Mommie's allright, Daddie's allright, they just seem a little weird

Cyber-greetings to all. Some cyber-apologies as well for dangling a Boston Part Deux Monday edition and then not posting a dang thing.

My parents were in town this past weekend.

Anyone that knows me or them should need no further explanation, and will be happy to know that my fists are now in down and unclenched positions and the wrinkle between my eyes is a mere crevasse.

They drive me crazy, as most parents do...but they take this enforced psychosis it to such bizarre extremes that I can usually win any "My parents are kookier than yours." contest with the amount of energy it takes to run a hotplate.... on low.

Disclaimer: It should be also duly noted, that I love both parents very much and realize that this over exuberance is merely delight in their firstborn.

Some fun tidbits from this bedlam visit:

A highlighted vacuum cleaner manual: Because sometimes the bold manufacturer's print is just not enough and who knows what anarchy might arise if the 'Hose Wand' is not firmly attached!

2 plastic Milk Crates: Normal enough yes, but the kicker is these were snatched from an alley behind Pier One by my mother while we waited for them to load a table in the car. Apparently she used these at home for my brother's jeans and they are 'a godsend'. To her credit, she also spent an hour scrubbing them out in my bathtub. That elbow grease will undoubtedly come in handy when she's convicted for petty larceny and put in charge of the prison laundry.

A clean 9-inch skillet: Both folks got in on this culinary contest. A pan I had used for grilled cheese was slighted scorched (I'm used to gas stoves) and harmlessly sitting in my drainer until I could remedy the problem. No less than 7 cleansing products and 4 attempts by each parent were involved. There was also a panic-stricken cry for a Jewel visit to bring in reinforcing cleansing troops, as it appeared the offensive pan was winning. In the end, I have a clean pan and a lecture on "How to properly cook on a electric stove" to show for this.

All and all it was a pretty successful visit, they are lovely people to see in short doses and no major structural damage was done. (The chuck to my drill was 'missing ' for most of the weekend!) As an added bonus, I no longer live like a savage and have properly alphabetized spices on civilized shelf liners.

And people wonder why I'm strange?