Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... Dirty Dancing

 

"Nobody puts baby in a corner."

Johnny Castle ( Patrick Swayze )

Dirty Dancing

I am pretty sure everyone on the planet has seen, Dirty Dancing, but if you haven't, it's the ultimate rom-com, which always makes me sob my eyes out. And for those reasons I won't recap the plot, I will just say, Patrick Swayze was amazing. What a performer, be it dancing, singing, or being impressive as an actor. My two favorite Swayze films are Dirty Dancing, and Too Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar. Jerry Orbach, another lost favorite actor of mine, delivers a heartbreaking turn as the perfect father, who expected perfection from his eldest daughter, Baby.

Baby: "Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scare of walking out of this room, and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you."

Trivia: "Hula Hana" was co-written by actress, Julia Brucker, who played Baby's sister, Lisa Housman, and choreographer, Kenny Ortega. 

Watch the movie, and just try to get the song, I've Had The Time Of My Life, out of your head!

Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... Ocean's 11

 

Danny Ocean (answering the phone)

"Hello, this is a recording. You've dialed the right number; now hang up and don't do it again."

Ocean's 11

(1960)

Ocean's 11 the original. The classic. Is it the best version of the story of Danny Ocean and his cohorts, you bet! But only because most of the time I go with the originals, so to be fair, the George Clooney's, 2001 version, definitely hits the mark! I guess it really depends on mood. Angie Dickinson is wonderful as Danny's wife. But Julia Roberts brought the same class as Dickinson did. Both films were made in different eras, so the updating of the story had to be done, and it was done in 2001 without damaging the original feel.  I am not going to tell you what I thought about the acting in either movie, because perfect is perfect. Right? So, here is my current pick between the two, but by the time the week is over, I might just watch the 2001 version. Shrug. Watch them both, but start with this one.

Check them out at IMBD

Ocean's 11 - 1960  Ocean's 11 - 2001

Every Day Is A Winding Road

 

"But you are still you, and I am still me, and we are still we."

~Richard L. Ratliff

Well, this is a busy weekend for us! Today is Valentine's day, tomorrow is the anniversary of the purchase of our condominium, and it was just a couple days ago that we bought the new Mini Cooper, so it has taken a bit of time doing all the necessary tasks, although some of which I am pushing into next week! But for right now we are just planning on enjoying being us. The us that can make monumental decisions without losing each other in the details. We have pretty much become of one mind when it comes to the big decisions. You would think that would be boring, but believe me, it's not. We make our decisions together, but that doesn't mean that there isn't vigorous debate on what path we take getting there! 

Everyday is a winding road, right?

 Hopefully that road looks just like Desmond road in spring!

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your love!

Our favorite romantic movie scene...

~

Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... Dan In Real Life

 

"You know that feeling in your heart? When you heart is just pounding, like it's actually outside your ribs? Exposed but vulnerable and awful, and heartsick, and alive, all at the same time.

~Dan Burns ( Steve Carell )

Dan In Real Life

I seem to be gravitating to movies about different kinds of love. Which is okay, I guess, but it's just that I am such a lucky person to have found all kinds of love with my husband, and that a rare thing. I think about it more as well, because we are living through such dark, desperate times. So bare with me, I am encouraging myself to branch out and enjoy a larger genre than rom-coms. But to be fair, this is a new movie for me, so yea!

As for, Dan In Real Life, I enjoyed that it dealt with the sometimes messiness of relationships. Lovers, Love at first sighters, brothers and sisters, and of course, our parents. Make no mistake, while it might seem like a comedy from the trailers, it's a dramady, but a well balanced one. It's a good watch. A pleasant one. A quiet movie that's needed right now. But I have to confess, I have loved every movie Steve Carell has every done, so I might be a wee bit impartial.

Ellipsis Christmas Movie Countdown #12

 

"I never thought it was a bad little tree. It's not at all, really. Maybe it just just needs a little love."

~Linus

A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas, premiered on television on December 9th, 1965, so that means this masterpiece is 60 years old, and I watched it the night it debuted, and every year since then. It's timeless! It's not actually movie length, it's only 25 minutes long, but it holds you as well as any feature length movie could! No CGI, just an old fashioned Christmas moment. It's about what Christmas is all about, and lessons learned!

