Pinochet Le Peu

My husband casually mentioned this afternoon that the dogs might benefit from a bath. I reached out and grabbed the nearest dog, who happened to be our most recent arrival, Pinochet, put my nose to his head and inhaled deeply.

What I smelled can best be described as "sweaty Frito".

Fritos® is the name of a brand of corn chips made by Frito-Lay. Elmer Doolin was so taken with the bag of corn chips served with his lunch in San Antonio, Texas that he paid $100 for the recipe. In 1932 he started the Frito Corporation. From 1967 until about 1971, the Frito Bandito was the mascot.

Frito is the past participle for the Spanish verb "to fry".

I rather like Frito Bandito, though his epaulets look awfully like jellyfish.

Climb ev'ry mountain

I think the oldest must be part mountain goat. When hiking, he lithely bounds when the slope gets steep, and his footing is utterly sure. See the stone staircase in the picture above? He was at the top while I trudged, only a few steps up from the bottom still.

nimble
adjective
1. Moving or performing quickly, lightly, and easily: agile, brisk, facile, quick, spry.
2. Exhibiting or possessing skill and ease in performance: adroit, clever, deft, dexterous, handy, slick.

Oh, yes, that picture was taken at his beloved Pilot Mountain.

Au contraire

From an AP wire story about a high school student running through his school, wearing naught but a gorilla mask:

The student told state police he had been dared by friends to streak through the school on Monday and had done so as a prank, said Sgt. Nancy Mazur.

and

"There's no way anyone in the district would consider this a prank," District Superintendent Linda Rice said Wednesday.

prank
noun
A mischievous trick or practical joke.

On the contrary, Ms. Rice, prank is the perfect word for it.

Argh

Sometimes reasoning with an 81 year old is much like reasoning with a just-turned-3 year old. Both have many a

foible
noun
A behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual. Synonyms: idiosyncrasy, mannerism.

General 81 and just-turned-3 year olds, of course.

Is it not Friday yet?

I'm exhausted, not just physically but mentally as well. And caffeine, even in vast quantities, isn't cutting it. Even the air is tiresome today.

languor
noun
1. Lack of physical or mental energy; listlessness.
2. A dreamy, lazy mood or quality.
3. Oppressive quiet or stillness.

Still, this made me snort a wee bit.

Excuse me?

So I'm at the hardware store this morning, and the youngest is in the cart, seated and belted. And I half-squat-half-kneel to write down some pricing and model info on an item on a lower shelf.

And he begins to squawk "Pen! Pen!", but he isn't very good at ending sounds, so it sounds like "Peh! Peh!"

So up walks a woman who works there, cooing, "Awww, and what does this little one need?"

And I am concentrating on what I am doing and holding the pen cap in my mouth when I reply, "He wants a pen."

Next thing I know, I hear her say, "Well, I can't pet you while you're fussing like that, so I'll just pet Mommy instead. How would that be?"

AND SHE STARTED PETTING THE TOP OF MY HEAD.

garble
verb
1. To mix up or distort to such an extent as to make misleading or incomprehensible.
2. To scramble (a signal or message), as by erroneous encoding or faulty transmission.

I'm so rumbly in my tumbly

fritter
noun
A small, sweet or savory, deep-fried cake made either by combining chopped food with a thick batter or by dipping pieces of food into a similar batter. Some of the more popular foods used for fritters are apples, corn and crab.

Want to make the Cheese and Herb Fritters with Sweet Pepper Marmalade pictured above?

Excellent

My youngest started nursery school last week. I was concerned, frankly, as he has never before been away from all of us; his father or I or Grandpa or his big brother is always with him. And he seems so young and wee to me.

I am happily surprised to report he started without so much as one tear.

boffo
adjective, slang
Extremely successful; great.

I don't think so

When I was a child, my father used to frequently say, "Don't you gimme any guff now." He meant it in the first sense of the word; I wasn't prone to sass. However, I was a miniature seasoned attorney, a classic "Yeah, But"ter when confronted with evidence of my wrongdoing. I had perfectly (in my mind) legitimate reasoning behind any action.

guff
noun
1. Nonsense; baloney.
2. Insolent talk; back talk.

No

First this.

Now this.

heartbreak
noun
Overwhelming sorrow, grief, or disappointment.

Animal Farm

insurrection
noun
Organized opposition intended to change or overthrow existing authority: insurgence, insurgency, mutiny, rebellion, revolt, revolution, sedition, uprising.

Nagnagnagnag

Why did you
When are you going to
You forgot to
Do you have to
Why do I have to remind you to
Whose bright idea was it to
One more thing for me to
Who told you to
Must I have to

harpy
noun
A person, traditionally a woman, who persistently nags or criticizes: fishwife, fury, scold, shrew, termagant, virago, vixen. Informal battle-ax.

I know a woman like this. It is always painfully awkward to be present when she addresses her husband.