A Dutchover in the News
"LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- A paper license tag, a salad and stories that didn't make sense pricked the suspicions of a state trooper who stopped the car of a wanted fugitive polygamist in Las Vegas.
But it was the pumping carotid artery in the neck of Warren Steed Jeffs that convinced Nevada Highway Patrolman Eddie Dutchover that he had cornered someone big."
The rest of the story is here, including a link to a video that includes an interview with trooper Dutchover.
Wednesday
One of the things I've grown to like about Texas
is also, paradoxically, one of the things that used to drive me crazy. I remember flying back to Texas for a funeral, and standing at the car rental counter at the airport where the clerk insisted on making friendly small talk to me and my puffy, teary eyes. He just kept talking and talking and asking me questions (picture that guy in the beer commercial, "Well, how are ewe? I'm fine. My brother in law picked me up from the airport ..."), seemingly oblivious to the fact that I was about to burst into tears at any moment. All I could think was: Just give me the damn car keys! But then he asked, "What are you here for?" And I said, "A funeral," and he was blessedly quiet ... for a few seconds.
All that friendly chatter used to drive me a little batty. Now I find it endearing. There's another thing I now find sweet (seriously, I just said "sweet") that used to bug me. A lot of people use these friendly endearments. For instance, last night at a local pub the bartender said, "Can I get you another one, darlin'?" (And not in a creepy way.) Today at lunch I was paying for a sandwich with a credit card, and I asked the cashier if she needed me to sign the slip. "Oh no, baby," she said and touched my hand like I was doing her a huge favor by asking. So ... there you go. I've come full circle. What used to bug me, now makes me smile. I wonder what's next ...
Thursday
Funny Animals
Last night I felt like taking a bath. My legs have been sore from running and despite the 100-plus heat outside, a warm bath seemed like the thing to do. And I wanted to relax while I finished reading The Hummingbird's Daughter (which I enjoyed a ton). An explanatory note: Nate and I each have an office in our house. The two bedrooms are connected by a bathroom, which is called a Jack and Jill set-up, I believe. I left both bathroom doors open because it is hot, I was taking a very hot bath, and I was sweating and wanted a bit of a breeze from the ceiling fans in the two bedrooms. As I read, I had the distinct feeling someone was staring at me. I looked up and saw that both Roscoe (our cat) and Walker (our husky/shepherd) had positioned themselves in such a way that they were comfortably sprawled on the floor in Nate's office. Both of them were staring at me. They didn't come over for petting or anything. They were content to relax and keep an eye on me. And I thought: of course it's the boys who are staring. Our other dog, Sophie, was sprawled in the hallway, content to give me privacy.
Last night I felt like taking a bath. My legs have been sore from running and despite the 100-plus heat outside, a warm bath seemed like the thing to do. And I wanted to relax while I finished reading The Hummingbird's Daughter (which I enjoyed a ton). An explanatory note: Nate and I each have an office in our house. The two bedrooms are connected by a bathroom, which is called a Jack and Jill set-up, I believe. I left both bathroom doors open because it is hot, I was taking a very hot bath, and I was sweating and wanted a bit of a breeze from the ceiling fans in the two bedrooms. As I read, I had the distinct feeling someone was staring at me. I looked up and saw that both Roscoe (our cat) and Walker (our husky/shepherd) had positioned themselves in such a way that they were comfortably sprawled on the floor in Nate's office. Both of them were staring at me. They didn't come over for petting or anything. They were content to relax and keep an eye on me. And I thought: of course it's the boys who are staring. Our other dog, Sophie, was sprawled in the hallway, content to give me privacy.
Tuesday
A few random things
Last February, I realized I had reached my highest weight ever, 32.5 pounds heavier than what I consider my ideal weight. Since then, I’ve lost about 17 pounds. I’m not eating very well, which I hope to improve, but I’m running a fair amount. (And by not eating well I mean burgers, pizza, beer, and fast-food breakfast sandwiches.) This week, yoga starts again at work (a free program for staff) and I’m thinking of adding some weight training to the mix, mainly because I think I need to be stronger. If I didn’t lose any more weight, I’d be OK with that, but I’d like to feel stronger and more fit and maybe throw some veggies and fruits into my mix of junk food.
