13 September 1999
I was a bit tired when we went to the grocery store last night. And I'll admit that when I'm tired, I'm not the quickest cookie on the block. So when I saw a sign cheerfully advertising LEMON CHOCOLATE COCONUT MERINGUE pies, I nearly choked at the imagined flavor.

Conjunctions are important. Conjunctions and punctuation.


It's looking like the dogwood tree in our yard might actually survive! The branch ends are green, and it's sporting a few green leaves.The grass in our yard is still a bit on the sparse side, but I think we're going to have to re-seed it ourselves. And I'm still trying to decide what to do with the rest of the yard. At the least, we probably ought to buy some pine mulch (I saw some for sale outside the grocery store last night) and put it around our bushes and the tree. But what do I know?


The exterminator came Saturday morning and we signed a contract to have them come once a month and spray as a preventative against all manner of vermin. (Not termites, of course. Termites are a whole different ball of wax.) The guy sprayed along the baseboards in the dining room, and behind the counters in the kitchen, and around the pipes in the bathrooms, and in various places outside. The fumes from the spray made me light-headed and dizzy and gave me a headache and a weird taste in the back of my throat, but we haven't seen any ants since. Thank goodness. And the fumes didn't linger too long.

If we just called and had them treat when we had problems, then it would cost us around $100 a treatment. Monthly spraying costs $32 a month plus a startup fee, which is to say around $400 a year. So if you assume that we'd have less than four invasions a year, then the monthly treatment is more expensive. But then, it's worth the extra to me not to have to worry about stumbling across an invasion, or dealing with it between finding it and getting the exterminator out to the house. I'm a big fan of preventative measures. Also, if we do have an invasion of some sort, then they'll come out and treat it at no extra charge.


Have you noticed that each decade seems to have its own color scheme? Sure you have.

The 70's were all about earth tones - brown and orange and olive green and yellow-gold.

The 80's were in love with dusty country colors: rose and powder blue, primarily, though there were some greens thrown in for variety.

The 90's brought us the deep, vibrant jewel-tones that I personally fell in love with. Almost everything in my house is based on those colors: our plates (and shower curtain, incidentally) are Amalfi patterns, and I've picked accessories and throw rugs to match.

Recently, flipping through magazines and shopping, I've assimilated the colors for the next decade. They are a lovely dusty lavender, a rich yellowy cream, and a rather less attractive olive green.

I've already caved in, actually. The curtains in our office at home are purple and beige, and this weekend I bought new placemats in a much darker version of the lavender, with tan accents, and others in light green (not, I wish to emphasize, the hideous olive) with patterns in cream. Why have I caved in so quickly? Because the jewel-tones are getting harder and harder to find, and I actually like lavender anyway.

But dammit, I liked the jewel-tones!