"The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep"

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The snow had fallen in the night. Robert Frost woods…

Earnest had met with a bit of an “accident” on Tuesday. Mom had found him, just having chewed through the power cords behind the couch. With a shower of sparks, the crispy critter had made a run for it.
“He still kind of smells electrocuted,” Carrie had said.
“Did Linnea tell you?” Dad asked. “She took two of her teeth out yesterday.”
“She’s 14. What teeth would she have to pull?”
Turned out to be only one tooth, but still…
Francis entered the upstairs domain…
“Uh… Oh…”
“Francis!” Puck laughed, “you always say that when you see me!”
Linnea was upset…
“Some pig just ate the last two bagels.”
Somehow Puck had confused this to mean something else…
“Joe! Why did you eat Linnea’s ear?”
Carrie-Bri and Joe were trying to convince Dad to change his email account to Gmail…
“My name’s going to already be used,” he said. “LSnicketts@gmail.com will already be taken.”
“Well,” said Joe, “you’ll just have to make it: LutherSnickettsStampsOutAllThePeopleWhoTryToEmulateHim@gmail.com.”
Puck and Grandma time included a tiny Chinese brocade turquoise-gold lipstick case with mirror inside from Hong’s Imports, or something like that. This became Puck’s “money carrying case”, which he prized immediately and showed all of his friends that night at church.
“You know that homeless guy who spent the night at Yaotl’s?” Joe was saying. “I got him to sign my autograph book in my car.”
“Dad,” Joe whined. “Can you get the princess out of the bathroom? It’s taking forever down there.”
“But Linnea just went in there,” said Collette.
“Oh, I meant Francis.”
When Francis did emerge shortly later, he joined Mom and Linnea for school in Mom’s and Dad’s room…
“Oh, I have a little kitty cat to cuddle with.”
Collette left Francis alone for about five minutes in the kitchen while she finished school with Puck. When she returned to begin math with him, he was shaving Mom’s dining room taper candles into blocks over the trash can. He claimed they would burn more effectively.
“Try convincing Mom that when she wakes up from her nap.”
Carrie nabbed Puck…
“Will you cuddle with me always if I give you a lollipop every day?” she asked him.
“No. Sun. That will be too much sugar.”
“How about lollipops and protein.”
Puck was willing to consider this.
“So, Puck,” Carrie was saying as she prepared chocolate cookies, “are you going to give Anneliese a Valentine’s card?”
“No,” he replied thoughtfully. “I already held her hand. That was her Valentine’s Day present.”
Joe departed shortly later to decorate for a birthday party and then to church. Francis was off to work. Linnea had youth group. And Carrie was meeting Benedict for coffee in Town & Country.