words for today

I will now get to learn how to manage depression and anxiety. I’ll be seriously curtailing my online time. This morning, I read the social media post of a personal friend. He’s a really good human. A gay man. Gifted. Smart. Compassionate. He was being encouraging to people who feel wounded by the election results. Reminding his readers to take the long view, knowing there are still ways we can make our world a better place for ourselves and the marginalized. There was nothing hateful in his words. Nothing objectionable. But his comments began filling up with people mocking him, verbally attacking him. Gloating. Even low-key threatening him.

I’m sure he’s not surprised. I’m not surprised.

I’ve never tolerated hatefulness on this blog since I began it in 2004. I will ask you do not comment here or speak to me elsewhere and tell me ALL [fill in the blank with whatever descriptor you identify as] are not like that. I know. I’ve been around a while. I’m not the one making hateful generalizations. In so many places in my life, I have to choose my words and remain kind with people I know, people who are friends and family members, who vote in ways that literally threaten the health, peaceful and full life, and happiness of people I love. Their choice.

But never try to justify to me that chaos, division, demonizing, mendacity, and mental, emotional, and physical cruelty are okay. Hide yourself in a cloak of something abhorrent to me, and know that even then, I will listen, for a while, anyway, to all the things you say and all the things you don’t even realize you say, and the only, ONLY, point when we are done is if you begin to insult and demean me or the ones I love. If you don’t like me, respect me, or love me, for who I am, step off. Find a better way to fill your time than wasting it on me. (I have people in my life who build me up. Who comfort me. Who started bright and early this morning sending messages of love and commiseration, and the reminder that I can breathe with them. We can speak frankly whether we’ve been friends since we were eighteen, or since 1989, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’97, 2005, 2007, 2011, or 2015, I’m there for them. They’re there for me. We connect in so many ways.) To them (or you if you need to hear it) I say:


And to the others of you…
If your candidate won, celebrate. Sit at home with a big smile on your face; have some champagne. Crack a beer. Grill your favorite meat. Call or gather with your likeminded friends and repeat all the things you’ve been saying out loud since 2016. Actually, since 2008. You’ve gotten what you wanted. You’ve taken the White House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, (as of this writing, the jury’s still out on the House), and you’re already anticipating how all your “enemies” will be punished, controlled, vanquished. Do that instead of traveling social media and finding the accounts of strangers (and celebrities, because they are your very favorite targets) to pester them. Go and live the idyllic life you’ve been promised.

Today, I’ve spent lovely hours with my dogs. (Starting at about 4:30 am, when they began nudging Tom and me to GET UP. He took them out but then made them come back to bed and wait for breakfast.) They’re all a little crazy in all their different ways, but they have so much love to give. I don’t mean to aspire to craziness when I try to be more like them. It’s just a bonus, I guess. I showered, dressed, left the house to wash my car (the weather is lovely), make a bank deposit, and grab Starbucks.

My heart hurts. I want to be nice to myself. I’m not sure if I have the focus to write. There’s so much I’m unsure about. But I sure am grateful for the love in my life. I’m grateful for the values and strength I was given by my family, and the family I’ve made since. I feel far away from and lonely for many of them, but I also feel the love. Thank you.

Tiny Tuesday!

I’m keeping a running account of moments in this day. Will I post it? If you’re reading it, I guess I did. I think I got maybe six hours of sleep last night? I always look at the time stamps of the last things I did on my computer or phone to recall my “lights out” moment, though that doesn’t really indicate when I fell asleep.

Up well before six, dogs not having heeded the time change memo, I quietly doom-scrolled on my phone for a bit. The last things I saw last night were some of the thousands of messages from women all over the world expressing their love and solidarity for the women in the U.S. on this election day. Their words were profoundly moving. In my morning news feed, I read that all U.S states except Alaska and Kentucky are in drought–just as I heard the sound of thunder, promising more of the much-needed rain we’ve been getting over the past few days.

