I only told Tammy I'd look for my video of The Shining, not that I had much hope of finding it. I knew it was in one of the boxes in my garage, but there are a lot of boxes out there. I gave myself half an hour to look for the tape, but I didn't take my watch with me. I had to go through about fifteen boxes of video tapes, some of them stacked three deep inside, and I kept thinking The Shining would be in the next one.

Eventually, of course, it was, and when I brought it inside it had taken me just forty-five minutes to find it. Not a half and hour, but not bad, and now I had something to take with me when I showed up at Tammy and David's house tonight for the trip to Novato for a family dinner. I was covered head to toe with cobwebs by the time I found it, but it was worth it.

The six of us rode down in David's big red truck, and the cousins drove up from the East Bay, and we were a lively, noisy bunch but we had a good time introducing Tammy to that very important part of the family. As always, she made an impression and fit right in.

I can't tell you how happy I was to be in the middle of all this. (Actually, I was on the edge, in the corner, but somehow it still felt like the middle.) And I got to color with tiny, beautiful Skylar, which was a real treat. I haven't been asked to color with anyone for a long time. Plus, I had calamari and tiramisu. It was like a vacation, especially after the week I've had.

On the way home, Tammy played us some of the songs she and David are going to use in the wedding. I'm pretty sure they have everything covered, but I'll have more details as it gets closer. Maybe I'll post the song list afterwards, since I wouldn't want to be responsible for anyone stealing it. I doubt anyone else would come up with quite this combination on their own.