Friday (Fun?) Facts.

Welcome to Friday afternoon! I'm beginning to enjoy these little show and tell sessions. This week, I've been dreaming of spring and venturing outdoors. Here in the city where I live, we are currently hosting our coldest winter in ten years. Quite a party. Seems like it will never end. so, I've been thinking of warmer days ahead, and this is what I have in my bag to tell you and show you today.

• I have been thinking about spirituality a bit lately and have even had the opportunity to discuss the subject with two of my friends. While we all have our own ideas on the subject, and I don't want to be too deep or complicated here, I want to share that I feel most spiritual when I am outdoors, listening to the wind in the trees, hearing the birds sing, feeling the sun on my face, hands in the dirt just pondering what a beautiful earth God has given us. Quite a miracle.
• I have the opportunity to start a new garden this summer. We recently moved, as many of you know, and I had to leave my beautiful garden behind. (It was beautiful at times...) I've been busy drawing circles around my favorite plants and flowers in seed catalogs for a couple of weeks. I favor a less formal garden, so many of my favorites are wild and free looking.
• I do not grow vegetables. I cannot eat most of them due to my dumb health issue and my husband will not eat them. If I could eat them, I believe I would give being a vegetarian a try. I love them that much.
• I grow flowers, pretty ones that are easy to grow. I don't believe in complicated.
• Since moving to this area, I've been making a list of places I'd like to visit. Near the top of the list is the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio and Ginkgo Tree Bookshop. See this link for info: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/illinois_frank_lloyd_wright.htm
• Speaking of the Ginkgo. Did you know this tree does not exist in the wild anywhere in the world? Only the cultivated form survives. This tree is also known as a living fossil. Fascinating specimen, it was Frank Lloyd Wright's favorite tree. When his popularity took off, so did the popularity of the Ginkgo, prompting many cities to plant this tree in rows down city streets. The problem with the Ginkgo is that the female (yes this species is dioecious, which means there are male and female plants) tree produces a very stinky fruit, whose odor has been compared to rancid butter or excuse me... vomit. Ew. So, the tree that is often called the Maidenhair Tree, also has the distinct moniker of being the stinky tree. Lesson. Buy the male version. These trees are lovely.
• This concludes our botany lesson for today.
• Back on the topic of spirituality. I would like to be cremated when I die.
• I would like to be scattered someplace magnificent.
• My relatives are welcome to keep a small piece of me.
• I do not feel this is a desecration of the body, in the biblical sense. I feel that God created this big lovely world. He will find me when he needs me.
• If there were such a thing as reincarnation.. I sort of hope there is.. I would like to be a bird. Not that I would get to choose, but I would like to be a bird.

I will see you back here next week! Everyone have a lovely weekend!

In My Heart, and On My Mind.

My daddy playing Cowboy.

My dad. Daddy, as I have always called him. He is suffering badly this week with the effects of his pancreatic cancer. I sorted through boxes of photos looking for a couple of these. One is always framed, and usually sitting alongside a pair of my dad's childhood cowboy boots, west Texas dirt still ground in the leather. They make me feel happy, make me visualize him strong and fighting.

Baylor University Rodeo Club

I can't be with him in person, but I am with him in spirit. I never tire of listening to him tell of his days growing up on his family's ranch, of the trouble he got into going into town on Saturday nights in the summertime with the cowhands. My dad has had a restless spirit, one that I can relate very well to.

Somewhere along the rodeo circuit, 1950's.

Daddy is 75. He has tried to retire several times in the last ten years. His retirement never lasts, and he inevitably goes to work doing something to stay active. Until a year ago, he worked out most days to stay in shape and kept up with league bowling. I'm feeling restless for him now. I know in my heart that he wants to be strong and be stirring up a little orneriness somewhere. I know that because I inherited that very trait from him. So, today while my daddy is recuperating in the hospital from yet another procedure, I'm far away in distance but near in spirit praying for his strength to return.

