Tag: Houndstooth

Tea on Thursday


Because I’m Southern, of course I drink iced tea, and naturally I have tea towels. We’re elegant here at Houndstooth Hall; we must live up to the expectations of our classy BatPack. In case you can’t read this one, it says, “If things get better with age, I must be getting close to freakin’ magnificent.”

Tea towel was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law Terri T, not to be confused with my sister-in-law Terri G, because double Terris are good luck, y’all.

Taking a migraine day, part 3

Sometime back I MIGHT have complained on here that none of the stuff I’d been ordering to be shipped ever arrived. But yet Debby and Tim get packages constantly. It’s almost like I’m being mocked.

Anyway, I had ordered safety glasses for Tom and me and they never came. Finally I got a notice that they were undeliverable to our address (sure, because they weren’t being sent to DEBBY OR TIM), and my money was refunded.

I tried again, but a different type of safety glasses from a different supplier. AND THEY ARRIVED!

I would pose in them, but I have a migraine and look like I have a migraine. But that’s okay, because Tom put mine on one of the Sorbet Pom Poms, who does not have a migraine.

Back even before there was a quarantine or a run on groceries from every hoarder in Houston, I couldn’t find cream of onion soup. It’s not like I use it all the time, but there are some who dine at the Hall who are not fans of cream of mushroom in dishes/casseroles, etc. Whenever I make a pot roast in the crock pot, I NEED my cream of onion soup.

Then the pandemic happened, and it was tough shit, lady, you’re never going to see cream of onion soup again.

Oh, but there are online suppliers to restaurants and other food-based businesses and organizations who will also let just regular folks order stuff, too. So I got more mail! A dozen cans.

Screw the migraine. Today we had a roast with potatoes and carrots, green beans, corn on the cob and a salad. Even Debby and Tim joined Tom and me. It was a long overdue meal around the table.

(Jack stayed at Aunt Debby’s so he couldn’t bug Tim–where he was happily lured into a crate with a McDonald’s french fry. Jack thinks he is living large.)

Bathroom

Everything is finished except Tom is going to repaint the entire bathroom. He has the paint and just needs the time. I’ll post the final pictures when that’s done. In the meantime, here was the progress as it happened. It wasn’t a remodel. Since I’m no longer employed, we opted to just replace what was needed to keep expenses to a minimum. But with new pipes, some wood replaced, better insulation, a new tub, and new tile, things are looking better.

Here was the progression after the last photos I posted.

The new tile started going in.

Finally grouted and new towel rack installed. There wasn’t one before. Nor was there an inset for soap and shampoo.

New fixtures.

Battered


I ordered these disposable masks on April 3. They just arrived–boxes beat up and far later than I needed them.

For a long time, I had one paper mask that I used over and over. Tom had one Lynne made for him. Then our friend Michelle sent us four that her mother made. My artist friend Jen sent me one she’d made. Debby ordered a couple, one of which was for me. I still have a couple on order that have yet to arrive.

I had hoped to at least have these disposable masks to offer to our contractors when the bathroom was being worked on. They are the first people other than Debby who have been in our house since March 10. They finished the work–maskless–last week.

I now plan on giving many of these out to other people who may need them and keeping some in reserve for future visitors to the Hall.

I can’t talk about what’s going on the US right now. I’m seeing some of the best of people, but it’s the worst of them that keeps me in turmoil. Every day brings something shocking. I need to get distance from it to have any kind of detached perspective to talk about it.

The protests all over the world not only highlight a sensitivity to racism in other countries but make me believe that everyone everywhere doesn’t hate us. It feels like they are able to separate us from the worst actions of a few, and that they have empathy for the American people no matter how little regard they have for our government. It helps.

I haven’t seen a worse administration in my lifetime, and I lived through Nixon. One man and a handful of his enablers have destroyed a political party, exploited our military, disrespected our vets, made a mockery of religious faith, waged war on our people and manipulated us into turning against one another, and abused state governments, Congress, and the courts–but oh, how they have profited. Power and profit are all that matter to them.

I have to stop now.