Watch it. Remember 1965. Love it all over again.

For After The Turkey There's ... Planes, Trains And Automobiles

 "The older you get the more fragile you understand life to be.

 I think that's good motivation for getting out of bed joyfully each day."

~Julia Roberts

This is an awesome holiday movie. It all centers around a simple trip home for Thanksgiving. Funny how the simplest of endeavors, can turn into our biggest nightmares. Holiday travel has all the built in elements ready to produce just that scenario. This movie will have you laughing off all the calories you consumed during Thanksgiving dinner! Directed by John Hughes, and starring Steve Martin and John Candy, it's full of heart and it will remind you of all the best parts of Thanksgiving weekend. Food, family, home, friendship, love, kindness, hope, and, of course, gratefulness. 

Halloween Countdown Film #17... Benny Loves You

 

 

Hell hath no fury like a teddy scorned.

 

What do you do when your beloved teddy bear friend goes... apeshit? Well, I guess like with any friendship gone stale, you work on the relationship, right? But sometimes, you have to work really hard, and bring a lot of patience. I mean my gosh, it's not easy dealing with a homicidal teddy bear, is it? This is hands down, one of the funniest horror movies I have ever seen. Truly strange, and oddly heartwarming, grab your favorite teddy bear, and watch it together!

 

See the trailer here. 

 

Okay, Here Goes... Part One: Autumn Friends

 "Death ends a life, not a relationship"

 

~Mitch Albom

Tuesday's with Morrie

 

I said I have two things to share. One will obviously be about the second indictment and subsequent arrest of Donald Trump. That took place on Tuesday, June 13th, but something happened before we all got there. On Monday, June 12th, Treat Williams passed away. It broke my heart into tiny pieces. It was sudden. An accident that never should have happened, but happen it did all the same. A motorist turned into his path, and Treat never had a chance to stop. He was on his motorcycle, and the wearing of a helmet did not prevent other injuries from happening. I thought I would be seeing a tweet from him about the arrest of Trump, but no, he was just gone in the early evening of June 12th. As I sit here writing this it still seems really odd, and surreal that someone so in touch with the joys of life, who still marveled at so much, and who got so much out of the smallest of things, and simplest of moments, is no longer here. 

 

I had followed him on, Twitter, for the better part of a decade. He made me laugh. He made me reconsider my opinions from time to time. I enjoyed seeing his photos from various sets he was on. Movies and tv shows alike. The man never sat down when it came to his craft. I loved seeing his home and family. His property in Vermont was nothing short of paradise. And the trips he took with his various airplanes took my breath away, especially his flights over Vermont during the autumn. From the sky you could get lost in every single color you could imagine, demonstrating autumn wasn't always about earth tones, autumn was vibrant and joyful and beautiful. It was all... so damn amazing, so much so, that the thought of that amazing life being gone so fast, was never in my mind. Why would it be? He was one of the few, if not the only one at times, that didn't dwell on the negativity of life, but rather how to handle it by searching for the light and the joy.

 

That's not to say that he didn't have his moments. Trump could have gotten to Gandhi. One such moment, I don't even know exactly why he tweeted it, but suddenly Treat tweeted, "Shut up and do your job, you big fat baby!" which I have to say, delighted me to no end! I laughed and laughed and used about 200 laughing emojis in the reply form. Sheesh. Maybe my reaction was a little too much, but I felt that way all the same. He had just expressed, what I had always wanted to say, except it was now coming from one of the nicest folks around, which in my mind made it fabulous. It was funny, and appreciated. Then one day, sometime later, I left a comment about one of his autumn flights over Vermont, and something kinda nice happened, if not downright magical, he answered me! A great big movie star answered me, and I blushed, I really did. Treat said he was, "proud to know me". Wait... we know each other?

