The Cutie Rule and Other Things

1. Hurray for the park! I've missed the park and it's filled with beautiful and fragrant wildflowers at the moment. I've also missed walking Mrs. Wigglebottom, but she was acting like a giant doofus, so for most of the walk we played "Who's in charge here?" which was not as much fun as our usual walks. Still, a happy dog rolling in the grass... as the song says, if there's anything better in the world, who cares? 2. I forgot to tell y'all that crazy folks ride their bikes all over Colorado--on the top of the national parks, on the interstates, through the streets, etc. Listen, if you have a desire to take your bike up on the highest road you can fine, with nothing between you and a giant cliff on one side and cars on the other but a slim stretch of gravel, you are a nut. In case you were wondering. 3. Elias and the Legal Eagle both have names that have the letters i and e in the first syllable. For as long as I've known either of them, it's been impossible for me to remember which order the e and i came in. The sound is "ee" and both of them have names that start with letters that regularly make an "ee" sound when followed by an e--like "he" or "we"--and so, the confusion. But, here's the important and brilliant question Elias asked me--"How do you spell cutie?" Voila! Using the cutie rule, I can now remember with ease how to spell their last names. 4. Baking soda all over the affected carpet has had an immediate and positive effect on the musty smell in our house. 5. Get this! The Butcher--who is not, unlike the recalcitrant brother, a plumber by trade--is actually the one who fixed our leak. He climbed into the ground and turned the main water thingy off himself and repaired the pipe himself and got everything turned on and working again himself. Seriously, that man could not be any more awesome, unless he'd actually washed the towels he used for mopping.