Selling your home is hard on your heart.

No, it's not the lugging of boxes out when you're moving, it's the emotional drain of the whole process. You start out selling it--having people poke and prod at what you love, what has your emotional prints all over it. Then you bring in a realtor to sell it. The good ones won't point out all the negative points but won't lie to you about them either. The bad ones, who can't sell worth a damn, blame it all on your house. It doesn't have this, it has this that it shouldn't, etc., etc.

What also makes it hard is that you have total strangers opening drawers, looking in cupboards. Taken out of context, they would be nosy people. But they're not, it's just part of the process.

If you're lucky, it all happens fast like ripping a band-aid off an old injury. It's better when it happens quickly, so you don't feel the pain.

It's all worth it in the long run because you are moving onto another chapter of your life, but it is still a painful process.

Send comments to sjs@iowa-computer.com if you don't have a blog of your own.

Bring Back I Love Lucy.

What has become of network television? Weekly t.v. shows take brief vacations or run repeats in the middle of the season. Is it that hard to come up with clever material on a weekly basis?
There are so few shows on anymore that I enjoy, but the ones I do, don't run consecutively. They take breaks or disappear altogether.

He Said. She Said.

Robert Gray published a book not too long ago called, "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus." (I'm not sure that I have that title correct.) Although it sold quite a few copies, it was not the most interesting book. In fact, the premise of it was that women and men communicate differently.

The reason why any of this is interest is that there are definitely times in our lives when it would seem that Mr. Gray could give us some helpful advice on why communicating with the opposite sex can sometimes be less than successful.

Men tend to be more direct and sometimes that throws women off guard. Women are used to circling around issues and often when they are out socially, complaining to a friend about a particular situation or person, they don't really want the bald truth. They want sympathy, nodding your head, and agreeing that it's a tough situation for them.

The older I get, the more dissatisfied I am with that whole scenario, particularly when your friend is making bad choices and constantly wanting sympathy. I feel sorry for men who get caught up in situations where they think they are giving helpful advice that is viewed with contempt by women.

What's up with this stupid cat of mine?

He can sniff out food that I'm eating without fail. If I start to fix dinner, he might be down in the basement, but he is upstairs within minutes of hearing me rattling around in the kitchen. I don't know why. I never give him "human food." He does have occasional canned cat food that I store in the refrigerator. I guess that must be it. He also likes to browse in the refrigerator even though he never is allowed to get anything out of there on his own.

Oh, and if I leave one of the dining room chairs pulled out with just enough room for him to be able to jump up and stick his face on the table, he's there before you even know it. Yet, when I put in his dish, I have to point my finger at it or stick his face next to it. He's not blind, hard-of-hearing, or lacking a sense of smell. He's just a silly cat.

GET OFF MY BACK BUMPER, PLEASE.

I drove to work this morning on 965 instead of using I-380. Sometimes I like to do that because I really don't enjoy keeping pace with the semi's and cars going 80+ mph. I've never really enjoyed the higher speed limits, so it is relaxing for me. I go the speed limit, so it's not like I'm driving 40 mph in a 55 mph zone. So, what I don't understand is when I go that route why is there inevitably somebody behind me who wants to go faster? TAKE THE INTERSTATE! Or go ahead and pass me because there are clear openings to do that.

I have had the misfortune of getting behind a tractor or something going incredible slow on Hwy. 965, but I accept it because I chose to go that route and know that it's far better that they are traveling on a county (state?) road instead of the interstate, which is designed for faster travel and virtually painless passing.

A highway patrol man once told me that when another driver is following you too closely that you should slow down, allowing them the opportunity to pass you. That has never worked for me. They just hang back there no matter what speed I am doing.

I guess I need a sign that lights up on my back bumper that says: Pass me idiot or take the interstate cause I'm not going any faster!

And, Jason, I don't get what you were saying about the date. Spellcheck works.

Password? Who has the password? Or the user name?

How does anybody remember all of these cyberspace security devices? Should I have them all tattooed on my hand? I spent the better part of 15 minutes trying to remember what my user name was for this blog. I know I wrote it on a piece of paper somewhere, but where is that piece of paper? Fortunately, I found a link to allow me to recover my user name and to create a new password. Does anybody else besides me have trouble thinking of a new password every time you need it? Thanks, Piper, for the idea. I used it.

One of the most frustrating experiences with creating user names is finding that the stupid system won't always let you have the exact one that you want. Whether it is because it doesn't have the right combination of letters and characters or has been used by somebody else, it is annoying.

I suppose it is easier to remember passwords or user names when it is something that you use on an everyday basis. But for those sites that you meander over to when you're bored, forget it.

Jason--why is there no spellcheck on this thing?