Lots of posting (and procrastinating) this week. This morning, even before having my cup of (microwaved) coffee (you should pause here to consider how disgusting that is, but I'm too (a) cheap and (b) lazy to not use up the leftovers from what my husband Bob brewed when he was getting ready for work -- at a very uncivilized hour), I had to clean up a lot of cat puke and dog sh--. I have two dogs and a cat -- they are the joys of my life -- but that task made the microwaved coffee with skim milk, no sugar afterwards seem gourmet. Edna and Sophie (the guilty parties) slept in, but faithful Rudy (more than likely the not guilty party), the group leader, monitored the clean-up. My sister once remarked over how good Rudy is, "all on his own," which is true, because I certainly never made a big effort in obedience.

Luckily, in the kitchen there is a big bouquet of lilacs. The 60 year old lilac bush in the yard is more beautiful than it has been in the 15 years I've lived here. You can almost drink the scent in the kitchen. I am kind of scent-sensitive, an allergy I've gradually developed over the past few years. I know lots of people think this disorder is faked or psychosomatic, and I may have too, before I developed the problem myself. I think Bob may suspect it's really an allergy to cleaning, though, because natural scents don't bother me, only chemical ones!

I received an email today, about something very upsetting. It originated from a Yahoo group called Nature Potpourri. It was based on an article in New Scientist about using genetic modification to kill off an invasive species. It is so horrible, in fact, that I offer the link without comment.

I figure if I sandwich that awful story between two marvels (lilacs and the news that follows) it can never become palatable but maybe it will be diluted a little: on Wednesday, my copy of the education resource book, Education: Reflecting Our Society? that I wrote arrived! It's not quite the equal of selling fiction or non-fiction of my own design (although it was more lucrative), but still - What a thrill!