Mushroom House

Too many days of death and disaster in the world. Wars. Politics. Hurricanes. I’m weary.

Tonight I needed to do something to wind down before bed. Despite having a shelf packed full of coloring books, I looked online for free downloadable coloring pages, knowing something would be easy and appeal to me sooner or later.


“Kawaii Mushroom House” from momlovesbest.com. When it was finished and I went to put it in my book of collected coloring pages, I realized I didn’t color at all in September. Movies. Books. Life. I’m glad I did this tonight. Sometimes a person just needs a cozy little fantasy.

Regarding my creative output, October’s the month I post every day on Instagram, which is not at all my usual practice. Every October for years, I’ve brought out the skeletons Lord Cuttlebone and his nephew Ambrose to pose them in photos. We’re two days in now. Music is my 2024 theme. Even if you clicked the Instagram link on the right and got to my feed, when I do that, I’m not hearing the music I add to the posts. I can only hear it when I access Instagram via my phone. I don’t know what’s up with that.

Home at the movies, etc.

Recently I read an article featuring a well-known actor/director/filmmaker because I’ve always loved not only watching movies, but learning about the creative and business aspects of making them. This particular article wasn’t about this person’s celebrity but was more focused on how independent film  processes, particularly marketing and distribution, have changed from last century to this one. The way I use this kind of information fictionally has included many facets of filmmaking, especially in the Neverending Saga in all its iterations through the decades. Sometimes my writing spills over into fictional television and live theatre. But primarily, the Saga includes two independent filmmakers woven into many of my other characters’ plotlines.

Including August 10, the day I decided to spend the rest of summer watching RomComs (mostly on my own DVDs, but at least two streaming), until September 22, when I declared RomCom Summer at an end (44 days?), I watched fifty-nine movies. It turned out not all of them were romantic comedies, and some were sadder than I remembered. Two of them I’d never watch again; that reflects no judgment as to their merit. Odds are all movies can’t appeal to me, and both these movies were first-time views for me.

In normal times, I wouldn’t dream of watching that much of anything–movies, television, videos, or even listening to podcasts (I rarely do podcasts; I’m not sure why). However, these weren’t normal months, and rather than constantly berate myself for the reasons why I couldn’t/wouldn’t write, I scheduled those movies around appointments, errands, dog care, household and family responsibilities, and a few hours-long phone calls with a couple of friends.


During this time, I’d also picked up two word puzzle books. Though I flipped through them and picked puzzles at random, over time, I realized I was defaulting to movie-related puzzles. Between the two puzzle books, there are many more movie-related puzzles remaining, as well as tons of other subjects, that I haven’t done, and this at least was slightly less passive entertainment. While I did film-related puzzles, I was also thinking of future writing for my Saga characters.

In fact, to deal with my frustration over daily news stories, I actually created my own puzzle. It took a few hours over three days, and I won’t share it in a public forum, but behind a cut, I will share the movie and theatre puzzles I completed from these books. You’ll likely see future completed puzzles if I relate them to photos I have or activities around Houndstooth Hall.

Continue reading “Home at the movies, etc.”

More beauty at the Hall

Tom has spotted hummingbirds several times in the ruellia (aka, Mexican petunia, or wild petunia) plants outside the kitchen window. I haven’t been so lucky, but I did get some good photos of the plants yesterday.

ETA two days later: Spotted several, but whenever I had my camera (to shoot through a dirty window pane and a screen), they flew away. This one was going flower to flower, but by the time my phone camera caught him, he was behind leaves.

Never forget


Tom was running an errand and texted me to say he was seeing a double rainbow in the sky. I went outside and couldn’t see the same from my angle, but I did see a single rainbow. Sending good thoughts to all the communities being impacted by Hurricane Francine, a Category 1 at landfall.

I’d been wondering what I wanted to post today, it being the anniversary of September 11, 2001. Our grand-nephew Steven was born on that day, a bright light for our family on a very dark day for our nation.


This photo was taken by Lynne in New York City in 2003.

Is it fall yet (no)

This year, the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere lands on Sunday, September 22, at 7:44 AM central time (the zone I’m in). This has little to do with Houston’s weather. These are the seasons as I’ve observed them at Houndstooth Hall:
•hot, wet, and mosquito-filled
•hot, dry, and the palmetto bugs want to come indoors
•OMG, was that…a breeze?
•call the plumber, your pipes froze and split in the middle of the night

Hurricane season is a myth, as it can put in an appearance during any of those first three seasons.

The other day, while outside with the dogs, I spotted this on the ground and thought, “Fall!”

Then I decided it probably was brought here by a migrating bird who came from a place of real seasons bearing a symbol of hope. Thanks, bird!

