Very cool, Perkins, that sounds like some excellent celebrating.

My mom can't visit me in my 3rd floor apartment because she can't handle stairs at all. Actually, she can barely get around with a walker at the moment. So I go there. Since I usually end up changing their house's air filters, planting and weeding their gardens, replacing shower heads, etc., my folks have wisely decided to let it go. Especially when I said something along the lines of, "When I get a ground floor house y'all can come over and help me put in my garden! Won't that be fun?" Dad's probably hoping my knees hold out.

Tiara Exchange Participants, insent.

Anyone who still wants to get in on the Tiara Exchange, you have 1 week to contact me - tamara dot skaredoff at gmaildotcom

I think everyone should camp once a year; I always come back very appreciative of stoves and coffeemakers and hot showers and tile.

If I promise to be appreciative anyway, can I opt out? I did the camping thing as a kid, and now unless there's going to be a Lex-clone in leather pants feeding me fresh mai-tais on an hourly basis I don't plan to be going anywhere without plumbing.

The flyer talked about the sexual abuse angle, pointing out that it can arouse kids who may not know what to make of those feelings, as well as giving opportunities to people who get off on dominance games.

I have at least 3 different rants I could go off on, here, but I won't. (Not at Connie; not in the least -- at the flyer-producing gits.)

at the flyer-producing gits

It seemed just barely on the right side of righteous indignation to me, but the whiff of purience was just a wee bit present.

I think everyone should camp once a year;

One of the many things I'm grateful that my back surgery did for me (in addition to fixing it so that I could, you know, LIVE WITHOUT PAIN) is that it gave me a ready-made excuse so that I never ever ever EVER have to camp again. Camping and Teppy are unmixy things. I don't sleep well in an unfamiliar *bed*, so you can imagine that sleeping on the ground doesn't really lead to actual sleep for me.

Now, I'm perfectly happy with day hikes; make them as grueling as possible, you betcha. But I need to sleep in a bed, preferably my own, at the end of the day.

I envy those who can camp well.

So, word on the street is I'm getting married in two years. I would check my ass for an expiration date, but my head won't turn that far around.

If I promise to be appreciative anyway, can I opt out? I did the camping thing as a kid, and now unless there's going to be a Lex-clone in leather pants feeding me fresh mai-tais on an hourly basis I don't plan to be going anywhere without plumbing.

I suppose I can cut you some slack.

So, word on the street is I'm getting married in two years.

And....does *she* know this, too?