Oh, may I thank the heavens every day that MY M.I.L. lives in a rural Oregon farming community, doesn't drive, doesn't fly, gets a phone call from me every Sunday , and whom I actually visit every two or three years when WE make the trip up to see her. This helps keep the relationship between us fairly calm.

However, I have a daughter who lives less than a half-hour away, whom I see ALL the time - who calls me several times a day, has multiple crisis a week, doesn't drive... but then calls on ME to drive her when necessary. Good thing that I love this kid, because man, she can be such a drain emotionally sometimes.

One added bit of calm, however - we have adopted another greyhound (Lady, our last grey, had to be put down about two years ago). Those unfamiliar with the breed assume that an ex-racing dog would be hyper and high-maintenance. Surprisingly, greys are the exact opposite - 40 m.p.h. couch potatoes. Dehlia does need two to three walks a day - and 'walk' is at a sedate, very calm pace - but then is sound asleep for most of the day. My dog gets along fine with her, and the cat already has her completely bamboozled - Dehlia respectfully lays down and turns her gaze aside whenever the cat waltzes past.

AND I am SOO excited that my OTHER daughter (the high-maintenance, multiple crisis a week one - but who DOES take care of herself, her family, her duties ... and me, most of the time, via long-distance counseling) and her family are coming for Thanksgiving. It is also getting focused on cleaning and decorating things that I have been able to ignore most of the six+ years I lived in this house. I am getting very creative in ways to 'disguise' some, hmmm, unmodifiable (is that a word) items (necessity if the mother of invention, right?). My carpet will remain stained, and I expect both Kate and Colin to add some new ones - but I'm just psyched to have them here for a few days. AND I am getting some painting done!

Why do people choose certain professions? I know sometimes it's because of a particular teacher who wonderfully influenced you - a family 'tradition' of a certain career - maybe something that struck your fancy in college.

But why do people become proctologists - gastroenterologists - ENT specialists? Well, I can't complain, at least not today, about someone becoming an Ear, Noise and Throat Specialist - I saw one today that fully redeemed my sinus-infection-drawn life of the past three to four months. But he was sort of... well, different. You could just see the 10th grade geek in the back of the classroom, probably with a slide-rule and pen protector. He had old-fashioned examination equipment - extremely weathered leather straps hanging onto shiny little doo-dads that I've only seen in Dr. Kildare re-runs from the 60's (Richard Chamberlein was a real cutie back then).

Listen, any of you odd.... I mean, doctors in UNIQUE specialities, let me know what prompted you, okay? Inquiring minds would like to know.

I simply love watching children in church sing and give short, memorized little bits of scriptures and/or spiritual thoughts - that is, I love it IF I do NOT 1) have a child up there to worry about and.or 2) be in charge of any group of the children that are in the presentation.

And talking today to a woman I have known for over eight years, I discovered something I never knew - she is dyslectic enough that she cannot read at all normally - she has to read a sentence at least three times (and I mean EACH and every sentence) to make certain she is getting it right. Very bright, very dynamic woman, always in a leadership position, very involved in her community. And she has to face this each and every day.

Wow, and sometimes I complain about stumbling over words and forgetting things.

It sometimes astonishes me how I act when I get tired. First it's just slight irritability - then a headache - and then almost anger (which is NOT a normal emotion for me) - and finally resignation and a resolve to simply cope with reality.

After waiting some four hours, I was long past the anger, and tried to be patient with the wait for "Dehlia" (Delhlia?), a greyhound up for an adoption today. Finally the foster parent showed up; a long-haired, 'fag'-smoking (I am saying fag because I am not entirely convinced that it contained tobacco at all) gentleman about my age, who was in fact obviously very very fond of Dehlia - an extremely multi-colored female grey; multi-colored in being sort of Dalmatian-spotted, random sections of almost tiger/tabby orange and black. But also affection, and NOT at all hyper.

Yes, I was weak, I was weary - I said "yes."

But we brought her home. And so far she is being great - very passive with my dog (who is not at all the alpha-male), avoids the cat completely (who IS the alpha-male), eats politely when my dog is finished, and asks nicely to go outside when necessary. She accepts the horses simply as over-sized dogs, and walks very calmly on a leash.

