who knew i'd get this far?

these were in my inbox this morning from super nana:

because today is my birthday! there's something strange and liberating about celebrating your birth on the last day of the year. strange in that it's the end of year for everyone, not just me, but liberating in that we all begin anew. being born on the last day of 1949 has meant i truly live my life according to decades!

50's - childhood
60's - teens and what wild times for the last few years of THAT decade
70's - my 20's spent as a young wife, then mother to 3 boys (one right after the other), then, at 28, a daughter. i also managed to totally miss the disco club scene. we started our vagabond lifestyle with children in tow, instead of the other way around!
the 80's - being a 30something before that was the label and really a soccer mom in the states before we went international and lived overseas. this was a fun decade with all of us sharing a new experience together. we were all young together and the coconut krewe still believed the MITM and i knew everything!

and then...

the 90's and yikes, i'm 40! the upside to being 40 (or is there an upside some might say) was that, well, most of the coconut krewe was in high school, in fact, by the middle of the decade everyone was out of university and the MITM and i made our move from the left coast to the right one. we lived it backwards and certainly, not the way most of our friends had done it! from a 2 story house with a pool, to a loft in downtown savannah, right in the heart of city nightlife. the coconut krewe used to laugh about it, but savannah was a favorite of the over 21 crowd! and some of our children were already married!

the year of Y2K and the beginning, as the old folks (to me) used to say, the changing of the guard. personal upheavals, rebounds, more weddings, some divorces, the normal span of life experiences that seem to surround and sometimes engulf a woman in her 50's, but some really great times in between. in 2001, we opened a jazz club and for that glorious time, lived and breathed music every day, except sundays and mondays (unless, by special request or a nice hunk of change!).  2008 saw us come full circle, back to a house, ok, it is in the south and around here, called the plantation! anyway, it's ok with me!

and now, here we are the last day of 2010, the year that started with me being 60 and married for 41 years. it's been a tough one, that's for sure, but i'm not alone in that respect and somehow, we've all managed to make it this far. and tomorrow is another day! and as the MITM just read to me: choose joy! (he was reading vanity fair's proust questionnaire with mario batali)

Happy New Year, sugarpies!

and thanks to all of you for the birthday greetings!

BIRTHDAY CARD UPDATE:

from my party-all-the-time gal-pal aka BFF miss k

it's a long story...

boxer's having a party!

 check out our pal, boxer's new year's eve blogger party! all the details are at her place and even better, it's a come as you are party, so no need to dress up or do your hair!






i'll see you there!

merry christmas to all (even though it's not technically my holiday!)

courtesy of poem-a-day



Christmas Bells
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
    And wild and sweet
    The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
    Had rolled along
    The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
    A voice, a chime,
    A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
    And with the sound
    The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
    And made forlorn
    The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
    "For hate is strong,
    And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
    The Wrong shall fail,
    The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

with love from savannah, the MITM and the coconut krewe (aka the big 8)

today

UPDATE:

the MITM's flight is on time! he should arrive on this side of the pond this afternoon. Thank you all for the good wishes. may your holiday be filled with joy and all things delightful! much love from all of us to all of you!

and UB, this is the MITM's coming home song.



and oh yeah, i forgot to say...

clapton is god!

just for fun because i needed a mental break (because answers are not forthcoming)

december presents

eolai's paintings are available RIGHT NOW! i keep missing his marvelous sales because i don't plan my own birthday presents to me accordingly! but, YOU have a chance to check out his work and catch a bargain on some really fantastic paintings today!

some of his paintings in progress:

