So, the little neighborhood website I was writing for has gone extinct, leaving me with several scathing reviews unposted, and a little free time which I fill with staring. It was fun while it lasted. The writing, I mean. The staring continues to be fun.

See? I was staring there, during the blank spot. You can borrow my technique, as long as you give me proper credit.

For the past week, I filled a lot of my free time cleaning up dog vomit and suppressing my own gag reflex. The dog vomit came courtesy of one of the pair of canines I was caring for, the taller of the two, the one known as Eloise.

Eloise is a perfectly nice dog, and I was warned by the owner (just before he slipped out the door) that she had taken to vomiting if she gets overexcited. I told him I'd keep control over the situation, but failed to factor in Eloise's ability to get overexcited at so little as the sound of a leaf blowing across the yard.

There was a fair amount of vomit to deal with last week, my least favorite having been deposited atop the comforter under which I had just settled. I might have minded less if Eloise hadn't seemed so pleased with herself over the whole endeavor. Plus, the house smells like burnt rubber, so I was pleased when the time came to lock the door and depart. There doesn't seem to be a tire factory nearby, so I believe that the burnt smell is my nose's interpretation of some vile type of potpourri or room spray. Essence de Michelin, or the like.

Now I'm on to my next house-sitting gig, for the twin Scotties and my exalted and beloved Orange Kat. I've come to realize that Orange Kat is more of what you might call a "buff" color. ORANGE KAT! is just so much fun to exclaim, though, so I anticipate no change in nomenclature.

The last time I house-sat there, the cat erupted in a startling waterfall of vomit, after which I followed suit (expired milk). Given the recent trend, I decided to say a slight prayer to St. Francis, petitioning for an absence of vomit. It goes like this:

Vomitare meo O Sancta Francis...o. Non mi miserere con el vomito, o, grazie, grazie.

Star of the day. . .Miss Linda Blair