It’s Now or Never

So I’ve been meaning to write for a day or four but I was hoping to have some pictures for illustration.  That wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem if I could find my portable card reader thingy to upload my photos since the one in my laptop decided it no longer wanted to, you know, read cards.  I normally keep my card reader in the tray on my nightstand where I take off my jewelry at night because isn’t that where everyone keeps their electronic essentials.  Except now it isn’t there and none of the kids will ‘fess up to moving it or I haven’t yet remembered what strange place I left it last.  It comforts me to blame it on them.  Even though I have no pictures I will forge ahead because if I don’t starting writing now I may fall into another unplanned four-month break. 

I know you are gnashing teeth at the thought.

You may recall I told you not long ago that a personal hair intervention was in order.  I made an appointment with my beloved hairdresser, Tania, and was toying with the idea of something drastic.  My hair has been essentially the same style for the better part of the last 15 years and I don’t know how to say it any plainer than I was just flat out sick of looking at myself.  So, I closed my eyes and said, “Cut. It. Off.  And if you want to get rid of the orange that would be okay, too.”  

Tania gave me a fabulous cut and some ashy brown to neutralize my pumpkin and I’m finally feeling human again. And here’s where I should be showing you a picture.  But since I don’t have one of me I googled until I came up with what I think is close:

  

Wait.  Mine’s way shorter in the back.   And I would never wear it this way on the sides because I wouldn’t want our church people to see the tattoos behind my ears.  So in reality, I ended up with a cut almost identical to this:

I have a few more bangs and a lot more clothes but this one is pretty close.

I really worried about having this short of a ‘do because my hair is naturally curly and I didn’t know if I could tame it.  However, the cooler temps and lower humidity are working in my favor right now so we’ll see how long it lasts.

Now that my hair issues are resolved there is something very pressing for which I could use your advice:  My town has been invaded by skunks.  I’m not talking about the politicians that are ringing my phone off the hook or even the people who roll our yard every weekend.  I’m talkin’ real-life, black-with-white-stripes-down-the-back skunks.  I don’t know if we are on their migration route from north to south (do skunks migrate?  hibernate?) or if they’re ticked off that ridiculous cartoons like Phineas and Ferb have taken the place of that cheeky smooch PePe Le Pew (“Permit me to introduce myself. I am Pepe Le Pew, your lover.” Hysterical. Oh how I miss old school Saturday morning cartoons.)  All I know is that the skunks are making a come back and they’ve picked our zip code to do it.   

So my question:  Is there something you can put on your lawn that repels them?  Anything to pour on pavement once they’ve sprayed?  So far they’ve not gotten under our house (Oh, Lord, help us don’t let that happen) but they have emoted around it so much that I can’t even sit in my porch swing without gagging.  And the primary question: who ever heard of a skunk infestation?  Seriously?  Am I being punk’d?  

Perhaps skunk’d is the better word.

(So punny.  I didn’t plan that or anything.)

I’m sitting here trying to figure out how to tie this one up.  I’ve got nothing. 

Peace Out.