VALENTINE'S DAY

Abby awakens to our typical wake-up routine: I turn her doorknob, dogs and cats rush in from out of nowhere, Otis leaps on the bed and puts his face thisclose to hers, Chester yawns, we leave. Only today (Happy Valentine's!!), instead of yawning, Chester farts distinctly three times. Abby - "That's not a yawn!".  Then we leave.

SAMPLING THE WEB

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBpMIbcJkz0

Stuart Edge and a Valentine's Day acapella group.

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Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night Over the Rhone---

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_98VrEr3NA

Surprise twins find each other on the internet.


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlFEJ-Ctpjc          Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban - We Were Us



---Gus Kenworthy, U.S. Freestyle skier. He is taking four puppies he found in Sochi home to America.

BOB COSTAS

Bob Costas, Olympic announcer for CBS, has what looks like a nasty double case of conjunctivitis (pinkeye). Sam advances his 100%-certain  theory that pinkeye is caused by poop in the eye. Costas, by Sam's train of thought, has obviously been sabotaged by farts on his pillow. Farts - microscopic rainstorms of poop particles (no, they are not), famously are the sole cause of pinkeye (editor's note: no, they are not, it is an inflammation caused by viruses, allergies, irritants such as chlorine, shampoo, smoke) and the unfortunate Mr. Costas is a victim of an insidious, vicious fart booby-trap.

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Wonderful new sub sandwich from Subway: "There’s never been another sub like it! Crunch into a pile of Fritos placed right on top of tender pulled chicken and authentic enchilada sauce for a new satisfyingly delicious bite of flavor you can’t find anywhere else!"
(Unfortunately it is 15 points on Weight Watchers and I only get 26 a day!)

BACON BOWL

Me:What are you picking off that? (David Eyre's pancake)
Sam: Not hair.
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Me: I agree with Sam that the dogs do need a bath.
Sam: Ooh, sorry Abby!
Me: However Sam does have two hands, and the dogs do love Sam.
Abby: Yeah!
Sam: No, I'm a baller, not a washer.
Me: Don't go there.
Abby: He's a dog-baller.
--Bacon Bowl - Abby and Sam's new obsession. With mashed potatoes! With salad! With mac and cheese!

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Dia de los Muertos Mermaid --
Sam's gift to me from Albuquerque. So many to choose from in the pic he sent, but who can say no to a skeleton mermaid with a ukulele and a fuchsia tail?

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Since Sam graduated on December 20, he has not slept in his own bed five times. He chooses instead a random couch or chair downstairs. Wouldn't a guy forced to use borrowed couches or a truck seat to sleep on over the course of a semester simply crave a real, spread-out and make yourself comfortable, bed?? Does the luxury of his very own couch suffice; overwhelmingly familiar, yet intoxicatingly indulgent?

JANUARY, COLD AND CLEAR

A very successful party, three birthdays, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, two deaths, two funerals, a school shooting, one extended flu, one week-long cold, Grandpa's broken shoulder, Sam's solo cross-country trip, Rachael's lost cat. All in the space of five weeks. I am exhausted mentally, and mired in the doldrums. I sleep too much or not at all. Even the long succession of sunny-cold days does nothing for my mood.

ETCETERA

Sam- "You know I have things about people breathing on my cheesecake!". 

(Picture: - from the Dollar Store- "Who wants a big bowl of Honey Nut Scooters?")

Dad, crying with cookie in his mouth- "I took Rachael's socks out of the car with this hand and then I got this cookie with this hand. It reeks!".

Abby- "Everyone's pretty in their own way."  Rachael- "Some of them are just pretty ugly."

Errands all day with Sam and Abby:
 -- Bed Bath and Beyond- the three of us sitting in three different massage chairs, comparing merits of each. Sam- "This is exploding my kidneys!"  Me- "And we will walk away and leave you in a puddle of kidney juice."  Abby- "Do you know what kidney juice is?"  Me- "His obituary: Kidneys exploded in Bed Bath and Beyond. Left behind in a puddle of kidney juice."

--Panera Bread with Grandpa Al. Sam spills an entire cup on water on the table, which spills onto Abby's lap. Abby becomes obsessed with the word pamphlets, repeating it so many times it becomes meaningless and strange. "Pam flits...pan flets...pam plets...pan flets". Times 15,000.

--Sam- "We're all cows when the lights go out. Think about it." (talking about Kim Jong Il's uncle's death).

--Sam to Abby- "Remember when I squashed you, me and Rachael in the revolving door at Whole Foods?"  Rachael- " It was my own personal hell."

NEW YEAR'S DAY

Last night we did the usual New Year's ritual: we stayed up late, watched some Twilight Zone, played Life (I won, mostly because I discovered $500,000! in buried treasure), ate cherry cheesecake and drank apple cider. Rachael even made it to midnight, Abby left a party early to come celebrate with us - lucky for her because Alex reported it turned into a "couple's cuddle-fest". We drank cider out of the Porto-sippers Sam had bought me for my birthday (I have yet to try them with port). They look like tiny elf-size unusually-elaborate glass watering pitchers.

Today it is mild and sunny, and I look forward to the monthly calendar's prediction that we gain 45 minutes of sunshine by the last day. At about 10:00 a.m. the sun is shining through a light snowstorm. I read in the paper about Claire Davis' memorial at the stock show coliseum at 1:00. Abby steadfastly refuses to go, despite the fact everyone she knows will be there. It seems to be a giant thing - 6000 seats will be full, there will be horses, undoubtedly all the Arapahoe kids will sit together. Supposedly the local channels will cover it, I would like to see if they honor the two officers who ran toward the shooter. One of them was Rod Mauler, Mike Hosanna's ex-cop friend who is a security officer at Arapahoe. I assume Abby has had enough of the whole shooting thing, but I want it thoroughly dealt with and not resurfacing in five years when something brings it up for her. The more it is discussed, the less powerful it becomes.