Tag: memories

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.

Tiny Tuesday!


In the fall of 2006, a new dog came into our lives, Lynne’s Minute.

Last night, Lynne posted about Minute on her Instagram. In her words: This girl has been with me for 18 years. She has been my reason to go home when it was the last place I wanted to go. She made the house not empty. She has run with a Doberman, a Mastiff, an American bulldog, and a chihuahua. She’s chased squirrels up trees, chewed many harnesses, and rode many miles. Stoic and brave. Not aware she was only 17 pounds of sass. She’s never been one to run off. She always wants to be where I am. Faithful and true. She has come to the end of her watch. I will miss her every day.

This morning, Lynne and Minute said goodbye. We will all miss Minute, too. I like to think I contributed to naming her. I don’t know if I saw a photo or saw her in person, but I said, “She’s no bigger than a minute!” Lynne answered, “That’s what Jess said, too.” It seemed fated that she become Jess’s little sister Minute. For a while, Minute had her own blog. I still go and look at it sometimes. She came into a home with siblings: Greta, the Dowager Doberman, and Little Blind Sparky. They were a great trio. She also became an aunt and best friends with Jess and Laura’s dogs and honestly thought she was the same size as them: Seig, a Doberman, Sue, the American bulldog, and Sam, a HUGE mastiff, and later, Ruby and Ginger. When she welcomed her chihuahua brother Paco to her family, it may have been the first time a family dog was smaller than her!

Lynne’s grandchildren have never known a world without Minute.

Lila with Minute and Paco.

Isaac and Minute, photo courtesy of Lynne.

At The Compound, she was a running mate to our Margot, Guinness, and then Anime; Tim’s Rex, Pixie, Penny, and then Pollock. A friend to Rhonda and Lindsey’s Sugar when they visited. At Houndstooth Hall, she befriended Debby’s Harley and Stewie, and Rhonda and Lindsey’s Pepper when she joined their family. She welcomed Delta, Jack, and Eva into the batpack. Who knows how many of our foster dogs she met through the years, but I never saw her exchange a harsh word with another dog. As far as she was concerned, in the dog world, she never met a stranger. She gave every dog a chance to be a potential new friend, though there was a special bond between her and Anime. But all other dogs she met as equals, and she was their monarch.

Some of her photos through the years.

Timothy with Minute. He often took care of her and her siblings.


One of my first photos of Minute, taken on a baking night in December of 2006. We had a houseful of bakers and assistants at The Compound, giving Minute a big social debut at an early age. No dogs were intoxicated in the making of this photo. That bottle of Jack was for whiskey balls as an experiment with our rum ball recipe.


Rex playing with Minute.


Minute with her brother Sparky, and on the floor, her nephew Seig.


Minute ready to garden with Margot, Sparky, Guinness, and Rex.


One time, when I took care of Sparky and Minute, I had them both bathed and brushed by a groomer. Sparky LOVED it and was invigorated. Minute, who loved nothing better than getting muddy, tolerated it but was outraged that I let them put this silly bow on her. She was a WARRIOR, not a girly girl!


Minute and her little brother Paco.


Besties. Minute and Anime. Even as she aged and slowed down, Minute and Anime would become like playful puppies when they got together again. They were never far from each other.


Jack, Eva, and Minute.


Pepper grabs the couch, while Minute, Anime, and Eva sleep in the distance.


Hard to get them all in one shot, but here’s Delta with Minute, Eva, Jack, and to the far right, Anime.


Tom and Minute on a recent visit.


Sweet and spicy: a blended foursome.


She was a tiny girl, and in honor of Tiny Tuesday, I tried to find the little dog I put on Lynne’s birthday cake in 2007. I never found it. Maybe I gave it to Lynne.

I did unpack these two Birthstone Barbies with their companions.

Miss Sapphire with her Westie. Sapphires represent love, royalty, and protection, and that tracks for Minute on all three counts. On a whim, I checked Miss Topaz, because that’s Lynne’s birth month, and what better dog to be represented than a little tan and white chihuahua. I know Paco was first to greet Minute at the Rainbow Bridge; how he must have missed her. The wild rumpus then began with her many friends at their reunion.

Sunday Sundries


The plan for today is to keep working on Book 7 of the Neverending Saga. For some reason, I’m in the mood to listen to Holland, a classic Beach Boys album among Beach Boys fans and collectors.


