SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Did you ever notice how much better you look in some mirrors than others? The mirror in your bathroom may reflect back an image of yourself you don't wholly approve of, while the restroom mirror at a local restaurant may prompt you to exclaim, "That's exactly how I imagine myself" or "I had forgotten how attractive I am." Just as some mirrors bring out the best in you while others reflect the worst, the same is true about people and situations: Some have a seemingly magical power to accentuate the finest sides of your personality, while others exaggerate qualities you'd prefer to disown. I bring this up because it's now crucial to surround yourself with the very best mirrors.
~ Free Will Astrology

The sky was cloudy when I left work last night, and I thought, good! We need some rain. I was about half-way home when the rain started, and this was no gentle summer rain, it was coming down in buckets. I prayed that there wouldn't be hail, that would be all I'd need, in a car less than 24 hours old.

I kept trying to think of a place where I could get under something in case it started hailing, and remembered a shopping center that I pass on the way home that has underground covered parking. But by the time I approached it, the rain seemed to be lessening, and I didn't really want to drive into the parking lot and wait, I wanted to get home. So I drove on.

Pretty soon, the cell phone rang. It was Bob asking me where I was, and if I was safe--he'd heard that there was heavy rain. I told him I was fine, and he said, "Why don't you pull into the Ward Parkway parking lot in case it hails?" and I said I had thought of that, but I was already past it. It was starting to rain heavier now, again.

He said he'd get off the phone and let me concentrate on driving, and then five minutes later the phone rang again. It was Bob again, to tell me to call him when I got home so he'd know I was safe. He's down at the Lake for a couple of days and the only reason he heard about the rainstorm was that the friend he was meeting had called to say he'd be late because he was stuck in traffic.

It was raining heavy enough that people were pulling off the road, and I would have, too, but I just really wanted to get home and into the garage. Traffic came to a dead halt a mile or so before I get on the highway, and I assumed it was an accident. I sat there, inching ahead a tiny bit at a time, praying that it wouldn't start hailing . . .

Eventually I progressed far enough to see that it wasn't an accident, but a malfunctioning traffic light--everyone in every direction had to stop, look, then proceed. I finally got on the highway, and by the time I got off at my exit, the rain had completely stopped. A lawn chair was blown off the patio, and some of the plants in the backyard look kind of bedraggled, so I have to assume we got the storm out here first, although I couldn't prove it.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. I had a Margarita and salsa and chips for dinner (civilization falls apart when Bob's not here), then a bag of microwave popcorn later as I watched a Discovery Channel/Animal Planet show about pregnant dogs and the people who love them. Actually, it was by turns silly and absorbing--the first couple had pug dogs, and were throwing a baby shower for the pregnant one, inviting all the "parents" of her previous litter and the potential parents of the current one.

The second segment was about a couple who owned bassett hounds, one of whom was pregnant, and the woman was very worried about her because the pregnant bassett's mother had had complications delivering. She decided to have the vet perform a Ceasarean section, which they showed on air.

The pugs were awfully cute, but I couldn't get as interested in the bassett hounds. The pugs, at least, seem to have expressive faces; the bassetts just look sad all the time. I'm sure they have lovely personalities--this particular woman seemed to love this dog as much as, or more than, one would love a child--but they aren't apparent to the casual observer.

As an aside, I loved the talking pug, Frank, in Men in Black II. He made me laugh out loud in the theater--I loved it when he was singing in the car, with his head hanging out the window, and when he was waiting in the car with the radio playing "Who Let the Dogs Out?" and singing along. He was cool.

Misty is leaving town in a couple of weeks--she's moving to New York to go to graduate school at Pratt Institute. While I, of course, hate to see her go (I really hate it!), it's a great opportunity for her. She redesigned her website and I coded it for her last week: spunkygirlstudios.com.