 

It took me a little while to consider that. It never dawned on me that he knew I was even there, let alone... gulp... know me. Or... yikes... was "proud to know me." Now what? Are we pals? Are we friends? How did he come to that assessment? Was it the things I said in my rambling comments? It's not like one could ask, that would be rude! Imagine this... "Hey buddy... whats that nice comment all about?" Twitter can be a strange place sometimes. Friendships are made fairly easily, and then just as easily folks can disappear from your timeline, for all kinds of reasons, it's never really been something I take too seriously. Life just happens, and it happens on social media too, only with walls that are invisible, but that are as strong as any wall can be. I like walls when it comes to celebrities. On my best day, as a fangirl of 61, I can sound like a nutty stalker, or a childish girl of 16, amazed at the talents of Shawn Cassidy. Who I also follow by the way.

 

So he answered me a few more times, and wished me a "back at you" at Christmas one year, and sweetly sang for us during Covid-19, at my request, although I think he had thought of it first, and was merely,  again, taking the time to answer me. But it was nice. It was always nice. He made folks feel at ease. He made me feel at ease. He felt like a friend. I guess that's okay, right? Do a few interactions over Twitter make you a friend or does the word "hello" followed by a lifetime of happy lunches and intimate sharing of ideas? Things can get fairly deep and philosophical on Twitter, so I know enough to believe we were of like minds, so maybe that is enough, to consider him my friend in the most basic sense of the word. I looked forward to his silly tweets and his opinions. I had respect for him and maybe that is enough.

 

In any case, I know I will miss him forever, he was my friend. He has left a hole in me. No one fills the holes left inside our hearts when loved ones pass, it's the part of us that belonged to someone special. To fill that hole is too much like replacing them. Some folks are irreplaceable. Treat was a part of me, but I will always have the movie, Hair, to watch in the moments when I am feeling blue about things. As scary as things ever got with the world, he had a way of looking at it and reminding us, we could make it through, and we were all connected as part of the tribe. I was so very lucky to connect with such a good person. And how lucky I was that an extraordinary man was proud to know me. I sure hope I made him smile once in a while, because I was so proud to know him too.

 

Goodnight, Treat

God's speed.

 

 

As Sudden As Winter

 

"Grief is always sudden as winter, 

no matter how long the autumn."

 

J. Aleksandr Wooton

Forgetting: Impressions From The Millennial Borderland

 

Autumn is slipping away. I have more feelings, or I should say, more complex feelings, about autumn 2020 than any other autumn I can remember, including the autumn Alan and I spent apart. But don't get me wrong, it's not all bad, it's just been a very strange year, that has left me over-feeling everything. It will straighten itself out. And I am happy. I am okay. Life is good. And hey, here comes winter. New things to photograph. New doors open, and soon, in just 10 months, autumn will be back, and who knows what adventures will happen between now and then! Plus, my dear Twitter pal, Joe, has agreed to continue our weekend autumn image sharing. It is great to have a friend who enjoys autumn as much as I do, and it really did help to make 2020 a lot easier to deal with! A LOT EASIER!

 

~Carly

December 6th 2020

Stockton, California

San Francisco

"Where there is love, there is life."

~Mahatma Ghandi 

I was losing my mind last week, when a few really nice things happened to turn things around. First a few folks dropped by on Twitter to be supportive and kind, thank you Susan and Lynda, and then Alan took me home, to the Golden Gate Bridge. Here I am a few days later, and I feel alive again. I love that city, and I really love that bridge! And my goodness, it's nice to be cared about.

Dinner from Tony's Cable Car made wasn't bad either!

After dinner it was time to head home, by way of Marin County, and the Robin Williams Tunnel. I will miss him forever. Sigh. He was a gift to this world.

~Mood: Happy
~Me  :)

Christmas Eve With My Angels

"You are never so lost, that your angels can't find you."