A side effect of my training is that my wedding and engagement rings have started feeling really loose. Yesterday morning, I sat down at my desk at work and noticed that my wedding ring was gone. I panicked. I reached for my cell phone to ask Nate to look for it at home, hoping that maybe I had taken it off at the sink and just forgotten, and as I grabbed my purse to look for my car keys, I saw my ring sitting at the bottom of my purse. I think that when I parked my car that morning and threw my keys into my bag, my ring slipped off and I didn’t even notice. I was very lucky. It’s just a material thing, but I really do love my wedding ring. So now I’m wondering if I should get the rings resized or possibly get one of those rubber thingamaboabs that you can put on the inside of a ring to make it a smaller size. The really weird thing is, I think I was about five pounds lighter than I currently am now when we bought the ring, so I’m not sure why it’s so loose. Maybe it’s all the running making my fingers skinny? Just my luck that my belly is stubborn but my fingers long to be slim.
My hubby is gone for a few days for work. That means I’ll be very busy at home with the three pets and various household chores. I’m also hoping to get a lot of work done on the book. I’m almost done with another draft (goal is to finish by the time Nate gets home). As I’ve been working on this latest draft, I’ve found myself really struggling. I’m so tired of reading this damn book. I think that might be a sign I’m close to finished. Especially because I’ve noticed I’m putting things back in that I’ve taken out in earlier drafts.
In anticipation that I might be done soon, I ordered a little treat for myself. A
Lamy AL Star Fountain Pen. So I feel I’m almost done, but how do you know these things for sure? One of my friends, a short story writer, has finished reading it. She’s in Montreal right now and we plan on chatting Thursday. I guess we’ll see if she has any really big questions or critiques that need resolving. Then maybe I’ll have a better sense of how close I am to the finish line.
In vacation news, I think we’ve decided on starting in Zacatecas, then traveling to Guanajuato, and ending the trip in Real de Catorce. Should be fun, but we have to find some dog and house sitters.
Last February, I realized I had reached my highest weight ever, 32.5 pounds heavier than what I consider my ideal weight. Since then, I’ve lost about 17 pounds. I’m not eating very well, which I hope to improve, but I’m running a fair amount. (And by not eating well I mean burgers, pizza, beer, and fast-food breakfast sandwiches.) This week, yoga starts again at work (a free program for staff) and I’m thinking of adding some weight training to the mix, mainly because I think I need to be stronger. If I didn’t lose any more weight, I’d be OK with that, but I’d like to feel stronger and more fit and maybe throw some veggies and fruits into my mix of junk food.
A side effect of my training is that my wedding and engagement rings have started feeling really loose. Yesterday morning, I sat down at my desk at work and noticed that my wedding ring was gone. I panicked. I reached for my cell phone to ask Nate to look for it at home, hoping that maybe I had taken it off at the sink and just forgotten, and as I grabbed my purse to look for my car keys, I saw my ring sitting at the bottom of my purse. I think that when I parked my car that morning and threw my keys into my bag, my ring slipped off and I didn’t even notice. I was very lucky. It’s just a material thing, but I really do love my wedding ring. So now I’m wondering if I should get the rings resized or possibly get one of those rubber thingamaboabs that you can put on the inside of a ring to make it a smaller size. The really weird thing is, I think I was about five pounds lighter than I currently am now when we bought the ring, so I’m not sure why it’s so loose. Maybe it’s all the running making my fingers skinny? Just my luck that my belly is stubborn but my fingers long to be slim.
My hubby is gone for a few days for work. That means I’ll be very busy at home with the three pets and various household chores. I’m also hoping to get a lot of work done on the book. I’m almost done with another draft (goal is to finish by the time Nate gets home). As I’ve been working on this latest draft, I’ve found myself really struggling. I’m so tired of reading this damn book. I think that might be a sign I’m close to finished. Especially because I’ve noticed I’m putting things back in that I’ve taken out in earlier drafts.
In anticipation that I might be done soon, I ordered a little treat for myself. A
Lamy AL Star Fountain Pen. So I feel I’m almost done, but how do you know these things for sure? One of my friends, a short story writer, has finished reading it. She’s in Montreal right now and we plan on chatting Thursday. I guess we’ll see if she has any really big questions or critiques that need resolving. Then maybe I’ll have a better sense of how close I am to the finish line.
In vacation news, I think we’ve decided on starting in Zacatecas, then traveling to Guanajuato, and ending the trip in Real de Catorce. Should be fun, but we have to find some dog and house sitters.