Party With the Professionals

 

For those of you unfortunate enough to have missed our fabulous garden party- due to illness, weather fears, previous engagements, etc- I offer an overview, in words and images. It really was a stunning success, due to all attendees being vigorously in the mood for a good time. COVID had (obviously) put the kibosh on anything other than small gatherings... and even those were approached with trepidation!

Great shot of Bob's sculpture (*1), a true highlight of the afternoon, along with the gardens, which looked incredible, if I do say so myself. The reason for the party, apart for the wish to see many friends drifting about, enjoying the chance to get out and blow the proverbial stink off, was to celebrate our gardens. Of course, the day dawned cloudy and rainy. We had a small tent, generously lent by friends (thank you Lydia and Vincent!!) but I was vexed, anticipating crowding all attendees beneath one small tent or having to rush them inside the house... this was supposed to be a garden party, after all! The weather gods chose to cooperate and stop raining about twenty minutes before the first guest arrived.

I was delighted to see our friends taking advantage of the day to walk around and see the garden in all of its glory, while eating and drinking and smoking and enjoying each other's company. Terrific food, congenial company, decent weather: it all was a delightful afternoon. I attempted to talk to everyone- if even briefly- but I was so busy playing "hostess with the mostess" (as was Bob). It was a busy afternoon, locating plastic forks and spoons and napkins for all gathered. But fun! We had fun!

Here I am, explaining the finer points of gardening (in The Blue Garden) to anyone who will listen. I was kept on my proverbial gardening toes by the many inquiries by inquiring minds needing to know. I reeled off Latin- and common names and hope everyone went home the wiser.

This picture is after poor Robin the Good was liberated from the (air-conditioned, soft ambient music playing, food/water/toys provided) maximum security jail that is our bedroom. We had even had her sedated (didn't work!) thinking that she'd be stressed and crazy if allowed to freely roam the party. WRONG! Worst thing I ever did was try an prevent our pathetic Robin from joining in with the festivities! Never again. She was fine and well-behaved after her parole. In this picture, I am explaining some sort of wonkish garden lore to my fellow horticultural nerd friend Bob S. Thank goodness for people as crazy and plant addicted as myself!

There's Neko in the background. I think she was curious about all the people wandering around the yard. I took several groups of friends in to meet her. Neko seemed to enjoy the odd variety of visitors. Some brought treats; others just marveled at life with large barnyard animals. Something for everyone! Novelties and oddities. Roots and tubers. Vegetables and flowers. Friends and strangers. A splendid gathering! And we don't have to do this again for at least a year! (*2)

*1) All photographs were taken by Mickie Sistrand who graciously allowed me to post them. I was way too busy to think of documenting the party...

(*2) Bob and I were exhausted. After limited human contact for the last three years, it was a lot to entertain so many people. Fun, yes but tiring. And I had to go speak at an artist's talk the next day... we were quite finished by the week's end. Typically, we used to have a big party every year- either a summer garden party or a New Year's Party. Maybe the tradition returns this year...

Weather or Not

 

Nothing "candy ass" about the weather! Ay ca-rumba! One day it's 50 degrees and sunny, the next day it's 10 degrees with a wind chill of minus 5... then we get snow. Then we get weird rain and now we have three inches of soon-to-be frozen slop. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow when I try and venture out to feed the poor horses who have been struggling to remain upright on ice. Maggie went and cut her leg on something sharp (while eating her breakfast?) and her paddock looked like a crime scene. I was going to photograph it but even I demurred; too gruesome! I washed her leg off, and despite her protestations, treated her wound with Vetericyn and bandaged it. It seemed fine by this afternoon, no more bloody snow!

So at least the evil weather has proven to be fertile time for me to get into my studio and make art. Incidentally, it was so cold for three days that I didn't even attempt to make a fire in the wood stove in my studio. I worked- like old times!- in the living room. Today, I was back in the studio, cutting out letters for a new piece. Betcha wonder what this one is going to say?!?!?! You'll just have to wait until I decide to share my newest "words of the day". 

Here's a detail. Yes, all of those tiny dots are individual seed beads, hand sewn on. I was referencing that weird (to my mind anyway!) candy that came on strips of paper. It always had bits of paper stuck to the back of the individual dots and I can't for the life of me remember it tasting like anything at all. But some friends have confessed to LIKING that candy. Go figure!

