I urge you to read Sister Joan Chittister's thoughts this week of Memorial Day. I seldom fail to find them thought-provoking. This is no exception.

I asked the NCCROW director if she would critique my proposal. She was happy to and had several good comments. She also pointed out that the book would be welcome in Sociology classes, as well as World Civ. and Women's Studies. (She's a sociologist by training.) And as we chatted, I decided to try to contact an Anthropology prof I'd had way back when I was finishing the bachelor's degree more than 20 years ago. Once again, I am glad that I decided to volunteer there. I enjoy what I'm doing and I really appreciate the collegial atmosphere.

Hot again today. This evening I must order several more of L.L.Bean's $10 tank tops. They fit me really nicely and will do quite well for work. Of course I'll also wear a pair of light slacks and a very light blouse (as a jacket) to keep what, for me, is a "professional" look.

The phone company has met its match in automated responses! Yesterday I called in my landline because it wasn't working. Today when I got home I heard the answering maching beeping. I listened to the message, and it was the automated "is your phone working now?" with instructions to push some number if it was. (If it wasn't, would the call would have registered?) The machine was getting surlier and surlier because it was getting no response, and finally turned it over to a human. That poor person had no idea that it was an answering machine on the other end. I guess the phone company figures the phone is not fixed. That's what they get for using a robot. Robots ignoring other robots! If they had had a human make the call initially, she (most likely) would have known she was talking to an answering machine. (I wonder if the phone company will credit me for a bad phone, even though it's working.)

Since I started giving the dogs the same glucosamine that I take it seems as though Freckles is walking a lot less painfully. I had been giving them the dog variety (it was half price at PetMeds once) and thought that it was giving some relief. But when I ran low I asked the vet if the human kid would work just as well--it was the same dosage. I just put the capsules in with their wet food and it gets slurped down without a problem. Or, it might be that it takes time to take effect. Walreen's has this stuff buy one/get one free so frequently that I haven't paid full price for it for years. And that makes it a lot cheaper than PetMeds.

Six months minus one day till the end of the 2006 hurricane season!