Weekend Snippets

• Saturday morning was 36 degrees when Madison took the soccer field. While they played, it began to sleet, something that hasn't happened in our Florida area since 1996. Madison thought it was hale, chunks of ice she could hold in her hand. Had it been one degree colder, it would have been snow, according to meteorologists.

• Darcy's lips and the skin around her lips are red and chapped, and she has been very miserable. Chapstick burns and licking the area makes it worse. I read an article Friday morning in our newspaper that recommended Vaseline, so we bought a tub of it that night. She spent the entire weekend walking around with bright globs of Vaseline all around her face. We didn't laugh because it worked.

• I have decided that when I walk the dog around the neighborhood, I need to carry a trash bag to dump in all the trash that litters the streets. With the wind, we've had everyone's waste and/or recycling has blown out of cans and bins and scattered our neighborhood. Typically, I probably wouldn't have even noticed, but my dog insists on picking up every piece and running with it. Elliot has licked milk out of a container, finished off a bagel in a bag, shredded napkins and tissues, chewed a chicken bone, and smoked some cigarette butts. Disgusting habits this dog is picking up while exercising.

• Despite the fact my Steelers are not being in the playoffs, I have enjoyed football playoff weekend, especially the part where the Patriots and Bengals were eliminated. Work on the soon-to-be Steelers' room starts this week.

• To get out of the house on Saturday, we took Elliot and his new friend, Bella, to PetSmart. A big day there on Saturdays. The two dogs met all types and sizes of dogs. The adults and children? We couldn't get over the pile of dog poop that undoubtedly came from a horse right outside the store.

• The cold weather kept us bundled up under blankets and dressed in Snuggies most of the weekend, but it kept us close together whether working on homework, reading, watching football, playing Barbies, or eating chili.