The Scottish Terrier Olympics are coming to Washington. And check out that full size loaded bowflex at the yard sale.

Now we're painting the exterior of the house. Siding and eaves and all that. I probably spent approx. 5 hours painting today. Pretty much all I did. And we're only priming it. Turns out Norm recommends priming the already primed siding. Arrgg. A yellow jacket landed in my paint pail. Now normally I despise jackets but seeing it drowning in paint was sad. I attempted a rescue and rinse but it died anyway. The painting's not bad if the weather is good and we have music. Weezer is good painting music, but Tim eventually got his way and I had to put on Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA.

We ordered hamburgers from the restaurant (as mom had been painting 10 hours and did not want to break for making anything). At some point I realized that no one had gotten the mail. I was doubtful of such a speedy delivery but wondered about the possibility of The Albatross Project.

Sure enough the telltale bubble envelope was there. It is every bit as mighty and epic as I imagined. "I Am The Ice Age" is THE anthem of newly evolved mammals and permafrost. Woah, wait a minute. Permafrost would imply a permanent state of frozenness. But it's a nice word anyway. It'll start a junior mints craving as well. "The Loss of Your Albatross" definitely evokes tears of sorrow and nostalgia..it's emotionally charged. The whole album is superb. It'll prompt you to peer obsessively under your couch for a misplaced banana slug and you'll probably find yourself humming "The Industrial Revolution."

Tim received a claw in the mail. He ordered a mountain lion dewclaw from a Montana fur/trading company. Except it doesn't look like a cougar claw. It looks like a frickin' African lion claw! Since it is technically illegal to purchase a cougar claw in this here state, I think this company may have been paranoid and substituted a lion claw. Yes, African lion claws can be purchased legally. Looks as if it was salvaged from an old skin rug. Coolness.

This evening I submitted a photo of testosterone-crazed chicks to Jones Soda. With any luck it'll be on a label someday. Check out the Jones soda gallery (www.jonessoda.com, go to labels and gallery). It's probably on the second or third page by now. But I'm going to keep trying. I'll pester that company with dozens of my random photos if necessary. It'd be neat.