Thinking of Holland in general, I decided to show this assortment of items from the dresser in the master bedroom. From left to right, that’s a ginger jar that belonged to my mother and still has potpourri that she put in it. (I don’t think it has a lot of scent anymore.) On the bottom, she wrote “Lola, 2001,” so possibly it was a gift to her from Aunt Lola. Next to that is a blue and white candle bowl which may have come from Bombay Company. If so, it was likely a gift from my mother to me (she liked to shop there for me, and I liked their merchandise). The three in the middle: a small ashtray, a windmill, and two Dutch boys sharing a kiss, were all gifts from our friend Steve C after he went to The Netherlands one year. On the far right is a vintage vase that Tom’s parents gave us from his grandmother’s house after she died. She was the only one of his grandparents that I got to meet, and I just adored her mischievous humor.

Behind these items is the Holland doll from the Arco Gasoline Dolls of the World collection. I had several of those when I was a child, and somehow they were donated or discarded. A few years ago, I replaced the ones I’d had thanks to the magic of eBay!


I rewatched 1998’s Hope Floats this morning. It’s categorized as a RomCom, and I do really like it, but I’d forgotten how sad it is, too. I’d also forgotten how uncomfortable the beginning is, because it hits a little too close to home related to an incident from my past. Thankfully, my humiliation wasn’t televised in every time zone. That part will go well with what I’m currently writing.

The main reason I picked the film was to honor the late Gena Rowlands, who plays Sandra Bullock’s mother and is a longtime favorite of mine. In mid-August, I edited a post from July 25 to note that Gena Rowlands had died on August 14. I’ve appreciated seeing so many tributes to her on Instagram. She truly was a gifted actor with a long career.

ETA: Couldn’t resist some of these photos that have shown up on Instagram of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands. Their longevity as a couple seems like an uncommon thing in their business.

Photo Friday, No. 923

Current Photo Friday theme: Museum


Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1996
Shot on film with Canon AE-1

This is one of the places Amy, Tom, and I visited when we volunteered at the NAMES Project’s AIDS Quilt display. Founded in 1869, the Corcoran Gallery of Art was the first institution in the United States created specifically as an art museum. The Beaux Arts building that housed it was designed by Ernest Flagg and opened in 1897.

When the museum closed in 2014, the National Gallery acquired approximately half of the Corcoran Collection, and the remaining objects were distributed to other museums in the Washington, D.C., area. The building is now home to the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, part of George Washington University. Located at 500 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Movies, a TV show, a book


Since I was definitely in the mood for something more lighthearted than the previous movie I watched, last night, Tom and I streamed 1999’s Dick, a fun comedy with Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst as two teens who stumble into encounters at the Watergate facility on a fateful night. This happenstance later repeats on a class trip to the White House, when they encounter Nixon, his dog, and major players in the Watergate scandal. The timeline was compressed a bit, and it was a fun watch for me. I was an avid Watergate follower (and kept making little asides to Tom about how true facts were bent to involve the girls). It was also nostalgic to remember being a teen in that era, having fun and cutting up magazine pictures of our teen idols with a best friend. (Note to Lynne: Can you believe they love Bobby Sherman? Like Susan B.)


The dog Brunswick played the movie’s version of another Checkers (Nixon’s original dog Checkers, who died at the age of 13 in 1964, never lived in the White House, as Nixon was elected president in 1968).


There were three dogs in the Nixon White House: King Timahoe, Nixon’s Irish setter, Vicky, Julie’s French poodle, and Pasha, Tricia’s Yorkshire terrier. All three dogs wore flowers and participated in Tricia’s wedding.


I don’t remember if there’s a dog in my last RomCom DVD with a president to rewatch during DNC week, 1995’s The American President. I haven’t seen it for quite a while, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it again.

Directed and produced by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin, Sorkin has said that the film influenced his later TV series, “West Wing,” which aired from 1999 to 2006. Websites attest that Sorkin says much of the first season was actually taken from material he edited out of the first draft of The American President’s script. Though it was highly recommended by Denece and Tom, I didn’t watch “West Wing” when it aired, but watched it in full a few years after it ended. Marika simultaneously watched it late at night (she from either New Orleans or Arkansas; I from The Compound). We Google-messaged each other with commentary while we watched each episode. Some of you may remember I joked that from November 2016 to January 2020, I chose to keep my head in an alternate universe wherein WW’s Josiah “Jed” Bartlet (Martin Sheen) was my president. =)


As predicted, I started reading this last night and finished it today. Once again, enough time has passed that things seemed fresh and new to me, and it was nice to read it without an inner critic. Some things are dated, of course; it was written over the years 2006-2008. But I no longer think the beginning is problematic. It may take a little effort for some readers: We’re being dropped into someone’s life as she deals with an automotive crisis and has time to think briefly of how she got to that point, plus she tells us about two encounters with the person who’s going to help her resolve said automotive crisis. Basically, we’re getting her backstory as she mentally processes it in three parts before the action begins.

