I'm having my own little Oscars over at my new house.

In the category of "Who will do the sheetrocking?"

The contenders are:

1. Carlos, the friend of my new neighbor Roy.

2. the guy whose ad said, "No job too small!" but who told me that my job was too small.

3. the guy whose ad said, "We Always Call Back!" who - you guessed it- didn't call back.

And the winner is-- Carlos! He speaks English well enough to be understood, he gave a fair price, and he actually showed up when he said he would.

In the category of, "Who's going to do the roof repair work and give an estimate of replacing the roof?"

The contenders are:
1. The company with the very large, professional looking ad in the yellow pages, who promised someone would call back to set up a time for an estime. (No one did.)

2. the guy with the ad screaming, "We're cheaper than anyone else!" who I dialed by mistake. (A roof is not a place to economize, I shouldn't think.) He showed up on time to give the estimate. But the first words out of his mouth to me were, "You own a dog?"

"I have three dogs," I said.

"Oh, yuck!" he said.

I wanted to say, "You know son, that was the wrong response. I don't need to know your estimate, because you're not going to be working on my house."

But, to be polite, I went along with his telling me where he'd put the flashing and all that. As I seethed.

There's so much more. In fact, I have to go back to it. But that's why I've not been posting all that much. Perhaps later I'll think of something interesting to post. I doubt you guys want to hear the various possibilities of home repairs I'm considering. I know the topic bores me to tears, and it's my home.

Stay tuned. I swear I'll be back in sassy Cupcake form. Soon I hope.