Saw two houses today. The first was a townhome that I REALLY wanted to be it. I liked the neighborhood and the living area, but all the bedrooms were downstairs with one bathroom. And it needed a lot of "freshening up" work.

The second place we knew was going to be a craps shoot. As soon as we drove up, I wasn't feeling it. The one car garage would need work to be able to park in it. And the front door was open but no one answered when we first walked in. Into a home formerly inhabited by a smoker. Carpets would have to be replaced, walls scrubbed and repainted - at a minimum. Our realtor talked to a voice in the basement that said he was showing the house also (no other cars were parked out front). We had seen enough to know it was a no-way, so we left. My realtor headed down the street in one direction and we headed in the other. And just around the corner we passed 4 police cars within two blocks, 4 police officers - who at their vehicle in their computers and the other two in full protective gear carrying AK47's (or whatever is the police issue equivalent). Oh, hell no. No clue what or why but damn.

That fraternity in Oklahoma that had the disgusting racist chant? A while ago a chapter in New York killed a guy in a hazing incident.

Thanks for explaining that massaged kale is actually a legitimate food preparation technique - I think the phrase made me think of people massaging kale in the fields as it grows, like that one breed of Japanese cows.

Wagyu kale! That is a great marketing idea.

GLOVE SLAP!

Dueling at dawn, then. I forget, do I choose weapons or do you?

Timelies all!

Face doesn't itch anymore, but the skin on my cheekbone is rough and dry.

Wagyu kale makes me laugh and laugh!!

That Oklahoma thing makes me think I should talk to my kids about it, but then I think probably 8 and 11 is too young for the nuance of who is allowed to say the n-word in what contexts, and also too young for the horrors of lynching. I dunno. It's hard to know when you're keeping them in a bubble, and then it's hard to know when it's too much too young. I read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry in 5th grade and honestly I think I never got over it (it is appropriate for that age but maybe I was too sensitive?)