~ Jeff Rees Jones

Angels Bright

I am are so blessed! Alan and I have each other, but we also have our three little fur baby guardian angels. Hendrix, Dylan and Joey, fill our house with fun, life, and so much love that, at times, it's difficult to leave to do even the quickest errand! How did I get so lucky, to have found all my joys, in this big world? And it's not just Alan and our boys, I have also found wonderful friends, both online, and in real life! People who fill my heart with love, friendship and support! People who laugh with me, and at me, as I laugh at myself! Those who share my good times, and bad, and who will be there, when the sun shines on me for the last time. They're a gift, and I am thankful for them an infinite number of times.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to say life is perfect, or that there isn't some heavy concerns, my blog is filled with post after post, regarding my fears, battles with Fibromyalgia, the chronic physical pain I deal with, and the darkness which is Trump, but for a little while, I will put all of it aside, and concentrate on the happiness of being together for another year! It feels so good to take a break, for a couple days, to give up second guessing and worry, in favor of happiness! Cats don't have to love you, they choose to! So, if a cat loves you, then you know you have something special going for you! My boys can tell when my pain is overwhelming, and never leave my side. They work hard taking care of me!

So, it's time to embrace as much holiday magic in as I can find! Snuggling while watching old movies, making pies, enjoying snacks straight from the oven, chasing a kitty down the hallway, and giving him great big kisses, playing board games, and even being happy to lose, as long as the one you love most is sitting in front of you! I used to be so afraid of love, and friendship, which is silly, because it was through the magic of hearts open to love, and friendship, that our adventure was allowed to begin, all those years ago! Where would I be without Alan? Where would I be without my friends? And where would I be without my fur babies?

The Brothers Gordon...

Joey, Dylan and Hendrix

Heirloom Ornament #2
Christmas 2013
Berkeley, California

~Mood: Happy

~Me

Art About Town: Sacramento... "Peace" By Stephen Kaltenbach

"Peace" By Stephen Kaltenbach

Sacramento, California

(Concrete)

"What is the name of your dream? A lovely wooden cottage in the middle of a forest? Or walking in an endless autumn path? What is the name of your dream? Don't give a name, always give a list! Fill yourself with dreams because dream is the path to reality!"

~Melmet Murat ildan

What is my dream? My dreams are simple. If you know me at all, you probably know that Heaven for me is an endless autumn, and an endless amount of public art to enjoy and photograph. As much time with Alan as I want. Music I can feel in my soul, but most of all, right now, I dream of days of peace. Peace of mind, body and soul! I haven't slept well since 2015, and the insomnia has been especially bad since 2016. That election took it's toll on me, for many reasons, but mostly Trump becoming president seemed to steal a part of me that I can't find.

 The never ending verbal beatings, and the cruelty of his administration coupled with the grotesque insults and harm his supporters dish out, is a heavy stone to have thrown at a person. Someone, Heather Heyer, lost her life to that cruelty. It hurts. Deeply. So many endings where they don't belong, that my human heart can't help but feel broken daily. In a moment of despair, I closed a door on a pal, someone I really liked. I have thought many times about reopening the door, and maybe saying I am sorry, but I know deep down that it wouldn't be fair to that person. I closed the door because I felt like I would say something, eventually, that I couldn't, or wouldn't, be able to take back.

 Life is so short, hurting people and generally being the worst version of myself is not something I am willing to do, if I can help it. I am not perfect, and I feel myself strike back in anger, which, of course, does not make me feel any better, but rather more like a failure than anything else. I know that I am not alone in having lost a friend, colleague, or family to this divisiveness, this time of dis pair. One day, in 2017, I felt myself sinking under the weight of the world, and I knew that self harm could make it all stop, I knew that I wanted to see the next autumn come around, but I also realized that out of fear I had stopped listening to music. I hadn't picked up my camera in months, I was living in a 24/7 news cycle because I was afraid to turn away.

I reached a scary point. Live in pain, or die in peace. I began to sob, and knew I needed to reach out to my doctor. So, after 20 years, I was put back on anti-depressants, and God I felt like a failure! I had survived all that time, lost my mother, lost Elvis, I packed up our cottage to move to a new home, only to find out the place was declared unfit for rental. Lost a friend who decided to tell me one day, she no longer felt superior to me, when all through our 20 plus years of friendship I never knew she thought she was! I went through it all handling it with the letting myself feel what I had to, and moving on. But this time things were different. 

