When do the Flamingos Arrive?

Chatterblocks from Garnet Hill

Do you sneak around and order whimsical and interesting stuff from the Internet?  I have to confess...I do.  For some reason, being furtive adds to the thrill of the hunt.  Tall Husband never knows what he'll find when he walks through the back door.  Last week there were the realistic, large black ravens that would make Edgar Allen Poe proud, but frightened the hell out of the dogs.   This week it's the Chatterblocks, with which I spelled out, "Don't ask." (And can spell out endless phrases and greetings.)

Tall Husband upon seeing the blocks: "Why can't I ask?"

Me: "You just did."

Tall Husband:  "When do the flamingos arrive?"

That last question is one that Tall Husband asks often and it requires some explaining:

Years ago a friend vacationed in China then arrived back home, where upon she immediately began to act strange and order weird stuff.  The last straw for the family was the day a dozen live, messy flamingos arrived at the same time the twenty palm trees were being unloaded on their front lawn.  They wrestled Mom's credit cards from her and got her to a specialist who successfully treated her for an exotic cerebral infection.

So, when will the flamingos be here?...the dogs want to know!

Childhood Lessons

 

 

 

Like so many others in this world, I did not have a childhood that one would wish for.  But there were wonderful, caring people along the way who pitched in to fill the holes left by the uncaring or thoughtless.  One of those good souls was the principal at the school where I attended fourth grade.

Somehow that year, I found myself living with my father, his young wife and their two small children.  When I went home for lunch there was none and my stepmother was not glad to see another mouth at the table.  My solution was to pretend that I was leaving school for lunch, then walk around the block several times until I heard the first bell.  One day when I was returning to class from one of my noon walks, the principal was in the hall.  She smiled down at me and asked if she might ask a favor of me.  I nodded yes.

"I have to eat lunch everyday by myself and it is very lonesome," she said.  "Do you mind having lunch with me...and chatting?  You don't have to bring a thing, as I always pack too much for lunch...we can share."  It was agreed that we would see each other the next day for lunch in her office.

For the rest of the school year, the principal and I met in her office for lunch.  I loved her sandwiches and milk but most of all I cherished our conversations and the laughter.  We always remembered to tell each other how much we enjoyed the other's company.  Fellow students noticed that I ate lunch with the principal and accorded me the special attention that a celebrity might receive.  I learned to relish this celebrity with grateful humility.

It was many years later that I realized the Principal could see me on my lunch time walks from her second floor office.  From that realization, I knew that she had contrived a way to nourish a scrawny little girl, both physically and spiritually, while preserving that little girl's dignity.   She had also taught her a most important lesson in life...that giving is not about the giver; and that the recipient needn't be made to feel like a charity victim. 

Those lunches nourish me still, as I pass on her quiet, thoughtful caring to others.

All I Need to Know, I've learned from My Dogs

 

Skipper the black Cockador and Scooter the Maltipoo wait for Tall Husband to bring home more doggie treats.

However, these two little guys believe in paying their own way.  That may look like a pile of rocks and twigs to you but here at the Bungalow they are hard cash that Skipper and Scooter have traded for treats...except for that cylindrical rock on the far right.  Tall Husband traded that for a batch of my oatmeal cookies.

Through a Gothic Looking Glass

Moments I've loved.  I loved this moment in time because I was in an environment created by great talent at Installations Antiques and Tall Husband was close by.

Once in a Blue Moon

Moon Shot by Tall Husband

Once in a blue moon, you get an outrageous thing you had asked for...sort of.  When Tall Husband wanted to know what I wanted for our 30th anniversary last May, I answered, "The Moon." Belatedly, here it is. Thanks, Tall Husband.  It's beautiful!

Row on 25th

My neighborhood is full of surprises...like this row of chic houses tucked away on 25th Street, here in the Houston Heights.  Now, don't get me wrong; I still love The Bunny Bungalow, but there is something seductive about modern structures that allude to our American architectural roots.  I also love that the architects did not design garagemahals...instead they put the 2 car in the rear of each house, taking advantage of the allies we retain in the neighborhood.

Can't you just see one furnished by Design Within Reach, the next by Ligne Roset, and the next with Grandmas antiques?

Design and construction of Row on 25th by
Shade House Development http://www.shadehousedev.com/


The skinney: There are five of these beauties now, but there will soon be nine.  They can be leased through Shade House Development.

Remembering: July the Fourth, 1776