LauraCatoe.com

My dad and I had dinner last night, and we went by GJ’s new house on our way. Frank (the previous owner) was there getting a final load of stuff. He went ahead and gave me the key to the storm doors (there’s one on every entrance), and explained that he couldn’t find the key to the top deadbolt, so she may have to get that re-keyed. There was one other key to get (for the lock on the doorknob) and he wanted her to have 2 copies and one sort of stuck so he was going to get an extra made this morning at Byrd and leave them all in the storage room. He planned to leave his daughter’s home number (since he doesn’t have a phone at his new place yet and will be in Tuscaloosa this weekend).

The gas company was supposed to transfer service to GJ, but there was a bit of confusion and the gas got cut off. Frank and GJ did some talking and they were worried the pipes would freeze. There were about a zillion calls to Alagasco, and the last one resulted in me going over to the new house to wait for the gas man around 3:30pm.

It’s freezing (and raining) out there, kiddos. Now, I had the key to the storm doors, right? I walk up to the carport door, cause that’s the door that I always see Frank using and assume is the door he last locked. He mentioned leaving the inside door unlocked until we got the deadbolt re-keyed. I pushed the key into the storm door, gave it a twist and a tug and…

Nothing. Great. Glad I’ve got my scarf and gloves on.

Fine. I went to where he said he’d put the rest of the keys and there they were. I took them to the front door, where the key to the storm door worked like a charm.

But do you know which lock is locked on the front door? Deadbolt.

I go to the backyard. Again, key to the storm door = no problem. But the lock on the doorknob… none of the keys he left will fit it.

I called Kris, while I stood and shivered, and told him my tale. We hung up when the gas man arrived. He proceeded to try all the locks and keys himself, and yay, it turns out I’m not just a dumb girl weakling.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” I asked GJ. Cause the good news is the gas is turned back on, but the bad news is we can’t get inside the house.

Kris and I suggested she call Byrd Lock & Key and get them to re-key one of the locks. That cost $50, and she wants to avoid that. She had me leave dad a voicemail to see if he could figure out how to break in because he managed to get into a desk she locked herself out of once. She asked me if Frank left his daughter’s contact information.

“You know, I bet he did,” I answered. “Inside the house.“

Oy to the vay, people.

Oh, and Blockbuster doesn’t have season 2 of Alias. Netflix, here I come.

“jane catoe sucks”

Or so the Site Stats tell me. This is funny to me, cause it’s like someone listened in to the conversation Kris and I had on Friday night and then responded “you guys are so lame.”

While not currently planning to reproduce, both Kris and I agree that we want to be parents someday. And as “idea people,” this means every once in awhile, we discuss names we would (or so would not) give to our future kids.

In the realm of family names, I have this Great Aunt Jane who is just the coolest and would consider naming a girl child after her. But now I know from the Mighty Internet that Jane Catoe, apparently, sucks.

When I was wee, I was told I was named after my great grandmothers on my mom’s side (Laura Lindsay) and that if I had been named after my great grandmothers on my dad’s side, my name would have been Willie Herlene.

Other birds and bees lurking in my family tree: Olive, Venetta, Alphus, Hinton and Herbert.

Whoops, did I say there would be a Photo Essay on Monday? What I meant to say was sometime this week. Cause, um, Kris and I rented season 1 of Alias, which proved to be just as addictive as 24 and Six Feet Under in that “must watch them all, now!” kind of way.

My biggest complaint is the Maggie Walsh factor. Remember how Buffy was a fantasy show and when they introduced The Initiative, it was all “Wuh? Government secret ops? On this show?”

Yeah, well, Alias is all government and conspiracies and the excuse for nifty “OpTech” gadgetry. So when they introduced a sci-fi storyline about some 500+ year old prophet/visionary named Rimbaldi, then it was kind of “What? Prophecies and people 100s of years old? On this show?”

I’m calling it the Maggie Walsh factor, because Lindsey Crouse was hired for both storylines.

One of the episodes featured a song on the Veronica Mars soundtrack (Ivy’s “Edge of the Ocean”). Since Alias S1 aired in 2001, that puts them well ahead of the curve.

(Point Pleasant, however, was behind the curve for using West Indian Girl’s “What Are You Afraid Of?” in their second episode.)

Anyway, loved the Alias (just like Dad said I would) and hope to find the next two seasons also at Blockbuster. And that Photo Essay will be about shortly.

The circle is now complete!

I finished the “Just a Country Girl” mix, but to balance my karma, I’m listening to my Veronica Mars mix while I type this.

Not that I’m ashamed of my country cd. There really are some good songs on there, and I’d recommend most of them to folk not even going through a “I’m so totally gonna buy cowgirl boots and listen to country music!” phase. (Still no boots, yet. I keep meaning to go to this store called The Broken Spoke, but it’s never open when I’m nearby.)

Tracks 1 and 2 I don’t really recommend unless you’ve been subjected to CMT. I mean, if you have, then maybe you’ll appreciate how Gretchen Wilson’s “Here for the Party” is catchy and you’ll enjoy how non-country diva she seems. And if you’ve seen the video where that guy’s heart is as empty as a Monday morning church and how depressing that is, then you could be uplifted by “What Say You,” the toe-tapper collaboration of Travis Tritt and John Mellencamp.

Beth Hart is really rock, but her song “Is That Too Much to Ask?” has a country enough vibe to warrant inclusion on this disc but not so much as to get her kicked out of rock establishments.

If you have fond memories of both Collective Soul and Dolly Parton, then I highly recommend her cover of “Shine.” But if your ears bleed when you hear bluegrass, just keep moving on.

Lucinda Williams’ “Righteously” is downbeat peppy. Give it a go.

Okay, now I’m pro Tom Petty, so I dug the Johnny Cash cover of “I Won’t Back Down.” But you just call it according to your own Petty stance.

“The Lucky One” by Alison Krauss & Union Station gets a hands down referral, as does “Portland, Oregon” by Loretta Lynn and Jack White.

“Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight That Surrounds You” gets props for such a maddeningly long title; get down wid yo bad self, Rilo Kiley. The Blue Merle song “Every Ship Must Sail Away” was free on iTunes until yesterday, but it’s worth the .99 cents plus tax. It has a hint of bluegrass, but so much that you’ll have an allergic reaction.

If you’re anti-Stevie Nicks, might as well skip The Dixie Chicks’ rendition of “Landslide.” But, if you’re not, it’s good.

Now, being as embarrassed as I was to purchase a Big & Rich title, I think I got the best one: “Wild West Show.” I was probably just swayed by the gratuitous Tonto reference.

Track 13 is another Beth Hart offering, “By Her.” Track 14, “Restless” is the second Alison Krauss & Union Station showing. Track 15 is Johnny Cash covering U2’s “One.” Y’know, more uplifting than him doing NIN’s “Hurt.”

To get more songs on the cd, I got Sheryl Crow’s “The First Cut is the Deepest,” but it’s nothing to write home about.

And I only counsel you to get Shania Twain’s “Party for Two” if you are trying to be ironic in some way.