Tag: Houndstooth

Food and foolishness

Today, The Brides joined Tom, Debby, Timothy, and me for a fun brunch of pancakes (some plain; some with blueberries), fresh fruits, bacon, scrambled eggs, and coffee. This gave us the opportunity to hand Lindsey my camera so she could shoot a lot of photos in hopes that one will go out with our Christmas and holiday cards this year. I’m way behind on that task, but now that I have photos to choose from, I can take care of it.

We had so much fun talking and eating. Jack always sequesters at Debby’s to keep him away from Tim, and this time Delta decided to hang out with Jack (she loves Debby’s guest chair and thinks it belongs to her). That worked out, because sometimes Delta gets testy with Pollock, and since Pepper couldn’t come with Rhonda and Lindsey this time (she recently had some surgery–all is well!–but she’s on crate rest still), Pollock could join us with Tim (like Jack and Tim, Pollock and Pepper are a pair best kept separated, in their case because they amp up each other’s energy too much with the possibility of things ending in tears).

The second Rhonda and Lindsey came through the door, I was all, “YAY! You just gave me my Saturday purple-themed photo!” It’s Rhonda’s usual hair color shade, but this time, Lindsey’s was also purple, in a slightly more muted shade.

We hope we’ll all be together again soon. =)

Purple is for birthdays


Happy birthday to Mark, far away in England. I had an extra cake layer in the freezer, so I defrosted and gave it purple candles so everyone at the Hall can have a slice to celebrate you this evening.


Today is the day our nephew Aaron was born in 1993. Because he often came to see us, he had his own napkin ring among those I painted for family and friends who visited The Compound and shared meals with us. Every wooden ring was painted a different color, and Aaron’s is purple. It’s kept in one of the display cabinets in the Houndstooth Hall living room. We will love and miss Aaron always.


Aaron and Tom in February 2011 celebrating Debby’s birthday along with her, David, Geri, and Timothy.

Nothing much to say


I’m tired today and though a lot of household and taking-care-of-business things have been done by Tom and me (with some help from Timothy), I don’t have much to say. Thought I’d just share a photo of some of the blossoms on our bougainvillea. It likes the new place it has against the fence, which is only a few feet away from the old place it had against the fence (it’s in a pot), but I will not argue with a bougainvillea. It has thorns.

Christmasy stuff, etc.

Before I write another word of this post: I FINISHED CHAPTER freaking 16 15 (I somehow skipped a number, so all these times I’ve called it 16, I was wrong) in book seven of the Neverending Saga. It’s a Christmas miracle.

Meanwhile, this holiday-themed book was only released in 2023, so I don’t think I’ve colored out of it before. I really like its drawings, but yesterday, I was confused about some ornaments.

I texted Lynne, hoping for clues to the questions, What the heck are these; how do I color them?


She texted back: Pine cone or artichoke or pomegranate or all had a baby. Deferring to that botanical wisdom, here is my finished page.

And a couple of close-ups so you can see most are shiny in some way.

Also, this happened today.

Just like every year: Mrs. Claus has to mend Santa’s hat. Santa is painting another yellow skateboard. One of those elves looks like he’s taking a knife to a small child.* The wee reindeer keep watch. The tree has been decorated. Toys a’plenty are ready for Santa’s bag.

This is my yearly reminder that I was lucky enough to know Liz, who helped me love Christmas again many decades ago and painted and gave me Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus and some of their workshop accessories. Lynne has a matching set (in different colors) painted by their mother. One day, Lynne’s set will be given to her granddaughter, and my set will be given to Lynne’s grandson. This is one tradition I hope will continue long after I’m gone.

Even before Santa’s Workshop opened for business this season, Tom’s Workshop was busy repairing several broken ornaments that I found when I unpacked decoration bins in late November. News flash! TOM IS SANTA’S HELPER. Did anyone ever doubt it?

*ETA: If you doubted me. Tom says the elf is whittling a doll. Sure, Tom. That elf chose violence.

Tiny Tuesday!

Yesterday brought good mail. One of the first things that showed up was my 2024 sleigh bell. Tom and I still haven’t decided exactly which decorations we’ll put out this year (at least the tree is already up), but seeing the new bell made me look forward to all of them hanging on their garland again.

Back in December 2022, I put a couple of photos on Instagram showing most of the many paper angels that I’ve colored or have been colored and given to me through the years.

Coloring angels dates back to when Steve R was alive (early 90s) and introduced me to Catherine Stock’s A Christmas Angel Collection coloring books. A friend commented on my Instagram post that she really liked them, and I offered to send her a few if she wanted to choose one to color.

I’ll share this in the most privacy-respecting way possible, but my friend had some big life changes coming her way, and it turned out coloring an angel added to the stress. A lot of people find coloring stressful. In fact, several years ago, at the fundraiser Debby and I went to that reignited my interest in coloring, one of the other people attending got so stressed out that she had to stop. What’s calming for some of us is the exact opposite for others.

My friend’s angel was the other thing that arrived with the mail, along with her explanation for why she never finished it. There’s nothing wrong with stopping a project that doesn’t bring you happiness. I was excited to see the angel and the colors my friend used to start her.


All of the angels in Stock’s book are based on great works of art, and this one is derivative of the artwork St. Macarius of Alexandria, from the School of Rublev, Russia, late 16th century. Angel colors are completely up to the person coloring (i.e., it’s not important to try to imitate the art, because it would be so boring if all my angels looked alike).

New angel, new sleigh bell.

