Mea Culpa Redux!

I opened an email from a "reader" last night. She wanted to know "what the hell was going on in my life" and was I so busy, I couldn't stop what I was doing and drop everyone a line?

Well... on the index page on my web site, the blog *is* listed as "Sar's Occasional Blog," occasional being the operative word. Some day I'm going to post two days in a row and shock everyone that reads here.

Life has been busy and for the most part, really upbeat. Bull is HOME! If you're on the "announce list," you get an email from me when I post a new story to the site so some of you already know that Bull is finally home from an 18-month deployment. I've missed the big lug something awful and am gratified he's home and safe and in one piece. He hasn't stopped eating... I actually was relieved when he finally took a nap the other day. It meant I could get out of the kitchen for a couple of hours. That boy has an endless appetite.

Bull's mama and sisters arrived yesterday to spend a few days with us. Lovely family and lucky ME! Bull's mama is gonna teach me how to make "possum pie." Oye! I told Cowboy he has to drive up some of the rural roads at night and find some road kill to bring home... Cowboy's response was not terribly polite. Tsk.

Hadrian, the Neapolitan Mastiff we've been fostering has passed his obedience trials! Hurray! That animal is currently weighing in about 180-lbs. (close to 13 stone) and still growing. Hard to believe any dog is bigger than BullyBoy but he is. He'll need a strong personality to keep him in line but other than being a lazy son of a gun, he's a very sweet and loving animal. Neo's are generally one owner type dogs, extraordinarily protective and picky about who gets to visit their master. If he goes to a family with children, he'll be a better guardian than the Secret Service. Best of all, he's not a picky eater.

"I don't suppose you'd like to keep Hadrian?" I asked the giant squid.

"You suppose right."

Tsk.

"David could use a big watchdog at his house. His housekeeper would have a companion when he's away."

"You already gave him a giant tortoise," was the reply.

"A tortoise doesn't qualify as a watchdog."

"Someone sneaks onto his deck in the middle of the night and encounters that sea monster isn't a deterrent?"

"Only if they're carrying Twinkies."

SWAT!

Tsk.

"What about Bull? I bet Bull would love to have Hadrian."

"Bull is living with us when he's not on base so the dog would be here."

"And your point?"

SWAT!

I thought so. Tsk.

My neighbor, MsHairUpHerAss has been away visiting her "born again" daughter somewhere in the middle of the United States. She always comes back filled with lofty ideas about how I should live my life. I don't have any feelings one way or the other about her beliefs; I just don't want her spouting them to me. I told her if she can't keep those thoughts to herself I'd organize a Wicca ceremony on her front lawn at the next full moon. All the Wiccans would be nude and they'd chant so loud that the entire neighborhood would come over to see what MsHairUpHerAss had going on at her house.

She complained to Cowboy.

His response was that he was glad it wasn't going to take place at our house but he was willing to call the media to cover the event. This didn't stop him from delivering a couple of swats to *my* backside.

Double tsk.

Come to think of it, Peeper Patterson, another close neighbor, has a "born again" daughter who also resides in the middle of the U.S. ... Hmmm...

Speaking of neighbors... did I mention that MsKeptWoman had a falling out with her sugar daddy? He's a European businessman who visits the U.S. about once a month. While he's here, he spends a few days with MsKeptWoman who lives in a very nice house that he purchased for her. I don't know the details of their financial arrangements but I do know that he provides well for her and for the most part, she's free to do "her own thing" as long as she's home when he arrives. Welllll... she recently had a milestone birthday and is feeling o-l-d and washed up. I told her o-l-d is what the giant squid is and she had a long ways to go to catch up with him. I even told her she could out-jog him.

So... the three of us were jogging the other day and she mentioned that tiny little fact to Cowboy. For some reason, he took exception to that.

SWAT!

Tsk. I won't be telling her anything important in the future.

For those of YOU who complained about the recipe section, I finally got around to posting "peachy" things. Take a look.

~Sar~

Did It All!

We're home again. Had the very best time in San Diego and again, in New Orleans. I see Cowboy told you about San Diego - what a super place to visit. We've been there a few times over the years; the Pacific is beautiful there, very different from the views up here and they have two outstanding zoos. I could get lost there... putting that on the "back burner" for a future adventure. (I got locked into a zoo once... I fell asleep and when I woke up, the place was dark. I knew I could find a zookeeper and get out but the thought that I could walk around and see the animals at night was too intriguing to miss. Naturally, the giant squid had other thoughts... stalkers, etc and when I didn't come home at the appointed time, he "rescued" me from myself. The details of that event are murky... I was totally INNOCENT and he spanked me anyway. The man has NO couth.)

We flew home, repacked and went down to New Orleans. Alli and her husband and four boys met us there along with Max and Vi and Glory. 'Twas glorious!

We stayed with Max's family in the Garden District. Rode the trolley! Ate royally! And Alli and I gave the giant squid and her husband, Paul a run for their money! Shopped here... ate there... ran amok. Drank enough chicory coffee to sink a ship and ate so many beignets I actually gained 2 pounds. Had the *best* time!

Cowboy and Paul got lost in the "train" shop on Jackson Square. All the little boys go there...

SWAT!

Laughing softly...

Alli and I, along with Vi and Glory, went to one of the Mardi Gras shops. We tried on masks and strings and strings of beads. Bought a few of each. Thinking about wearing a mask and beads and my birthday suit the next time the giant squid gets perky.

SWAT!

LOL! I meant, next time the giant squid gets frisky.

SWAT!

LOL!

We celebrated Cowboy's birthday in New Orleans. Max arranged for a jazz band - some of those musicians play regularly at Preservation Hall so they were really the BEST. They went from "When the Saints" right into "Happy Birthday" and the big lug actually blushed. We had cake and pie and about 50 folks. I did an impromptu jazzy dance number and after a few Hurricane drinks, the squid did a really wicked limbo dance. Naturally, I took pics of that event. Naturally I took crotch shots.

SWAT!

~Grinning~

After the guests left - 2 were passed out on the floor and stayed for breakfast... Cowboy and I retired to the guestroom we were staying in. He decided it was time for me to have his birthday spanking. I agreed provided it was a sweet one. He didn't make any promises so I got the hell out of Dodge and went back to the kitchen where I tried to eat the rest of the birthday cake. I couldn't help myself - it was German Chocolate!

He caught up with me and with me under one arm - making wild inferences about his parentage - and the rest of the birthday cake in his other hand - we made it back to the bedroom where the cake and the birthday spanking sort of got mixed together. The man is soooooooo o-l-d he can't remember how many swats he delivered - kept losing count - I finally threatened to post his "limbo crotch" pics on the Internet. And because I'm a lady I won't repeat what that sailor said.

~Sar~