Good news: We bought a new dishwasher yesterday!
Bad news: It's not in stock and won't arrive at our house until the first week of June. That means a coupla more weeks of a messy kitchen and pruny hands. Actually, I'm sure the kitchen will continue to be messy most of the time even after we get it.
Good news: We've had a lot of rain the past few months, and everything is green or blooming.
Bad news: Already living in Allergen Central, everything's blooming. Plus, it's giving a boost to the mosquito population. If we don't douse ourselves in Deet before venturing out we end up with tons of love bites.
The smell of insect repellent, so often mixed with sunscreen, reminds me of summers past. It's a comforting smell, oddly enough, but I'm not a big fan of wearing chemicals like that. However, after a mosquito put the Petite Filet's grandpa in the hospital a couple of summers ago (encephalitis, or something spelled similar), we are religious about it. We've got Off! wipes for the kiddies, too. Eau de mosquito for everyone!
Below is an entry about the little suckers republished from my blog when it was on Blogspot. It was first posted on June 26, 2003 ...
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE
I sat down with one of those among us whose very reason for living is eating the blood of the living. An excerpt of the gripping interview transcript follows.
Texas T-Bone: So you'�re a vampire.
Vampire: Yeah, but I hate that word. It sounds evil or something. I only suck blood because it makes me feel good. My given name is Anopheles Quadrimaculatus. But my friends just call me Skeeter.
TT: OK, Skeeter. When did your obsession with blood first occur?
V: From birth, really. I was feeling kind of tired, and mom made me some blood soup. Yummy! Hers was the best. Always cheered me up. Every time I fly in from the coast, I make sure to grab a bite. It�'s never as good as mom�s, but you do what you have to.
TT: Weird. Do you eat anything else?
V: No.
TT: Are you dating anyone?
V: No, my kind don�'t really date. We move from person to person, never really satisfied. I can'�t make a commitment to just one, although a few have held my attention for a time. There�'s always someone else out there, waiting to be bitten by the love bug.
TT: Sounds lonely, Skeeter. Do you ever feel an emptiness inside?
V: Blood is my life. I need nothing else but the sweet sweet nectar that is plasma to fill me.
TT: Actually, plasma is just the liquid part of blood.
V: Shut up, wise guy! I know what plasma is. How would you like it if I sucked yours?
TT: No thank you. Hmmm. Are you worried about catching a disease like West Nile or malaria?
V: They don�t affect me. I guess I can spread illness if I get some tainted stuff. But really, who am I to care? I�'m here for a reason. That reason, my friend, is blood.
TT: Your one-track mind is a little chilling. No hobbies or interests to take your mind off your obsession?
V: Not really. Although I do like the outdoors. Especially crowds. I�'ve been fishing before, but I don'�t actually fish. I just kind of hover.
TT: I�'m afraid I�'m out of questions. Anything you'�d like to ask me?
V: Why don'�t you write about blood on your blog?
TT: You are pretty sick.
V: You know, I am drawn to the skin of your bare arms but I find your odor strangely repellent. What cologne is that?
TT: Deep Woods Off!�
V: Yikes! I thought I recognized it. You smell like ass.
TT: Hey now.
V: Just kidding. Please don�'t swat me.
TT: I�'m getting itchy. Did you bite me?
V: No, that was my cousin Thelma. She prefers pasty white boys. Says they are too slow to realize she�s biting them.
TT: Nice. I think we�'re done here.
V: Good, because I see a fine young thang wearing a tube top, Daisy Dukes and flip-flops. Lots of skin and no chance she can outrun me. She�'s mine, all mine. How cute! She�'s also got on Avon Skin-So-Soft, probably because she believes the lie about its ability to repel me. Sucker!
TT: Buzz off.
Good on ya for the new dishwasher! Is it Energy Star? Those seem to ALWAYS be backordered.
I also hate the skeetos -- I seem to have the "right" kind of blood chemistry or something . . . if there is one anywhere in the vicinity, it finds me. Also I seem to be allergic to the bites -- they swell up huge on me.
yep. i have actually been bitten through the chemical haze. mosquitoes are willing to commit suicide just to bite me. it truly sucks.
Why is that every time I visit you've bought a new appliance? LOL!