Greetings!

There is nothing nearly as warming as being greeted by your dogs. After a full day of attempting to make happy: shoppers, staff, supervisors & spouses, nothing says love like the delirious delight of the “welcome home, I missed you so much! I missed you so much! Your home!” from a canine.

I give the love back. I can talk the terriers into a sort of hypnotic state, with the incantation of: “what a good dog…daddy loves you so much… you are so adorable.” Lulu & Junior’s eyes will roll back in their heads & their taut little bodies will ripple as I stroke them. If only Husbands could be lulled in the same manner.

The Trouble With 'Coons

One of my great joys of our garden is viewing the wildlife... I am not making reference to some of those late night, all male parties in the Boys' Fort. I have done it on purpose, planning & planting the garden to attract birds, bees & other critters. We live within blocks of the mighty Columbia & the Willamette Rivers, & we have had a Bald Eagle & a Red Tailed Hawk visit the back garden. I think the eagle had his eye on a Jack Russell Terrier for an appetizer.

They are not that unusual at all, we had them in our garden in Seattle, but our current family of raccoons is especially brazen. We had company for dinner enjoy the thrill of a raccoon fall from an overhead tree right into our meals. It was raining 'coons! This morning, in the very early hour of daybreak, a nursery (this really is the term) of raccoons traipsed across the roof of our bedroom, waking me & alarming the terriers. Their steps were not a gentle patter, but big clops. I let the fearless Junior into the garden & to my horror, the raccoon that he had treed was 3 times his size (these are not cute little Disney animals) & looked none to pleased to be in that position. The poor mammal was forced into our large White Pine, the home to a murder (again, really) of crows with chicks. The bodacious, bold, brassy birds made a terrible racket & were not happy about the raccoon in their space.

By now, the plucky & determined Junior is barking & putting up a valiant front & the Husband is standing in his boxers on the hot tub deck, spraying the raccoons with the garden hose. What a comedy of errors & all before 6am.

Junior is exhausted after his morning of 'coon hunting.

Junior looking for the culprits... after the fact.

I discovered later, from their wet paw prints, the raccoons had been into the front fountain.

Larry opts to sit out all the action, letting Junior & Daddy do all the work. He doesn't care that much about the critters in the garden, but he cares very much about having breakfast.

Memorial Day 2010

My husband is named for his uncle, his father's brother, who was killed in WW2. There is a beautiful & stark memorial to the citizens of Washington State that gave their lives while defending our country. The Garden of Remembrance is a half-acre, L-shaped garden along the sides of Benaroya Hall (home of the Seattle Symphony). Memorial walls of granite, lined by slender reflecting pools, are oriented so that the names face the western sun. In addition to the wall, a poem honors veterans who died in World War I; a reflecting pool honors those missing in action; & a fountain honors those who died in peacetime service. The memorial was designed by Robert Murase, a noted landscape architect. The Garden was dedicated on July 4, 1998.

Not long after the memorial was completed, the Husband was walking in front Benaroya Hall & glanced up & immediately (not knowing that it even existed) saw his own name engraved with the date of his death in England in 1944. He claims that his eyes went directly to it, although the memorial had thousands of names. The Husband said it was a Twilight Zone Moment.

The Husband served in the US Army during the Viet Nam War Era (1971-77). I feel blessed that he is with me today & not a name on a War Memorial.

If You Know, Tell Me How

Open A New Window

I located this window at one of our regular haunts- The Rebuilding Center in the Mississippi neighborhood of Portland (http://www.rebuildingcenter.org/) & bought it on the spot. I didn't know if it would fit or could be made to work... I just knew I had to have it. The Husband & I collect architectural elements- doors, windows, balustrades, columns, banisters etc) & we have redone our house using recycled materials. The husband & our friend Pete installed it & I always make myself scarce when there is major construction. I was told that "it wasn't easy...but we were gonna make it work, damn it!". Here are before & after pictures from last summer's project & another view of how it looks now, just a few days from Summer 09. This new window really opens up the view of the back garden. I enjoy seeing all the birds at their many feeders & in the birdbath. I appreciate having a "handy" husband. All his training as a set designer pays off (he is still at heart- a set designer; he never finishes that parts of projects that "the audience can't see".

