This weekend, dinner with OmegaGranny featured a conversation that was somewhat surreal. The town fathers of the town where OmegaGranny lives have a grand tradition of local musicians being invited to busk inside some of the stores on the courthouse square. She had spent an afternoon/evening bopping in and out of stores on the square and listening to music, and enjoyed it greatly. All well & good. Then OmegaGranny informs us that Georgene is performing on the square, too. Then she says, "Interestingly enough, Georgene performs at the Thomas Kincaid gallery..." OmegaDad and I just bugged our eyes out, thinking we had heard incorrectly. Of all the people we can't imagine even wanting to be in a Thomas Kincaid gallery, let alone perform in one, Georgene heads the list. She is a fascinating lady--intelligent, a published writer, exquisite taste, fun to be with, interested in a wide variety of things. The idea that she would subject herself to a Thomas Kincaid gallery...I am still shaking my head over this concept. So later in the evening, OmegaDad announced: "I have an idea. We need to open a new store on the square. We'll call it Thomas GetsLaid Galleries. I think it should feature tasteful gay and lesbian erotica. Don't you think the town fathers would like that??" Well, no, we didn't. But we had to snicker. "It should have pieces of art like the Penis DeMilo..." We were all silent for a few moments, imagining the uproar in OmegaGranny's nice town. OmegaDad hasn't forgiven the town for shaving off hilltops and ripping out native vegetation in the name of development; but when they ran off the one and only strip joint in town, he decided the town had lost its character entirely. I could see him opening this gallery just to spite the town fathers.

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One of the major parts of OmegaDad's job is making maps. Each of these maps has a legal disclaimer at the bottom ("This Federal Agency is an equal opportunity employer, yadda, yadda, yadda..."). OmegaDad was making maps for J., one of his coworkers. He got kind of bored. He added a little something to the legalese. A few hours later, J. comes into his office and gives him the hairy eyeball. "'Be nice to nematodes'?" asks J. "They need all the help they can get!" explains OmegaDad. "Out it comes!" quoth J. "See! What have you got against nematodes??" asks OmegaDad. I think we need to do a CafePress T-shirt.

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Last night, OmegaDad made his very yummy homemade macaroni. This is based on a recipe from Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, in their The New Basics cookbook. OmegaDad has toned down their recipe somewhat--the girls, as we call them, have never met a recipe with too much butter or cream. Never. So, to keep our arteries from slamming shut prematurely, OmegaDad removes half the butter from their recipes. Or more. Anyway. The mac & cheese was yummy. OmegaDotter ate everything! (I am still amazed. This child has become the eat-like-a-bird champeen.) I had seconds. Yum. As OmegaDad and I were snuggling into bed, I said, "I love your..." He sleepily replied, "I love you, too." "...macaroni and cheese." There was a silence. Then he said, "Well, it loves you, too! In fact, maybe I should trade with the mac and cheese? Let it snuggle down with you?" "That would be kind of messy, I'd think," I replied. We snickered, snuggled up, and went to sleep. Mr. Idea Man--I think I'll keep him. He makes me laugh. Categories: [Mr. OmegaMom] [This 'n That]