Among my early morning activities are the online games I play for later comparison to Tim and Jim’s game results. One that only I play (though sometimes Tom does) is Spelling Bee, and I got what I thought were two difficult-level pangrams. I told Tom maybe I should stop after my success and play no more games today. =) He was busy trying to put an “I Voted” sticker on the top of Jack’s head. I suspected that would prove less successful than my Spelling Bee results.

I was wrong. Tom posted this on his Instagram account.

I showered and washed my hair; have had the dogs outside a few times. For Tiny Tuesday, I’m wearing a few of my favorite necklaces: one with heart-shaped, good-energy stones; one with brass musical charms; one with amethyst and quartz crystal pendants; and a wave-and-whale-tail ceramic pendant.

I’ve eaten fairly nutritiously today and taken my meds on time. Blood pressure and blood glucose all good. Tom picked up protein-packed takeout on his way home from work. (I’ve read protein can help regulate stress responses.)

And I have written. And written. The imaginary world is stressful, too, with characters in conflict and many unknowns ahead, but I’m sure it’ll all turn out okay. I’d like to take that attitude into real life.

And now I wait, with everyone else. Hours? Days? Unless something extraordinary happens, and then I may add to this post.

Sunday Sundries

Friday, I purged our living room bookcases. I set aside around 120 books to rehome.


A few are paperback cozies that I took to various Little Free Libraries in or near our neighborhood on Saturday. Do you spy Jack on the right in the above photo?

The rest, Tom will box and take to a reseller. I doubt I’ll get any money for them, but they need to move on to new readers. I listed the titles so that if Jim and Tim want me to hold any of them back for them, I will.


A lot of those books are nonfiction, particularly related to the early years of HIV/AIDS. Maybe if people had read some of them, they’d have a better understanding of so much that happened with COVID. It’s called “woke” to think we should learn what science, medicine, sociology, and human experience can teach us from our history. I think it’s funny that “woke” is used as a pejorative.

Mostly, there’s a lot of great fiction in those stacks. The ones I love most I’ve read more than once; they’re only collecting dust here. They deserve to find new readers.

I also needed the shelf space–too many books were crammed in. They’re better arranged now (still divided by genre, and the two bookcases on the right changed very little). Tom adjusted a couple of shelves to make them look more uniform. Here’s how they are now.

I know I need to do this for the library shelves, too, but those contain literature, classics, and books I know I won’t get rid of for the foreseeable future. There’s really not a lot to rehome.

Little Free Library visits on Saturday:

Easiest for me to get to, but it’s often full, so I mostly use it when I have a single book to drop.
This one isn’t in great shape, but those LFLs may need books even more.
A return visit from when I spotted it a few days ago, only this time, I left books.
I love “The Giving Tree” theme.
This is probably the LFL drop I use the most because I know the person who installed it.
Couldn’t resist leaving some good books at this Astros-themed LFL.

“Sharing”

When I was a young child, and someone would visit our family with their children, I never wanted those children to go to my room. I didn’t want them to touch my toys. When I got a lecture from my mother about sharing, I wailed back at her, “But they always break something!” I didn’t have that many toys to start with. Also, it’s to be remembered that a girl down the street from one of our houses (Army; we moved a lot) stole both my teddy bear and one of my baby dolls. I got the teddy bear back, but never recovered the doll.

Anyway, I hope you can see this reel from Instagram that showed up in my feed this morning. I completely understand this dog.

Sunday Sundries


If I read anything over the next week, I plan for it to be a reread of Mary O’Hara’s wonderful series. I first read a condensed version of My Friend Flicka as a kid, and my mother owned a copy of the third in the series, Green Grass of Wyoming. I think I was able to check out and read Thunderhead from the University of Alabama library when I was a student. I treasure this collection of library bound hard copies. If my memory is right, I had help getting them from my friend Steve V, who worked at a Houston independent bookstore (Detering Book Gallery) that helped customers find and acquire rare or long out-of-print books.

