Living in a living room

I was watching television yesterday afternoon, suddenly stood up and announced to my very patient husband, "Life is short; it's time for a change here in the living room.  I walked around with my fingers on my chin (better thought comes with this stance, right?) and decided we could do some changes without spending any money.  (Money spending will come later. . .shhhhhh)  Michael rearranged the placement of the three lamp pairs.  Did I say this man is a Saint?  Now we are looking at the placement of the piano and wondering if it could be moved from the entryway to the wall to the left of the fireplace.  We measured and it will fit perfectly.  Mike wants to wait 'till Brandon visits to move the heavy piano.  It means moving the sofas - not sure how that will work. 

 

Putting a cozy bench in that space would make the entry more inviting.  The piano must stay, but it isn't the prettiest piece of furniture.  Mom and Dad bought that piano for me when I was four.  My first two learnings were Charmaine and Diane.  I think I still have the sheet music for those two lovely songs.  Now it's on to decluttering.  





Quiet House Across the Street

 

 

This is the house directly across the street from our front door.  It's a rental.  The current family has lived there three years or so.  We have done no socializing with them, just the brief hand wave and "hello" as we go to our car.  We've seen what appears to be a mother, a red-headed daughter, a son and a well-behaved white dog with black spots.  Smoking must be prohibited in the house because all three come out and smoke on the porch no matter how cold, wet, or dark.  The mother always has a book. The daughter and son both have their own cars and work odd hours.  Well, we actually don't know they are working, they just come home at odd hours, often in the wee hours of the morning.  We have made many assumptions.  We hear their car doors close, we see them on the porch at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m.  The changing light from a TV is on throughout the night as well.  They are quiet, whispering softly as they sit on the porch in the dark, showing polite respect for their neighbors.

 

Last night as I put on my pajamas and padded by the bedroom window toward my side of the bed, I looked out as I always do and noticed the house completely dark. . .no cars.  Odd, was my first thought. . .or is it?  We have recently noticed the thinning mother as she sits on a small stool on the tiny front porch wearing a cannula. . .as she smokes. . .in the winter cold.  Her hair thinned and then was totally gone.  Most recently she has begun wearing a white turban, long white pants, and no book now.  We have noticed people coming to the house. . .Hospice, we wondered?  So many assumptions.

 

I crawled into bed, settled in, Mike turned out the light and I looked at the ceiling of our bedroom, noticing the lack of shadows from the light of the porch of the house across the street.  A sadness settled over me.  I don't even know these people.  But I do know the adult children were very attentive to the mother.  They were respectful neighbors.  What is the story there?  I don't have answers. . .all I have are assumptions.  Sad assumptions.



On my mind. . .

I need to move more.
Tom Selleck is awesome and very appealing, especially in his role as Jesse Stone.
Sunshine is a welcome thing in March.
My husband more than carries his own weight in our relationship.
They've GOT to find that plane!!
My friends are precious.
Motherhood makes me feel wise and dumb all at the same time.
Facebook is a great way to stay in touch.
St. Paddy's Day was fun this week. . .not as fun as last year in Galway. . .but fun - son and friends, Barlines, Rocchis, and Sue Merrill.
Health Insurance is beginning to feel like no insurance.
Eager to meet with new physician, Kathleen Magonigle April 1st.
Glad to have fourth tooth filling replacement behind me.
Gifted bottle of Stymie wine from Ne Ne and husband a complete surprise; gifted because we were   
    bidding on it at Shared Housing Auction and Ne Ne outbid us. 
iPad or Samsung tablet for Mike to take to Italy to Club Crew Championships?
Hoping without holding my breath that blue rose seeds will bloom this Spring.
Looking forward to lunch in Brown's Point Lighthouse for our birthdays.
Sister Carol on death watch for good friend this week.
Lovely pub time with Gretchen and Terry this week.
Nice visit with lifetime friend, Karen, this week.
Tried a new restaurant this week, the Smoke and Cedar - grrreat!
A full week - Life Is Good!

This photo taken in 1937 when house was built.

