Everything Day

Back over to the house…

The day was looking warm again.

Inside…

Puck was busy ‘shooting bad bugs’ off of people.

“You’re doomed, everyone! You’re doomed!”

Or, with Francis’ old brown tank…

“Kah-boosh! I’m shooting mail to you, Francis!”

Meanwhile, the whiteboard read:

• chocolate milk

• a gray and black striped kitten

• all the cheese in the world! (A Rose-contribution. Doubtless.)

And Dad had submitted his comprehensive final, to be heard back from in ten days’ time.

Then Puck wandered back into his grandma and grandpa’s room where his grandpa was doing preliminary stretches and exercises before leaving to run.

After observing him for awhile, Puck said, “Grandpa looks like a whistle.

Grandpa laughed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been called a whistle before.”

“You’ve been whistled at plenty of times,” said Mom.

“Maybe just back in high school,” said Dad.

“’Smokin’ man,” Mom replied laughing…

A reference from Sunday when Dad had come out of church saying, “There’s some smoking moms out front there.”

Mom, shocked, and not knowing what to say, finally understood Dad to be saying that they were literally smoking. Smoking cigarettes, that is.

Shortly later, they heard Dad from the kitchen…

“Rose!!”

“What?!”

Rose had hung a coil of fly paper from the kitchen pantry that had been getting everyone’s hands sticky lately. Including, apparently, Dad’s.

“I’m going to take this down,” said Dad.

“No! I’ll just put up another one!”

“If you do, I’ll wrap it around your nose.”

Rose just giggled.

Linnea-Irish was busy putting together props for her Monday speeches on peacocks and Iceland.

And Rose was busy pondering available contracts, still hoping that the Art Museum or Wash-U might still be available. Anything near Forest Park was a coveted position.

There were things from the mail that day…

Carrie had bought two delicate silver Tibetan bell bracelets as an advance gift, a seven to ten year advance gift, for Collette’s future daughters from China.

Puck’s Christmas present from OLeif and Collette had also arrived: a dark red, black, gray, and white woven poncho.

And more Moroccan oil. The ‘elixir of life’, apparently…

Then time to leave for the store…

Puck had a blast at Whole Foods. He helped Mom load up the cart with all things organic: bacon, bison meat, sausages, turkey sausage, eggs, cheese, crackers, and even chocolate-peppermint cookie dough. And then the light mountain henna hair dye, in the gazelle box and elephant box. Although the elephant turned out to be a lion instead.

And Puck, of course, sampled all of the foods available, including peach lemonade, raspberries, blueberries, and baby tomatoes.

When they had returned, Rose was busy creating a cone collar for Snuggles out of red construction paper and scotch tape.

“He got into the paint stripper stuff,” she explained. “He can’t lick his paws right now.”

The poor yellow cat could hardly see, so telescoped was the collar.

“He looks like he’s wearing an Elizabethan collar,” said Mom.

“He’s Count Chocula,” said Rose. “Now I have to put on your moisturizer…”

Then she left to go to lunch with Juliet.

And later, Linnea added her own services by stuffing the poor cat into the linen closet in a sort of pillow house in order to prevent him from escape.

Challah bread dippers for lunch…

In the afternoon, Puck went on another visit to see Grandpa Snicketts with Dad.

And Rose’s hair was being dyed…

“It looks like pond scum,” said Collette, as she watched Carrie spread the goo over her hair.

“Why is Onion’s hair green?” Puck wanted to know.

About the time that Rose’s hair was soaking in this green mud, Liepaja dropped by to pick up Creole, who was, inevitably, at Dairy Queen with Francis.

It was also Liepaja’s birthday, and they were to order pizza for dinner. Having four sons, it must have been quite a hit all around.

Rose left not long later to join a friend at church for dinner.

At church, after soup and burgers…

Collette had been told by Mrs. Expialidocious that on the first night of baby choir, while the kids had been taught to raise their hands, Puck had got the idea of it…

“Look!” he cried excitedly. “I’m raising my hand!”

And then, while watching the Jonah Veggie Tales, he had apparently said to Daisy-Jean, “God said that he would never flood the Earth again.”

Then Linnea came bounding out to the parking lot, accompanied by Gretyl and Mandarin.

“I’m freezing!” she announced.

“Yeah,” said Gretyl. “She’s covered in pickle juice!”

“And hot dogs,” Mandarin added.

Apparently they had been playing Apple Bobbing. But not only were there apples and oranges, but also raw hot dogs and… pickles…

The exciting news of the night for Puck, was being given a hand-me-down bike from the Expialidocious family. He took off on it, immediately, training wheels paddling alongside, with Linnea and Gretyl helping him along.

The evening ended with OLeif crafting a special ‘second dinner’ out of baked pita, with garnish of baked goat cheese with chives and marinara sauce. Rather good.

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