I finished my friend’s angel using her colors and my additions, and now this angel can join the others when I unpack them and put them out this year.

Mindful Monday

Oxytocin is a natural hormone made in the brain. It’s stored and released into the blood stream by the pituitary gland.

Other suggestions to boost oxytocin include yoga, massage, listening to music, physical intimacy, meditation, and doing something nice for someone.

Tom, Debby, Tim, and I celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, with photographic proof below. Our oxytocin levels were excellent.

A couple of table views, where the menu was hen, cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, black-eyed peas and macaroni and cheese (both from Debby), green beans, asparagus, corn, cranberry sauce, and rolls.

Dessert table, with my cranberry orange bread and Debby’s sweet potato pie.

People!

Lots of leftovers will be eaten. I’m just about to have a slice of cranberry orange bread with my coffee while I start a reread of Book 6 before getting back to the writing of Book 7. One of the issues with a character whose secrets force her to tell lies is a common problem: I, knowing the truth, can’t keep up with her lies.

How to make…

This year I’ve been mostly on my own to start decorating our large tree, and let me tell you… I MISS MY THREE TO SIX ELVES. I used to call myself the Christmas hooker, because all I did was put hooks on ornaments and hand them over to volunteers who’d work for fun, food, and good tunes to hang them on the tree.

There are so many bins of ornaments that I was overwhelmed, so this year, I made the decision to leave a whole lot of them in the bins, and that included most of the beautiful ornaments that have been made for us by children and gifted stitchers and other arts and crafts friends through the decades. THEY ARE STILL HERE AND STILL LOVED. They’ll be hanging and beautiful again on future trees.

On the other hand, I’ll offer a Saturday morning pictorial of How To Create An Ornament That Nobody Will Want*.


Back in July of last year, I had a bunch of 2-inch by 2-inch canvases and painted all of them on the same day, for future use as wanted, with acrylics. I picked one of those for An Ornament That Nobody Will Want. Enjoy!

Step 1. Do an online search for free downloadable mini mandalas, and find a 2015 set from Tiffany Hastie. Be very grateful, download it, and print it on regular paper so you can check the size.

Step 2. Adjust the size (down, in this case) to print on cardstock. Do that and pick your pens.

Step 3. Get to coloring and realize you don’t need those sticking-out circles for what you’re doing. Oh, well.

Step 4. Cut out the mini mandala and pick a canvas.

Step 5. Pick your glue. Be grateful for your friends who have taught you from their experience to organize and label all your craft supplies.

Step 6. When the glue is dry, take your wee canvas outside with your preferred spray finish (in this case, matte), spray it, and leave it outside to dry.

Step 7. Time to call in the muscle, in my case, Tom, to find the right hook and insert it into the wood frame of the canvas.

Step 8. Find and cut the right piece of ribbon from this mess.

Step 8. When the ribbon is on the hook, hang it on the Christmas tree. Festive fun!

*An Ornament That Nobody Will Want is not a bitter name. It is a truth universally acknowledged that crafting is in the pleasure, art is subjective, and experience is a teacher. Also, Becky is not a perfectionist unless she is ruthlessly editing someone’s (including her own) writing. Which she’s about to get back to doing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

However you celebrate and wherever you are or with whom, I wish you a wonderful, tranquil day. I’m grateful for so many people and things, and whatever troubles me, I know my life is filled with abundance in what matters most–people (including friends and family) and dogs and a comfortable home. Because our holiday celebration is set for Sunday, we have a few days to do things around the Hall–like put up the Christmas tree! Photos to come. Lindsey and Rhonda gave me this coloring book for my birthday this spring, and I flipped through it with some of Blue Sky Boy’s suggestions in mind–including bikes and fall colors.

This is the page I chose. I always forget when I use this book to take a picture of how a page looks BEFORE I begin adding to it. But I found this unaltered photo on someone else’s site and used it (thanks, anonymous person who I don’t remember). Her photo cuts off part of the bottom, but it gives an idea of the background provided by the artist and coloring book creator, Kendra Norton.

Below is my version–I used a page of old bikes in the Antique Treasures coloring book for my model. Clearly, this rider has had a few tumbles and damaged the spokes because they’re not in any way aligned (unlike Amanda in yesterday’s post, I have little patience and zero skills as a draftsman). The dirt path at the bottom is colored pencil. The bike is black fine-lined pen and Sharpie, and the leaves are acrylic paint. Celebrate fall!

Mindful Monday


Today, as on every November 11, we honor our veterans. It’s a beautiful and breezy day here, so the flag was being borne upward in this shot, set against our magnolia and mimosa trees, with neighbors’ trees in the distance.

Respecting and caring for our veterans has always been something I’m passionate about. If it seems at odds for a pacifist to feel that way, wanting a world without wars is not meant to disrespect in any way those willing to put their lives on the line to keep our country, and the countries of our allies, protected. There’s a true line from generations of my forebears to me, including ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and beyond, to my father being an Army veteran who landed in Normandy on D Day and was career military, and to my brother, who served in the Air Force, and to my sister, who worked at a VA hospital facility for many years as a nurse.

Any policy that attempts to reduce or limit our nation’s care of veterans, including health care, should never be accepted by us no matter what party we vote for. When a service member or veteran is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to self and family for you, no matter what your political affiliation, you should be willing to return that respect in kind, including as part of your tax dollars.

If you have a military cemetery near you, it can provide a quiet place to visit for mindful meditations on gratitude, care for others, courage, and peace.