I am tired. I want my life back. I am working on it, and the magic pills have helped, I have no complaints about them, accept I wish I could have done it on my own. There is hope coming up by way of the midterms, but I am trying not to acknowledge that hope, because what happens if I let myself believe in it, and the worst thing possible happens? For the first time in my life, I have lost hope and faith in my own country. If we go through two more years of this devastation, will our country even exist? The upcoming election needs balance things, by at least returning the House or the Senate to the democrats. We need some bi-partisanship in order to save our nation, but there is absolutely no guarantees when it comes to elections, no matter how much it seems to be going your way.

Fear may have taken my faith and hope, but dreams are a very different thing. For me it's the last line of sanity and vision for a future I can breathe in, so I am living in my dream of the future. My list of dreams isn't very complicated, here they are...

1. I dream of peace of mind.
2. I dream of being able to believe in hope again.
3. I dream that the pain that I and others are feeling stops.
4. I dream of the fear goes away.
5. I dream of endless autumns.
6. I dream of photographing all the public art I can find. 

I dream of having my old life back.

I dream of dreaming again, and waking up smiling.

I dream of peace, and autumn leaves.

#33 Leaf Of The Day

October 23rd 2018

Photographed September 29th, 2018

Stockton, California

Please.

November 6th, 2018

~Mood: Quiet

~Me

 

Happy Valentine's Day 2018

"Touch of the wind, touch of the water, touch of the spring flowers... none of these are as great as the touch of love."

~Mehmet Murat ildan

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I hope your day is filled with friendship, laughter, love and all the wonderful feelings of joy and togetherness!

 It's what the day is about!

Mood: Happy
~Me

 

Harvest Fruits

Autumn

The cheerful sundial;

it falls in the shadow

of they leaves.

There where your branches

brace themselves

against the gate of Heaven. 

~Kristian Goldmund Aurmann

While driving around Carson City last month, I saw a lot of amazing trees, and beautiful autumn leaves, some still on the trees, and some in big piles of harvest colors on the ground, but one of my favorite sights, was this apple, the very last one, still clinging to the tree. I'm pretty sure that if you touched it, even very gently, it would fall to the ground. Last year, I came across a deer in the same yard, eating the apples that had fallen, so I am pretty sure at some point after I left, that's exactly what happened again.

It's a nice thought that the beautiful, yummy apple, was enjoyed by a deer! They are such beautiful animals! It was the last apple of autumn for that tree, and every last bite would be enjoyed, not left to simply rot. I think next year, when I head to Nevada, to photograph the autumn leaves again, I hope I will get to see more deer, looking for apples to eat, from what's becoming one of my favorite trees of autumn to photograph!

I came across this persimmon tree, while leaf peeping in Knight's Ferry, California, in late October. It stopped me in my tracks! It was amazingly beautiful, and full of beautiful, ripe fruit! I have never eaten a persimmon, so I can't say if I like their taste or not, but when I was a little girl, my best friend and I used to sit under a neighbor's persimmon tree, and enjoy their scent. It was a great place to read books together, and play with puzzles, and our do our favorite thing of all, listen to all the fathers on the street, yell at their TVs, cheering on their favorite football teams, collage, and pro!

We laughed so hard at our dad's enthusiasm for football! Oh my, the fun we had all those autumns. We did this for about 5 years, and then he passed away, suddenly, in an accident the next February. He was hit by a car. It wasn't the drivers fault, he darted out into the street without looking. Our entire street changed, the other kids and rarely played together again. A part of us grew up very fast after he died, and I never sat under that tree again. I released the pain of losing my friend years ago, time heals, but now, when I smell ripe persimmons, I only have the best memories of my friend, and all the fun we had in those 5 autumns, under the beautiful tree, with the spicy, sweet scent.

#1 Leaf Of The Day

December 1st, 2017

Stockton, California

 Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Happy Thanksgiving

"Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude."

~A.A. Milne

Winnie-The-Pooh

I won't lie, it's been one HELL of a year! But that doesn't mean I have been left with an angry or bitter heart, far from it! I have a lot to be grateful for, and a lot of happiness with Alan and the boys! Life is full of uncertainties, but one thing remains fast and true, I am loved, and appreciated, and I might get scared from time to time, but fear does not fill my heart, gratitude does!

