A Luncheon

Today I went to lunch at Mary's house. She is an old friend that I'd not had contact with for years who found me on Facebook. I've also got a request to get together with a high school classmate, that for the life of me I can't remember, but I may go through with it--why not? At any rate, it turns out the youngest of Mary's four daughters is doing fashion photography. I think she is quite talented, and as you can see, she has a Nikon as well. We were talking so much about photography that poor Mary must have been feeling left out. That's probably not true because if ever there were a more selfless person than Mary, I've yet to meet them. In an odd twist, Rachel is working with her second cousin's husband who was Bill, and Dave's first modeling agent. Small world, huh?

Mary made a wonderful lunch including homemade bread (she sent me home with two mini loaves). Actually, it was a dinner because she wanted to make sure I had a big meal and wouldn't have to cook for myself tonight. I told you she's amazing. As well, she is a big garage sale person, the treasures she has accumulated are amazing. Their home is quite modest in an area of severe gentrification, no, make that mansionification. All around them the original homes are being torn down to make way for houses entirely too big for their lots. One day, they will make a fortune selling their property, but for now they are quite content.

I ended up getting nothing done today because I was there for so long.

Have you thought much about the notion of mind control? Last night I awoke at 1 and couldn't get back to sleep for ages. My one rule about that is to never look at the clock, thus I've no idea how long I was awake, but I know it was far too long. My mind was jumping all over the place with thoughts about various family members, the state of the union, things to do, and I don't remember what else. If only I could have controlled my mind I wouldn't have been sleepless in Orlando! What I really needed was my darling teddy bear, Bruce, who thank God, is flying home as I type!

Bruce bought The National's new cd which is great; their lyrics are always quite smart. In one song he sings, "what to my wondering eyes should appear?...nothing." What band can you think of that could get away with using a line from "The Night Before Christmas?"

You may have been wondering how things are going at the museum, have you? They are not going because the museum closes for the month of July and August. I miss having something scheduled on Tuesdays, but soon enough it will be here.

No call from the reporter, my brush with fame appears to be a no go....maybe next time.

I've got nothing done today because I was there for hours. I promised my neighbor I'd help her hang a cornice so I'm going to run over there now.

Lastly, it's a good thing I took that picture of the backyard bathed in sunshine because I think that is the last time I've seen the sun. The days have been terribly dreary, however, I heard on the radio that the weekend weather will be delightful.


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Listening to: The National - Fake Empire
via FoxyTunes

More Daisies

My latest challenge--trying to get a good shot of a red daisy I purchased this morning at Publix. It seems crazy how many tries it takes to get it right. I suppose if I was really something I'd have special lights etc. but as it is I try to use natural light when I can. These daisies have no interest in standing upright I can tell you that. There were five in the bunch and all of them bow down if you will. This is not a shot I'll be able to sell but I found it interesting and hope you do too.

That's one of my discoveries, people love daisies. They especially love daisies when you can present them with extreme contrasts. This one is still a work in progress.

Maria came for lunch today and we had such fun. Our intention was to go to a restaurant up the street, my treat, as she's been so helpful to me, selling my canvases and purchasing two herself. I'm so thrilled I met her, not because of the aforementioned, but because she is such fun. When she arrived I said, "what do you think of BLTs?" She said, "perfect, let's stay here." I normally never entertain without prior planning, but it worked because she is so easy to be around. Her life has been completely different than mine except for one thing, we both have four children. Now that may sound sorta silly these days as all of our sons are men, but they'll always be my children to me. We've both been blessed to be moms.

Remember how I said you never know what will happen next? It's so true. I thought this week had been fairly uneventful compared to some but I'm now thinking I've brought some happiness into another's life. I received an e-mail from some folks late this afternoon regarding a picture of their dog I took at the market. To make a long story short, I found it after some searching, bringing a bit of joy with the discovery. Apparently the dog has had surgery since the photograph. The dog's had recent surgery on his legs and the woman remembered the dog as running when I shot the pictures. she was right--some of them were blurry, but I found a few that seemed to work for them.

I'm feeling very bad for our Dave right now--being a stock broker can be a good thing, but then again, it can be pretty challenging.

Mr. Bruce has arrived home wanting to take me on a date--who could resist that kind of offer?


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Listening to: Bird, Andrew - The Naming of Things
via FoxyTunes

Little Cokes

You will be happy to know that I am over feeling sorry for myself--no whining today! Last night I thought to myself, God has a reason for this time in my life, and really, it's his to do with as He chooses, so I'm going to try my best to think positive, and be grateful for all of the blessings I have--of which there are too many to count.

You would think I couldn't take a decent picture with some I post on this blog. I have no idea why this downloaded sideways, but you'll see why I left it in a minute.

My mom used to love these little Cokes, so I will always think of her when I have one. She loved to put them in the freezer getting them nice and cold, sometimes even icy. If you are old enough you will remember when the only way to get a Coke out of a machine was in a bottle. You'll also remember how some people liked to put salted peanuts in their bottle and drink and chew at the same time. This was of course before it was a crime to drink Coca-Cola.

When I saw Dr. Everett yesterday, he said he didn't mind telling me now that when he first met me he thought I had a fatal disease; in other words, I have surprised him.Those are sobering words. I guess that is why I am embracing this little business venture, and not feeling embarrassed that there are others who are better than I am-- I'm good enough for some folks. I'm pretty happy with what I have done, and I'm hoping I'll only get better with time.

I know I should not gripe about this, but don't you think lunch is a hard meal to fix when you are home alone? I find it much more difficult than breakfast or dinner. If I make tuna or egg salad, I have to eat it every day for like a week. My default lunch is peanut butter and jelly. I wonder how many other 50 somethings eat pb&j, or at least, how many will admit it. This really sounds pretty silly for a woman who used to fix lunch for six, day in and day out, but as they say, it's all in what you get used to.

Our newspaper is driving me crazy these days. It is getting more tabloidish (is that a word?)every day. Yesterday's front page carried this story on about 1/3 of the cover, HOMELESS MAN: BOYS BEAT ME, it had separate headings--(all caps), The attack, the suspects, the victim. The story began...dabbed a tissue to sop up blood seeping.... Don't get me wrong, I'm not for homeless people getting beat up, I just don't think it deserves front page coverage with all the bigger stories out there. We are treated to this kind of fare daily and I for one wish they would stop. I heard a story on NPR about a big study they did on declining newspaper readership. The best thing a newspaper can do, according to this report, is to have compelling content. I wish our editors thought that way.