Day One

The fun never stops over here. Although the house is quiet, I'm not -- at least not on the inside. It seems that I have to go get some repeat screening -- testing of the annual type -- the words that all women slightly fear on their annual: I wouldn't worry about it, but please come in tomorrow for another look. If you're the praying type, please send one up and around, because I really don't have time for this sort of thing. :0

On another note, I read this in the quiet this morning and wonder if I might craft a bit of a retreat of my own in the day or so that I have left before The Boys come home. The idea of spending a week or so in the Italian countryside to do nothing but read and perhaps eat good food and take small walks -- well, that sounds like paradise to me. If I do so at home, I can enjoy our glorious weather, read the stack of New Yorkers and finish the Bonnie Jo Campbell novel. I might even crack the new Ann Patchett.

And I guess I'll finally chime in with the scandale over at the blog Marissa's Bunny, a site that I've directed my readers to several times -- the author, Mike W. has a baby girl (at least we think he does, although who knows now?) with infantile spasms and recently offered free iPads to many, many families who have children with special needs. Over the last couple of weeks, I was informed by a good blogger friend that she and someone else had unearthed some unsavory details about Mike and that they suspected the whole thing was a scam. It appears that Mike has a criminal record for similar scams and the whole giveaway appears to be another one. The special blogsphere (I hate that word) is freaking out -- for some good reasons, but I, being a more jaded and perhaps bitter sort, feel my eyebrows in a permanently raised position. It annoys me to no end that I sent people to Mike's blog and encouraged them to apply for the giveaway; it also annoys me that I had several private email exchanges with Mike himself, and he prevaricated and basically lied to me about what was going on. Both Ken and Heather have masterminded a Mission iPossible to get iPads to those kids that were promised them -- so hop on over and visit.

As far as the rest of the freak-out, I said to Ken over at Blogzilly and Heather at Little Wonders, I'm just sitting here on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away.