It’s August and I feel dull. Come to think of it, I often feel this way during August. Not much seems to be happening although I’m sure much is happening. Here are the random events.

My cat had to have her toe amputated. We still aren’t sure what caused this as we are waiting for the biopsy to come back. Suddenly her toe was swollen; antibiotics did nothing. By last Sunday night her claw was sticking straight out of a toe-like sausage. On Monday they cut it off. She rests in our closet all day. One morning I crawled in there to check on her and ended up just lying there with her, looking up at all of our clothes. I decided I could understand the need to lie in a closet if feeling raw after an amputation.

What evil marketing genius decided to put a Dairy Queen Blizzard together with Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies? I haven’t had one. I’m avoiding it in much the same way I avoid trying heroin or crack – that first time is unbelievable and then you’re hooked.

Why are there no Baskin Robbins ice cream stores in Minnesota?

I kind of like the third season of Weeds on DVD but I’m worried about the likability of Nancy (Mary Louise Parker). They are having her do things that make her quite unsympathetic. Like have sex with her lecherous boss on his desk when it never before seemed like she had any feelings for him and he actually pinched her ass once. How could you want to have sex with someone who randomly pinches your ass at work? Or anywhere, in my prudish opinion. I don’t like how the sleeze bag boss wins out in the end.

I want to see Pineapple Express but I’m afraid of the let down. Why must they hype these movies so much that they can never live up to the expectations? I remember really liking Knocked Up; laughing my ass off. I remember a sinking feeling during Superbad that it really wasn’t funny. Does anyone else think Jonah Hill is the devil’s apprentice? Dude, what is it with your eyes??

Dominick Dunne is my kind of writer. High society crime. Great descriptions. I’m reading a paperback edition of both his essay books combined into one. Just about to finish the one from the 1980s and move into the 1990s. Here is a writer who doesn’t shrink from a story or from gossip and he’s GOOD. He’s a great writer and that makes all the difference. He didn’t start writing novels until he was 50 years old and done with Hollywood and drugs and alcohol. He went to a cabin in Oregon and wrote a horrible novel that was published. Then he wrote some good novels that were made into TV movies. I love and admire people who rise from the ashes.

I could not live without cereal and tea.

Speaking of tea, I would love to stay at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, British Columbia some day and have afternoon tea in the dining room. They serve black tea, English raisin scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserves, mixed fruit, tea sandwiches, lemon curd tarts, Earl Grey tea shortbread (I must find a recipe for this) and chocolate cake. I would wear a very pretty dress. Keith, are you reading this???

This morning, Meredith Vieira on the Today Show was disturbing. They dressed her so horribly. I turned on the television and there she was in a hot fuchsia top that made her look preggers. Yes, I’m well aware of the style in dresses and tops. But it was just too big. She should have at least a hint of a waist, shouldn’t she? And the color was just screaming at me. It was so shiny it was reflecting their lights. Don’t do that to her. I’m not a big Meredith fan but I hate seeing people in awful clothing.

The old Hidden Beach on Cedar Lake in Minneapolis is still the place to be, in my opinion. There are lifeguards on duty but they don’t yell through bull horns like at Lake Nokomis. There are no “time outs” when everyone has to get out of the water. And they don’t lose their shit over people on inflatable rafts. There were kids there but they seemed like the cool kids of the city. All in all, a very enjoyable place to be.

I have a thyroid condition and they have changed my dosage on my medication for it at least 45 times, if not closer to 60 times, in the six years since I had my thyroid radiated. Every time I go in for a blood test they say my levels have changed and I need to go down or go up. Right now they say I am getting too much (thus making me hyper thyroid) and I have to go way down. I am loathe to do this because every time I’ve done this in the past I end up feeling like shit. I picked up the new prescription over a week ago but I haven’t started it yet. At what point can they just let someone live, if they feel OK? I’ve never been on the same level for more than 3 months. And my condition isn’t that scary, although it messes up just about all your bodily functions. I feel for anyone out there trying to deal with a serious, chronic condition. Until you’ve seen behind the curtain, so to speak, you have no idea.

If you’re feeling dull and random this month too, but you have your health, be at peace with life. I will try to follow my own advice.