Sunday Sundries

The Democratic National Convention this week is contributing to my website posts each day in some way or another. I’m posting this late, but for this date, I decided to show political buttons from my own collection. Buttons do not indicate how I voted in any of these elections–they indicate that I was given buttons by people I knew or at events I went to. Some of them pre-date when I reached voting age. I don’t hesitate for a moment to identify as a Democrat, never have, but though it’s been a long–very long–time (more often in local or state races), I’ve been known to vote across party lines.









Photo Friday, No. 922

Current Photo Friday theme: Path


Shot at The Compound in December 2007 with my first digital camera, the Kodak Easyshare CX7430 Zoom.

When you’re overwhelmed by details, it can be easy to overlook the obvious. This little path was created when our previous home was being remodeled. Tom, the dogs, and I were staying in the garage apartment while the contractors worked inside the house. A blocked driveway created all kinds of challenges for dog management and access to the apartment. The solution came to me in the middle of the night, and I woke Tom when I said, “A house has two sides.” The next day, he cleared the never-used, overgrown, gated area along the “other” side of the house, and before sunset, he’d created this tidy, easy means to get to the back of the property.

I passed my driving test ;)

I think I’ve driven twice since June, both times with Tom in the car as my passenger. Other than that, he’s been doing all the driving. As a result of following some of my doctor’s instructions for self-care to work on the medical issue that’s kept me off the road (a self-imposed decision), today I took a very short drive, all by myself, to pick up a couple of prescriptions and a few random other things. The whole errand took me less than thirty minutes, and I was able to drive there and back without an issue (other than feeling tense because it’s been a while). It reminded me of getting to use a parent’s car solo for the first time after I got my license at sixteen.

Baby steps. Speaking of babies…


Worked on the Neverending Saga a little today, but I also enjoyed a couple of movie rewatches. Always loved 1987’s Baby Boom with Diane Keaton and Sam Shepard. I don’t know if I thought of Sam Shepard’s small-town veterinarian (Dr. Cooper) when I wrote Dr. Boone in A Coventry Christmas, but I definitely thought of Dr. Boone when I watched the movie today.


Tonight, Tom and I watched 1978’s Foul Play with Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, and Burgess Meredith (and Esme the snake, played by Shirley Python!) during and after dinner. Tom had forgotten a lot of it, while I sat in giddy anticipation of all the different scenes that make me laugh. I think it may have one of the highest rates for movie cops destroying cars when trying to catch the bad guys of all the films I’ve ever seen.

Earlier Than Usual

Kicked off this Wednesday morning by doing an early lab run, where I told the lab tech I feel like we’re friends now because I’ve seen her several times in the last week or so. In truth, I’d like being friends with her, because we talk about stuff, always calming when someone’s sticking needles in you.

I woke up earlier than I needed to, but there was a character tapping on my brain, and since it’s the character whose section I’d been working on most recently, that’s a good sign. Fingers crossed I get a bit of writing done today.

Last night at dinner, Tom and I got on the topic of Steve Martin (we were talking about one of his movies we watched with a random assortment of friends that didn’t really catch anyone’s interest). I feel like I grew up with Steve Martin because of television, most notably his early work on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.” Of movies he’s been in, I said I probably liked him in Parenthood best, probably because I really liked the movie and its cast, but I also liked him in Father of the Bride and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I mentioned that in the romantic comedy vein, 1984’s All Of Me with Lily Tomlin is a favorite. Then I checked, and yes, I do own it, so it was last night’s movie rewatch.

Not sure what films are on the agenda for today. I may try to find one that will somehow play into the character I hope to get back to writing. She’s a true cinephile. Maybe I can find a movie that would make her laugh and believe in a hopeful ending, two things in short supply during this time of her life.

ETA:

Today, for me, a fun rewatch of 1983’s Trading Places. I read that Dan Aykroyd’s been working on putting together a sequel to take advantage of Eddie Murphy’s success in making sequels to some of his other films. Of course, the Duke brothers, as played by Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy, are no longer with us, but just as much as they’d be missed would be the late Denholm Elliott as Coleman the butler. But if Ackroyd, Murphy, and Jamie Lee Curtis reprise their roles, I’d watch it.


And for the little magpie who’s part of the Neverending Saga, I watched 1995’s French Kiss with Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline, and Timothy Hutton. Though my character’s living in 1975 in my plot, twenty years later, I’m sure she’ll be utterly charmed by this romantic comedy. I even got some editing and writing done on her behalf today.

Photo Friday, No. 921

Current Photo Friday theme: Toys


The toy chest overflowed long ago. There are toys in every room of the house except maybe the kitchen and bathrooms. We never had children, but our friends and family did. The toy chest is never this organized and never left open, or four dogs would turn Houndstooth Hall into the Great Beanie Babies® & Friends Massacre.