i really do have great friends. thanks for the lovely comments, everyone, and i will be returning phone calls as soon as i can. things have been a little traumatic lately, but i will call! in happy news, we have a new addition to our family. i heart frankie. he's a 50 pound boxer, 1 1/2 years old, and he's with us on a trial basis this weekend. i'm trying to get daniel to agree to keep him for good - i think another day should do it. i was worried about blaze with another dog, but he's getting her to play and keep her energy up, and he's snuggly and fun, and actually fetches things! blaze is pretty indifferent to any toy, 'cause she's too cool for school. she'll always be the queen of the house, but frankie makes a pretty good jester. also, boxers aren't really good guard dogs (they are naturally aggressive at all), but it's nice to be able to answer the the door to an unexpected knock with a big canine next to you. (i wouldn't want to live in any other neighborhood in columbus, but we do get the occasional person looking for money or a fix in the middle of the night.) i'm thinking that keeping frankie would be a great 30th birthday present. by the way, my 30th birthday is november 3. that's less than a month away. email me if you need my address to send gifts. we were going to have a big surprise party, but i don't think that's going to work out. i'm totally open to someone else planning one, though. g'night.