So many hugs to my sister and her family for all the care they give to my mother and daddy each and every day.

Yes, More Friday (Fun?) Facts.

Oh lordy. Welcome back for another edition of Friday's little treasures I like to think of as me copping out of genuine writing and making self centered lists instead! Sometimes it is really all about me. Recently, I've had the good fortune to reconnect with a few old and dear friends from my past who have reminded me that I am, indeed, a circus freak to be reckoned with. (At least in my own mind.) A few of those appear on this list.

• Do you remember 1982, do you love Rock and Roll? Because I used to love Rock and Roll and I used to love Joan Jett too, until the militant girls down the hall from us in our Dorm played this 45 yes folks, a 45, non-stop every single afternoon at full volume. Being a mouthy one- hundred pound preppy weakling, I figured standing in the hall screaming at them to shut it off would actually do something productive. I see now I was just adding to the noise.
• Do you remember wearing bandannas? Around your head? Who the hell was I kidding. I even had to have my best friend roll the damn thing because I couldn't figure it out. Some bad-ass Pat Benatar wanna-be I was!
• Leg Warmers anyone? How about Flash Dance style cut up clothes? Check. Check. This is a fashion trend that should have never come back a second time unless you truly ARE a dancer. I am not. I am the least graceful person you will ever know.
• I make a funny face when I have a headache. The hero says it is a fish-face. I don't do it consciously, but it eases the tension. It also makes me look odd in the grocery store, just casually strolling along... alone with my list and my cart. Yes, very pretty. I'm so lucky they let me out once in a while.
• Have you ever been drinking a soda and laughed resulting in a painful expulsion of soda out your nose? I have had a similar experience with an entire sliced olive. Again, very dainty. And I'm sincerely thankful they let me out at least once a week. And I'd like to add... How the hell? I really don't understand the mechanics of how this happened to me.
• At one point in my life, hello Junior High School, I was the most awkward little dorky girl in school. Do the girls who never go through an awkward stage during that time have an awkward stage later in life? It only seems fair.
• I worked my way through college by flipping burgers at a well known fast food restaurant famous for the slogan "Where's the Beef." For a brief time, we had to wear visors with flashing lights for long forgotten promotion. It was painful. For the ego.
• Even more painful... I worked at that job for over five years.
• I made fantastic friends at the painful job. That is not freaky at all. It is just worth mentioning.

This wraps up today's edition of Friday Fun Facts. Tune in next Friday ...

Have a happy and safe weekend!

Since today is Inauguration Day, I just don't have anything to say that can trump history in the making.

Be back in a day or two!

Friday (Fun?) Facts.

I haven't done one of these for a long time... maybe never on a Friday, so may I present to you Friday Fun Facts. I may not do this weekly, but whenever the whim strikes. These may not always be about me but today they are, so lets go!

• I am a clean freak. I think the photo above should be captioned, "As God is my witness, I will never have a dirty floor or counter top."
• I have not always been this way, but for all of my adult life.
• I do not pull out my fridge and clean back there until it is time to change the filter. I have family members who think this makes me a bad housekeeper... ;-) You know who you are!
• Right now my house is a mess because I've been under the weather for weeks. This makes me feel out of control.
• Sometimes I smell things that aren't there. Today I keep smelling something burning, like something on fire. This is something that makes me crazy. I've been all over my house feeling walls for hot spots. Yes, paranoid a lot. I have plenty of working smoke detectors.
• This week it has been below zero more days than not. Are we having a new ice age? I'm looking forward to next week!
• This is the coldest winter in the last ten years in the city where I live.
• Spring will be here in a few months and I'm picking out seeds and plants for my new Garden.
• I love to feel sunshine on my face, but always wear a hat. I'm careful that way.
• I love to get my hands in the dirt, but always wear gloves.
• I do not like to feel the grass between my toes. I always wear shoes. Even indoors. Bare feet creep me out.
• As God is my witness, I WILL get the rest of the Christmas Decor stored this weekend. Now that it is listed, I have to do this!

