Weekend | dual personalities

May 8, 2017

“All who confess his name, come then with hearts aflame”*

by chuckofish

Well, this weekend was beautiful–70+ degrees and sunny. Gorgeous. We needed it.

I had a very busy weekend–estate sale-ing, attending “an event,” working in the yard, dining with friends (ordering a cocktail!), going to church, and so on.

Two of the estate sales I went to were at homes of people I had known and loved. This is always sad and a bit awkward. Both were at homes where the husband had died suddenly and the wife had been whisked off to an assisted living home immediately afterward. Both wives are suffering from dementia and I wonder if they had any idea what was happening to their homes. Maybe that is just as well.

I did rescue two embroidered/needlepoint bricks.

This weekend I also read a fair amount of the two books I am currently reading.

I found Whip Hand on a basement bookshelf and brought it upstairs to read. Written by Dick Francis, the British steeplechase jockey and prolific crime fiction writer, it is the second in the Sid Halley series about a former jockey, who has been crippled in a racing accident and now works as a private investigator. The novel received the Gold Dagger Award for Best Novel of 1979, as well as the Edgar Award for Best Novel of 1980. I am really not a big fan of the crime fiction genre, but I am enjoying this book as much as I did back in 1979 when I read it for the first time. It is Dick Francis at the top of his game.

I had to interrupt Dick Francis when Elizabeth Strout’s new book, Anything is Possible, arrived in the mail. You may recall that I loved My Name is Lucy Barton, which was published last year, and this book, which is sort of a sequel–in that Lucy Barton is a character in this new book. She has written a memoir (My Name is Lucy Barton) and we read about the people in the small town she has written about and how they react to the book. It is wonderful and I am racing through it. Strout is such a good writer, it is kind of unnerving.

The boy and his wee family came over for Sunday dinner, forcing me to close my book for awhile.

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And I saw a flicker close-up on the patio.

(not my photo!)

Weekend complete! Have a good week!

*Hymn 478, F. Bland Tucker

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May 5, 2017

“Twas in the merry month of May when green buds all were swelling”*

by chuckofish

I am so sick of rain! But I am cautiously optimistic about the weekend.

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Dare we hope for a little sun?

I hope so, because it will be a relatively busy weekend. Tonight we have the annual Print Fair and preview party at the St. Louis Mercantile Library, which is right up my alley, as you can imagine. What could be better than strolling around, wine in hand, checking out “thirty local and national fine print and rare book dealers presenting a broad array of exceptional materials?” Last year I even won something at the silent auction.

Then there’s a book fair at our local library and a few estate sales to go to. And I’ve got to get my house ready for daughters #1 and 2 who arrive next week for another quick visit–the wee babes are getting baptized next weekend! Nate, the fiancé, is coming too, so we’ll have a full house.

May is whizzing by, isn’t it?

Have a good weekend and let’s hope we can sing Here Comes the Sun. I tried to find a Youtube video of this song, but I guess there is an issue with Beatles songs. I have always liked this song, ever since I went to a concert my sophomore year at Smith College featuring a lot of acapella groups from other Ivy League schools. The Williams College Ephlats sang Here Comes the Sun. The soloist was a very cute guy with long blond hair. When I arrived as an exchange student at Williams the following year, this same guy literally climbed in my first floor dorm window on my first day. I took that for a good omen.

Enjoy your weekend!

*Barbara Allen, traditional Scottish ballad

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May 1, 2017

We die to sin and live to God*

by chuckofish

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Oh brother. It rained all weekend. All weekend. Lots of flooding in flyover-land and many cancelations. The March of Dimes Walk for Babies, which I had planned to walk in on daughter #3’s team, was canceled.

There were a ton of good estate sales, but going estate sale-ing in the rain is not a lot of fun. I went to a few, but headed home after a while empty-handed.

It was definitely a weekend for puttering and I did quite a lot of that. I also read a lot of The Shadow of the Wind, which I finished. I can’t really recommend it. I guess I don’t like novels that have that consciously storybook/fairy tale quality where the author seems to be trying way too hard to convey a feeling. Oy. This book takes place in Barcelona before, during and after the Spanish Civil War, but you learn nothing about the history, only that a lot of bad things happened. The characters are too wrapped up in their own love story–which is childish–to care that anything is going on around them.

Meanwhile, daughters #1 and 2 were together in D.C. where #2’s friends from home had congregated to celebrate her bachelorette weekend. This is something new that modern bachelorettes do.

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Daughter #1 sent me the goodie bag that she, as Maid of Honor, gave to the other girls. She organized a party on the rooftop patio of one of her old friends–very cool–and they went to a winery. Luckily it didn’t rain on their parade.

I went to church and listening to the constant rain on our big roof

just made me want to go home and crawl back into bed. Well, I had to get ready for the boy and his wee brood who came over for dinner that evening.

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Thankfully, these wee babes can cheer up even the dreariest of weekends! Enjoy your Monday!

*From the Pascha nostrum, Episcopal Church; the painting at the top is by Betha Lum, 1912.

