Tribute to Teddy

Just before I turn into Jill's driveway at her cabin, I drive past Teddy's little estate. Years before I met her, I noticed all of the fun and interesting yard decorations she had. A tepee, so many beautiful flowers and artful pieces, but most interesting to me was an ancient, rusty wheelbarrow overflowing with marigolds and zinnias. So cheerful, so lovely. When my neighbors were ready to trash their old, rusty wheelbarrow a few weeks ago I came forward to rescue it. Then I found some clearance petunias at one of the local garden centers to plant in it after filling it up with potting soil. The petunias seem pretty happy so that makes me happy. A year and a half ago I learned that Teddy had died and was saddened by that news. She was a character and a patron of the arts, fond of wearing a cowboy hat and turquoise jewelry. She had more than one interesting career in her life and raised four children with a man she described as the love of her life. When we met she pointed out that our eyes were the same color, a dark olive green. Now I feel as though I look at the floral, wood, and rusty steel tribute to her in my backyard through her eyes. I like that, and I think that she would, too. Thanks, Teddy, for the inspiration. 

Getting a Head Start on August

Weirdest Sex Dream Ever

I know, hearing about someone else's dream is one big fat bore. So I won't take it personally if you move along to something more interesting. Shoo! I only want to share this with those who are interested in the nocturnal rebooting of my brain. So. The last two nights my brain has been occupied with a certain man I used to be involved with. The first night was nothing memorable, but last night we engaged in some pretty crazy stuff. The setting, a library. But not your run-of-the-mill library with tables and books and ssshhhhhh! signs. This library had an enormous greenhouse wing. We were there, in amongst all of the plants and we were using tiny tubes with brushlike caps to pollinate the tomatoes. It seems the fine dust in these tubes was pollen and with the absence of pollinator insects, humans were dispatched to do the job. Like I said, weirdest sex dream ever. It was actually rather intimate and sweet. Working together to help the tomato plants get it on and reproduce. Probably so we could devour them, but still a noble cause. Sex is everywhere. Even where you least suspect finding it. And leave it to my brain to find a whole new twist.

Baby Creepers

See the little guys in the circles? They're far easier to see if you click on the photo. In a couple of years they'll grow up to be...

...like this! Creeping thyme is a drought resistant, low maintenance ground cover that chokes out weeds and tolerates some foot traffic. Two years ago this patch was four tiny plants. They take a little tlc to get established but after that they can be left to their own devices. Which is looking pretty and smelling lovely and producing those adorable tiny pink flowers. In a couple more years this corner of the yard will be covered in it and that will make me very happy. Then I will be able to transplant plugs of it to other parts of the yard that need a little prettying up.  

PSA

Thanks to Dr Stella Immanuel we have so much more to be worried about. Unless demon sperm makes you immune to Covid19. Then we're onto something! 

Shame

Seeing Red

My Ccorona

Look Ma, No Doors

How Time Flies

Tiny Newton

Tiny Einstein

Fourteen years ago today Reid and I drove out to Colleen's acreage and adopted two little furballs. So many fuzzy kittens darting about on the lawn! How to choose just two? We were saved from that dilemma when Newton perched atop my sandaled right foot. From this wobbly position he looked up at me for just a few seconds before dashing off to wrestle with one of his littermates, a little tux that we named Einstein. Sometimes, if you look around and pay attention, questions are answered for you. 

Handsome Fella 2012

  

Cutie Pie 2016

Don't Confuse These Things

Door Pants

Pants Door

Keep It Simple

My new criteria for keeping a facebook friend. Would I enjoy having a beer with you? If not, you are gone. I haven't watched the Marie Kondo videos or read her books on tidying up your life, but I suspect she would approve of my new rule. Beer sparks joy for me, so if your presence at the table diminishes my joy, you must go. 

Over My Head, But Prettier

I've been living with this for over a year.

Repair complete and a little texturing added to blend things.  

All draped and dropclothed. I'm a sloppy painter.

Best ceiling paint ever! Nice and thick to keep dripping to a minimum. Turns from pink when applied to white when dry. And miraculously, one coat coverage.

Behold my lovely ceiling! My neck will recover. On to the cabinets!

Sixty Years Ago

Two kids on a bike in Ray, North Dakota. I'm guessing in 1960 or '61. That's me on the back, my brother Scott is at the handlebars. Today he would have been 65 years old. He died in August 2006 of pancreatic cancer. Given our history, I don't miss him. But I do miss the boy who was sweet to me before things got ugly. And I'm happy to have photos like this to remind me that he wasn't always a monster. A very charming and handsome monster who sold drugs out of a creepy room in our basement while our mother looked the other way. A monster who made my life a living hell for over two years while he tried to molest me. Also while our mother looked the other way. I sometimes wonder what turned this boy into a bully and a sociopath. Though I'll never understand, I have accepted that what happened was no fault of my own. I have forgiven him, if only to be able to let go of the pain and anger. Looking back to a more innocent time helps.

Wear Your Goddamn Mask

For my fans and fellow Fauci lovers Hot guys, let's absorb the wisdom and feeling of futility in this quote. Dr Fauci, I have no words either.

It's Over My Head

This is how the kitchen looked when I bought the house. There have been numerous changes since then, but today, let's consider the ceiling. Those noisy fluorescent boxes have been gone for a year.

Leaving this most delightful reminder on the ceiling. The new light fixture is lovely and ever so quiet, even illuminates the space far better than the old ones did. So far today I have scrubbed the ceiling and done the first round of patching on the holes. Before going to bed tonight I hope to at the very least have finished the repair segment and progressed on to painting. Which will be fun. Painting a ceiling is always fun, just ask Michelangelo. I bet he didn't have fancy paint that goes on pink and dries white. I do. After photos to follow. 