See you next week!

Bathing Beauties of the last One Hundred Years. Oh, and American Idol.

I adore this photo. Notice the title, AFTER THE BATH. A hundred and eleven years later we've shed all our modesty and prance around like exhibitionists. Not that I want to go to the beach in a long woolen suit and pantaloons. But having something left to the imagination isn't necessarily a bad thing. Witness the speedo.


I have not been an American Idol watcher all along, and generally do not care about it whatsoever. I got caught up in it last year out of home town pride and started watching. Last night I watched the auditions from Phoenix, and will watch again tonight because I want to see if they make the folks from KC look like a bunch of mindless idiots like the media tends to do, but I'm off topic and tell me please. Aside from the obvious reasons such as this woman trying to get attention... I'm smart enough to figure that much out on my own, has this woman taken leave of her senses and lost all of her self respect?

Yes she is beautiful, yes she is a model, blah blah infinity. I don't think she can sing well enough to move on. I'm calling it now. She is going to be thrown off on her kieister in the first round. If I'm wrong, I'll be sentenced to watching the entire season to the end, which is horrifying enough. Damn you Simon and Randy for acting like school boys. (Paula and Kara? You behaved awful too.) Simply put, y'all should not have given her the attention she so badly wanted and didn't deserve. So glad to have that rant out in the open.

I am not a TV Blog. Say that ten times with me.

So... Let's Talk about 24.

Oh come on. Y'all know me better than that. I'm not a TV blogger! I'm passionate about certain shows (24 being near the top of the list and since it just started up again, yeah... my passion is burning hot) but I leave the critique to the professionals. I have to tell you though, something big and shallow happened to me last night while watching episode 4. I stumbled onto my new obsession. I don't have the actual photo of the objects of my desire, though I've been to the Fox website and have watched and rewound a certain scene between President Taylor and Ethan Kanin because it contains the best shot of my new loves.

Just what are these lovlies that have me in such a bother? I have a passion for certain things. Let me give you a few hints. These are beautiful things. Things for the home. Things of quality. Things that are old. Things with two arms and four legs. Okay, I hate guessing too. Just not fun. Just look what I found in President Taylor's office yesterday. I know it! They were just sitting there by the fireplace, looking all gorgeous in their antiquey (not a word? it should be, just sayin') yellow embroidered silk finery. (Not the upholstery shown below.)

These are not the the actual chairs, but the best substitution I could find. Typically called Gainsborough Chairs, they are a high-backed upholstered arm chair, the arms set back and depending on the chair, there can be very elaborate carving.

George III Mahogany Library Armchair, c. 1765

I have decided that having a pair of these chairs whether antique or quality new reproduction is going on my list of things to accomplish. This is non-negotiable. It doesn't need to be soon, it just needs to be. The chairs below would also be acceptable to me, though I'm not obsessed.

1930's/1940's French Leather Armchairs

And the following chairs are interesting to me, but just aren't going to ever work in my home.

Hemingway Chairs by Dutch Company Leolux

I guess by now you are getting that I'm a traditional girl. Modern lines interest and inspire me, but old things and traditional shapes make me feel at home and safe. Warm. So, with that I'll leave you with what may be my most boring post ever, but something I had to get into words. Those chairs make me feel warm and fuzzy. Much like this makes me feel. Not that there is a comparison. These guys are the real deal.

For My Hero.

Falling in love and getting married is a gamble every time. I feel somewhat qualified to say that, having been married twice. Once a failure, a bad gamble if you will, and the second time a resounding success by all accounts.


These are not the sort of things I tend to discuss on my little blog, but my last post was raw and emotional and my handsome hero (seen here in the 1970's during his college years, Go KU Jayhawks!) felt a little less than heroic after reading it. That was not my intention. This man will always be my hero.

