A Wreath, a Rat, a Stone, a Thing

When I took Olga to the vet on Friday, just to make things even more interesting, I bought this Christmas wreath at a store near the vet's office. That way I could walk 45 minutes back home trailing a lollygagging elderly dog and carrying a natural wreath on a little wooden pallet. I was certainly happy to hang it up when I got to the house.

Doesn't it look good on our front door, next to those completely useless anti-theft stickers from the Metropolitan Police (which pre-date our tenancy)?

I don't know what it's made of, and none of the tags tell me. They just say it's not for consumption. Which is a shame; I was going to boil it up.

Yesterday, as predicted, was mostly spent lying around the house. I did clean the floors. Housekeeping at this time of year is a challenge because it's so muddy outside, and somehow clots of dirt invariably find their way indoors. I found one in the hall the other day big enough to be a divot from a golf course. I take my shoes off when I come inside and even that doesn't prevent it, probably because it comes in between Olga's toes.

The idea of taking shoes off at the door reminds me of my grandmother, the one who lived in Washington, D.C. She bought new carpet at some point in the late '70s and you would think if she wanted to protect it she'd have had us take our shoes off at the door. But no -- she had a theory that the skin oils from our bare feet would actually make the rug dirtier, so she required us to wear shoes or socks indoors. I have never heard of this before or since.

In the afternoon, Olga and I took a walk to the cemetery. We hadn't been there in weeks so it was good to go back.

Does anybody know what this is? I found it at the cemetery and I often find them lying around town. I thought it was a sort of electrical fuse but Google says it's an LED. That doesn't seem right, but what do I know?

A. Alvarez got a new, rustic-looking headstone.

And we found a little statuette of Ratty, from "The Wind in the Willows," next to someone's marker. He had fallen over so I stood him back upright.

We got back from our walk just as Dave was about to Zoom with his tuba student. He's been working with this guy, who's in his 20s, pro bono because the student is marching with the Madison Scouts, a Drum Corps group, and Dave is a Scouts alumnus. It's a way for Dave to contribute to the strength of the group. Anyway, I always tease Dave because everything he says to this student sounds weirdly sexual; he's always talking about tightening embouchures or positioning the lips and tongue in certain ways. A few weeks ago he said to the guy, "I think there are very few things in a brass player’s life more personal than multiple tonguing." It was so funny I had to write it down. (Fortunately the guy lives thousands of miles away so I'm not worried!)

We wrapped up our day by watching "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," which I always find entertaining. Despite the presence of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, it's an incredibly gay movie. I thought Dave might really like it because he loves "Auntie Mame," and it's similar in its Technicolor extravagance. But he was lukewarm. We then watched "Annihilation" with Natalie Portman (big genre change!) and it was entertaining enough, like a good TV movie, even though the final scene looked like a Martha Graham modern dance number. If you've seen it you'll know what I'm talking about.