This week has been a million years long. Now it's cocktail time.

I'm hungry, but I have lost my husband and have no hope of him returning soon. This is what happens when he goes to talk to the neighbors.

Neighbors, man.

Mine is helping the little old lady across the street with her gutters. Of course, our *former* neighbor is planting our container garden, sort of in thanks for all the gutter, roof, interior trim and minor remodeling he did for her when she lived here.

Pat me on the back, please. The Tea Party neighbor in her pink cardy and scooter chair just stopped by to kibbitz with the planting, and I managed to grit my teeth and avoid reply to her religious and political rhetoric. It sort of drivels out all the time, disguised as conversation. I did not kick her chair over. I think I deserve candy.

msbelle, you have all my hugs and best wishes and attagirls and any and all encouragement I can send. It just sucks, sometimes, and I'm sorry.

Oh! I just read where CA is on the brink of passing legislation making it illegal to own or imprison orcas. So, there's that on the positive side of balance today.

I'll be heading out shortly for beer and truffle fries.

I have a new windshield. It's like my Jeep had cataracts, it's frightening, how impaired my driving view was. I am going to be so furious, when I get that first rock chip, which probably won't be long. The dirt haulers may cover their loads, but that doesn't matter when the truck and trailer themselves are covered with sand and drying mud and it's all flying off at highway speeds.

I'm going to need to go retrieve my husband, and the neighbors are going to try to get me to have some wine, because when they get into the wine, they forget that I don't drink wine.

I just need a damn recall button on him.

You do deserve candy, Beverly! I feel like that is generally true all the time, but especially now.

Mmm, beer and truffle fries.

I am having an international cocktail of Icelandic blueberry liqueur, Absolute Citron, and some soda water. It's pretty delicious. Also put up the patio umbrella and disturbed a whole slew of spiders (using my dad's friend's metric of "one, two, a whole slew" anyway) so now I am inside instead of out on the patio, hoping the arachnids will disperse peacefully.

msbelle, I'm so sorry to hear of your tribulations. Raising kids is not for the faint-hearted.

You're all making me sad. I have no ice cream, I haven't the right kind of booze to make fruity cocktails. I do have beer, though no truffle fries. I may just have to make do.