And little did I know that there is a queer, Jewish, male artist named Cary Liebowitz who goes by the name "Candy Ass". And he and I have a lot in common when you look at his work: he uses text- often scrawled in a awkward, hand written sort of way, he uses profanity (who me?!?), references the art world ... and he's funny. Check it out! Anyway, I knew nothing about him until a friend mentioned him to me on Instagram. You learn something every day!
 

                                               

 I decided to do my Candy Ass piece because my good friend Wasil often used this phrase to refer to stupid, clumsy or weak things or people. (He doesn't recall using this phrase but where the hell would I come up with it??!?!) I am dedicating this piece to Wasil... he's not candy ass at all!!

 

Good to See Friends!

 

One obvious definite positive about having been vaccinated is being able to safely visit with friends. (*1) Bob and I- and I'm supposing most people- are suddenly enjoying the company of OTHER PEOPLE! On Monday, I delivered over-due birthday gifts to my sister and her partner (Hello Beatrice! Hello John!) and enjoyed a delightful luncheon on their back deck. I had not seen them in an entire year... you don't what you're missing until you realize an entire year has passed. Talking on the phone is certainly no substitute to in-person visiting. Thank goodness for Moderna! Pfizer! Even Johnson & Johnson!

And last night we entertained two other couples. It was almost overwhelming. I was tired anyway from not having well slept for two nights, and then seeing four other people in chairs! In our garden! On our terrace! I was shaking and twitching by 9:00 and slept the sleep of the overstimulated but very happy last night. We have more friends lined up in the coming weeks.... making up for lost time!

We've been lucky: Bob and I have weathered the pandemic and quarantine in fine form. We haven't run out of things to talk about yet! But it's nice to cross-pollinate with other people. I know we're all eager to create a new normal. We're still being vigilant about variants but seeing friends across the picnic table last night and allowing them inside (once the mosquitos and other unidentified flying offenders) descended was... weird! And good! 

(*1) All you anti-vaxxers out there consider this: you can safely visit with friends after what? Fourteen months?

Pop Quiz: Solstice Edition

Okay kids: What are the two things that Rita enjoys about the Holiday Season? If you said, "Xmas tree!" and "Cookies!" than you have a splendid memory. Above is the partially decorated pine tree that Bob harvested from our vast acreage. It's actually a bit taller than some recent models and boy is there plenty of open space to hang ornaments! Looks great!

                                     

And here's the beginnings of several bouts of cookie creation. We didn't have the ingredients I needed for a few of the other cookies I intended to make, so I resorted to that pseudo-healthy standby of oatmeal raisin cookies. They're half gone already.

Here's our tree illuminated at night. I think this was from our Solstice Celebration. We like to hold celebrations; what else can you do in times of COVID 19 and continued Trumpism?! Let's break out the booze and have a ball... (*1)

It is strange to be decorating and thinking that we'd ordinarily have family (Hi Cathy! Hi Beatrice! Hi John!) over for pork roast, which Bob is just now starting to cook in the CrockPot. (Or, The CrackPot as it IS at our house!). We're cooking the pork roast a day early, thinking we'll enjoy it for Xmas eve as well as Xmas day because Holy Hell! The weather people are predicting heavy rain! High winds! Flooding! Armafuckinggeddon!! Power outages! Darkness! Despair! Our energy company (don't get me started on Eversource (*2)) left a weird robo-message excusing themselves in advance of any responsibility for power outages. They advised to remove or tie down any outdoor decorations... yeah, right. (*3)

So we're having a small feast: mashed potatoes, roast pork, gravy, Brussels sprouts and our own carrots. And we have a warm spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer and a punkin pie to finish up. Slosh it all down with a nice red Bordeaux and boy are we livin' the good life!

In the meantime, I'm doing everything with one hand tied behind my back as I had a freak accident (*4) and my left hand looks like I decked someone in a bar fight. I'm swollen and can't bend two fingers. Thank goodness I'm a Rightie! 

So... Happy Holidays from us and ours to you and yours!

(*1) To quote Miss Peggy Lee.

