Magic carpet ride...

Last night didn't go the way I had hoped it would. I had a great, productive day. Got everything done. Early, even. I was cooking dinner, and dancing at the stove in my apron, (which I do a little more often than I'm comfortable sharing, because... hey, it's twirly!) when Mr. Hed breezed in. Wait. Scratch that. Mr. Hed lumbered... in, and he was beat. His coat was... covered in rain, and while he wasn't exactly snarly, I knew he needed to spend time in his man cave. This disappointed me, since I was finally ready to spend some time on the music he wanted me to work on, and was all set to record at least one of the songs he's been after me to record for months. But that's OK. I can certainly understand days like this.

And last night? Well, unfortunately, it was no exception to the past few months. We have since resigned ourselves to the fact that weekends are really the only time that I can give a little undivided attention to anything. These kids keep me pretty busy.

Did I mention I'm tired? I am. I feel like Lilly Von Schtupp lately. And... let's face it, I'm nearing 35, and while everything below the waist is far from kaput, (just being honest...) I'm am still tired.

I thought... well, maybe after the girls' bedtime we could do this. It's just a voice part, and doesn't require loud amplification, (not to mention the fact that we'd be two full floors below the sleeping children,) this shouldn't have been a problem. But well? MicroSqueak decided she wanted to be with me, and she was going to be with me if it was the last thing she'd do. So she was... with me.

After about an hour and a half of hanging out, she finally curled up next to me and went to sleep. Mr. Hed took her upstairs, and I felt that the only things I had left in my energy stores were a few stitches on the scarf I'd been working on while watching CopDrama, and allowing Todd the privilege of rubbing the back of my neck.

By the time the show was over, I was... out -- see you tomorrow style. But as I walked past the kitchen, I remembered there were still dishes to do. So, I did them. As I pulled the rubber gloves off my hands and untied my apron, I could hear Mr. Hed's feet on the stairs. I could hear him calling me, and saying something, but damn if I knew what it was. I was groggy. Seriously so. I reach the bathroom door, and he's standing there, holding his toothbrush, with a sad expression on his face. "Hed, uh... we're out of toothpaste. Did you buy more?"

"Yeah, yeah... it's on top of the fridge." I keep things I don't want MicroSqueak getting into up there, because if I don't, I usually end up scrubbing a wall or two of whatever it happened to be that I failed to keep her out of.

With puppy dog eyes, he looked at me, "Uh... could you get it?"

"No. I'm ridin' the magic carpet of half-asleep, and if you make me go back down there, it will wake me up. Don't do that. Don't be cruel."

"OK, fine, I'll look for it.

A few minutes later, I hear: "Uh... Hed? Uh... Hedro? Uh... baby? Uh... sweetie darlin'?"

I bend over the retaining wall at the top of the stairs to better hear him, because, damn it, I'm serious about not going back down there.

"I can't find the toothpaste."

"Shit. Fine. I'll come back down. Farrrgh."

I arrive at the bottom of the stairs, go into the kitchen, and he's got his hand on top of the fridge, trying to find it that way, without really looking. I go to the other side of the fridge, and leap up in the air, trying to see what I can see for the half second I'm airborne. By this time, I'm fully awake again. Damn!

We never found it on top of the fridge, but during the last leap, my hand was partially on the top of the refrigerator as I came back down. I inadvertently opened the freezer, and spotted the tube on the door shelf.

A-ha!

I felt the tube, and it was, of course, frozen solid. Shit! "Well, I guess baking soda, it is!"

"Wait. I bet if I squeeze it for a few minutes, I can melt it well enough that we can get some out."

"K."

We walk back up the stairs, but something catches Mr. Hed's attention at the landing. I just wanted to get to bed, for the love of Pete, God, Sheep, Inflatable Sheep, et al., so I keep going until...


"Hed! You've got to come check this out! We've got three Possums of the Grotto now!"

For those of you just joining us, we have a resident possum in our backyard. He's been the source of entertainment for quite some time. Ruby started calling him "The Possum of the Grotto", after a Rasputina song which gets a fair amount of play around here. So, anyway, now you know.


Apparently the delicious sleep I craved at that moment just wasn't to be. I also realized he was still clutching the tube of toothpaste, and I wasn't going to be able to brush my teeth yet, anyway.

I walk back down to the landing, and sure... then there were three. We named them: Linda, Lou, and Stella. Linda looked mighty pregnant, and the other two? Not so much. We decided this must have been some bizarre love triangle between the possums, due to the fact that Lou and Stella were all over each other, and Linda was off on the other side of the yard, eating for twelve.

Poor Linda.

Every once in a while, Lou would walk over to Linda and try to be affectionate, but she would just hiss at him.

Hm. Poor Lou.

Still, methinks as a quiet observer, Lou should probably be more understanding... hm. Linda is going through some crazy changes that would make anyone snarly.

The toothpaste, while thawed, was quite cold on my teeth, making me jump back, with the toothbrush still in my mouth. Yes, I did get laughed at.

Whatever.

Though I went to bed amused, I was still tired, and slept like a baby. I love it when the magic carpet lets me climb right back onto it.

The end.

-H