Fits, facts and fictions

I had a fit of domesticity yesterday and bought a steam cleaner. My motivation was two-fold: pets and a home visit. The dogs weigh a combined 226 lbs and they have really put the beat down on our funky area rug in our funky living room which is starting to be more funky in smell than it is in style. Also, Lars and I decided to go to the next logical step in our relationship, and so we are hoping to host a Fresh Air child this August. So, unlike when couples have their own children for life, we have to go through a process of a home visit, an interview, and application, a background check, and 4 references. The rug, in my opinion, could have been a deal breaker so I am in hopes that we'll pass with flying colors.

My parents have hosted a child several times, mainly in the late 60's and mid 70's. The one I remember was a little girl from Boston named Muffin. She was there for my 2nd birthday and I remember being in awe of her. I have great pictures from my mom of us 4 kids hamming it up for the camera, in the kitchen one hot July.

We had a staff development day last week at work. One of the things we did in the latter part of the day was talk about a book we had read in the last year. I chose Heavy Words Lightly Thrown, by Chris Roberts which explores the meaning behind nursery rhymes. It's clever, and interesting. It would be a good book to share with an Anglophile. Most of the staff read works of fiction, but I'm a non-fiction kind of girl. Besides the Zusak book I am finishing up, I rarely read fiction. When I do it's never fantasy, or sci-fi. I guess I'm a realist that way. I have difficulty relating to experiences that couldn't be my own, so that excludes a lot of genres for me.