Every day, I seem to feel a little and do a little better. If I could tame the dragon formed from my anxious thoughts, maybe it would go easier. But I mostly live in the real world; the unreal world is for managing characters’ anxieties, not mine.
For a long time after last year’s freeze, I thought our ruellia was gone, but it did come back. We had some cool trellises out there, but they were so tall that other vines and weeds took them over and were smothering our beautiful purple flowers. Tom cut all that out and put up some lighter, shorter fencing to give support to the plants we want.
It has a bit of a wild look, but we think that’s what makes it attractive to the butterflies and hummingbirds that visit in season.
I’ve mentioned before that in October, I do a daily Instagram post with my skeleton, Lord Cuttlebone, who I’ve shown on here a couple of times in previous years. This year, he was wearing an Astros tiara from Lindsey and Rhonda’s stash of costumes and goodies when the Astros won their first playoff game. At that point, I was told by Lindsey that he had to wear the tiara every night the Astros played. He did–and it seemed to work because they swept the playoffs, beating the Yankees four games in a row. Which meant, I was told, that he must continue to wear it every day there’s a World Series game against the Phillies.
I photographed him with it yesterday for that first game–and the Astros lost! I asked if that meant he should stop wearing it, but Rhonda said NO! Since there’s another game tonight, I shot a selfie with him today for my Instagram, and I’m putting it here to explain my mask.
Actor/entertainer/comedian/singer Leslie Jordan, who unexpectedly died this week, was a HUGE part of keeping my spirits up in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. I followed him, and kept following him, on Instagram for his “pillow talk” videos, which often began, “Well, shit… How y’all doin’?” When he started selling merchandise, I ordered that mask. As I said on Instagram, each time I wore it on my rare outings, I felt like a little of Leslie went with me, because it always made people laugh.
Like millions, I’m going to miss all the laughter and kindness he brought to each day. He’s one of the rare testaments that social media can be used for good.