This has been such a bizarre week. My boyfriend introduced me to his girlfriend while I was waiting in line to have my dog dry-cleaned. The poor thing is afraid of water, so I guess my chicken of a boyfriend thought that this would be a good environment for me to meet "the other". She happens to be such a cool lady, by the way—she has seven grandchildren and her husband sells balloons at the airport.

My dog, on the other hand, took a dislike to her as soon as he saw her. I think it was because he doesn't like people drenched in perfume, especially those who wear glasses for daltonism.

When Bwana, my dog, was ready to go, I put him on a leash and the seven of us went for a walk holding hands. Everything was going really well until my boyfriend saw a Benetton store and got all excited about us getting matching sweaters, and Bwana threw a tantrum because he wanted to wear a pink t-shirt. So we all gave each other a look of complicity and gave in.

Later it started to rain. It didn't bother us too much because the temperature was mild, but the snow was quite heavy and my grandfather started to shiver.

None of us wanted to go home, although it was pretty obvious that we were feeling uncomfortable from the get-go, especially Bwana, who scolded me all the way home. I also had to keep the car window rolled down because of the smell of popcorn—Bwana loves eating cotton candy when he drives.

*Pictures by ¡Stockphoto.com