I’m 60, as you all well know since I whine about my age often, and I’ve been married 37 plus years, although not to the same person. So you would think that I’d see it coming, but, I got “schooled” again by one of the best.

The weather is chilly, but sunny, so it looks nicer than it is. I hope I’m not betraying my “man-brothers” when I say that I’m almost basket-balled out. So yesterday afternoon I was antsy for something to do. I thought about putting on the screens, but the wind made it too chilly to stand out there and do that when I know the weather will get warmer, and we won’t have the windows open much until then anyway.

We have a spot down in the basement that would work nicely for a bar area. I know, we’re past the party stage of life, but being close to the country club now, we may have to rev up the old Margarita machine and cap off an evening of golf now and again. And if we don’t use the bar, it still will make that area functional rather than empty. I said something about wanting to go to Watson’s on 29th Street to look at their bars and stop by Best Buy to pick up an Ethernet card and a network cable for Jean’s computer for Tuesday when they hook up our phone and DSL. Jean made an offhanded comment about riding along with me, like she wasn’t really interested but she didn’t have anything better to do.

Before I knew it we were in World Market looking at dishes, bowls, decorating ideas, and other girl stuff. After what seemed like a couple of hours there, I found myself transported to Pier One Imports where we spent another lifetime looking at the same stuff. I looked around and we were surrounded by people who appeared to be newlyweds so the guys didn’t know any better, and the occasional guy like me who must have been paying for a recent sin. Once we got in those stores I had a hard time finding Jean. I think she was hiding out so I wouldn’t come up with the “let’s go” line every two minutes.

I was joking about most of what I said last week about the silverware, the cupcakes, and the pantry. But the pantry shelves have been straightened out, Jean hid the cupcakes, although I did eat the rest of the can of frosting, and all of the silverware from Green Street is now intermingled with the “girly” silverware. Not only are the regular forks and salad forks mixed together, but each fork space contains a couple more forks from each of four different patterns including some three tined forks which I hoped I had seen the last of.

So I must have touched a nerve and yesterday, although she didn’t say it, Jean was probably thinking “Criticize my homemaking skills again in front of my friends and next time you’ll wish we were only going to two stores”. I’m not out of the “husband of the year” running yet, but I’ll have to watch what I say from now on. On the bright side, it makes all you other guys look good. Sometimes someone has to “take one for the team”.

Just (Overwhelmed By Scented Candles And Decorative Plates) Jack