREAL?? HOW ABOUT BREAKFAST BURRITOS??
Louder Chick: I CAN’T DECIDE SO I AM JUST GOING TO BANG PANS AROUND FOR 20 MINUTES AND THEN TURN ON ALL THE KITCHEN ELECTRICS. BUZZZZZZZ! I LOVE THE BLENDER!

But tonight I overheard this:

Loud Chick: BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH, ALLIE!!!!!
Louder Chick: I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!!

It’s my 30th birthday on Tuesday and we are off to New Orleans to celebrate!

Kindle books for the plane: Blackout by Connie Willis and Conquistador by S Stirling.

Totally stoked about this trip!! Now must back up computer and pack.

I worked on these still lifes and landscapes in between painting cats.

They are for sale- please contact me if interested.

See this?

These are cheap sports bandages- like Ace bandages but the store brand. The self-adhesive kind. Bad.

As you can see, after one use, they knotted up into ropes that can’t be undone. Perfect to chew on if the sore muscles drive me crazy, but not so good for wrapping.

So, Dear Reader. Don’t do what I did. Buy Ace.

Another day, another struggle with the coin dryer.