Tag: compound

Button Sunday

Today’s button is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

I can’t tell you how much it means to me to know there are so many masterpieces making Tim’s world a more beautiful place. I’m delivering all the good thoughts and get well wishes being sent his way from friends who’re calling, e-mailing, Tweeting, and Facebooking (that’s a verb, right?). Tim may be the perfect example of a broke writer and artist, but he’s wealthy in the love and support from new and lifelong friends.

Then there are the ones of you who don’t really know him but know how much he means to me and send your best. I draw so much strength from all of you–and it gives Tom a chance not to have to be my rock of fortitude 24/7.

What could be better than having a King Cake delivered all the way from New Orleans? It may be Greg’s bad luck that he pulled up to The Compound on the same day Tim’s lung collapsed, but it was our good luck that he was here. Between him, Rhonda, Lindsey, Rex’s attorney Laura, and Lynne, The Compound people and dogs have been taken care of, amused, diverted, and surrounded by love and endless acts of kindness and attention.

Greg’s signing at Murder By the Book was a lot of fun on Saturday. And in one of those spontaneous acts of friendship and generosity, he pulled A Coventry Wedding from his shopping bag and held it up to show everyone. I didn’t even know they were carrying the book there, and the great folks who staff this jewel of a bookstore were right on it, bringing stock to the front counter so I could sign it and offering to host a booksigning for me, though there’s not a murder to be found in Coventry.

Now I need to get one of Lindsey’s delicious cookie brownies to the hospital for Tim before they take him off solid foods again in preparation for his surgery tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted on his status. He’s in good spirits–thanks to his many friends.

A Tim update

In 2007, when Tim was in the hospital, he let me take a few photos. When I was in his room Thursday night, going through a bag he usually hauls around with him, I found his camera. When my eyes lit up, he said, “NO.” But if you ever think I’m a wonderful friend, let me dispel that with what I did when he was helpless while phoning home yesterday:

His room looks over the entrance to the Houston Zoo. If anything escapes, we’ll be in the perfect spot to watch the drama unfold. He also has a view of the downtown skyline. At least he does if he sits up, scoots down, and can focus through the pain (pausing for groan at the pun):

Apparently, X-rays show that his lung keeps trying to collapse again. This is the reason for surgery, which has now been rescheduled for Monday afternoon. They are removing scarred parts of his lung and assure him he won’t even miss them. Then they are attaching his lung to his chest wall so it won’t collapse again. It sounds like a good time to me!

I spent the afternoon with him yesterday and am about to see him again before Greg’s signing. Friday evening, Rhonda and Lindsey arrived at the hospital with Greg and a care package containing movies, gum, magazines, and an electronic device with some word games (which he told me on the phone last night he likes). After he received the wrong dinner (all liquids), they finally delivered a cheeseburger and fries. I don’t know if it was any good, but he scarfed it down. We left him in good spirits, considering. I know it was nice for him to see something other than hospital walls and my old face for a change.

Note to Tim stalkers: There’s a policeman stationed outside Tim’s room 24/7. We suspect one of his roommates may be entangled with the law in some way. Tim really should write a group of short stories detailing the colorful cast of characters he’s met on his two stays in this hospital.

I arrived home last night to the best evening ever. Greg had spent the afternoon making his fantastic potato and leek soup. Rhonda and Lindsay and Tom made a big salad. All the dogs were fed and happy. We ate, watched Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and Lindsey baked cookie brownies which she and Tom served up hot with scoops of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. I suspect we had a better night than Tim. Well, most of us did. Then there were the ones who don’t understand why he doesn’t come home:

Sad Rex curling up next to Greg.

Tyson ignoring toys.

For those who asked, you can send cards to Timothy J. Lambert, P.O. Box 131845, Houston, TX, 77219. Thank you again to everyone who’s been checking on him.

Just breathe

Some of you may remember that dark time in 2007 when Tim was in the hospital. Well, now at a hospital near me, it’s a RETURN ENGAGEMENT!