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April 24, 2017

“Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”*

by chuckofish

The weather was pretty great this weekend–especially on Sunday–so I did a lot of yard work. Daughter #1 gave me a nifty kneeler/garden seat so I wanted to try it out and it was great–my aging back thanks her!

I also took a lot of breaks on the patio (my allergies were acting up) and watched the birds who were all very busy. I was definitely cramping the style of a Cardinal couple who seemed to be nest building in this bush.

Ah, the wonders of nature–you don’t have to look far–they’re right in your own backyard!

The wee babes came over for my birthday on Friday night and I got a lot of baby time, especially with the wee bud who was wearing tiny overalls.The OM got Lottie and she passed out. (Was it his thermo-nuclear death breath?)

And I got presents too!

One such present was Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) which my dual personality gave me. It is a film from New Zealand,

…and we enjoyed it very much when we watched it Saturday night. So if you are looking for something different (and PG rated), this is the film for you! It is funny and charming and shot entirely in beautiful New Zealand.

I also got a start on putting together the wedding invitations for daughter #2’s upcoming nuptials. (Hat tip to daughter #1 who called the Service Bureau to double check the correct order of rsvp card/direction card/reply envelope/invitation!)

Since we had worked hard in the yard, the OM and I treated ourselves to our first trip of the season to Ted Drewe’s.

It is the simple pleasures in life that are the best, right?

Now it is back to the salt mine. Have a good week!

*Isaiah 2:5

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April 3, 2017

“The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand”*

by chuckofish

Well, for the first time in three months, the OM and I didn’t have to venture out to the NICU on Saturday–yay!

Indeed, I had nothing planned for the weekend besides a funeral on Saturday for another pillar of our church, a classy 95-year old lady who was the last of our British war-brides. The service was Rite I Burial of the Dead, which took well over an hour–just the way I like it. Why shouldn’t a funeral be long? The woman’s three children and one daughter-in-law spoke beforehand and the rector gave a better-than-usual homily (he actually knew the deceased). The grandson who is in divinity school was the cantor and intoned the initial anthem (“I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord”). It was a lovely service and there was even a piper at the end playing “Loch Lomond”. The reception was a proper English Tea with cucumber sandwiches etc. and even wine for some of us unruly Americans–just kidding, no one was unruly.

In other news, I read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, which, I must say, still holds up after 50 years and, indeed, packs quite a punch. I mean a book about hoodlums that can make this jaded lady cry (several times) must be darn good. I was impressed and I recommend you read this classic young adult novel. Written by a sixteen year-old back in 1966, it still rings true. “Things are rough for everybody.” Next I am going to find the movie (1983), which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starred a panoply of rising 80s stars.

I remember it being pretty good. Ralph Macchio and Matt Dillon stand out in my memory.

Meanwhile the yard is greening up and the birds are chirping merrily. Could it be spring for real?!

Well, the Florida Room is open for business.

And the boy and his wee family came over for our first barbecue of the season on Sunday evening. Of course, they were dressed appropriately in their Cardinal gear for the season opener.

They weren’t very interested in the game.

And the boy can now make gifs!

Cool, right? Have a good week. It’s going to be a busy one.

*Psalm 121

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March 20, 2017

“Hope does not disappoint us”*

by chuckofish

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I didn’t get to see daughter #1 run the New York City Half Marathon on Sunday, but, thank goodness, she had friends to cheer her on and meet her at the finish! You go, girl! I downloaded the app and followed her progress on my phone–aren’t you impressed?

I got my hair cut, went to an estate sale in the neighborhood, went to the NICU to see the handsome little bud,

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went to Steak ‘N Shake with the OM, cleaned the house, did laundry, went to church, had lunch with my pal Becky, and had the boy and daughter #3 over to dinner…with Lottie for the first time!

The weeks are busy, indeed, but sometimes the weekends are busier. I guess I live in a

And now it is Monday and it’s back to the salt mine! Daughter # 2 arrives tomorrow!

*Romans 5: 3-5 (from the Sunday lectionary): More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

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March 17, 2017

“Oh, Starbuck! it is a mild, mild wind, and a mild looking sky.”*

by chuckofish

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“Children are still the way you were as a child, sad and happy in just the same way–and if you think of your childhood, you once again live among them, among the solitary children.”

― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

It has been a busy week. Little Lottiebelle went home.

She also had her first appointment at the pediatrician’s office.

The little guy had to stay in the NICU, but he got a new pair of little man boat shoes. OMG. Can you stand it?

He came through his hernia surgery yesterday like a champ. We are hoping he’ll come home next week.

This weekend I’m going to get ready for the arrival of daughter #1 on Tuesday and then daughter #1 on Friday for a bridal shower next Saturday. You know, this means stocking the fridge/pantry with Diet Coke, white wine, leafy greens, and Flaming Hot Cheetos.

I’ll be ready.

In the meantime, did you know that S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders turns 50 this year? It may be time to re-read this classic.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you’re gold when you’re a kid, like green. When you’re a kid everything’s new, dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That’s gold. Keep that way, it’s a good way to be. I want you to tell Dally to look at one. He’ll probably think you’re crazy, but ask for me. I don’t think he’s ever really seen a sunset. And don’t be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There’s still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally. I don’t think he knows.

