OK. Back to the diet. First thing to do is hide those chips. I froze the rest of the bratwurst. They don't taste too good if they're frozen. Better hide those cookies too. I'm back on the wagon again. Cue the inspirational music.

The fireworks were wonderful last night. Beautiful. We went to the same place that we went last year. A small field outside a nearby town which boasts of having The Biggest Little Parade in Wisconsin, though we missed the parade. The people who sat next to us had their Brittany Spaniel along. Poor thing kept snapping at the mosquitoes. Probably would have gained some weight if it weren't for all the effort the dog expended in the process. There were a lot of mosquitoes. Enough to obscure the view at times. There were lots of kids too. Of course the mosquitoes out-numbered us all. I'm glad I took the precaution to wear mosquito dope. That's what we used to call it, "mosquito dope". I remember when it used to come in a tube with a delivery mechanism similar to that of Chap-Stick. It had the consistancy of Chap-Stick too. I used to love the smell of that stuff. The mosquitoes probably loved the smell of it too. I don't remember the brand name anymore. We just called it mosquito dope. I don't like the smell of the mosquito spray that is sold these days. It tends to give me a headache. My only hope is that it has the same effect on the mosquitoes. I remember when Off first came out. It was a clear liquid sold in tiny glass bottles. You'd pour a tiny amount into your hand and smear it on any exposed areas. My mother sold her last antique bottle of the stuff last summer at her garage sale. I wonder if mosquito dope has an expiration date. I wonder if it goes bad, or do the mosquitoes just slurp it up and come back for more? Who knows? Maybe the gal who bought the antique mosquito dope made a fortune selling the bottle on E-Bay and now can afford a lifetime supply of Deep-Woods Off while laughing all the way to the bank. I remember when mosquito spray first came out. We still called it mosquito dope. I remember my Grandfather yelling at us when my brother and I sprayed some on our hair to keep away the deerflies. He told my brother that it would make him bald when he got older. Wait a minute. Well at least I still have all my hair.

Cliche of the Day

I Wouldn't Touch It With A Ten-Foot Pole. It's dangerous or disagreeable, and I intend to avoid it. The "ten-foot pole" is not an item ready to hand, and neither is the "barge pole," which figured in a similar expression. Still, they both serve as figures of speech, and so did "tongs". With "tongs" the expression was known by 1639, when John Clarke included it in his Paroemiologia Anglo-Latino: "Not to be handled with a paire of tongues." The "ten-foot pole" was in use in the expression by 1758, the "barge pole" by 1877.