Kid Tetris

Every month I get a new bus pass and the label on the envelope is misspelled - there's a letter missing off the end of my last name. Every month someone corrects with with a black or blue pen. There's part of me that is thrilled that there's someone who has taken up arms in the War on Linguistic Terror, or that someone cared enough to correct my name - it's like getting a Valentine. But the other part is that it's my name and it pretty much is wrong to be pleased that your name is spelled correctly. It's like does anyone think that people who get pissy about spelling their name - or worse, their kids name - isn't a dick? ("JEEZ!! Her name is Makynzzie! Two Zs, one y!!! There ain't no C in there!")

Cooking tip: buy chicken wings if all you want to do is make stock. They are really cheap.

I was thinking about family crests or clan tartans. And what mine would be in these times. What reflects our family legends? I was thinking of the Manx flag - the Isle of Man. With three arms connected. Something like that would be on there, except it would be 6 arms. Or maybe 6 legs and feet (flat feet). It represents the 6 husbands my grandmother had. That they are flat feet would represent my flat feet. There would be an animal on either side - a chicken and a sheep, two animals with important ties to our family history and are also often slaughtered. And the family motto would be in broken Spanish, representing our fondness for Mexican cuisine.