I love lists..........

I don't have any one thing in particular to write about today, but I have the opportunity to write for a change so I am just going to list a few random things that have struck me lately.

1. Gracie struck me in the jewels with her heal, again.
2. Angie struck me with a shoe

Okay, that's not what I meant. Let me try it again.

1. Have you ever seen a hunkered down dog taking a poop and running at the same time. It is a tribute to the adaptable of living creatures. I walked around the corner the other morning and caught our dog Bo dropping a BIG log in the kitchen floor, he looked up at me with that face one gets when straining to push out a big one. He then realized I was not amused and was walking towards him so he took off running, while still hunkered down and still pinching off logs. I picked up 5 logs, in the kitchen, the hall, and one on the stairs. Its not yet 5 AM so I am not interested in chasing him up the steps so I just clean up his little gift. The visual of his little sprint and poop was humorous enough to keep him out of trouble. There is something about starting your day with a hand full of warm doggy do that doesn't bode well for the rest of the day.
2. It is possible to spend just under 2G in 1hr and 20 minutes while purchasing 35 or so items at Lowes. It is advisable to have more than 1 hr. and 15 minutes to do this in. Angie and I went in the store with list in hand and a mission in mind. We accomplished most of the mission, all the items that need delivered anyway, and were at the checkout with a minute to spare. They turned the lights out on us before we left the store, however. The cabinets, counter top, bar top, mouldings, lumber, refrigerator, etc. will all be delivered next Monday.
3. This Monday is Chinese New Year. We will be having dinner at the Hunan Empress in St. Louis with 7 Families we were in China with. I look forward to seeing all of them, but I am particularly interested in watching the 'sisters' play together again. If you are anywhere in North America this Saturday afternoon and you listen carefully you will be able to hear the sonic disturbance taking place in Missouri. Don't worry, its just 7 Hunan girls plus one boy named Max from a different province running, playing and giggling. Kylee, Gracie, Grace, Sarah Penny, Lia Joy, Stevie, Xen, and Max are sure to have fun. Several of the girls have been asking about each other and are looking forward to seeing each other again. I may need to have surgery when we return to put my swollen heart back in my chest.
4. I am a person who doesn't like to be in the middle of the fray, I don't like being the center of attention. I am not a competitive talker, if I am talking I hope someone is listening, if they start talking I stop because I don't compete well. While this drives my wife nuts, its just who I am. I am more comfortable staying on the fringes and listening, watching, observing, and learning. It is amazing the things you notice if you can step back abit. This past weekend I noticed 2 things that I have observed before. The first is that peoples actions are very telling, particularly if they don't know your watching them from a distance. I watched a gentleman at church this weekend for about 10 minutes. He didn't know I was watching because I was over 50 feet away. This gentleman wasn't doing anything wrong or anything like that. He was just standing in a closed office, drinking a cup of coffee, nothing more. The thing that caught my eye was that he was deliberately distancing himself from others and he would stare out the window and then walk in small circles with his head down and then go back to the window. He repeated this between 10 and 15 times. The view out the window is an empty field so he was not waiting on something out there. This behaviour indicated to me that there is something very wrong and he is very uncomfortable with something, but as his distancing was deliberate I didn't feel I could approach him. I hope what ever was on his mind has since found resolution and he can find some peace. The second observance of the weekend was that people, like animals, travel in packs. I was at dinner with Angie and we observed a group of 12 women all there together. Most of the women had on jackets or coats with Mickey mouse on them. All of them looked as if their Harley was parked outside. They were a grumpy and short tempered bunch. They were also a little too masculine if you know what I mean. During a conversation with our waitress their behaviour and demeanor was brought up and she confirmed our suspicions. This group gathers at this restaurant regularly and no body wants to be their server because they are always grumpy and short tempered. I said, "ah, the Lesbian Disney gathering" and Angie struck me on the shin under the table with her shoe.