Untitled

Lucky No. 7 on Friday the 13th

Big little Zuzu turned 7 on Friday the 13th – a lucky day for us. 

Ah, me. I’ve been very remiss with The Lolly Diaries. So much going on, so much energy expended with the resistance, and so many appointments with Mother, partly because of a new serious new wrinkle in the fabric of our lives. And we’re still reeling a bit from the gaping hole left in our household by Tess’s departure, especially…

One of my favorite pictures of Tess, from three or four years ago. She loved a camera and cameras loved her. Her eyes were still amber then.

If anyone ever tells you that losing pets gets easier with time, they’re lying, especially if you have to make the ultimate decision for them. Over 42 years, I’ve had the great luxury of only having five dogs – they’ve all lived very long lives for their…

Since you’ve been asking …

High-gloss mahogany, milled and finished by my talented husband, meets soapstone in the upstairs kitchen breakfast nook.

… no, we haven’t moved upstairs, nor is it finished. The kitchen is close, as you’ll see, but the third-floor bedroom and bath – well, they won’t take long either, once we get back to them. But today’s about the kitchen

We keep getting sidetracked – as in rehabbing other…

Super-short sweet love story

Our friend Lee Weber made Bernie’s little tombstone, which the grandchildren insisted he have.

The good news is Bernie’s leg healed just fine. The bad news, really bad, is that Monday evening, he fell over dead. His little life spanned just over a month, as near as we can tell.

That Monday was the day he’d discovered he could run over to the glass door on the screened-in porch to watch for me and…

How quickly things change in life and nature. Wednesday, Bernie the starling achieved two major steps: He sat in our ficus tree on the screened-in porch (with an assist from me) and had quite a big time pulling on leaves. And, more importantly, he picked up two meal worms and ate them, instead of just tossing them around and waiting to be fed. Quite the accomplishments for a wee one.

Then I left…

Tess Among the Flowers

Today our darling Tessie is 12, quite a geriatric for a German Shepherd. She came to live with us in July 2005, when she was 8 weeks old and I was recuperating from a life-changing (and potentially life-threatening) surgery. Her tiny teeth marks are still on the corner of my very expensive nightstand from where she entertained herself while I snoozed.

Official 12th…

Birdie with a yellow bill

Our mystery baby was misidentified as a robin. We think he’s actually a starling but aren’t sure.

This is how he looked the day after John found him. The first day, both eyes were still closed.

Our little bird didn’t hop up on our windowsill. (For the record, he doesn’t hop at all. He walks. Robins hop. We’re not sure what he is now.) He apparently blew out of a nest that my husband couldn’t find…

The merry, harried month of May

Day lilies in the front yard

May was an insane month around here – insane in a good way, but no time for blogging. John and Liz took their trek to the base camp at Mt. Everest, leaving very early May 4 and returning very late May 25. Brent and I took care of the three kiddos – and, in the big news I hinted at before, got their family moved in right next door! The timing wasn’t great, but they…

The upstairs kitchen still has a way to go, but you can see progress.We’ve had a flurry of activity again lately – nothing like out-of-town houseguests to get you cooking with gas (though the stove is not hooked up yet).

Wow, long time between posts. We’ve had lots going on, including John’s Medicare birthday last week, and I’ve been doing lots and lots of writing elsewhere. I’ve also been…

Woo hoo! We have several working lights in the upstairs kitchen now, and one even has a light fixture. Progress, baby.

John’s cutting tile, so I’m taking a quick break from our kitchen-floor-laying project to shine a light on a few things on my mind, good and bad.

First I’d like to stress how sick I am of hearing our do-nothing Congress refer to President Obama as a “lame duck.” He is still the…

The Master of Space and Time

No, this post isn’t about my beloved Leon Russell, THE Master of Space and Time. But I do keep hearing his song in my head.

John and I just marked our 12th wedding anniversary yesterday. I say “marked” because we haven’t had time to celebrate it yet – we’ll do that tomorrow night. We’ve had a crazy busy spell.

Our wedding song was “In My Life,” which is his still ringtone on my phone, but these…

The post with no name

John, Julia and I recently attended a fabulous upholstery workshop in the Applied Arts department at UALR, taught by the wonderful Annie Evelyn (whose assistant was my friend Morgan Hill – both had driven in from Penland, despite the snow). This is my class product, a “lab rat,” which makes a very nice mediation seat, should I ever decide to try that route. But I hope reupholstery and helping…

Our hardy hibiscus has been blooming away in my office upstairs. Flowers for the departed or just random beauty? Either way works for me.

We’re only 18 days into the new year, and it’s already been a heartbreaker. Glenn Frey at 67? David Bowie AND Alan Rickman at 69? Jeez, let’s take it easy, already. Talk about a heartbreak trifecta.

This old gal recently turned 60, so those ages are indecently…

And now it’s 2016 …

Practicing on my late friend Franchelle Owen’s Wurlitzer piano, which is tucked into our foyer now, is one way I’ll be spending time in 2016. 

Four days into a new year, almost four months into my 60s and about four weeks since I last touched The Lolly Diaries. Time gets away.

But making better use of my time is one of my intentions for this new year. I don’t make resolutions – too stern a word…

Sometimes it’s the little things

Sunday, Nov. 29 was a dreary rainy day for the virtual Climate March, so we did it upstairs inside. Thanks to friends and family who joined in! Sharing/posting/tweeting about the need for meaningful action to reduce global warming doesn’t cost you a dime.

Officially, I owe a post about everyday things you can to to help the environment while saving money. I haven’t forgotten by any means, but…

Help put the brakes on the climate change train

Don’t know what happened to my “Bridge Out” poster from the ’70s.

A couple of times lately, Mother has brought up a poster I had in my room as an older teen. Though she was slightly mortified when guests in our home saw it, she didn’t make me take it down – and now she wishes we still had it.

Just last Sunday she said it seemed to perfectly sum up the state of the world. She’s getting pretty hip…

Breathe deeply and carry on

The geranium on the top left is the offspring of the one in the kitchen. The little fern next to her has one baby in the kitchen. The beauties on the seat are fairly new family members – both have purple on the back of their leaves,which made them must-haves, of course. (They also called my name ever-so-politely and said they needed homes.) The little antique school desk is one Mother may or may…