#23 Leaf Of The Day

November 23rd, 2017

Quincy, California

 Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

Love Was All Around

I don't have a lot of really good memories from my childhood. It was a difficult time, but I don't dwell on the painful times too much anymore, instead I think about the moments here and there that brought me the most comfort in those painful turbulent times. I did a lot of reading as a child, I almost always had a book either in my hand, or close by, and when there wasn't a book by my side, there was a newspaper. I loved reading, to make sense of the world around me. I also watched TV, especially after my brother left for Viet Nam. I wanted to know why he was gone, why he left me, and if he would be coming back.

As you might guess, I learned to grasp the world around me a little earlier than most kids, and when other kids didn't want to discuss Watergate... lol... I would feel a bit out of place. I always loved TV and I wasn't so single minded about the world that I only watched the news and 60 Minutes, I watched sitcoms, because I also learned at a young age that humor was another great escape from the sadness!

I watched the Monkees, and I had a mad crush on Micky Dolenz. I loved Star Trek, "Space, the final frontier" and who didn't want Rob and Laura Petrie (The Dick Van Dyke Show) for the their parents? I missed that show when it went off the air, but was thrilled to death when Mary Tyler Moore came back to TV in her own show, called, of course, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. From the first episode, I was hooked. Mary Richards was my big sister, and I loved watching along with my real sister, as we tuned in each week to see what was in Mary's closet. Mary had a classic style that could still be pulled off to this day!

I loved every season of the show's seven year run, but my favorite episode came right out the gate, in season one. It was season one, episode three... "Bess Is Your Daughter Now." It was all about Mary bonding with her friend Phyllis's daughter Bess, and the transformation of what had been a strained relationship into what would become a lifelong appreciation for each other. From that episode on, Bess referred to Mary as "Aunt Mary,"and it all came about because Mary took the time to get to know a 10 year old girl,  Bess, and form that friendship. 

I was about Bess's age, and I think I thought of Mary Richards as my TV aunt from then on as well. It impressed me that someone Mary's age would make the effort to not just spend time with Bess, but truly find out about who Bess was. Not everyone has the ability to bond when children, or the patience, at least that had been my experience, and I also had a mother who deeply resented any friendship I attempted to make, including with my peers.  Forming healthy friendships was difficult, so it really impressed me and gave me hope that one day, I might meet someone from the adult world, willing to be my friend, just for the sake of being my friend.

I did. And we discussed politics and world events till we were both sick of it LOL. But we also discussed music and art, and she was a great teacher who was instrumental to bringing me out of my shell. She encouraged my creative side, and she helped me feel less alone. Sometimes I think about that time in my life, and I am glad I had learned the lesson that friendships are sometimes spontaneous things, and sometimes they need time to build, but if you are willing to put yourself out there... Love Is All Around No Need To Fake It. The friendship I made with that teacher continued for years, and I was grateful for it. Always.

Thank you, Aunt Mary!

Side Note... 

The little drawing on my sidebar, is of the poster hanging in Mary's Richard's apartment in seasons 2 through 6.

 ( "Why" By Ben Shahn )

Mood: Quiet

~Me

The Art Of Autumn...

"Every season has its art, 

and the art of autumn is to bewitch people."

~Mehmet Murat ildan

While I was down in the Bay Area running errands last week, I stopped into a couple of my favorite East Bay parks and did some photos of leaves, but I couldn't do as much photography as I wanted, so I brought home a bag of leaves to do as portraits, as opposed to the usual photographs of the leaves on the ground where they fall. I rather like what I was able to accomplish. I set the leaves, some individually, and some in clusters, photographed them at different angles, and with a soft filter of sun through the trees, and a shadowed corner of the overhang in the corner of the yard. 

As the weather has turned cold, and rainy, the leaves are finally displaying more color, and they are less dehydrated, so working with them is easier. It's also easier on my body, especially when my Fibromyalgia is raging. My friend Steven once counseled me on ideas for photography, when my pain was too great to go on big photo jaunts. I will never forget his advice... I miss my friend... very much... but I smile when I see a really beautiful leaf, or an especially lovely flower, Steven was so talented, and I will always be grateful for his advice and friendship, especially when it came to autumn photography! He was a talented, kind, helpful, gentle man.