Changes

It's February, 2014.  Shirley Temple just passed away.  I currently don't have a doctor.  Our property taxes just went up.  A good friend moved to North Carolina.  A new friend with the same first name makes doobie boxes and invited us to sit at their table for a Shared Housing auction March 1st.    Marijuana is legal, so is same sex marriage.  Our President has a pen and a phone.  Our Seattle Seahawks have Super Bowl rings.  Our US Olympics team has chills in Sochi, Russia.  Mike is preparing for the Club Crew Championships in Ravenna, Italy in September.  Changes abound.  I don't seek change.  I am more comfortable with the familiar.  My mother taught me, however, through her own graceful living to flex with change, expect it, embrace it when you can, in the knowledge that it's all part of Life.

While changes occur all around, some things stay the same.  The house still keeps out the rain and cold.  Family and friends are still the things that bring the most happiness.  Our neighborhood thugs still get a thrill from taunting folks.  I still love a good romantic movie (A Winter's Tale with Colin Farrell) and a well written novel or biography.  Music still inspires me and fills my soul.  Our Zen place, Pour at Four, still gives comfort.  And despite all the awful things I see and hear on the news predicting future trauma for our country, I still have Hope.  Winners, leaders and heroes are born every day.  Russell Wilson and his dad taught us a wonderful question that gives Hope to us all:  "Why not me?  Why not us?" 

 

 

Holiday Decorating 2013

The outside temperature on this 7th day of December, 2013, is 24 degrees.  My thoughts always stray in cold like this to homeless people.  I never have and never will take my home for granted.  As a small child of two I was without a home and the imprint on my feelings about hearth and home is unmistakable. . .home is where the heart is. 

Last night we attended the 5th Avenue theater production of Oliver with son, Brandon, and best friends, Terry and Gretchen Owen.  We dined before the show at Sullivan's steakhouse.  We laughed, teased and enjoyed good wine and food.  After the performance, Brandon invited us in to see his home and to offer Gretchen one of her favorite drinks:  white chocolate liqueur.  His new hutch was installed and filled, the dining table pushed to one side to make room for a tree.  This afternoon he posted on Facebook a picture of the eleven foot noble fir, a real beauty that he cut and brought home for this special spot in his dining room.  He seems oddly content living without a partner.  He is more than likely dating, but chooses not to share that information with us at this time.  Brandon loves Christmas time, especially the music.  A year's subscription to Pandora is an every year gift we are assured will be a big hit with him.   

Two weeks ago I brought up the first of our Christmas decorations and have been setting things around the house in a slow, sure manner.  I am 90% complete and we entertained Ann and John Martin, former dragonboat club members, today chatting in the living room and downstairs in the pub.  My cousins Joy, Marcia and Marie, Karman, Kim and Shannon, Sarah and Megan will visit a week from today.  I wanted to spend time with them without seeing them at a memorial service, the only times I've seen them all together in the last five years.  It is difficult to see the results of our decorating when we do the work setting things up.  The outside lights are on in the evening and we like the "holly" effect of the red and green lights on the ends of the eaves and at the peaks of the roof.  Pandora has a great station that plays Sinatra, Como, Cole, Mathis and Crosby, all my favorites and I make sure it's playing as I decorate the tree, tops of tables and wood moulding.  It's a warm, cozy, family time of year.  I hope I never lose my love of this peaceful, colorful holiday spirit.  As I age, I may not be able to decorate a tree or carry boxes up from the basement, but I hope I always smile when I hear "Ho, Ho, Ho".   

Murder Myster #2 - 2013

September 22nd, 2013 - Another magical evening as we played our second murder mystery, this one The Good the Bad and the Guilty, set in a western town in the late 1800s.  The same six folks joined us, Chef Matt again wowed us with his culinary wizardry, and we added The Owens' and sister Carol.  Son, Brandon, was Marshall Aiden N. Abettin' and again our bartender extraordinaire.  He is about to lose his gun in the pic above to Lily Larkspur our evening songbird.  Watch out, Marshall!

