In Which I Wax Maudlin And The Kittens Try To Escape

Ouch. Wall of pain. Hoped to avoid hitting it full force.

GG is still living here, which makes life easier/harder sometimes? (Am I turning into Gertrude Stein?)

This weekend  while I am in Florida, GG will begin packing and moving into Mr. Baby's new house in Maryland.

The Lab goes too but we have an oral custody agreement.

When I need her,she will come. All I have to do is ask. Kittens are all well and good but nobody says "hello there" like a dog.

I am trying to live in the now but the now is sad. I look sad. My hair is droopy and I might be one tiny touch too skinny. 

Never satisfied am I?

Okay, let's take a minute and read my silver lining playbook: I haven't smoked, I haven't drank, I  haven't indulged in retail therapy, I haven't joined an internet dating site. I have a home, a job, the most wonderful friends, 2 glam kittens and spring is a coming.

This too shall pass.  Right?

Does anybody know when?

 

xo Jane

In My Life

I know, I know, sudden radio silence from the self christened "constant blogger".

Life.

"Lincoln" on Friday night. My. My. My. What a man. I shall turn my attention from the Tudor period, my eternal interest, and begin reading some American history.

Saturday night a friend over for pizza and "Argo". Turned into pizza and our lives. 

Sunday, the gym, and a surprise stop across the street at an Episcopal church for a 2nd Sunday in Lent service. I am not a church goer, but I have been watching a diverse crowd of people coming and going as I'm leaving the gym. Sometimes they carry baked goods. My interest was piqued.

So, clutching a water bottle and an IPod, dressed in a sweatshirt and sweat, I entered, sat and listened.

My favorite part? The "peace be with you" greetings at the end of the service. I drank up each handshake and wish for peace and gave it back wholeheartedly.

And the rest of my day? Not exactly peaceful but full and fun and ended with a red carpet Oscar party at the pink house.

Movie posters, women in tuxedo shirts, a child dressed as Pi, another child with decided opinions on the music, particularly Shirley Bassey.  Not like.

I forgot my camera so have no amusing pictures to show you of the party.

But I can show you pics from my preparty.

You know I had my own stylist.

  But not my own towel.

Peace be with you.

xo Jane

The Armchair Traveler

Now I'm not sure if you all know I'm a crap flier. Claustrophobic at best, wanting to get off the plane when over Atlantic Ocean for example. " Excuse me, I'd like off get off the plane now" has been said by me. Hopefully none of you were on that flight.

But it is time to get out of my comfort zone so I have booked a flight to Florida to visit my dear friend Susan.  She offers much in the way of succor: 3 dogs, delicious meals, a wicked sense of humor and facial appointments.

Next Saturday, the 2nd of March, I'll be off with my carry on and my xanax.  

I'll be back March 5 with smooth skin and perhaps a hint of color.

I'll start with a 2and a 1/2 hour flight and if successful, longer distances beckon.  

If not successful you'll see me on the news.

The Universe must have something big in store for me.  

I'm trying to meet it half way.

(And to keep all of you entertained).

Do you know what my New Year's resolution was? Did I tell you?

It was to say "yes" more often.

Dammit. What ever happened to drink more water?

Go to the gym 3 times a week?

Eat more greens?

Ah well, onward and upwards people.

xo Jane

She Has A Farm

Soon I'll be referred to as "the constant blogger" as in "dear god has the constant blogger posted again"?

Is she not surrounded by animals begging for dinner/walks/love/clean litter?

Yes, of course she is.

But I'm back to report on the "highlight of my day".

Long story short: Flower shop customer with beautiful property and dreams of becoming another Floret.

Introduced herself in October with buckets of dahlias. Well, hello there.

Continued to pop in with jars and trays full of cuttings and clippings.

Suggested she start a blog. Done.

Reads mine.

Came by today with a gift of basket of dried lavender from the farm, an assortment of green, floral and ginsing teas. There was a tiny basket of shells collected on a recent vacation to Turks And Caico, a teacup covered in violas (heartease) and a little dried arrangement of gomphrena.

Oh and a flower catalog so we could select any particular blooms we might desire come summer.

You people are leaving me no time for self pity:-)

 I am a very lucky girl.

Thank you Christa.

Cooks And Poets

There are still moments of quiet happiness in my life.

I just had lunch with an old friend who lives another lifestyle away.

Though only 20 minutes away, our busy lives keep us apart.

But today she bridged the gap and came for lunch.

We talked and talked and slurped our Pho Nams. Occasionally tears welled up in my eyes but mostly we laughed.

I was pronounced mentally healthy.

No small thanks to all of you.

After she left I let the animals out to roam about the yard. Gus found much to be of interest under the window of the new neighbors' indoor cats.

I don't think he'll be invited in for lunch.

Now I'm in the kitchen attempting a simple tagine a la Jamie Oliver.

I'm listening to an interview on NPR with Richard Blanco, the gay, Cuban American poet laureate.