This is how I see him in his very heroic moments. So, let me straighten this all up. Hero? You will always be my hero. No, I do not place you on an unreasonably high pedestal. In fact, there is no pedestal at all. You are not, in fact, a SUPER hero. You are my hero. Not perfect, but mine. You keep me happy, sane, and feeling loved. You stepped in and took care of me and my son and my dog,, making us all yours . You love us and the rest of my family unconditionally. You have adopted my ex-inlaws as if they are your own family. These are the things that make you my hero. My big Jewish hero.

I love you.

Now, off topic but I need to mention this. I found this image on the page of one of the bloggers from KC. I hope they don't mind my using it. I don't tend to publicly get political or state my position on things. The nation of Israel is dear to my heart. I won't get all preachy preachy. This is how I feel.

Life's Mysteries.

Why is ketchup labeled "fancy" on those little foil packets you get from fast food restaurants? Just curious. The ketchup doesn't seem fancy at all. Please tell me what makes it fancy. I need to know. Also, what is the difference between catsup and ketchup? The hero and I were in L.A. once, and took the opportunity to see the taping of an episode of the old show King of Queens. There was an exchange between Doug and Arthur at the top of the show about this very thing. While hilarious, I still didn't get an answer. Moving on. It is just ketchup.

Other things I wonder about.

I know she is saving the world singlehandedly, but you know what? I just. don't. get. Oprah. Sorry.

How did the Dog Whisperer learn his spooky powers? He is awesome.

When will reality TV go away? God, so mindless. Though I'm guilty of enjoying plenty of other mindless TV. I'm not a snob. Trust.

I've talked about this before, but when will that Dugger woman's quiver finally be full? It is too much to bear, me thinking about it. Sorry.

How did According to Jim run for so many years?

How is it that life can be cooking along smoothly one day and the next it is all helter skelter? Now I am off balance, feeling distrustful, betrayed, naked and exposed. The past becoming present which I thought would be scary but is fine, secret conversations that shouldn't hurt me do, family members are divisive and losing sight of the mission at hand. This confuses me.
I am topsy turvy again and there is nothing to be done about any of it. A complete mystery!

I'm off to sleep, the fitful dreams of a person prone to nightmares. Again... where the heck do those come from anyway?

Welcome to the New Year.

Belatedly, I say Happy New Year to my friends, family, blogger friends and three faithful readers! I kid you. There are more than three. Happy New year to my anonymous friends in the middle east and Great Britain! Happy New Year to those of you landing here in search of the photo I posted back in August of Philip Johnson's Glass House. Yes, it is eye candy isn't it? But, a topic for another day. Really what will be a topic for another day is that we have another famous glass house very near where I live, also an architectural wonder, and I'd like to talk about that sometime soon. Perhaps that should go on my to do list.



Speaking of lists. Who here makes resolutions? I do not. I do not resolve to lose weight or exercise more or whatever else can make me more disappointed in myself than I tend to get on my own without some list glaring at me as if pointing a big fat red finger and telling me I'm a failure with each unchecked item. Nope. Typically my self esteem takes a beating all on its own. I'm the panic driven, anxiety ridden, paranoid freak girl next door who apologizes for everything even when it is clearly NOT my fault. But! I've been thinking about some things and reading some posts fellow bloggers have put up in the past few days and events going on in my own life have made me pause and reconsider this resolve to not resolve policy, at least give it some deeper thought.



I think it is practical, for instance, to consider the idea of writing down a list of goals to accomplish as a way holding yourself accountable. My friend Pat mentioned this the other day in his blog and I thought it was a wonderful idea. The way he explained it inspired me. Today, he put up his list. 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days. Please go there now. Read. Be inspired to do good things. I know I am. I don't personally have a list compiled for you to read, just an attitude to pass along.



Be fabulous in 2009. 2010. Whenever. Enjoy life, live it to the fullest, grow, learn, explore, dust out the corners and do it all over again with joy!








Stay tuned, I am planning on discussing items on my own list... which will be so very short, most likely one at a time. I'm just underwhelming that way!