It has been cooler here this week, but my mind hasn’t been at ease. For two years now, we’ve been on the receiving end of advice, suggestions, harassment, warnings!!!!, that we need a generator to alleviate the impact of power outages. If you’ve read here during the worst of our winter storms and the extended power outages of this year in particular, you know it’s a sound idea. If only the people who sound off wanted to contribute to the Houndstooth Hall Generator Fund. I’ve spent the last few days since we got our quote figuring out how to budget the cost with other steep and unexpected expenses this year. Whatever. We’ll figure it out. It can’t be done before “hurricane season” ends, but it will happen.

In the meantime, we’re still in OMG, was that a breeze? season, which means summer continues, as does RomCom Summer. Here are my most recent rewatches from the past few days when I’m not nervously crunching numbers (and Nacho Doritos).

An argument can be made that 1990’s Pretty Woman is the definitive film in the RomCom genre. The original screenplay was much darker, and one version even included the demise of Vivian. Not on Héctor Elizondo’s watch! The chemistry between Vivian and Edward, as played by Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, is off the charts. There are so many quotable moments and memorable scenes in this film: Rodeo Drive, the polo field, the boardrooms, and the restaurants. Each viewing, I remember I adore Elinor Donahue as Bridget and Patrick Richwood as Dennis the elevator operator (he and Héctor Elizondo team up again in The Princess Diaries, which deserves a rewatch, too).

Others might argue that the RomCom trend near the end of the previous century was kicked off by 1989’s When Harry Met Sally. Maybe, but rewatching this one wasn’t as fun for me. The humor’s there, the snappy dialogue’s there, but ultimately, I think I like Meg Ryan’s Sally and Billy Crystal’s Harry better as friends. I’d totally forgotten Harley Jane Kozak played Harry’s ex, Helen. As always, Carrie Fisher, who plays Sally’s friend Marie, is outstanding. (This probably means I’m going to need to rewatch Postcards from the Edge because of her excellent writing–as well as the cast’s performances.) This also got me in the mood to watch Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail. Unfortunately, a DVD issue brought that to a screeching halt after the first forty minutes, so my viewing has been postponed.

Instead, I watched 1982’s Tootsie, and just giving that date stuns me. FORTY-TWO years! I do thoroughly enjoy the entire cast that supports Dustin Hoffman as Michael and Jessica Lange as Julie. Rewatching this sent me on a deep dive of the other movies Sydney Pollack directed (he was also sometimes a producer, writer, and actor–in fact, he plays Michael’s agent in this film). These are some of my favorites from among them: This Property Is Condemned, Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, The Electric Horseman, Absence of Malice, Out of Africa, and the remake of Sabrina. Kudos to the late Mr. Pollack, and I was reminded of an incident from my deep past. I was at McFarland Mall in Tuscaloosa one day, and on a whim, I went solo to a matinee at the mall’s theater. This would have been 1977, and I know this not because of the movie I saw, which I don’t remember, but because after that movie, a poster on another wall compelled me forward.


All my brain could process was Michael Corleone!! (1972’s The Godfather, 1974’s The Godfather II, as well as the title character of 1973’s Serpico). Unfortunately, those were my days as a poor student, so I couldn’t spring for another movie, even if it was directed by Sydney Pollack. I never saw Bobby Deerfield. Maybe one day. I do own both those Godfathers and Serpico, though. =) Spoiler: There’ll be another favorite RomCom rewatch with Al Pacino soon.

My rewatch to wind down last night was 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary. Again, great supporting cast and side stories, and Renee Zellweger as Bridget, along with the ultimate RomCom face-off between Hugh Grant as Daniel and Colin Firth as Mark, are all brilliant casting. It was announced in April that there’s to be a fourth movie in the Bridget Jones franchise. =)

Stay tuned…

In clover


Have you ever heard the phrase “happy as a cow in clover?” Simply put, a cow with lots of clover to eat is a happy cow, so the simile is an obvious one. In time, the idea was shortened to the phrase “in clover,” as in, “You’re in clover here,” or “If we win the lottery, we’ll be in clover,” making it a metaphor instead of a simile (like The Dude in The Big Lebowski, The English Teacher abides).

I can still remember the first time I read the phrase “in clover,” including the book it was in, and though I had no awareness of that old happy cow connection, I knew at the very least, it meant lucky. This could have been because as a child, I was encouraged to look for “lucky” four-leaf clovers. Or it could have been because a 1927 song, “I’m Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover,” was often sung on variety shows in the 1960s and 1970s (Mitch Miller, Lawrence Welk, Donny and Marie), plus both Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird sang variations of the song in cartoons. As recently as 2013, actress/singer Emmy Rossum included it on her album Sentimental Journey.

Clover continues to be a plant I think of as happy, and it’s one of the few things that survives in our yard, even during drought years. Fun fact: shamrocks never have a four-leaf clover, so if you find one, you’re either looking through white clover or a similar ground cover.

The photo at the top of this post shows some of the clover in our yard. It’ll happily jump right into our pots to keep plants company, too. Like its theme song and use as an idiom, The Clover abides.

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.

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.