 Steven helped me to become a much better photographer.

 Leaf Of The Day

December 4th 2015

Mood: Grateful

~Me :)

The Groupon Box

"What greater gift than the love of a cat?"

~Charles Dickens

Joey, is napping in a very beloved place, the sacred Groupon Box that my Birkin knockoff purse arrived in last October. Since then, Dylan and Joey have taken turns sleeping in the little brown and green box, and they have come to be friends as they worked out their own feline sharing negotiations. There was a day when I thought Dylan would never share that box with either of his brothers, but I was wrong, Dylan and Joey have actually bonded over the sharing of that chewed up box. And it is probably the least important thing we are taking with us to the new home, unless you consider that it would mean the world to those two wonderful cats to have that box. Dylan worked constantly over weeks to scallop the edges, and form it perfectly to his body, and Joey helped in his own way, and now it's as important to them as a catnip mouse, or Dylan's brush or Joey's Zsu Zsu pet Scoodles. But I couldn't help but wonder, why did they bond over a Groupon box, and why do they love all boxes so much?

Turns out, there is a reason...

And BIG cats love boxes also!

Yay! Boxes!

 

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

RIP Joan Rivers (And A Story About A Special Watch)

"I'm no cook, when I want Lemon Chicken I spray it with Pledge."

~Joan Rivers

WOW! Here we go again! Comedy has taken a tragic beating this year, with the loss of Robin Williams, and now, Joan Rivers. Two trailblazers, for different reasons, and two people I believe would still be alive, had darkness not overcome them. Darkness by choice for one, and fate for the other. Wait... I take it back... in Robin Williams case it wasn't by choice, I have been close to the edge once or twice myself, and I know that when the specter of suicide comes knocking, and you open the door, it can be the most beautiful sight you can see. It blinds you, and before you know it, you have lost yourself. That is what happened to Robin Williams. I guess I am just still in the anger stage of grief when it comes to the loss of the talent, and the kindness that was the truest part of him.

In Joan's case, well, it was supposed to be an outpatient procedure, but something happened. Who knows what will be discovered? Maybe she would have gone into cardiac arrest walking down 5th avenue, or maybe it was something done wrong at the clinic. We will have to wait and see. All I know is that I will miss her greatly. Fashion already doesn't seem the same without her. It's fashion week in New York, and her voice is missing. That's just wrong. Joan Rivers never had to look for ways to keep herself relevant. She was on top of things. She was brilliant, and she never needed to demand attention, because it was her truth that lead her. Good or bad. I admired her for that.

I have a watch. It was a present from someone I loved very much. She was a friend, and we would laugh at the stupidest things, and we both shared the joy of collecting different things. Sometimes she and I would get together over lunch and share what new piece we had recently added to our collections. One day, in June of 1996, we were eating lunch and she pulled out of her tote bag, a tiny black velvet drawstring bag. She put it in front of me and said "Happy Birthday." I was surprised because my birthday was still weeks away, but I smiled and was happy that she thought of me. I opened the bag, and inside was a gold and black necklace watch, from the Joan Rivers Collection. 

At first I thought it was an odd, if not silly, choice. The Joan Rivers Collection? LOL. Comedienne jewelry? But as I looked at the watch I began, all most immediately, to fall in love with it. It was understated, elegant, and really quite lovely. I ended up wearing that watch nearly every day, for the next 10 years or so, and still do when I am going to some special lunch or event. It's comfortable, and gives my outfits a nice look. I only stopped wearing it when I started carrying my cell phone everywhere. But as I sat Thursday, listening to the news of Joan River's death, I felt nostalgic for that watch, and my friend. My friend passed away in 2005, but wearing that watch makes me smile, because I know it was given to me in love and friendship. And now that the designer herself has passed away, I will smile a little bigger when I remember all the time I spent laughing at something Joan Rivers said. Two amazing women who touched my life, and the watch that created the bridge.

Life Goes On...

Mood: Quiet/Nostalgic/But Okay :)

~Me :)