2000-09-26 - 986029347

On the internal soundtrack: "Carry That Weight". Beatles, "Abbey Road".

So, the in-laws are here. We are having fun. I took yesterday off from work, which can only be good.

As I look over this entry, I worry that the humor and good-natured fun might not come across in my writing. Try to keep in mind that I love my in-laws to death and think they're funny and fun, and that we all make fun of each other a lot. Poindexter and his mother, in particular, have raised "pestering" to a fine art.

General rule: If it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not.

I took Papa on a Friday skate with me and he enjoyed it quite a bit. Thought that we should have skipped the last third because the roads are too bumpy. He and I both think that bumpy pavement takes the fun out of skating. Although, either because I have soft-boot skates or because I've gotten used to it, it doesn't bother me as much anymore.

Sunday, we took a driving tour of the city, getting out a few times to look around. In particular, we stopped to look at Meridian Hill Park, at 16th & W, NW, which is incredible. It's 2 or 3 blocks long with a terraced fountain. I've heard it's a bad place to be at night but in the daytime it is just lovely. We also had drinks at Sequoia, where 30th hits the Potomac in Georgetown.

At Sequoia, there was a boat docked that had 8 weiner dogs on it. Some dark, some tan. Half of them were puppies. They were all adorable. Every time another dog walked by on the dock, all the weiner dogs would jump up and bark. It was something else. The guy used to be a breeder and now just has a bunch.

I cannot imagine trying to keep track of eight yipping dogs on a boat. Good golly.

We started an ongoing game of Pictionary. (I have my own non-board, non-team rules for a non-ending or time-limited game.) Poindexter is currently in the lead with 13 points to Mom's 8 and my and Papa's 7 each. So I'm doing dismally. However, I'm told I can *draw* really well (not artistically; I mean nobody takes long guessing what I'm drawing), so I seem to be helping Poindexter win.

So I decided to stop being such a lazy ass/DC frump in the clothing department and wore a tight skirt and shirt out for our drive. Poindexter told me later that guy's tongues were wagging, but I always forget to look for that, since I dress for myself and for Poindexter (he's an ass man, hence the tight skirt).

When I was petting the doggies, some guy sat down by the edge of the boat, rather tipsy, and asked me if I was acquainted with someone named Zach. I said I wasn't, and he pointed behind me to Poindexter and said, "Who's that?" I said, "That's my husband, Poindexter."

This man said, and I quote, "You done good, man! You should get down on your knees and praise God, thank you Jesus, for having a wife like that!"

There was also a woman there, in a bikini top and sarong, with quite a tan and bleached blond hair. She was in her 40s, I think. Also tipsy. She stood very close to me and told me I had "a nice pair of legs".

Well. That ego boost ought to get me through to next July.

Poindexter was suspicious. He thinks they were trying to get me into a menage a trois.

Me, I can only assume she looked at them from a distance or had severe beer goggles, because they were all ripped up from a shaving gone horribly awry. Some days my legs just don't want to be shaved.

What we do is, when Mom and Papa are in bed reading before we go to sleep, Poindexter and I go in there and sit on the end of the bed and bother them. Sometimes we get into reminiscing about childhood. Other times we just sit around and make fun of each other.

Apparently, as a young 'un, Poindexter used to do this on a daily basis. He would go in there and say "Whatchareadin'" and ask pesky questions. Then he would tell his mother EVERY SINGLE THING he did that day, from what he ate to breakfast to when he took his bathroom breaks. It ends up being hilarious in its very boringness.

Eventually, when Papa is ready for sleep, he threatens to moon Poindexter to get rid of him. It works. I don't believe that Poindexter has ever stuck around to witness a mooning.

The house tour was fun. We got to go through six private homes in Old Town Alexandria. My favorite was a house owned by an artist and a photographer. The artist had painted every wall in the house with a mural (wine country, seaside, canal in Venice) or some kind of funky pattern (faux marble). Poindexter would never let me do this in a million years but I think it would be REALLY cool, just for one room.

On our way to the houses, Mom and I stopped into Restoration Hardware. We found the perfect "chandelier" (a fake-alabaster bowl-type thing) for the dining area. Poindexter and Papa put it up on Monday morning, and Mother says it "makes the room" and "pulls it all together" and "the older chandelier was so out of place."

Poindexter said, "I wonder how awful the room must have been for her before we replaced the chandelier."

So Poindexter is growing a mustache/goatee thing. Tommy, at work, shaved his off, and said that Poindexter had to grow one. He didn't shave all weekend, so I said, what the hell, give it a try.

I kind of liked it. It's different. It's fun. I don't know how it'll look when it's all grown out, but it seems like it might be cool to try for a little while. As Mother says, "It's not carved in stone." If it bugs anyone too much, he can shave it off.

So we shall see.

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