Let's Have Some Fun!

My Tomato Thicket

Behold! In these two raised beds we have eight tomato plants. Four of them are in the bed in the foreground along with a couple of volunteer cilantro plants. In the rear we have four more tomato plants and to the left of them are the surprise! green beans, about a dozen plants. They are surprise! green beans because I found half of a package left over from last year that had gotten damp and a little mildewy. I shrugged, thought, whatever, and poked them in the soil while the tomato plants were quite small. To my surprise, most of them sprouted and are now blossoming like crazy. I'm guessing that surprise! green beans are even tastier than regular ones. We shall see. One of the plants grows golden cherry tomatoes and I have sampled three of them while out watering. They were sweet and delicious. Looks to be a great crop if we can keep the hail away! Please, Mother Nature, keep the hail away!

Important Differences

Remember, the first two are perfectly edible confections. Eating the third one would be cannibalism, or anthropophagy, if you want to be fancy like the cookies. And illegal, not to mention in poor taste. Also, the macaroon is from Italy, the other two are French.

Mask Rules

Still Celebrating

My sister Pam has outdone herself. She sent me a video birthday card with Donny Osmond performing a personalized song just for me on my birthday. I snortlaughed continually and enjoyed it very much. I was never a fan of any of the Osmonds and I am amused by how Donny is renting himself out in his post-middle-age-years. Wait a minute...after a quick Google search it seems he is actually younger than me! By a whole five months! I often think people are older than me only to discover they are actually younger. Does this mean I am in denial about my age? No, it certainly does not! All I know is, I've been around a while. Some days I feel it. Other days I can dance into the wee hours. I fully intend to make many more trips around the sun. And to put a million miles on my Outback. I'm already a bit concerned about a year from now, when I'll be wondering if you'll still need me and feed me. No reason I can't start thinking that now. 

Way Back When...

The top ten hits on my fourth birthday! At that tender age my ear wasn't yet attached to a radio so I don't remember any of these songs from that time. As an adult, #8 is the only one I recognize. Perhaps #1 a bit, too. And even though I can't summon up a melody for it, just for today I'll follow the advice of #10. Maybe I'll just put on some Earth Wind & Fire. Even though I'm not a little girl anymore. All I know is, when I dance she still lives inside me.

Birthday Breakfast

Dual Duty

Yes, indeed, let's keep our aerosolized breath to ourselves to limit the spread of the plague. Who knew there would be lovely hidden benefits. 

Green

So there's this thing you do by typing your name and a color and the word aesthetic into the Google search box and the first four photos are supposed to indicate something about your personality. Or something. This is what I got. I have no idea what it means. Figure it out for me, will you? Analyze me.  

This Morning's Snortlaugh

You're welcome.

New Tech Toy in the House

I have a new laptop. I'm typing on it right now. After seven and a half years of reliable use the HP Envy has been retired. Well, mostly reliable. The past four years have been a bit sketchy with heat shutdowns and dropping off the wifi for no apparent reason. The heat shutdown problem was mostly mitigated by blowing out all the vents and placing her on a cooling platform. The wifi fussiness I had no clue how to solve. Swearing didn't help. I'm keeping her around for uploading music off my CD collection, finding a new machine with a CD read/write drive was not looking good. So I focused on the things I just did not want to do without, a backlit keyboard, full numpad, and Windows in either the Pro or Home variety without the limiting S configuration. Oh, and one other thing. A slot for the SD card in my camera. This also proved difficult to find but the remedy was simple. My new laptop has a micro SD slot so I invested an extra fourteen bucks in a micro SD card with an adapter. So far I have managed to install my printer and clean up the desktop. I have tried to figure out how the photo management and editing program works but remain mystified. There will be time to master this new bit of magical hardware. Maybe Newton can help. He's way smarter than he lets on.  

Oops!

Concerning the previous post, it has come to my attention that the quote actually is not something Samuel Pepys said or wrote. His diaries do,indeed, contain references to the plague and how best to avoid it. But who came up with the pithy words I posted on Saturday is a mystery to me. Still, be like Mr Pepys and avoid the plague out there. No matter how enticing those sweetmeats happen to be.

Be Like Samuel Pepys

July

Welcome to my birthday month! I haven't quite gotten into the celebration spirit yet, normally I come out shouting on the first of July. And here I am on the second day, a mere week away from my natal day, finally getting around to proclaiming that it's time to get all celebratory about things. Here's what I've got so far...perhaps a pedi if my salon is open and doing all the proper stuff as far as masks and physical distancing are concerned, there's already a bottle of champagne in the beverage fridge with a fancier bottle or two likely to join it, my birthday buddy Jill will be showing up for a few days, there shall be fancy food to enjoy and some relaxing on the deck and around the firepit. If the weather chooses to not cooperate there are movies and popcorn for indoor entertainment. I am disappointed that my favorite lemon mascarpone cake is no longer available at a local eatery. I'll either have to figure out how to make something similar myself or move on to a different sweet birthday treat. It will be a quieter, more laid back observation of this trip around the sun. I have no party planned, cramming guests into a small space seems too risky at this stage of the pandemic. So. We'll save the big blowout for another year, another age. All I know is, I'm happy to be here even though the current state of the world and this country are dire and steeped in despair. When I blow out the candles on my cake this year, my wish will be much wider and more inclusive than it normally is. 2020 has not been the least bit normal thus far, we all need some healing and a few wishes coming true.

I'm Exhausted

Man, I wish this game would be over with. Soon.