(*2) And there were a couple of degenerates (one, whaling away at a rose vine with a machete!!) sent by Eversource to prune the trees that line the driveway so as to prevent outages. But walking out to the mailbox and surveying every bloody inch of the driveway, I was unable to discern that they had done anything!!

(*3)  But I will bring Burned Santa inside for the night. Remember him? Rescued from the wilds of Shamokin Pennsylvania where he had been badly burned in some heathen Xmas sacrifice. He gets tied to the fence every year as our one concession to outdoor holiday decorations.

(*4) Don't ask how I managed to hook my sleeve on a gate, pull on it and cause my poor, innocent left hand to come careening across and POW! impact on the side of the horse food bucket. I am swollen and can't bend two fingers.

Thankful Rita (*1)

 

So I have successfully located Mommy's famous turkey head centerpiece again this year! Of course, I forgot to procure a pineapple, so this year it's installed on a log. The mini squashes are from our garden, and the brand new blue tablecloth is on its virgin voyage; thank you to Beatrice and John for Bob's birthday gift! It will be gravy and cranberry stained by day's end.

What am I thankful for this year?!??! Fuck 2020! It's almost (thankfully!!) over... hooray!

Let's see: I know I'm thankful for Bob; a heckuva guy. He fixed the barn roof recently, finishing up while recovering from an eye procedure- service above and beyond the call of duty. He (as we all know) is a great sculptor and a fun guy to have around. (He also doesn't lose it when I do things like buy a new horse. Gotta be grateful for that!)

I'm thankful every minute of every day for Robin the Good. A splendid friend and a wonderful dog. (She asks, "What's a "dog"?!?") My partner in gardening and studio time and pretty much everything else. My little shadow...

I think I'm grateful for having two horses. Sometimes they can be a pain in the ass like when they want to kill each other when food is involved... like all the time (so much for peaceful herd animals!) But in general, Maggie and Neko are entertaining and I can ride one of them. (Maggie is amused by my requiring Neko to do weird stuff; she watches us in the round pen and laughs.)

I'm thankful that I have a nice family, even if I didn't get to see them this Thanksgiving. Hello Cathy! Hello Beatrice! Hello John! Maybe next year? I promise to get a pineapple for the turkey head. (And John: I especially miss that cranberry sauce you make!! A tragedy to be without it!)

I'm grateful for all our wonderful friends. We may not be able to visit in person now that the weather is colder, but at least making contact on the phone is a good thing. It's good to know they're out there.

I'm so existentially glad that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the election that I cannot say anything else without stumbling all over myself and becoming redundant. Thank you to all 70+ million Americans who voted for them. Democracy lives!

I guess I'd also have to admit to being thankful that we haven't contracted COVID 19. So many people have died and I go back to my previous statement that 2020 pretty much sucked. 

Onward and upwards as we hurtle towards a new year!

(*1) I am making a sideways reference to the "Thankful Arnold House" in Haddam, Connecticut. Bob and I have never been but pass the sign occasionally and say to one another, "Wonder what that's all about? We'll have to go sometime." I used think that that was some guy's name- "Thankful Arnold" but after visiting their website, I found out Thankful was a woman's first name and Arnold was her last name. Here's the link; they have an exhaustive section about outhouses from those times. Exciting!

Thnakful Arnold House

 

To Catch a Thief

 

Yes, Robin is casting her eyes heavenward as if to proclaim her innocence. This dog is responsible for most unseemly heist!

Yesterday, we socially-distance visited with our friends Roberta and Hanneke. In preparation for their visit, I made chocolate eclairs... a three part endeavor that does require time, patience and quite a few bowls. Robin- who does enjoy helping me in the kitchen- was very interested in the whole process. 

They did smell good and I had to set them up high to cool in order to avoid unnecessary temptations to a certain overly active canine nose. Robin didn't want to leave the kitchen.

I then made the filling and stored it in the refrigerator as I don't like to make the shells soggy. (I like to fill the pastry as close to consumption time as possible.) But after the pastry had cooled, I carefully slit along one side and removed some of the extra filaments of dough that remain soft. I offered those to Robin who was confirmed in her expectations of how good they tasted. She scarfed that down!