Art In The Garden

My artist/designer husband creates assemblages. The are created from found materials & they almost always have a theme of "memory". I was a big fan of his work as a designer & artist from before the time that we were involved together. It has been an adventure living with this artist for 30 years. He has been known to knock out entire walls & ceilings in our home to create pieces. Here are two from our garden. The one piece is called Boys' Fort, & it is a functional piece that we use & practically live in from May- October. The other is named Terrace Queen. This piece moves around each year. I totally love living with such a creative & expressive man

My Hero!

This past week, it came to light that a very important player in the life of the husband, & me, & our life as a couple, has been complaining to the husband about me. I am not even slightly upset with Mr. X, although why, after two years of spending time with us & knowing me pretty darn well, would Mr. X choose to complain to the husband about my penchant for booze, pot & procrastination is a tiny bit surprising.

The husband has long been my most loving, but toughest (& by that I mean-honest) critic of my behavior, clothing choices, drinking, drugging, garden design, acting, singing & writing. He is very nearly always correct. He is honest to a fault, as in answering- “YES” to the query- “Does this outfit make me look fat?” So… it was a bit of a surprise to discover that the husband was very unhappy about the complaints by Mr. X & that he stuck up for me, stuck by me & defended my honor.

I adore & cherish Mr. X. He is an amazing, very attractive, talented & accomplished man. I am pleased to have him in my life. I am better man for knowing him. I am not surprised that he finds pieces of my personality & lifestyle disagreeable… I am after all, very much in touch with my inner-grouch & inner-slut & I have a hedonistic bent. I own up to being opinionated & a tad bit louche. I really don’t mind that Mr. X lives a life just short of being a nun. In my defense, I am also a good & loyal friend, responsible, honest, good at my job & generous to a fault.

The husband has always been quick with praise when I get it right. "You should always wear blue. It brings out your beautiful soulful eyes"- is lovely to hear. He was always lavish in his praise of performances that he found to be especially good. He will still tell friends & acquaintances how much he loved my work in his favorites- Horace Vandegelder in Hello, Dolly!, Hysterium in A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum or "LM" in Pump Boys & Dinettes... or even compliments that are qualified- "You were the only good thing in Side By Side By Sondheim." I am always thrilled & warmed by his-"The garden looks so beautiful". I actually glowed when our friend Bryan told me that one day at Rooster Rock, while sunbathing, the husband turned turned to him & announced- "Stephen doesn't even seem to realize it, but he has the most beautiful & original singing voice, especially when he was doing jazz with a jazz trio... even I was shocked by how good he can be."

I really wish, beyond all measure, that the husband & Mr. X would have no bad energy between them, especially because of me. I am deeply touched & somewhat taken aback by the husband’s defense of me. When I mentioned how I felt about this to the husband, as we went to bed last night, he tenderly said- “Yeah? Well complaining about you is MY JOB & not for ANYBODY else!”

The painting is by one of my favorite American painters- Marsden Hartley (1877-1943)

New Music

Not so new...I have been loving it for a few months (it was featured on my much admired APRIL MIX), but the husband mentioned this morning, as he left for his day (looking handsome in crisp linen), that he really was loving this song. So, with his special blessing, I give you Israeli musician- Oren Lavie & Her Morning Elegance with this elegant video:

Happy Birthday, Husband! Born on April 16th

My husband is an amazing guy... a world class designer, a truly talented artist, a champion of the underdog & he has put up with me for 30 years. His fine art is collage, slightly in the vein of Joesph Cornell, made from found objects. I am sharing a few of his pieces here including his giant work- Boys' Fort, which is in our back garden. In his lifetime he has been a first rate theatre designer & director, actor, husband, father & friend. I wish him lots o' love & a long happy life, on this- the day of his birth April 16th.