he's a pal and known to many of you already, but if not check him out and also, his great cartoons on american hell!

~~~~~

speaking of presents, thank you, mapstew, MJ and the lovely Milady de Languor for the lovely cards!

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and finally an explanation,

my lack of excitement at the approach of my birthday has been lifted because the best present ever will be here on december 24th! the MITM will be home for 2 weeks! even thought we can't make it out to the west coast and it's too late for the coconut krewe to try and come here, we'll all be on the same continent with only a 3 hour time difference instead of 9! so we're all happy!

let the countdown begin!!

DAMMITALL!

i am freezing!

this is insane

and ridiculous

and i absolutely hate cold weather

the bushes in the front of the house have FROZEN

all the plants on the plantations are DEAD

frozen stiff!


and to top it off, you know what my neighbor is having done?

wait for it...
 

they are installing a POOL!

I KNOW! talk about wishful thinking.

(proper post tomorrow after i defrost.)

(yes, yes, i know some of you are under FEET of snow, but it's all relative isn't it?)

there's still time to help supernana out!

if you'll recall, super nana and her charter school Inner Cities Education Foundation held a bookfair at a local barnes & noble store this weekend.

 they did well, with many people deciding that it was a good thing to support a group of california schools that were performing well in an environment that wasn't always supportive of scholarly endeavors. a few of her colleagues came out to help with the booth and the ICEF's Jazz Band played for the shoppers and store staff. (sorry no pictures of the kids!)

a big shout out goes to sausage fingers for buying a copy of Poets' Corner: The One-and-Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family by John Lithgow  online and making sure ICEFs was credited. 
thanks again, sausage fingers!!

so now you now why i'm posting again. if you're planning on buying some books or dvd's or anything, why not help some great kids out and shop online at barnes and noble? you can use the following code when you check out and ICEFs will get credit towards the purchase of core literature books for their students! it's win-win for everyone!


Available December 12-December 16): Order on line using the ICEF Event ID Number- # 10359396.

All of your purchases on this day are tax deductible if you use the ICEF Event ID Number # 10359396.

it's that time of the year, we're all buying things, so why not try and make our dollars work overtime for a good cause! 

the MITM somewhere

it's december and december is always a that was then and this is now time of the year

if you give a mouse a cookie or come on kids, let's go buy some books!

tomorrow, the charter school super nana works for is having a bookfair at a local barnes & noble in los angeles. if you live in the area please stop by and help Inner Cities Education Foundation out by doing your holiday shopping there. if you don't live in the area, on december 12th-16th you can purchase items online using the code given below and help raise money to pay for books for the 15 schools ICEF funds and administers. 

ICEF English Department Bookfair

December 11, 2010

Barnes & Noble at the Westside Pavilion

10850 Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90064

310-475-3138

Come and support the ICEF English Language Arts Department!

Enjoy the sounds of the ICEF Jazz Band and Choir while you shop!

All proceeds benefit the purchase of core literature for grades K-12.

There are three ways to participate:

 Option 1:  Come into the store on December 11^th between 1 and 6pm.  Purchase Christmas presents, personal books, or core literature (see contact information below for questions).Buying the core literature doubles the benefits for ICEF!

  
Option 2: Call the store with book orders and mention the ICEF Event Number- #  10359396

 Option 3 (available December 12-December 16): Order on line using the ICEF Event ID Number- # 10359396.

All of your purchases on this day are tax deductible if you use the ICEF Event ID Number # 10359396.

contact info: ykavanagh@icefps.org

happy holidays!

because it's wednesday and i am mentally snowed in

nicked from the facebook (you know who you are)



i've mentally got nothing, darlings. everything is in a state of massive flux and i'm feeling like a motherless child, but what to do, right?

drive-by blogging today!

that always works for me anyway.

random finds i'll share all day.

i think.
i mean, i'll try.
we'll see.
ok?
ok.

~~~~~~~



happy holidays!

~~~~~~~~~~~
from sunday's NYT metropolitan diary, a gentle reminder to be nice and and play well with others:

DEAR DIARY:

On a recent Saturday evening, two friends and I were on our way to a housewarming on Lexington Avenue. Around the corner from our destination, we stopped by a small wine shop to pick up some provisions.
As one friend inspected a bottle of pinot grigio, my other friend fumbled clumsily with his cellphone, which flew out of his hands and hit a fellow customer in the thigh. Rather than laugh off what was clearly an accident, the young man ignored our companion’s apology and made a snide remark as he shoved past. Our friend smiled politely and shrugged off the encounter.
As a man who spent his college days in manners-minded Georgia, I take great pleasure in moments when our city — with a little help from the universe — takes the time to reward unnecessary behavior with a corresponding dose of embarrassment.
As I was settling up for a bottle of sauvignon blanc, the snarky customer reappeared and interrupted the shopkeeper in the middle of our transaction. Without so much as acknowledging his imposition, the man demanded an explanation for the “special numbering system” that appeared alongside the bottles that lined the store.
The cashier, who had witnessed the cellphone incident minutes earlier, turned his glance slowly to the man and, raising his voice ever so slightly, replied, “Sir, I believe you’re referring to the prices.” 

Joseph Hassan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this is the 1,231 post i've written and the 1,029 post i've published on this blog.  talk about anecdotal entries.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WARDEN FILES BLOG? where'd he go? what's going on?