Tag: houston

Button Sunday

I think Jim Benton may be one of the busiest artists on the planet, with several creations including “It’s Happy Bunny.” I first became acquainted with It’s Happy Bunny at Crossroads Bookstore back when there was a Crossroads Bookstore. If I’m not mistaken, Tim has some It’s Happy Bunny buttons he got from there.

Since I’m a longtime button collector, It’s Happy Bunny buttons were a natural interest for me. I think images of bunny buttons are some of the first that were e-mailed to me by other people after I launched Button Sunday (which itself began because of an e-mail–from my friend Denece–full of buttons that made me laugh).

A few days ago, I received two packs of It’s Happy Bunny buttons in our post office box. I could dole them out over time, but hey, I got to laugh at them all at once; why shouldn’t you? So today’s six buttons are courtesy of Marika. Thanks, Marika!

Safe as houses

I think the phrase “safe as houses” may be more familiar to my British friends. I’d never heard it until I read Alex Jeffers’ novel Safe As Houses in 1995.

Jeffers is allegedly the grandson of one of America’s (often underrated and overlooked) great poets, Robinson Jeffers, who himself was the builder and inhabitant of one of the places I’d most like to visit in the U.S., Tor House and Hawk Tower. I came so close to it on my trip up the California coast in 1998, but my fear is that if I ever visit it, I might not leave. My grasping of rocks with fingers of steel might be a problem for the Foundation and the Jeffers family.

One reason I enjoy reading about Robinson Jeffers and his wife and contemporaries is because, as is so often the case, a group of gifted and intelligent individuals–poets, painters, photographers, writers, musicians, teachers–befriended, nurtured, and inspired one another. I think these groups are best when they’re organic, unforced… That’s really all I want to say about that.

I do want to publish the entire set of photos I took for Lindsey in West U yesterday–because she knows, as I do, that our friends are “safe as houses.”

hoping the spirit of Robinson Jeffers forgives me for the urban view

Friends: Random

1. In my kitchen, I have these two small, framed pieces of needlework that my mother did for me ten thousand years ago. EVERY time I see them, I think of Lindsey. Why? Because one is constantly askew, and I adjust it, knowing that if Lindsey were in my kitchen, it would drive her crazy. Here’s Lindsey getting a little R&R in the kitchen dog bed.

Edit: On second thought, maybe Lindsey is curled up in the fetal position because she noticed the crooked pictures.

2. This is a really low-quality photo shot with my cell phone of Lynne holding Lila.

I include it here so I can talk about Maggiano’s. I’d been trying to get a lot of errands done in a short period of time, and one of them included picking up something from Lynne. Rather than let me just dash in and out of the restaurant, she bought my lunch and made me sit and relax with her, Laura, and Lila. Sometimes a friend knows what you need better than you do. But here’s the thing about Maggiano’s. They have these columns covered with signed photos of various celebrities, sports figures, and such, many of them Houston locals. I’ve long threatened to send in a framed cover of A Coventry Christmas and write some gushing remark on it like “Thank you for hosting us after my signing!” (never happened) just to see if I can make the wall–even though I’m about as far from a local celebrity as there could be.

3. This is Mark G. Harris’s last full day at The Compound this trip. I’m already missing the idea of movie-and-popcorn nights. But I know my loss will be the Internet’s gain, because no matter how I’ve implored, he has refused to post in his LiveJournal until his return home. He’s a stubborn man. But a good dishwasher.

4. It’s one week until Lenny Kravitz’s and Stevie Nicks’s birthdays. If you don’t know what that means, you haven’t been paying attention. For quite some time, Rex has been daydreaming about what kind of cake I might bake.

Saturday in the hood with Mark

Saturday, Mark G. Harris asked if I had some fingernail clippers he could use. That led to a discussion of manicures and pedicures. I never get manicures because I began keeping my nails cut as short as possible back when I was still seeing clients. Even though that’s not a concern anymore since I “retired” (Lindsey’s word), I’ve found that letting my fingernails grow even a little creeps me out.

Pedicures, however, are a treat I allow myself whenever I’m feeling stressed, when I’m traveling, or when we have a booksigning. However, MGH wouldn’t even consider a pedicure (he apparently has foot-esteem issues), so I offered to take him for a manicure. The place I usually go has no bells and whistles–it’s very basic–but MGH said that would be fine with him.

Mark’s first time

Various whatever kind of stuff

First, this photo makes me SMILE until my face hurts.

I love to see my friends laugh, and that’s a genuine Tim laugh happening here even though I was tormenting him with my camera.

Second, Wednesday, something rare was spotted in the Galleria:

Yeah, flowers, that’s nice, but there are always flowers in the Galleria.

Um, no, although this Nordstrom window IS the inspiration for a scene in Someone Like You, a title that makes me think of Mark G. Harris for some reason, and although it IS the place where I fell in love with a mannequin many years ago, I didn’t find it very exciting on Wednesday.

Speaking of things that remind me of Mark G. Harris, while I was waiting for my glasses the other day, I shot a photo of this spot in the Galleria.

The ice rink where friends Alex and Aaron from The Deal like to go to get in touch with their inner Tonya Hardings children.

Will I ever get to the point?