Thatsa spicee meataballa.

So, I was rather pleased w/ a new and very simple recipe I tried last night courtesy of The Pioneer Woman. (I love her tidy little Web site.) Tho' it made my house smell like a pizzeria.

The Tall One cooked a plethora of MEAT on the grill because mama's coming today and mama does LOVE a rib. (Mama's COMIN'! MAMA's comin'! Smiles all around!) And in between cooking large quantities of meat and blowing a billion leaves out of flower beds and off porches, ("I'm multi-tasking," he said as he ran out the door w/ tongs in his left hand and leaf blower in his right.) The Tall One managed to locate ... and then leave unattended ... the Hooter's International Something-Or-Other Contest That Has Very Little to Do With Anything But Boobs ... or something some such ... on some Male Sports Channel.

He does this, my sweet husband. He tunes into a station be it 2009 golf, 1979 golf, basketball and/or football pro and/or college, or the Discovery Channel and then leaves. To cook meat or blow leaves. So, I don't fault him for that oversight because he DOES cook a mean rib. I just have to ask once in awhile, "Didn't Tiger Woods just have a NEW BABY and he's already playing in the Master's? What about his knee or his shoulder or whatever? Wait. It's March and that's the Mas ... WHAT YEAR IS THIS?" And it is never, ever THIS year.


So, last night, the living room TV is blaring w/ boobs as I walked thru carrying a load of laundry piled high. And, well, it ... er THEY... caught my eye. So, I sat to fold towels. And I marveled at all those ... sequins.

"Whatcha watchin' hon?" he asked, as he entered the room w/ a rack of ribs and his tongs.

"Oh, girls in bikinis, I guess." I replied. "And high heels."


"Says here, this girl from 'HOTlanta,' is a volunteer w/ the Boys and Girls Club," I offered. "That's sweet of her, dontcha think?"

"Mmmm hmmmm," he said.

"And she lists her best asset as HER SENSE OF HUMOR," I added.

"Doesn't she mean assets, plural?" he asked.

"Of course she does, but she doesn't look that FUNNY to me."

"Woulda been funny if she'd tripped!"

****

As I think you know by now, I've been touched and encouraged by the thoughtful and generous donations I've received in support of the MS Society. This week's ride ... which will be postponed until the weekend because MAMA'S COMIN' (!) and we've got some shopping to do (!) ... will be in honor of two old friends. Really, really old friends, folks. Oollllldddd friends. One old friend was lost somewhere until just recently. Oh, I always knew he was out there, somewhere, but I didn't know how much I missed my old friend until he came back. (Thanks Facebook and Old Friend.) I'm his friend because he's honest, fun and funny. He's loyal and he smiles a lot. I'm thankful for his old friendship, that's now kinda new but still old. And comfortable. And that makes me smile.

There's very little about Old Friend Number Two that DOESN'T make me smile and laugh a little bit out loud every time I think of her. I think how lucky her baby girl is to have inherited her mother's sweet, happy face. With crinkly eyes that smile all the time. Unless you piss her off. And then, oh Lord. Once, in college, she challenged a high school friend of mine to a "beer-themed contest," shall we say. (I think her exact words were, "I'm gonna drink your sorry ass under the table." At which point I collapsed in a nervous heap on the couch because I'd SEEN this boy drink and I'd never SEEN this new friend of mine drink and I was very, very worried for this new friend!) But, you know what? That new friend never stopped smiling. But, thankfully, she did STOP drinking. Before it was too late. She is a smart, smart Old Friend. With happy eyes and a great laugh and I'm immensely proud of all she's accomplished.

Then, I'll be set to do a reallly long ride to honor the donor whose donation means everything to me. She needs a post all her own. So, stay tuned.

And thank you.