Thursday Tim was in a lot of pain in his chest/back, just like the other time. Enough pain that I left the toilet brush IN THE TOILET mid-cleaning and drove him to the hospital. One chest tube and lots of morphine later…

Lindsey stayed at the hospital and Tom came home from work, meeting me so we could finish getting The Compound ready for Greg’s arrival. Then I joined Lindsey at the hospital, where I was able to see Tim very briefly in ER Holding Hell. After they kicked us out until eight p.m., I came back to The Compound–Greg pulled up two minutes after I got here! Good timing.

Rhonda arrived shortly after Lindsey (who’d made a side trip to get Sugar’s food), all dogs were fed and watered, we ate dinner, then I went back to the hospital, where I got twenty minutes with Tim. I was prepared to stay until the next visiting hours at eleven, but fortunately, they were able to find him a room at around nine p.m. MUCH better than the 3 a.m. move in 2007.

This morning the doctors woke him up while doing their rounds. Fuzziness from sleep and morphine, along with the doctor’s rapid delivery, ensured that Tim has almost no idea what they told him about his condition. He may or may not have a collapsed lung. They may or may not be taking the tube out. A thoracic surgeon may or may not arrive later to talk about surgical options.

So clearly, I need to get the hell up there and find someone with answers. When I have them, you can be sure I’ll update here. I know there’s a lot of love for Tim out there. There’s a lot of love for him in Houston, too, including from Rex’s attorney Laura, who was trading texts with a doped up Tim mere minutes after his chest tube procedure. She cracked me up when she said that Tim may have beaten her record of texting thirty minutes after her baby was born.

I wouldn’t be able to manage everything without support from Tom, Lindsey, Rhonda, Greg, and Lynne here, and Marika and Jim by phone. THANK YOU. You might consider keeping up with Tim as he texts to his Twitter account.

And for you Houston people, you’d be crazy not to be at Greg Herren’s signing for Murder in the Rue Ursulines at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Murder By the Book. Tim’s seat will be empty–you should fill it!

Scout’s Honor is also presenting all kinds of wonderful dogs and cats at their adoption day at 1230 Heights Boulevard (between 12th & 13th Streets) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Tim had planned to be at this event, too. I know he’s upset not to be able to take Tyson and give him the chance to find a good forever family. He’d appreciate anyone showing their support for this incredible organization who does so much to care for and place these beautiful animals.

State of The Compound

LJ has been so quiet. Maybe it’s because everyone is on Facebook trying to say twenty-five new things about themselves. If you want to friend me or read my LJ through FB, just let me know. Same with following me on Twitter. Comment here or do the becky(at)beckycochrane.com e-mail thing and we’ll connect.

Speaking of the e-mail thing, in the days before Tim and I set up accounts and web sites for me, I used to get e-mail at his account. I haven’t used that address for so long that I forget to check it. Unfortunately, several people or businesses still use it, and thus did I miss a signing that I really wanted to go to on January 17. More details later when I pick up the actual book I’d planned to buy.

Today, Tom, Tim, and I–no doubt preparing for our upcoming visit from Endora Joan–cleaned all the windows inside and out. They’re not perfect, but they’re much better–they still had a lot of the dust kicked up by Hurricane Ike on them. He just NEVER LEAVES, that Ike.

Then tonight, I asked Tim if he’d color my roots. They are–I don’t know–some color people call gray or something. I can’t be bothered with those details. While he was doing it, he said that thing you never want to hear from your dentist, gynecologist, or hairdresser–WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? After my heart rate dropped back down to 100 or so, he realized the brush he was using had a little of HIS color on it–as in BLUE. I was almost one of the cool kids! But since he caught it, my hair’s a sedate brownish/reddish color again. (Note to Tim: It looks good. Thank you!)

Ah, the Boss just began playing on my iTunes. That’s the only part of the Superbowl I watched, though I did catch a couple of the commercials later. Somehow, I ended up reading people’s comments on the halftime show. You know, I want to know all these critics and naysayers who could kick ass on stage like Bruce or Madonna when they’re in their fifties. Because frankly, I couldn’t have done what they do in my freaking twenties.

This is why I shouldn’t read comments on news and entertainment stories. I told Marika the other night that I think they should just shut down that whole comment function since people are so very, very brave and perfect and superior when they’re sitting at a monitor and no one can see them. I’m betting they don’t have blue hair, either.