I’m putting the most recent musical homage photos from my Instagram feed behind the cut. There are some fun recollections, or if nothing else, the photos offer an interesting look at some of the T-shirts at Houndstooth Hall belonging to Tom, Timothy, and me. =)

Continue reading “Sunday Sundries”

Early* Saturday post

*early as in 12:30 AM

I haven’t gotten done some of the things I wanted to this week. When I was taking care of at least a few of those things during Thursday errands, I spotted these on my way home.


A Little Free Library. Even skeletons like to read.


And they’ll also invite you over to shoot the breeze.


I’ve had my eye on this Jolly Grinning Giant for a while. If I ever saw his people, I’d have asked if I could bring my skeletons over for a photoshoot with him. But his people are never outside.

Friday had some sadness. The first time I let the dogs out, they spotted a young squirrel. He barely got away from them, just a few feet up a tree, where he rested in the V where the tree splits. It was obvious he was either injured in some way, or maybe dehydrated, or just terrified. With help from Debby, I was able to get my frantic dogs inside, while the neighbor’s dogs were very vocal on the other side of the fence. We coaxed the squirrel out of the tree so Debby could carry him in a cloth pillowcase outside the fence to the side of the house. Then Tim got him into a box, tucked inside a towel, to take him to the SPCA’s Wildlife Rehab unit. Unfortunately, the young squirrel died en route. At least he didn’t die from either my dogs or the large neighbor dogs attacking him, but in an air-conditioned truck with a kindhearted, calm driver taking him for help.


Also on Friday, I was able to finish this book. Another political thriller that I couldn’t put down. Now it’s time to take a break from reading and work on my own novel.

Saturday fun

Last night as I was falling asleep, forcing myself not to think about the chapter in the Neverending Saga that has given me so much trouble, my brain suggested, “Fix the chapter BEFORE the one you’re working on.”

So I went back and eviscerated that chapter. Time will tell if it was the right choice, but I pondered my next move, next chapter while I played this game.

I finished in record time because author names will always jump out at me. If they’re there to find, that is. I worked longest looking for “Bronte,” until I finally glanced at the word list and realized Bronte wasn’t on it.

Something is wonky with our cable today. Since Tim isn’t home tonight, Tom and Eva went to his place to watch the Alabama-Georgia football game with Pollock. Meanwhile, Debby’s watching it at her place. I was in the mood for a little baking, so I took them both a sampling of my results.


Sausage and cheese balls are an ideal snack for football viewing. I have a big salad to eat, but I’ll definitely eat some of these, too.

Time for me to get back to see if changes in Chapter 14 will help my progress on Chapter 15.

Tiny Tuesday!


Eva Ruby, the tiniest member of the Batpack, did start coughing less over the weekend, so we thought things would be okay. Then yesterday, her appetite went away, and in the evening, we feared we saw a little blood in a liquid-y stool (sorry; dog people overshare). Off she went with the Supreme Ruler of Her World, Tom, to the emergency vet. After x-rays, bloodwork, and no coughing for the doctors, she was thought to be on the mend from whatever caused the cough. For a dog her size, eating even a blade of grass could have irritated her throat. She had no fever, nothing too alarming in the x-rays, but her bloodwork showed she was severely dehydrated. So she got sub-Q fluids, anti-nausea meds, and about four hours worth of monitoring before Tom brought her home. Now she’s on a bland, small-portion diet several times a day, and the credit card bill is not so tiny. Worth it for that smile and our peace of mind.


There is one topic about which Eva is serious and wants to have a word. (We think it’s from hanging out in a house with too many fashion dolls.) She says, “This is the day after Labor Day. Pack those white shoes away immediately. You’ll see them again at Easter and beyond. Yes, Florida, even you. If Texans can pack away their white boots and strappy heels, so can you other coastal fashionistas.”

Into the closet. See them next spring!
Approved year-round choices.

