I don't have a position one way or another on the City Council's approval of two Wal-Mart Supercenters in southern Bakersfield.

My question is, do we need TWO of them within 4 1/2 miles of each other? (I Google mapped it to get the distance between them: Gosford & Pacheco and Panama & Hwy 99.)

Do we, really need two that close together?

Eight weeks, seven gallons of Jasco, and three garbage sacks full of paint scrapings and goop mean one thing: The dining room is DONE!

Well, not quite. We still have to paint the walls, sand the wood, stain and seal the wood, and replace the crown molding. But at least all of the paint is now officially stripped from the wood!

What a different room it is. It is so warm, and cabiny. I especially like the view of the windows to the sunroom. (And I should -- those were my "Iraq.") Paula did a fabulous job with the buffet. And a special shoutout to Matylda and Ginny, who each donated a few hours of hard work to the project!

We finished just in time for Thanksgiving -- I'm hosting 9 people this turkey day. Hand me a beer!

Well, folks, it's been about 7 weeks since we started stripping all the paint off the wood trim in the dining room. And we have five days until our deadline to finish. I think we can make it! We better make it, cuz we're hosting 10 people at Thanksgiving next week.

Here are some photos of the final two areas we are working on: the buffet and the window to the sunroom. These are the most time-intensive parts of the dining room because of all the detail work.

We have to wrap up Saturday so we can spend Sunday cleaning. We are working 3-4 hours per night after work, and we put in a 10 hour day on Sunday. We are exhausted, but determined!

Oh, and to update you on the kitten — we found him a good home with a family of 8! So the kitten will never be at a loss for a playmate. We miss him dearly, but things are much quieter at home now. And my cat, Evie, is back to being queen of the house.

I don't have children, but if I ever do, I hope they are delivered by stork and left outside my home for me to just go out and pick up and love instantly.

At 4 this morning, I had a near-experience. An incessant meowing was coming from outside my bedroom window. Had my indoor-only cat gotten out? I arose to find out. I went out the back door and opened the gate, and this tiny dark form bolted toward me. I bent down and it leaped into my lap, purring and purring.

I couldn't leave the kitten outside because it would just keep me awake by meowing. So I took it in, and it slept on my face for the rest of the morning.

I wish I could keep it. It is so incredibly adorable. But it must belong to someone in my neighborhood. So tonight after work I will go house to house with a flier. If no one claims it, I will still have to give it away because my older cat hates other cats. As it is now, the kitten is spending the day in the bathroom, safe from my other cat, who just growled and hissed at the intruder all morning as I got ready for work.

If anyone wants a sweet kitten, let me know. I'll put you on standby in case none of my neighbors come forward.