Ruby makes a mad dash through the snow….no traffic to worry about, she can frolick leash-free all she likes, no one is making it up or down the neighborhood hills this morning, including me.
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A roaring fire, NetFlix and a new batch of yarn, what could make a winter day better? -
Happy Holidays! -
Christmas circa 1990 (?)
Well, we blew it this year! Next year, we're all getting together, we better! We had such a good time together in Portland (though missing Peg, Ryan and Stella) last year…despite having Christmas in the Shoebox Apartment. This year, I have all this space and even the picturesque hearth….and no visiting family for the holiday! sniff sniff -
The skies opened up this week, the leaves are mush on the ground and winter is setting in…time to see if the fireplace works! Not as hardy as my neighbor with a stack of cord wood in her parking spot, I opted for the girly DuraFlame log-in-a-package, and yes, I updgraded to the "Crackle" model, complete with life-like crackling fire sounds.
And I love it! A few hours of crocheting in the armchair, feet up in front of the fire, poking at it with an old curtain rod (insert Christmas gift hint here: fireplace tool ) and a dog asleep at my feet…who doesn't love this time of year? Can you see the burning embers, can you smell the singed dog? -
Miss Ruby had surgery this Monday morning, to remove a tumor from her eye. I wish I could have had a procedure to surgically remove my guilt–I never realized that the little bump on her eyelid (there as long as I can remember) was actually the tip-end of a big, gross and bubbly growth under her eyelid, pressing down on her eye.
The vet removed it successfully, but said it looked "iffy"–test results pending the lab test due at the end of the week. Don't say 'iffy' and then ask me to write a big check, that's just a little bit guache, no?
The clinicians said she was the "happiest dog to have surgery we've ever seen!". My co-worker said," Well, that figures–just like her Mama, the perpetual Pollyanna!"
The irony of having a dog so like myself is not lost on me–will she have the big C too? -
I was in North Carolina this past week, 'drinking the Kool-Aid' at a classic furniture factory; Hickory Chair.
We spent a day at the Biltmore Estate, viewing America's largest private home, then had dinner at a place that boasts the largest bbq platters, served on garbage pail lids.
In the Vanderbilt estate, we viewed master portraits by John Singer Sargent, then later in the trip some of our party visited Priscilla's Adult Gifts.
It was quite the heady cultural mix. -
see pics below…
Two new additions to the household, now that I have so much more house to hold things: a tambour-door cabinet and a large glass-topped coffee table. The coffee table wasn't what I imagined getting (that's another story, about the burl-wood beauty that got away)…it's bigger than I would have thought the room could take, and I usually feel that glass is too cold (and always dusty!). But, as you can see, I was wrong on both counts. The glass makes it visually lighter than its size suggests, and the oiled-teakwood base warms it up. And I love it.
The cabinet, well, that cabinet! Gorgeous finger joints on the tops and sides, solid all way round, deeply colored finish, and the two tambour doors—who doesn't adore tambour!?!??!