Our friends came and we had a lovely time, touring the garden and admiring Bob's sculptures and then sitting down to iced coffee and those splendid eclairs, now filled and iced with chocolate. We happily wolfed them down. As I had made a bumper crop of eclairs, we had plenty left and I suggested that Roberta take three of them home for her and her partner (hello Phillip!) to have later. We secured two in paper plates together by clips to protect them on their way to Roberta's house. Roberta set them on the picnic table.

 

In the ensuing excitement of Hanneke deciding to purchase (yay!!) one of Bob's scholar rock sculptures (a wise choice) and us all gathering around to beam at the sculpture, I unthinkingly turned my back on Robin (typically called "the Good") and the eclairs resting on the table.

The next thing I see is Robin hunkered down on the lawn, devouring what I thought was probably one of her bones... until a light bulb erupted over my head and I realized that Robin has succeeded in sneaking the eclairs off the table, spilling two onto the ground while she assaulted the third. She was rushing back to snatch the other two off the grass, but I intercepted her.

It was pretty funny but also worrisome as chocolate is poisonous to dogs, not to mention she had inhaled a large dollop of cream filling and puff pastry- very rich stuff for a dog's belly! I was concerned that she'd awaken us at 3:30 am with a stomach ache and the need to go outside and evacuate, but fortunately, she was fine.

We all had a good laugh over Robin's criminality, but I had to go into the house and restuff and frost three more eclairs for Roberta, leaving us only two. We kept an eagle eye on these!

Hanneke had thoughtfully brought us a "host/hostess" gift of some cookies and a bar of dog shampoo (apparently useful on horses, too). I briefly considered washing Robin's mouth out with the soap- only kidding! Here's another shot of the thief. Doesn't she look non-plussed?!!??

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red 'n Shiny: Part 2

Hey! there's our truck! Also shiny and red... but not so new as that spiffy lawn mower. This is the BAD part of the story. (Although the truck is shinier than usual because Bob carefully hand washed it before our trip.)
Bob needed to go to Vermont to install two sculptures; one at the North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show (or NBOSS google it) and another at the Bennington Museum. Despite COVID 19 throwing monkey wrenches into travel plans (like not being able to stay at the motel we typically stay at due to our hailing from a "restricted" part of Connecticut), we decided to go up for the day. Just an efficient whirlwind tour up Route 7, drop the sculptures, maybe eat some lunch and motor home. There are people we like to spend time with in Vermont and other attractions we like to visit (like MassMoca) but many are closed and humans are socially distancing. So it was going to be a no-frills sculpture install.
I drove us up as Bob is The Maestro and I wanted him relaxed and fresh for moving his sculptures. The truck ran like a top and deposited us in front of the North Bennington railroad station, where Bob's entry into last year's show was placed. Bob dismantled his (old) sculpture, unloaded his new sculpture and was going to move the truck across the street... when it wouldn't start. No noise, no nuthin'- just silence. While attempting to maintain a semblance of rationality (and inside screaming, "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!! How can this be happening?!?!?!"), Bob called AAA and tried to read off a 15 digit number and explain what was up with our truck while a huge freight train rumbled past (great timing! Lots of railway crossing clanging and that long lonesome wail of the train's whistle). I meanwhile jiggled some wires and Hey presto! The truck turned over and we drove it across the street to the new location for Bob's new sculpture. (*2)
At this point, we were still awaiting AAA. Bob had the sculpture to install and our friend Andy (another sculptor from Connecticut, also in the show) arrived and between him and Joe (the curator of the show and a big fan of Bob's) they made quick work of setting up Bob's piece. I bought lunch somehow hoping that refueling us would magically cure the truck, or at least temporarily lift our flagging spirits.
AAA arrived and pronounced our starter a non-starter but managed to pop the clutch and get the truck started after Andy and Bob pushed the truck with the AAA guy driving (*1). The AAA man helpfully told us, "Don't turn it off. Just keep it running." I'm thinking, "Let's just get in the truck and fucking drive home..." but Bob had yet to load the old sculpture and install the one at the museum. I for one was not having a good day.
But we did eat lunch and Andy and Joe graciously suggested that THEY would take Bob's sculpture to the Museum and install it (apparently that show was on a hill in a field behind the museum. There was no way we were going to drive up there, risk stalling the truck and have to call AAA to some outlandish hillside pasture location). So good friends to the rescue! Three cheers for fellow sculptors!
I told Bob that I'd drive home, thinking that my nerves were so bloody frayed that at least driving would focus me and maybe I wouldn't completely melt down.
Long story short is that we made it. We didn't stop for anything (luckily, we needed neither gas nor a bathroom break) but I didn't breathe easy until we turned into our driveway. The truck is now at the garage for repairs. Guess what? The truck started on the first try this morning so it's probably not the starter, but a wire or connection. Hahahahaaha!
And if you're squeamish, skip the picture below, because it's not just lawn mowers and trucks that are red and shiny. How about my festering flesh?

