Button Sunday


Yes, the season is upon us, and this is about the silliest button I could find.

We’ve started decorating at Houndstooth Hall. Here are photos of the more nostalgic ornaments on our new, larger tree so far.


The ornament that celebrates the year we moved into The Compound. We had almost almost twenty great years there and infinite happy memories. I don’t miss it the way I thought I would because Houndstooth Hall has been so good to us.

I do miss these two very much, however.


Sweet Guinness and wonderful Margot. I don’t think a day passes that Tom and I don’t talk about them. Strangely, Anime has taken on some of Margot’s qualities, and that can be fun to observe.


There are people I miss, too. Lynne has this same ornament, and this one belonged to her sister Liz. When Liz died, Lynne gave it to me.

This is the tree as it looks currently–it’s a work in progress.

Wondering about that picket fence? It’s there because of another work in progress, Jack. Have you officially met Jack yet?

Jack, or Just Jack, as he is more often called, is a BARC dog we adopted. Jack has some issues. He’s brave around us, but has some fear-based behavior, which most often manifests itself in his being mean to Pollock, Tim’s largest and goodnatured (thank goodness) dog, as well as to Tim. I think maybe Jack had a bad experience with someone who Tim reminds him of. Jack is also young enough to still get into trouble, and I was sure the Christmas tree would provide him plenty of opportunity. Lynne suggested putting some kind of fence around it, Tom found the picket fence and modified it to work, and I hung those small stockings I’d bought after some Christmas past when they were on sale.

Is it working? Well, here’s some of Jack’s work we’ve found throughout the house. Hopefully features have since been added to stop Jack from expressing himself so destructively.

Visitors Minute and Paco are not impressed with Jack’s shenanigans.

And neither is that two-headed dog at the other end of the couch.

Oh, wait. That’s Delta and Anime. Sorry, girls.

Even though my blog readership has plummeted since I killed Facebook, just in case ‘Nathan ever drops in, I’ve kept up his tradition by decorating while wearing holiday socks.

And what the heck. If you DO read this dusty ol’ blog still, here’s your daily cow. You’re welcome.

Button Sunday

I’ve saved this Day of the Dead button without using it for eleven months! I picked it up last year when Debby and I were Christmas shopping at Casa Ramirez Folkart Gallery in the Heights.

Día de Muertos altars at Casa Ramirez.

I always find great little treasures there–like the Three Little Pigs, Christmas Llama, Lip Synching Donkey, and Ceiling Mouse finger puppets (if you are mystified, why aren’t you following my Instagram account?). Casa Ramirez is a feast of colors and textures for the eyes, with tiles, clothes, straw hats, household items, art, sugar skulls, and baked clay items. I also got these last year, and as you can see from her grin, Skelita likes them and is ready for her friends to come to a feast.

We have a few other friends hanging around Houndstooth Hall, like this guy.


And his little minions who followed us from The Compound to the Hall.

The scariest things about those ghouls is that they show me how much my windows need washing.

A happy and safe Halloween to all!

Judge Jack

Though Thursdays are long for me and I usually fall into bed as early as possible, last night I felt like I needed to give my brain a treat. I took myself to see a late showing of Bridget Jones’s Baby, which no one else at the Hall wanted to see and is on its last days in the theater. I’d rewatched the first two movies recently when I was sick, and since I’m not one of the Bridget fans who felt like the second movie was lackluster, and this one was even more enjoyable, no complaints here. (Sidenote: I’m glad I wasn’t discouraged by reviews of the movie based solely on its trailers. How is that a movie review?) I love Colin Firth, even an older Colin Firth, Renée Zellweger is still the flawed and funny Bridget, and Patrick Dempsey as a rich man with a soul? I’m in.

Because of my late night, I figured I needed to start today with a good breakfast. While I was cooking it, Jack was riveted at my feet, as if to say, “Whoa! You can do that here? You mean all the food doesn’t come through the door in styrofoam and plastic containers?”


Shut up, Jack. I’m a busy woman.

Photo Friday No. 518: Day 5

Current Photo Friday theme: Seven Day Challenge


Unfinished Project 5: You may be a hoarder if… There are projects I don’t do because I can’t find the time, and those I don’t do because I won’t make the time. These bins of mementos from The Compound garage that I didn’t have time to go through before we moved to Houndstooth Hall were stashed in Fairy Cottage. When Debby moved there, they were moved to our carport and covered with plastic. Fortunately, they aren’t visible to anyone but us. In our one year and ten months of residency, I have managed to purge two of them. The rest mock me and make me feel guilty every day because I just don’t want to do this job. I need an unsentimental assistant.

The current Photo Friday theme involves taking photos of anything for seven days. I’ll be posting seven days of photos that I’m calling Unfinished Projects.

Photo Friday, No. 518: Day 1

Current Photo Friday theme: Seven Day Challenge


Unfinished Project 1: Home Decor. Replacing the rustic toile fabric on the panel of our kitchen island with houndstooth.

The current Photo Friday theme involves taking photos of anything for seven days. My most important camera lens broke, which caused a hiccup for me, but I will be posting seven days of photos that I’m calling Unfinished Projects.