She does, however, make allowances for sneakers, tennis shoes, running shoes, and gym shoes. This is not simply because they’re sporty. They’re also optimal dog-walking shoes. Priorities…

As for me, I tried to rewatch this 1998 movie while Tom and Eva were at the ER. There was a lot of stopping and restarting because of ongoing texts. It was still fun seeing Sigourney Weaver play Katharine, a treacherous boss, and Melanie Griffin play Tess, who’s smart, sweet, and sexy. As she tells Harrison Ford’s Jack (why are so many RomCom leading men named Jack?), “I have a head for business and a body for sin.” A stellar supporting cast portraying working women (Joan Cusack is gold, as always) and sleazy men (though there are good guys, too). Bonus: A brief but good appearance by Olympia Dukakis as a personnel director at an employment agency is one of several characters who show the value of women mentoring women in the workplace.

Yesterday Once More

Since I was only able to get about three hours of sleep Thursday night, even though I managed a couple of short naps during the day (the dogs approve of this lifestyle), my brain was too tired to offer me much that was productive. I posted to Photo Friday, paid some bills, and got the dogs in and out between rain showers, but mostly I gave myself over to two RomComs. Nor did I try to atone for passive entertainment by coloring or researching for the Neverending Saga. T.I.R.E.D.

First up was 1996’s One Fine Day with Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney. George was looking mighty young in this film. At one point, his newspaper reporter character Jack describes Michelle Pfeiffer’s architect character Melanie as “luminous,” which is how I’d still describe her. Movie cameras love her. The one scene I always remember from this movie is the first time (of several) Melanie’s son stains her shirt. She carries a leather bag (how Jack envies this bag) filled with things a mom-on-the-go needs, and grabs one of her son’s T-shirts, emblazoned with a dinosaur, switching it with her shirt. TINY woman! But enough about their looks. The movie is frantic with the pace of two busy New Yorkers trying to balance work with parenting. They meet; they bicker; they negotiate; they commiserate over children who are sometimes maddening, sometimes wonderful; they give each other some grace with a lot of sass; they fall in love–all in the same day. It would take me hundreds of pages…or many books…to write such a thing. =)

Then after dinner last night (and an episode of the funny TV show “Ghosts,”), I wanted to keep myself awake long enough not to go to bed too early and then be wide awake in the middle of the night. I chose the 1995 Sandra Bullock (playing Lucy)/Bill Pullman (playing another Jack) RomCom While You Were Sleeping, about a misunderstanding taken to an extreme. Can anyone play more likable characters in this genre than Sandra Bullock? Equally likable is Jack, and unlike in Sleepless In Seattle when Bill Pullman lost the girl, this time, he’s the lucky guy. The talented supporting cast is by turns funny, sweet, and ridiculous. It’s a good comfort movie to see before bedtime, and YES! I slept six hours, woke up for a while, then slept again off and on for at least another two hours. SO GRATEFUL to feel rested in the morning.

Cats and dogs (both my Coventry novels have dogs) are always good in RomComs. These movies both featured cats. In One Fine Day, the newspaper editor keeps a cat, Lois Lane, in his office who is important in a couple of plot points. At one point, Jack’s daughter chases a stray tabby cat, who she follows into a store, where she finds the cat has kittens, including one named Bob. These cats, too, are all part of the action and plot development.

In While You Were Sleeping, Lucy has a cat named Mel (played by rescue cat actor Princess) who provides some amusing moments. When Lucy realizes that Peter, hospitalized in a coma, has a cat which no one in his family knows about (he was only catsitting), she gets into his apartment to take care of Fluffy, providing more comedic moments with Jack.