I'm just grateful she is sleeping in my husband's room, and not mine.

It's only 8:20 p.m., and quite cool now - I am trying to summon up the energy to go finish the painting in my study (i.e. walls, not any attempt at artwork), since it didn't get touched at all today. As I get older, I think I understand more and more why people use drugs - if I could give myself an adrenalin shot right now, I think I would.

I am, pure and simple, a Harry Potter geek. I just happened upon "The Chamber of Secrets" on the Disney channel about a half hour ago, and I am jumping up and down and yelling, "HEY! I never saw this scene before!! This must be the uncut director's-cut left-on-the-editing-floor-until-today" (didn't we have a discussion about the over-use of -s just the other-day?!) version!" I am enjoying it WAY too much for being an adult of... well, maturing years.

This evening I went and played busboy (buswoman?) at my favorite local cafe (which sounds so chic as opposed to a place where the cook wears a baseball cap and mumus). Friday night is their busier night (all-you-can-eat fish fry - there, does that totally destroy the latte-image?), and I simply offered to help. Doing dishes can be a whole lot of fun... if you can keep the right attitude. And that is something that I should write a book about - I can do it about almost every time (exceptions being nauseous, somebody else driving a car that I am in, and cleaning the cat box).

Now, I must go through about 37 color samples I picked up to day at Lowe's, if nothing else to eliminate my concept of combining Clay Ridge with Coriander, Anjou Pear, and Chilled Cantalope (don't you just love the names they come up with for paint colors?). Since my husband is pretty much color-blind when it comes to anykind of pastel, I can have free rein on just about any color. What do you think about Honeysuckle Bloom, Old Man River, and Wheatgrass (which, I am convinced, are shades which can only be recognized by women or gay men).

Good night - and Tom Riddle is now accusing Hagrid of unleashing the Chamber of Secrets - ARGGGHHHHH - sorry, I can't stop!!

I don't have anyone around to brag to - well, the dog and cat are here, but the cat isn't saying anything nice since I woke him up and moved him - and Murray loves everything and anything I do, so I can't take his comments too seriously. And my daughter is dealing with the mother-in-law-from-hell right now, right after moving back into their house after a wildfire which got within one mile of their home - I shouldn't really bother her.

But I have painted ONE WHOLE WALL in my study! YAHOO!! Yeah, ME! Yes, yes, I know, I still have three to go - but this way I at least get to make certain the colors (I'm using two shades of yellow - idea is to create an optical illusion that you think the further walls are nearer and the nearer walls are further) are gonna work. Plus I do still have to take down my lovely collection of license plates; but hopefully later this afternoon.

It's only been six+ years that I've been thinking about painting this room - maybe before 2013 I can actually get the rest of the house done ;-)

It's amazing what can be accomplished when one of your children is involved in the main CNN Headline News story for two to three days. Watching the S. California brush fires steadily getting closer and closer to where Harmony and Blake live, and become more and more convinced that their place was going to burn to the ground, it provided the perfect stimulant to make me 1) clear out my study (my equivalent to a garage - where you stick all your junk), 2) wash just about EVERthing in the house besides clothes (blankets, sheets, pillows, and more blankets), 3) advertise for someone to take my cat away for my known-allergic daughter (and have three names on file of people who will take Leader-Of-The-Known-World aka Pandora) and 4) FINALLY move some furniture that had needed to be moved for a couple of years.

Unfortunately, with all this wonderful bursts of energy, I have also fallen prey to stress-eating - although chocolate is a major food group, I have gone way beyond my month's worth of calories in three days. Extra-long walks with the horses and moving very heavy hide-a-beds (do you realize that I can actually sleep eight other people in this house?) haven't compensated for the junk food at all.

However, now that Harmony and Blake are safely home (albeit their cars won't be unloaded for a while just in case another evacuation order comes through), I can relax and enjoy my clean, organized house - no, wait, now that I have cleared that study, I am going to have to PAINT it before I move anything back in - and with at least 482 more photographs found, I have to continue work on my combined "This-Is-Your-Life-And-See-I-Have-Photos-To-Prove-It" work-in-progress.

So the only question that remains tonight - am I beginning to use -s like Harmony uses ""?!