The Night of Birthdays in Photos

Hmmm. This looks like the Leaning Tower of Cake. But it wasn’t really leaning. Nor were we on board a listing Love Boat, hearts notwithstanding. We were at The Compound. Clearly, I don’t know how to hold my camera. Monday was Lindsey’s birthday, so this is the heart cake I made for our celebration Tuesday night.

Note the nod to Mally the Duck among her gifts. I was initially calling this one Mally, as well, but I think his name is Honor. At least I heard someone–maybe Rhonda?–say, “Honor the Duck.”

more photos behind the cut

An unexpected bonus

Sometime in December, I carelessly broke three of my glasses. Over our twenty years of marriage, Tom and I have naturally lost dishes to breakage, but probably never three at one time. Since the traditional twentieth anniversary gift is china, last June he replaced a half-dozen bowls in our china pattern. I figured it was a year when an appropriate Christmas gift to myself would be bringing our iced tea and claret wine stemware back to a dozen each.

I was pretty sure I could find the glasses online. Fostoria has been around a long time, and mine is a fairly common pattern. I was delighted to find Replacements, Ltd., who not only sells my glasses and more than 300,000 other dinnerware patterns, but they have them at different price levels. If your dinnerware is older (as my glasses are), Replacements, Ltd. often stocks older pieces that will better match yours–and at a reduced price. Perfect!

I was completely pleased when I received my order. After mixing them in with my older glasses, I can’t pick out the new ones.

I’m not getting paid for this endorsement, and normally I wouldn’t bore you with it. Who cares about my dishes, right? BUT–what I do care about, and I hope you do, too, is what kind of companies I do business with. Located in Greensboro, NC, Replacements, Ltd. was founded by Bob Page in 1981 with just fifteen patterns. And today, I found out that Replacements, Ltd. is a Bronze Level National Corporate Sponsor of the Human Rights Campaign. This means a company has shown a commitment to improving the lives of LGBT Americans in the workplace by scoring 85 percent or higher on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index.

The Compound follows a tight budget, and replacing those glasses was a luxury. It makes me feel good to know our dollars went to a company that supports a fair workplace. The names of other companies with a high CEI can be found here.

Cheers!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

I’m a little late with wishes for the day. I was busy witnessing some of the best and worst behaviors of humans as I went about my errands over the past few hours.

That seems appropriate, actually. The halting progress of civil rights in our nation showed us at our best and worst. This year, the day seems more poignant because tomorrow our first black president will take his oath of office. For me, it feels like a milestone when we should stop looking back and start looking forward. And when I say that, I include my fervent readiness to shake the last eight years out of my brain and move toward a better future for all of us.

In the meanwhile, I’m on a bit of a cleansing mission. There are so many nagging duties I’ve gotten out of the way over the past month–financial, physical, emotional–and I’ve decided to detox my body. I’ve upped the water intake, added twenty daily ounces of green tea and about eight ounces of orange juice a day, and I’m going to omit meat for a few days. This really isn’t a hardship for me, as I’m a passionate raw and cooked veggie lover, but I don’t want to deny The Compound menfolk any culinary pleasures. Some nights I’ll probably cook two different meals.

But for tonight, they’re my guinea pigs. I’ve created something. I don’t know if it’s a pie or a quiche or what. Leeks sweated down in butter, nestled among thinly sliced potatoes, with a milk/egg mixture lightly flavored with nutmeg, salt, and pepper, poured into a crust, then topped with the thinnest layer of grated Gruyère cheese. It’s baking now, too late for me to throw in the garlic I’m wondering about. I sort of adapted the recipe from several I found online. It’s an adventure!

Also, because I know Lindsey’s going to care, here’s a photo of some things I picked up today.


Tools for cooking and for wrangling logs!

My baby heater that I keep in my office sparked and hissed at me today. It was very dramatic, and I don’t do drama, so into the trash it went. Even though Mercury’s retrograde, I got a new one, because as long as I can keep my feet warm, I can keep the thermostat down in my house.

Finally, in the category of entertainment, I’ve made this confession to my family and a few close friends, but now I think you all should know. There was a time I mocked Tori Spelling with the best of them. But having recently finished this book:

I’m totally in like with her. So I’m really excited that Tim just found this for us to indulge in:

Me, Tori, and popcorn. Sounds like a great way to spend an evening. If my cooking improv doesn’t kill us.