Yuck! I look like the village leper but I guess it serves me right for "playing" in the poison ivy. You know me: live dangerously. (It actually looks worse than it feels.)


(*1) I myself became expert at doing this when I drove Triumphs and MGs all those years ago. This is one of the many beauties of standard shift vehicles.
(*2) The further irony here is that Bob had taken the ruck to be serviced the day before. He had had an oil change and an "all points check". Battery good, truck seemed fine and ready to go, so this wasn't some kind-of-expected "oh we should have maintained it better" episode.

Red 'n Shiny: Part 1

Look what we bought! For all kinds of reasons... primarily because our old mower was having "issues". Like not mowing well (at all!!) and being so bloody hard to push I thought I'd kill myself mowing the lawn and I actually am one of the very few remaining people who admits to LIKE mowing the lawn.(*1) So a new mower it is!
But the way we paid for the mower was another story. I would have happily used my/our bank debit card as that way it's paid for, no bill arrives in the mail and that's that. But earlier in the week, I had received a surly missive from Chase Bank stating that my credit limit was being lowered because I didn't use the card. (Which made no sense at all and I worried my credit would be "dinged".) After several wasted hours of attempting to call them ("Due to COVID 19, our call centers are staffed at lower levels..") and "visit the website" which only circled me around and around with nothing resembling what I need to know at all) I vowed to visit in person our local branch. I called to get the hours of operation and was apprised of the intelligence that due to COVID 19, this branch was only open for safe deposit boxes. I was losing it at this point and was ready to cancel the card (which would have "dinged" my credit...) but I actually reached a representative on yet another phone call. He basically informed me that because I had called, my credit limit would not be lowered (*2) and that I should USE THE CARD. Hence purchasing the mower with the Visa...
Anyway, the mower is a swell addition to our arsenal of power tools. We're keeping the old mower to do rough stuff like run over rocks and mow the horse field. We haven't had to use it yet as we had just mowed the lawn (based on Bob's Moon Calendar so as to inhibit new growth) but I'm actually anticipating a glorious, effortless experience. This new has many bells and whistles: it's self propelled and has an electric starter (no more chord pulling!) and bags and mulches and will probably sing us to sleep, too.

(*1) I realize there are all kinds of (almost) political and moral reasons for despising lawns nowadays. The main one is that so many people use lawn chemicals to attain that perfect greensward, and often the lawn is a bizarre mono-crop and unhealthy to begin with. We will never apply evil chemistry to our lawn, which remains a lovely and durable carpet of clover, dandelions, various plantains, knuckleheads, and other denizens of the so-called broad leaf weeds so reviled by turf purists. But I also remain entirely in the camp that asserts nothing sets up a garden bed better than a lovely green lawn.
(*2) These are the things that drive me crazeee. (Quoting Big Audio Dynamite (*3)). So my credit score- if lowered- could be re-raised but I'd have to under go a new credit check and that would "ding" my credit. And we all know that the credit card company is hoping that we'll use their card, carry a balance and wrack up those charming fees that make them money.
(*3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy44Fm-CS04&t=50s

Things to be Thankful For

November seems to have slithered away from me and here we are, poised to celebrate Thanksgiving. I reflect that this is a good time to stop and appreciate all the many things we have to be thankful for.
How about cheerful autumn berries, adorning a lovely Ilex outside my studio? I am happy that even in the late fall, color abounds in nature. Hell, I'm thankful for the persistence of nature in the face of so much man-made destruction. Melting ice caps, rising sea levels, species being driven to extinction... I could go on and on. But I'm trying to be thankful so thanks Mother Earth!

I'm also thankful for the mammal denizens of nature that surround me and enrich my life. Thanks Robin the Good! Thanks for being a good friend and a generally cheerful all around help. I can't be upset or mad for too long when Robin gives me one of her sublime doe-eyed smiles and steals my gloves and socks and indulges in other canine silliness. What a swell doggo!