He is reading aloud and the clarity and seeming simplicity of his thoughts gladden my heart and I feel a rush of gratitude.

Unexpected but very welcome.

xo jane

The Crying Game

I am undone by the outpouring of love and support I have received from you all. From former lurkers, (so nice to meet you at last), to the tried and true, I send you thanks.

I have done nothing constructive today, unless crying counts. I've cried over my book, during a silly movie, while reading each and every comment and the coup d resistance was Marie's post.

I am a limp biscuit.

There is so much power in the written word. I literally feel the force of your words.

I have received emails, texts, and had about a 90 minute phone call with 66square feet. I talked to my ex, to my oldest friend in New York and my stalwart buddy in Florida. I talked to Mr. Baby's mother and emailed with GG's brother.

The only mode of communication I refused to indulge in today was Skyping.

Not with these eyes baby. Puff Mama would be my new blog handle.

I am now going to curl up with a big mug of mint tea, a kitten in each arm and  tea bags on my eyelids.

If all you need is love, I've got it all.

Thank you.

xo Jane

Hello Mr. Heartbreak

It was the week that was. Phones rang, Rosemary Clooney sang, men stood in lines and wondered aloud why we were so busy.

6 designers, 1 flower cleaner, 4 drivers, assorted sales clerks and one broken heart: mine.

It is time for GG to move on.  She told me Tuesday morning. I was going to keep it to myself until Valentines' was over, but an acid reflux attack after lunch convinced me otherwise.

I had already text Shelley, she told Steve and Jen. They made me feel so much better I started telling my co workers and my friends.

So in between 100's of arrangements, I cried and laughed and suggested a new special: Love Walked Out The Door.

But no one was buying.

I expect I'll process this with you all as I did the quitting smoking.

It won't always be pretty but it will always be real.

And there will be kittens. 

It's always freaking something isn't it?

The Roommate Cometh

Mere minutes before the Colonel walked through the door, we finished the room.

A couple of trips to Bed,Bath and Beyond, Marshalls and Starbucks yielded a down comforterer, sheets, a bed skirt and the caffeine energy to carry on.

Carry on up to the attic where we found mirrors, prints, rugs and lamps to furnish the freshly painted room.

We had painted the old battered dresser with Annie Sloan chalk paint and on the advice of Rachel finished it off with several coats of a water based satin varnish as opposed to the hand rubbed wax finish suggested by Ms. Sloan.

Thank god for that, we would still be rubbing away as she tried to sleep.

Hopefully we thought of everything she will need, a bed, dresser, book shelves, reading lights, fresh flowers, a green plant or two and the most important accoutrement of all:

a warm body to cuddle up with at night.

Mission accomplished.

P.S. The Colonel has been in bed for about an hour now and we haven't seen hide nor hair of Gus.
Do you think he's left us for a soldier?

Sob

Thinking Of You

 We, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, are sitting this storm out.

I'm sending our best wishes to our fellow bloggers further up the coast and into New England.

May you stay warm and cosy in your nests.

May your kitchen be filled with delicious smells and flavors.

May your power stay on and your supply of books be inexhaustible.

And please, if you can, keep in touch.

xo jane

Flowers In The House Of Poe: February 2013

Good Morning. It was a late one on Sunday what with Beyonce blowing out the lights at the Superdome and the down to the wire game lasting late in the night.

In anticipation of  the Baltimore Ravens winning (and win they did) we painted the house black and strew it with purple flowers.

Well okay, we painted one wall in the bedroom Amazon, a C2 color that reminds me of the peel of an avocado.

 I grabbed an eclectic assortment of flowers on my way out of the shop on Saturday. An ornamental kale, fiddle head ferns, purple anthirium, and a few peach garden roses.

A strange brew.

  Yet strangely satisfying with the addition of eye of newt, I mean rosemary, camilla, and tree ivy.

It was joined by a little silver cup of white hellebores,

   a beautiful lab in her bed.

 

And yes of course, there was a cat in there too.

Cause everyone looks better in black.
Speaking of cats, one ran across the keyboard and hit publish long before I was ready. So this has been coming to you live.

I think it's time for me to find Mr. Linkey and go to bed before I fall asleep at the keyboard and the animals take total control of this post.

I leave you with one last picture of a sweet little orchid in the bathroom and a simple request:

if you're having us over tomorrow,could you have some strong espresso available?

Thank you all and good night.

RAVENS!!!!!!!

Just Another Manic Sunday

Yeah,yeah,yeah, I'm cooking chili and downloading pictures for FITH, Oh and getting ready to run out to the gym in 30 minutes but I found these pictures in my files and they made me laugh out loud.

 Did you hear the one about 2 cats, 1 foundry mold and an innocent snow owl ornament that was perched upon said foundry mold?

Didn't think so:-)

See you all tomorrow and remember: (with all respect to my friends on the West Coast)

Gooooooooo Ravens!