Stay gold, Ponyboy.”

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Have a good weekend!

*Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; the top photo is little ANC III with ANC jr. on a beach in Italy in the mid-1920s

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March 13, 2017

“Pardon me for seeing the glass half full”*

by chuckofish

I’m sure you heard that March 10 was the 20th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Because people in 1997 dressed like that in high school never.

Daughter #1 was in seventh grade in 1997 so, of course, I didn’t let her watch a show about vampires. Daughter #2 was in second grade! Good grief. (I was the Mom who wouldn’t let her seven-year old daughter go to the cool girl birthday party to see The Spice Girls movie, thus wrecking her social standing for-ever.) Mea culpa. We discovered Buffy later when it was in syndication, and I realized (once again) that I was an idiot and should have let daughter #1 watch such an empowering show for girls. But oh well, we were a little late to the party, but we got there and we are all huge Buffy ~~nerds~~ fans. And if you are not, what is wrong with you?

Anyway, this weekend I watched a good part of season one again. And it was pretty great.

In other news, the OM and I got trapped at home when our garage door broke and we couldn’t get our cars out. (See Buffy marathon above) The repairman didn’t come until 8:30 Saturday night! Well, the door was eventually fixed and I was able to get up (after springing forward an hour) on Sunday morning and drive to church.

The Gospel reading was from John chapter 3 where Nicodemus goes to see Jesus in the dark of night to ask him what’s what. Jesus says, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” It is one of my favorite scripture passages and it made me very happy to hear it. It also made me want to watch the scene in Jesus of Nazareth with Laurence Olivier as Nicodemus. And so I did later in the day.

After church the OM and I went to Schneithorst’s and then we went to see the wee babes in the NICU and held them for an hour. Who needs anxiety medication when you can hold a baby? By the way, Lottie is going home today!

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Here she is without a feeding tube and breathing all on her own, burping after a bottle. She is nearly 7 lbs and has no tape on her face!

The little bud has to have a little hernia operation (not unusual) and then he’ll be ready to come home too.

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He’s breathing on his own too! He weighs 6 lbs 3 oz.!

And it snowed too. Winter is back, but c’est la vie. Have a good week back at the salt mine!

*Rupert Giles, Buffy, Season one, episode three

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March 6, 2017

“Visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart”*

by chuckofish

While my DP was shivering in 12-degree weather in the north country, we were enjoying spring temps in flyover-land. I went to a couple of estate sales and found a watercolor of Bruton Parish church, which, as you know, is one of my favorite Episcopal churches.

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We visited the wee babes at the hospital, but didn’t get to see the boy who was filming a lacrosse game at the time. We had quality time with daughter #3 who brought us up to date on the twins.

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Aren’t they looking good?

On Sunday I skipped church and went to see Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade, a “groundbreaking exploration of Edgar Degas’ fascination with high-fashion hats and the young women who made them,” at the St. Louis Art Museum which featured “an array of period hats and 60 paintings and pastels, including key works by Degas that have never been exhibited in the United States.”

58b05edae6f4b.image.jpg I am not a huge fan of French Impressionism, so an exhibit focusing on French woman and their hats (especially hats with dead birds on them) turned out to be not that exciting to me.

Since the OM had declined to accompany me (He had “too many things to do”–whatever), I decided to check out the rest of the museum. I was pleasantly surprised to see the re-furbished second floor of the main building.

There was actually a lot to see! The European, Asian and Ancient art displayed was impressive and I recognized a lot of “old friends” which must have been in storage for years.

Likewise, I enjoyed the “re-imagined” American Art galleries on the third floor.

The space for American Art has been greatly expanded and, again, includes a lot of good things. I was pleasantly surprised.

I went home where I puttered around and later that evening I went to Lenten Evensong at church which was a good way to wind up the weekend.

O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last.

Now it is Monday again. Have a good week! Seize the day!

*Charles Wesley

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February 27, 2017

“More and more thyself display shining to the perfect day”*

by chuckofish

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Although spring seemed to be busting out all over our flyover town on Friday with forsythia, magnolias and all manner of flowering trees in full bloom, it (of course) turned downright cold on Saturday. I think it went down into the 20s on Saturday night–brrr!

So staying home was the order of the day this weekend. And you know me, I am always looking for an excuse to stay home. I vacuumed.

The OM and I went to see the wee babes on Saturday, but the little guy was not feeling well. We found out the next day that he had caught a cold (!) and now both twins are in isolation–probably until they go home. Sigh.

I had planned to skip church (and stay home), but I remembered that I had bought the altar flowers in thanksgiving for our two darling grand-babies. I thought I should go and check out the fleurs.

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I thought they looked nice.

The boy and daughter #3 came over for meatloaf (her favorite) on Sunday night. After they went home I did not watch the Oscars, which used to be one of my favorite things back in the day. Instead I watched The Sand Pebbles (1966) which was nominated for eight Academy Awards, won none, and Steve McQueen was notably robbed.