It rained in the morning of our event, but cleared up just as Mike, Brandon and I drove to pick up our guests.  The costumes were, again this year, creative and stunning.  We began the day with sarsaparilla and whiskey or champagne and sarsaparilla.  First we went out back for target practice and everyone took their five shots at a target set up against a hay bale.  Chef Matt was the winner and was awarded a prize.  Then we began the game, Round One and Two in the living room.  Chef Matt brought in a couple appetizers to keep the hunger down as we revealed and concealed clues.  We went down to the pub for a whiskey tasting before starting Rounds Three and Four where we found out the murderer was Elvira Lynn Feckshun (Lynn Pollock).  Last year no one guessed the murderer.  This year, four people named the culprit.  The gift went to Dei Adela Muerte (Sue Merrill).  P'Elvis Swagerrin's (Mark Merrill) lime green studded gun belt was a hit.  Butch Chastity (Kathy Falk) smoked cigars like a champ and had us all in stitches.  Elias Truist Heath (Mark Falk) kept his eye on Butch and plays a focused game.  Chief Breaking Wind (my Mikey) looked grand in his full headdress, buckskins and moccasins.  Wyatt Hertz (Clayt Pollock) read a Robert Service poem after dinner out by the fire of the chat table.

Our dinner began with the same delicious mushroom, triple-truffle soup, a salad of 21 different flavors, and beef medallions/chicken over roasted potatoes as the main course.  Dessert was apple pie and ice cream - Yum!  The rain held off and we were able to go out and sit under the gazebo by the fire and enjoy cognac and cigars, some real, some chocolate.  The only downer of the evening was a call from Brandon's best friend, Trevor Kidd, that his Father (Billy Kidd. . .no, really, that's his name!) had passed away that morning.  Brandon left to be with his buddy and though we completely understood he needed to be where his heart was, a little bit of the sparkle went out of the evening for me. . .it always does when Brandon leaves.  That's a mother's heart. 

We climbed into the limo at 11:45 and everyone arrived home safely and satisfied after a day filled with laughter and loads of fun. 

World Stage

I've been wondering this week if 24 hour news is a good idea.  I'm a bit addicted to it (is a bit addicted like a bit pregnant?), watching from before my feet hit the floor in the morning until I close my eyes at night.  Would it be better for my zen meter to read more books?  I definitely know I worry more. . .most of the news is horrendous.  Should we go to war in Syria?  Will a mother on death row for twenty years, found guilty of having her three year old taken into the desert and shot for insurance money, be let go?  Did a man found guilty of imprisoning three women for years hang himself in prison or was he helped?  Not a lot of reporting on lotus blossoms and fairies in our news.

Mike is in Montana this week for their dragonboat regatta.  I realize as I watch the news how many times I speak my thoughts because Michael is nearby.  I also realize how patient and responsive he is.  He is not a worrier.  I would say he's very much a pragmatist.  If it doesn't advance an effective or positive result, he sets it aside.  How does he do that?  Is that a gender thing?  Sometimes my worrying propels me to act.  For instance, the downrod for the fan did not arrive with the motor; it's in a separate package, but came from Kentucky as part of a pair.  I made two calls to Fed Ex on two separate days and the downrod arrived today.  I don't believe it would have arrived this quickly if I hadn't been concerned (another way to say worried) and acted.  So worrying could be a good thing, but not if it has a negative effect on my life. . .like loss of sleep.  Need to keep that in mind and try to be more like Mikey. . .some of the time. 

So, I watch. . .and wonder. . .and worry. . .  I watch the news on several different channels since each has its own political slant.  I wonder why so many leaders seem to be scary dictators.  I worry that we're not paying enough attention to important matters in the world; we elect leaders who are charismatic, have the best political machine behind them, when we should be electing the wisest, most mature person with a background showing action and results.  Our political scene is a pendulum swinging one way, then the other.  Hopefully, both ends of that continuum are filled with people who truly love this country and want the best for its people.  As much as I criticize the actors on our political stage, I wouldn't trade them for anyone else on the political world stage. . .except, maybe Switzerland.