And thanks to Maggie the Mexican Pony for not being dead in the field last week. I got a good scare but she's up and around on four hooves and enjoying the last warm days of fall. And thanks to the horses that I ride for my lessons. They seem to have decided I'm okay and worthy of a whinny of recognition when I go to the barn and they haven't tossed me off into a manure pile when I ask them to do something- often incorrectly. Fine beasts!

Thanks for all our illustrious friends! Bob and I know some really entertaining characters (ahem! I understand that we fall well within that spectrum!) like Andy, seen above in festive array. They're all fine artists and swell company. I am truly thankful for friends as they redeem my faith in humanity when it is flagging. (And god knows, there is plenty of evidence as to the stupidity, cruelty and capriciousness of people these days...)
And family; I could have done worse in the family department. They aren't rethuglican reprobates who make me question my sanity or whether we really share the same blood and parentage. I actually look forward to seeing them tomorrow on Thanksgiving day and sharing observations on the impeachment hearings, along with consuming heroic portions of food. No need to avoid politics. Yay!

And I'm thankful for Bob and me (pictured here in warmer times). We're the right kind of nuts!

Dog Party

Crazy cat ladies do things like have 75 cats. Crazy dog owners dress their dogs in pajamas and drive them to play dates and have birthday parties. I will never order Robin a set of Star Wars themed dog sleepwear, but yes, I did plan a birthday party for her last Saturday.
I had originally projected inviting six dogs (and their respective humans) but three doggos were able to attend, and in retrospect, that was probably plenty. We provided cupcakes and crackers and dip for the humans and I wrapped small treats for the canines. I took the precaution of hiding most of Robin's toys and not offering too much in the way of dog edibles so as to prevent spats and aggression. This was probably smart on my part as Lil Robin seemed to discover that she could growl. In fact, Robin (who had previously met and played with all three of the dogs in attendance) decided she wasn't spectacularly happy with so many dog "frenemies" in her living room! Our friend Mary- who accompanied her dog Izzie- suggested that poor Robin was worried that this pack of dogs was here to stay... in her house!

Here's the guest of honor attempting to escape her collected friends. Here nose looked even longer than usual. It took her most of the afternoon to decide that a birthday party was okay. But the other dogs seemed to have a swell time:

Emily looked quite pleased. She is a delightful peachy pumpkin colored girl and seemed to beam the entire time... at least someone enjoyed themselves! And Emmett- quite dapper in his orange winter suit- liked being the only boy surrounded by lovely lady dogs. (His human, Michelle had fun, too. She made delicious brownies for us humans. We were pretty well behaved- no snapping or growling!)

Emmett appears bigger in this picture than he really is. I think he weighs all of 12 pounds! And our other guest was Izzie, a spunky and entertaining terrier mix who I was unable to get a good picture of. I seem to have taken a few blurry ones, probably because Izzie was always on the move.

That's Izzie (behind Emmett) in the yellow poncho, scarfing up bits of food dropped on the floor. At least I didn't have to vacuum! We attempted a group photo, but quickly abandoned the idea as our assembled guests were unwillingly to sit and stay. But I had a good time! I like to party with a pack!

In addition to turkey legs and wild thing dog jerky and happy birthday bones and assorted treats, I gave Robin an entertaining squeaky snake (squeaks in three places!) after her friends departed. It was a big hit: as we went upstairs to retire for the evening, Robin chose the snake to bring along and has been making quite a happy racket with it ever since. I guess I made a good choice!

The Trees of Destruction Party

The party that we convened to celebrate the untimely catastrophe that is our backyard was a huge success. Everyone seemed in jovial moods (maybe because anything erupting in their lives- like blisters or hemorrhoids- became trivial when they observed the damage first hand. The cake I prepared (store-bought sheet cake/ hand-rendered decorations) was like-wise success; only a small heap of it remains. Photographs were taken by party goers as I happily explained how I sat around yesterday afternoon whittling holes in pretzel rods and sharpening pretzel sticks and inserting them with some melted semi-sweet chocolate as mortar. Bob constructed a pile of logs:

It was remarkably life-like, complete with the trees that remain upright, but with busted branches and capriciously leaning companion trees. I wish the clean up of the yard was as easy as the clean up from the party!
Several friends tried to make grand entrances through the side gate where the most danger is. Don't ask me how they chose to clamor through the destruction; I can only imagine the tragedy of having friends die with trees falling on their heads! Fortunately, the only casualty was my favorite outdoor lawn chair:

And this has happened before! Seems it's like a party ritual that a chair must be sacrificed to the party gods!  At least no one was hurt and a rollicking good time was had by all. Even Lil' Robin the Good is exhausted and sound asleep on my foot as I write this. (Her doggo friend Izzie attended so she had someone to explore the ruins with).
Friends were so nice. I could see the sadness on their faces when they viewed what remains of our garden. But they were generous, too. They brought wine and food (multiple watermelons! multiple pasta salads!) and several even brought us plants (and even a garden center gift certificate) with which to begin to rebuild our gardens. We are touched by their thoughtfulness.
Today, it's nice that it's raining and we don't need to do anything. Maybe we'll just nap like Robin.

Deja Vu All Over Again

As Bob and I struggled to lift tons of kitchen cabinets off of our pickup truck and onto the frozen tundra that is our current New England state of affairs, it occurred to us that we had done this before. Like seven years ago when we moved in: history does repeat itself.*

This is how we came to this particular episode in our lives. We have been bemoaning the state of our kitchen, especially the sink area. The particle board around the sink is soaked and exploding, the plastic sink is stained and nasty beyond description. Here, you see for yourself.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH! Awful! And that's after a good cleaning. (Those stains just don't come out anymore and the faucet is all chipped and it's beyond redeemable!) So when friends- who thankfully live close by (in another modern house)- offered their old(er) cabinets because they're in the midst of a kitchen re-do, we said "yes".

Let's just mention that poor Bob had to make three trips to pick up all those cabinets and it got colder and darker as we offloaded. Then we had to maneuver them all into the house. By default, they all wound up in the living room as it was the only available "free space". It's a good thing we celebrated Xmas last week!

These cabinets are in much better shape than ours but it will be a bit of a Chinese puzzle trying to fit them into our kitchen and its configuration. But hey! We're always up for a challenge.
In all honesty, if the only area we redo is the sink (and maybe replace some of our obnoxious cabinet doors which fold out in this wonky and deadly way), I'll be happy.

This area. That stupid dishwasher is going as we haven't even used it once and we just store dishes in it. And under that sink... I'm not even posting a picture of that! It's been leaking through the back of the sink for a while and there's some sort of leak from the pipes underneath. So tackling this area will solve several dilemmas.
Bob did take all the cabinets and counters and drawers, not only as a favor to the friends (thanks Joanne and Eric!) for thinking of us, but because he wasn't sure what part went with which piece.

These are the ones we're pretty sure we can't use: triangular corner cabinets and odd floating islands. But this is a small price to pay for things we were considering purchasing from Ikea or Home Depot. It may take a while, but I can't wait for our new kitchen! Oh, and warmer weather...

*No kidding! I just realized that January 3rd IS the anniversary of our closing! And it is going on our seventh year here; time does fly and history does repeat itself.

Fortuitous Coincidence

Maybe you remember our shower curtain. Maybe you don't (you're forgiven). That's it above. It has lovely summery stripes. (The picture is a tad dark but I'm having trouble locating the "brighten" command in Paint Shop Pro and our Photoshop program doesn't work with Windows 10...the accursed Windows 10 again!) Anyway a couple of weeks ago, Bob and I were at a second hand store and I remarked that I wanted to get Lil' Robin a new water dish to put in the bathroom upstairs. (We had a couple of supremely ugly ones that neither one of us liked. Poor Robin was kind enough to with hold her opinion.) We both liked a particular bowl but it wasn't until we got it home that we understood why:

It matched the shower curtain exactly! (Those odd spots are water drops from my having washed it, not glazing imperfections). Robin seemed to like the cheerful bowl and we enjoyed the colorful serendipity. But then friends (thank you Sheldon and Louise!) gave me several pairs of socks for my latest birthday and as I selected a particular pair to put on, it occurred to me that the stripes looked eerily familiar:

Must be cosmic! Maybe we'll repaint the exterior of the house...