A miscellany

I haven’t posted much on my blog lately and I’m feeling guilty about it. Not sure if I don’t have anything significant to say (always a possibility) or if I want to avoid discussing my doctor visits which have absorbed a lot of my time and thought (all good news).

Tonight there is just trivia on my mind. For one thing, at two, Sophie still jumps on all of us to get attention. The other night I invited my good friend Betty into the back yard for a glass of wine, and Sophie was such a pest, Betty said, “Maybe we should go to the front porch.” Last night, she jumped a lot on Elizabeth who can handle it but said she and her ex trained their dogs not to jump, as puppies, by using a little squirt of water. So today I got a squirt bottle, used it twice, and haven’t been jumped on. When she wanted to go out tonight, Sophie sat next to me and “talked.” I responded quickly, with lots of praise. Can’t believe it was that easy. We’ll see. Betty is now outraged that I’ve hurt the poor dear’s feelings. I think Sophie knows she’s loved.

Today I went to a birthday luncheon/reception for a friend’s father who is turning ninety. He’s lively, good company, active, still driving, always up for a good time—except sometimes he likes his routine. He tells wonderful, funny stories, and I admire him a lot. I want to be like that. Didn’t know three other people at the reception besides the family, so I talked at some length with the two I did know and ducked out early. Kind of proud of myself for going alone, because I really don’t like to go to that kind of event alone. I once had a good gay friend who made a wonderful escort—and I miss him to this day, though he’s been gone twenty years.

And finally, there’s my new cause—unprocessed foods. I’m outraged at Monsanto, and I saw a list of brands that Monsanto owns that nearly undid me. I thought I bought healthy foods but Campbell’s is on there, as is Nabisco (the fruit/health bars I buy for Jacob), and Hellman’s, which I always thought was the best mayonnaise and like now because they make a version with olive oil. But who knows what else? I doubt I’ll go so far as to make my own mayo but I will substitute homemade white sauce for Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup in casseroles, etc. And I’ve learned to read the code on vegetables so I know which are naturally grown, which organic, and which genetically altered—and I watch what I buy. Don’t get me started on what’s happening to our food supply.

It’s June, and I can hear fireworks in the distance. Not sure if it’s Concerts in the Park or what but I kind of like it.