Meet Chris and Jodi. Super nice, super cool, musically inclined, tooth-achingly-adorable couple. They just moved into a new place together and had us over for supper last night. Partway through the meal we were talking about how our paths have crisscrossed over the past decade, long before we actually met many years ago… how Mikey used to know Jodi’s cousin… how she grew up with my best friend’s ex… how some of Chris’s family graduated with Mikey’s sisters… and lots of other small-world anecdotes. I tell them about the blanket, whose status I am now updating to The Blanket. Capitals.

About a minute into the tale I start to mention names and places, and Chris throws has hands out like a traffic cop.

“Wait. What? ………….. I know them. That’s my family.”

Different last name, family by marriage. He knows every single person involved. The blanket maker and her husband, the priest cousin of her husband… everyone. I showed him a photo of the blanket, and he said his grandma had one just like it in autumn colors. Well… of course she did.

“So wait, there’s more. We’ve also found out that Mikey’s dad went to seminary with this pair of brothers, Matt and John. How are they related?”

“Those are my dad’s cousins!”

So we think my father-in-law’s adolescent buddies are the blanket maker’s nephews, but we’re beginning to get mixed up in a web of cousins.

Kevin Bacon, you’ve got nothin’ on this woman.

Incidentally, thanks to these two lovely ladies for the blog mentions :)

How is it possible that I am sitting here, and season two of Lost is sitting on my diningroom table, unopened. Just sitting there? I have such restraint! I wasn’t expecting it until the fifteenth, and when I heard a knock on the door and spied a human with a pile of boxes through my peephole my heart leapt into my throat. I opened the box and shed a few tears (I swear), and then set it down on the table, still in the shrinkwrap. I have a few things I HAVE to do before the insanity begins, and I’m not even letting myself examine the packaging. I’ve had five Etsy orders since I moved here and I’ve mailed out none of them. I’ve been in touch with the buyers so they’re expecting late delivery, but I already feel like a jerk and can’t put them off any longer. I have to package up those things to mail out, which Mikey will have to do for me tomorrow morning because I will obviously be occupied. I was also going to apply for a bunch of jobs this evening, but that can wait. I probably won’t even sleep tonight. Locke-problem first, jobs later. Mikey and I watched the first half of the 9/11 movie on ABC (is that right?) at John’s last night, and the last two hours are on tonight. We were going to go over, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to miss it. I know what happens, anyway.

Yesterday we went to the grocery store and bought tons of food. For two weeks we’ve just gotten a few things as we needed them (two decent grocery stores within thirty seconds of us), but yesterday was The Grocery Shopping Trip. This particular store had vertical poles spaced evenly around their entrance so you can’t take your shopping cart to your car. The spots right by the entrance are designated for parking and loading up your purchases. Strange. So anyway, this elderly woman and myself were waiting for the husbands to get the cars, and she eyed my cart and chuckled and said, “well you certainly did a good job.” I mentioned that we’d just moved here and had to stock up. She asked where from, and I said the states.

“Oh really! My mother was born in West Virginia. Do you know where that is? In a little coal mining town outside of Morgantown. My grandfather owned the company store. She was married there… had to wait for the circuit rabbi to come through town. Then she relocated to Pittsburgh. I was born in Detroit.”

Of course I was on the verge of tears and could barely get the words “I’m from West Virginia” out of my mouth. Then I tried to breathe and told her that my mom was born in Detroit, and she clapped her hands and said, “well we might find that we’re related before these men get back!!” I want this to happen a lot.

Also….

My baby started school today. Don’t you just want to pinch his cheeks?

Our phone is hooked up now. I sent out a mass email that Mikey will forward on to his contacts, and if that doesn’t cover you let me know if you’d like our number.

I can’t believe season two of Lost is right… over… there….