This afternoon, Tom and I both had hair appointments with Larry in our old ‘hood. That’s three hours in the shop, the drives there and back, plus picking up dinner for us and Debby on the way home. We wanted to thank her for sitting with our dogs for those hours. We’d been a little concerned about Eva, who was hacking and coughing periodically before we left. We gave her some warm water with honey, which can sooth an irritated throat. She didn’t have a fever, and none of the dogs have been around any other dogs who could have given them anything like kennel cough, but since she wasn’t interested in breakfast this morning, we wanted to be cautious. Debby said she only coughed a couple of times, though she did cough a lot when we got home–maybe she was over-excited, because Tom is her whole reason for existence. Seriously, she starts watching the front door an hour and a half before he gets home from the office. But she ate her dinner with no problem and hasn’t coughed so far since dinnertime. Fingers crossed!

My hair is very short! Which is fine, but strange to see in the mirror. And since last night’s film got me in the mood for more Sandra Bullock, tonight’s DVD rewatch will be 2000’s Miss Congeniality, with Sandra Bullock as FBI Special Agent Gracie Hart, Benjamin Bratt, Michael Caine, Candice Bergen, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson, and John DiResta among the cast. After the movie, I’ll read a while before I get another hopefully good night’s sleep on this Labor Day Weekend. If so, tomorrow: WRITING!

Mid-week once more

Yesterday was spent writing and rewriting. Editing and revising. Writing a little more, and working out plot points in the Neverending Saga. My thoughts were so much north of here with Lynne and Minute, and I tried to memorialize that funny, sassy, brave, and loyal Westie in the post I wrote and the photos I picked. My brain was tired by the time I ate dinner, so I decided to delve into RomCom adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels.

I started with the 1996 DVD of Emma, with Gwyneth Paltrow. I think she does a wonderful job of portraying Emma and her well-intentioned meddling in the romantic lives of others. This movie makes me laugh a lot, beginning to end, so it was just what I needed. (Favorite quote from Gwyneth as Emma, when Emma fears that Mr. Knightley has gone to visit his brother John, and possibly ask his advice about taking a wife, and Emma tells her former governess: “Oh, but if he seems happy, I will know that he’s decided to marry Harriet, and I will not, I know I will not, be able to let him tell me. But if he seems sad, I’ll know that John has advised him against it. I love John! Or he may seem sad because he fears telling me he will marry my friend. How can John let him do that? I hate John!”


I fell in love with Jane Austen’s writing at age eleven, when I read a “condensed” version of Pride and Prejudice (adapted for younger readers in my Readers Digest Best Loved Books For Young Readers, shown on the lower left in the photo above). It was only later, thanks to library books, that I read more of Austen when I was old enough to appreciate her as an adult reader. Then I was either a struggling student, teacher, or whatever other jobs I took to keep my head above water, and you can see the used books I grabbed so I could read more Austen or reread favorites. (I also have Pride and Prejudice as an eBook, and several novels by other authors that feature fictitious versions of Jane Austen herself, or use her literary romances to create novels of their own.)

The book on the lower right is an edition of Sense and Sensibility that came out in 1995, the same year as the movie with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, and Hugh Grant. It has photos of the cast in costume inside it. This evening, while I cooked, so I wouldn’t BURN THE PEAS, Lynne and Debby, I put my laptop on the bar in the kitchen and finished watching the movie that I’d started after I did my writing/editing for the day. Tom got home from work and was looking over my shoulder while he was feeding the dogs, and said this movie has some of his favorite actors. I know for sure no one could portray Colonel Brandon as well as Alan Rickman, but he’s right. The entire cast, leads and supporting actors, is stellar.

I’ve seen a couple of film adaptations of Persuasion, and several of Pride and Prejudice, but without a doubt my absolute favorite is the 1995 BBC television series with Colin Firth. Once I saw him, there will never, never be another Mr. Darcy for me, and I don’t care how many beautiful actors rise up to play the part. I mentioned watching it in this post in 2016. I rewatched it at some point during the pandemic after I got laid off. It’s such a comfort watch for me, but it is an investment of time, so I think my recent watch of a newer version of Persuasion, and these rewatches of Emma and Sense and Sensibility will conclude my Austen RomComs for this go-round.