11:00am – 12:00pm

Meet Camille.

He’s a souvenir from the Cumberland Museum and Science Center in Nashville, Tennessee and one of the many toys still in Melissa’s closet. He surfaced around 11am this morning as we began packing in Melissa’s room. Unfortunately, Camille had seen better days than today. Camille was suffering from a lifetime of wear and tear that caused him to leak bird seed everywhere… Which is why Mom saw fit to scatter what remained of his insides in our front yard. She assured Melissa, “He’ll always be with us. At least until the birds come.”

After spreading Camille across the yard, Mom returned to the dining table.

Yep, those are the makings of valentines. Yes, it’s February 15th. My mom is a card-making fiend. We can’t get her to stop. She’s taken over the table and five chairs.

Which is why we ate lunch in the living room.

Lunch was what we’re choosing to call “Chish.” Mom decided to make up her own recipe today and let’s just say that the best way to describe it was “filling.” That’s what I chose to say. Melissa, however, wanted to know if it was chicken or fish. She couldn’t tell. Whatever happened to that poor meat… well, only Mom really knows and she’s not telling. She did say that it was terrible and we were sweet to eat it anyway. Our meal of chicken that looked and kinda tasted like fish will go down in family history as the second-worst meal ever cooked. When chicken breast becomes mystery meat, you’ve got a problem.

Our dog Maizee didn’t seem to care what it was. She ate the leftovers from our plates (there were plenty) and enjoyed her second snack of the day (the first having been the birdseed she lapped up before we could stop her). Afterwards, she resumed her favorite spot under the dining table. Hey, just because the humans can’t utilize this piece of furniture doesn’t mean the dog shouldn’t.

There you have it, folks. A glimpse into another Tuesday morning at my place.