Sunday, July 14, 2002
Dale: Maddie and I fed the squirrels from our front step before church this morning. Actually, it was just one squirrel, as it successfully chased away its two competitors. It was a medium size black squirrel, which means it was a little twitchy about coming anywhere within twenty feet of humans. I had to whip the peanuts halfway across the street before it would consider approaching. Brown squirrels are much less shy. At my old below ground apartment, they became brazen (not to mention portly), and actually came right up to my window screen, staring inside as if to say "Get a move on, pal! I'm hungry here!" This technique infuriated my cat. But all the hissing in the world failed to intimidate those brown squirrels, who simply got fatter and sassier. I fed them so often I actually had one follow me as it walked on a power line in the parking lot. It would have been Hitchcockean if they hadn't been so good-natured to humans.
After church, I spent two hours driving around with Madeleine, running errands. The only bad part is loading and unloading her from her car seat in the Tahoe. She's getting very heavy, and usually is impatient to get out of the seat, regardless of the travel time or destination.
Our first stop was Home Depot, where I picked up 100 pounds of Quikrete to anchor our clothes line post. I probably have twice as much as I need, but it's only six bucks a bag, and I would rather not be forced to make a second trip. I'll wait till later in the afternoon to pour it--the sun's brutal in our exposed backyard right now. The second stop was at Best Buy. Last month our hard drive blew up. We got it back (obviously), but the standard Microsoft games (Solitare, Minesweeper) weren't reloaded (thanks, buddy). The other adult resident here is a big fan of Minesweeper, so I thought I'd check out their games section. Sure enough, they have the 100 game disc compilations, and I picked one out. Madeleine, intrigued, insisted on a taste test. Since I was intending to buy it, I let her. It was much more interesting than the bear I'd taken pains to remember to put in her diaper bag. I selected another game compilation, and somehow managed to resist buying a new real-time strategy game called "Superpower." Another time, maybe.
I then piled her into the car, and headed down Gratiot to pick up a prescription. Fortunately, the I-94 detour wasn't much of a problem. We got the prescription, and piled back into the truck for the third time, both of us getting very tired. We were both happy to be home. Now, it's time for her nap. Only she doesn't know it yet.
After church, I spent two hours driving around with Madeleine, running errands. The only bad part is loading and unloading her from her car seat in the Tahoe. She's getting very heavy, and usually is impatient to get out of the seat, regardless of the travel time or destination.
Our first stop was Home Depot, where I picked up 100 pounds of Quikrete to anchor our clothes line post. I probably have twice as much as I need, but it's only six bucks a bag, and I would rather not be forced to make a second trip. I'll wait till later in the afternoon to pour it--the sun's brutal in our exposed backyard right now. The second stop was at Best Buy. Last month our hard drive blew up. We got it back (obviously), but the standard Microsoft games (Solitare, Minesweeper) weren't reloaded (thanks, buddy). The other adult resident here is a big fan of Minesweeper, so I thought I'd check out their games section. Sure enough, they have the 100 game disc compilations, and I picked one out. Madeleine, intrigued, insisted on a taste test. Since I was intending to buy it, I let her. It was much more interesting than the bear I'd taken pains to remember to put in her diaper bag. I selected another game compilation, and somehow managed to resist buying a new real-time strategy game called "Superpower." Another time, maybe.
I then piled her into the car, and headed down Gratiot to pick up a prescription. Fortunately, the I-94 detour wasn't much of a problem. We got the prescription, and piled back into the truck for the third time, both of us getting very tired. We were both happy to be home. Now, it's time for her nap. Only she doesn't know it yet.
