me and the mansion

The home of the President of the Garden Club

I have been left in charge of The Estate for the weekend. Les Animeaux: The Dog, The Dudes (gerbils). The LEED silver certified systems. Speaking of which, energy savers, there were lights on in Eva's room. Fluorescents, ok, but still. And where is the switch for the kitchen lights again? The Internet is off. Oh, no, it's back on. And by the way, you left your perishables. Milk, half and half, cold cuts, bananas. Who doesn't travel with bananas? Fortunately, the President of the Garden Club did make arrangements for rain.

nightlife

 It was wild in Woonie, but not as wild as pictured on the news —talk about bad press! Apparently the town should not have hosted a party while virtually bankrupt, never mind that all the money was donated and everyone had a great time.
   Main Street looked great in the dark. Skate kids showed off, bands from bluegrass to psychedelic played, the Marines recruited, the school paraded, the classic cars opened their hoods for admiring crowds and we joined thousands of strollers, some with strollers, including us.

another birthday

Today Woonsocket, RI turns 125. Rock bands, country bands, funk bands, rappers! Peter Tork of the Monkees! Antique cars and motorcycles! Skateboard demos! Dell's Lemonade! Weiners! Fried dough! Food and fun! All right here out our front door on Main Street, where they've built an arc de triomph. Bienvenue! Hope it's not too loud for some very new ears. . .

the crew

At home with two kids, two dogs and a cat, the issues are who's been fed and who's been toileted and who's napped and when. Pretty much in a continuous feedback loop. Definitely down to basics.

picture perfect porch

Have been hanging out with the hummingbirds on my sister's porch to give the new family a day  without company. Headed back today to take walks with Camilla and prepare food. Don't know as I'd go so far as to call it cooking. . .

the gift

Isaac Bright met Camilla on the 23rd of August, and everybody got home from the hospital, happy and healthy, to begin another chapter in the great story.  

house partay

Making a moue

In the leadup to last night's trip to the hospital we had a houseful at Hannah's. Cousin and auntie and uncle and grandmothers. Labor progresses, and we'll let you know the details later today.
OK it's 9:45 and all is well. Labor progresses, but slowly. Still looks like a Leo. 

birth day?

Let's see. Suddenly last night Hannah decided she had to start making a quilt. And brownies. What will the day bring?

the big score

Now those are some nice tomatoes. We called all over RI looking for heirlooms only to discover two fab sources in our own back yard. Got these beauties—Cherokee Purples, Black Seas and others I don't know the name of for a dollar a pound. Eat your heart out, New Yorkers!

regression

A touch of reanimated interest in baby toys with an addition to the family fast approaching. We are sticking close to home as we await the Big Event.

dogging the sunset

Meanwhile, back in Alabama, Sir Wally Walter (a.k.a. Godfrey) keeps a weather eye out for intruders in the garden.

a woman of parts

The vacuum cleaner in parts

Posing for a part

Our own CBA is multi- talented. She repairs watches and appliances. And apparently she can masquerade as a prominent journalist at an awards banquet for some movie in the making. And then there's eBay, and cab driving and her various alter egos that appear on this blog—Mr. Li, Nose Bite Kitty Esq., Paris Hilton and so on. A continual source of amazement and amusement.
PS Do journalists typically look this jaundiced to you all?

home sweet home

Here just long enough to put on the slipcover I shipped home from Missouri. To the Bronx this afternoon, then off again to Rhode Island manana.

you can't go home again

First H & H bagels. Now this. Alas, gentrification levels all. . .

Roadkill

Went from armadillos to possums and, alas, a sad Luna
Moth.


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missouri floods

Not far away from where I was sitting last week, this bridge was swamped. As far as I know, the Eleven Point remains within its banks. A good thing for the siiting Goose.

The North Fork typically is about 20 feet beneath this bridge.

sire

Living proof that a person can survive on beer and ice cream.

name that baby!

As you can see, there's not much time left to enter the high stakes game: Name that Baby!
Just so you know, given that big sister's name is Camilla, Charles is definitely out. Also, Archimedes has already been suggested, as has Elvis Presley Garrison.
Let your imagination run riot!
Winner gets to name the baby!

the advocats

Catticus Finch, Esq.

Many of you know that of recent date I have been, well—I hestitate to say hounded—stalked, rather, by an AdvoCat styling himself Nose Bite Kitty, Esq. Come to find out, he is only one animal in a consortium known as Felines Pour la Justice. The nonprofit also has such legal stars as Furry Mason, Clarence Sparrow and F. Miaow Bailey.
Sacre Bleu! How can I get these animal rights nutcases off my tail?

a nerd wedding

Or that's how the groom characterized it, and he should know! In lieu of rings, the couple exchanged cards from the role-playing game Settlers of Catan, and there was a reading from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The bride baked a cake topped with (of course) origami and a fine time was had by all, including many MIT grads. (To see my story about  these kids before the age of consent see my story from Discover mag.) It was our own little Sam who Got Hitched! May he and Heidi happily explore the galaxy in tandem for light years to come!

cotton fields

Talladega, Alabama. About as far from Jeff Bezos and the Internet world as you can get. And yet the Amazon packages arrive here regularly and have made it possible for people to have the accoutrements of culture in the backward backwoods around Rendalia Motorway.
   And the Internet also made it possible for me to join the stir around his purchase of the Washington Post yesterday. The Times will probably be a changin' soon, too.

that's no scarab!

The itsy bitsy spider went up the—oops! For those curious about the final pink selected for the Goose, it is called Poetic Sanibal [sic] Sunset. Those three words make so little sense to me together that I had to write them down.  As for the spidy finery, I forget the name of that turquoise, purchased some time ago. There's still a lot left if you'd like to go out and apply some to other arachnids. Door's open.

sweet home

Here is the administration building of the Alabama School for the Deaf and Blind (Helen Keller was from Alabama, remember?) which my father's family lived in (second floor left) when my grandfather was president of the school.

goose, before and after

The final paint color was subtle, and close to the original. Peachy!

ozark garden

Wild Bill Dugan's sculpture "Gumby" anchors a sort of garden in his back yard. Hmm, guess this post should have gone on The President of the Garden Club instead. Ah well, frantically packing and painting today. Rusults to be displayed anon.