The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

(photo from www.amazon.com)

I am coming to the end of this book.  My father gave it to me as a 35th birthday gift.  (We all know how that birthday went, don't we.  Okay, pity party over.)  

To be honest...this book took me a while to "get into."  The author spends an extraordinary amount of pages setting the story up.  A young girl can taste the emotions of the people who prepare the food she consumes.  This notion has fascinated me for some time; so when I discovered this book I was thrilled.  (I am a firm believer in being in a good state while cooking or baking.  I have always believed....well....since I read Like Water for Chocolate that your emotions infuse the food you create.)  Anyhow....I was fairly disappointed early on. However, I have to say the book is finishing up nicely.  The conflict arrives late in the story; but when it does it is both gentle and devastatingly sad.

Aimee Bender is known for crafting unique, but lovably bizarre characters.  Indeed, she has crafted a family of particularly sad people who seem impossible to understand.  But isn't that how it is?  We can only really understand the family we were born into.  All others seem distant and strange...simply because they aren't what we intimately know; it isn't what is weaved through us at a cellular level.

If you are a fan of "quirk" then pick this up.  If odd people, odd characters, odd movies, odd situations aren't your thing, might I suggest you leave this one on the shelf?

Pies from Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, TX.......

Views from the lake house at Horseshoe Bay....generously shared with us by Charlie and Becky Doege!

"There's a place for us....when are you going to realize it was just that the time was wrong?" 

-Dire Straits

Good night, dear friends!  Good news...in 30 minutes it is officially Friday...and for most of you that means 30 minutes until pay day!

Seriously

Charlie's Angels called....they want their hairstyle back.......

(This is what happens when you sleep with sponge rollers....kickin' it old school style!)

Dexter Freebish

The name of the band was Dexter Freebish.  Ciara and I thought it was Mingo Fishtrap...but it hit me in the shower this morning.  Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about them....

Well....Wikipedia had a lot to say.  I cut and pasted.  It didn't translate correctly....but I was correct.  They were a band in Austin.  They had a Top 40 Hit (I wouldn't brag too hard about that) called "Leaving Town."  Now...I am going to check out the song on iTunes because I have no real recollection of it.

Deep Eddy Tavern and Tom Waits

Years ago...I mean YEARS ago...probably 1998...Ciara and I were having a few beers at Deep Eddy Tavern.  I remember it was a balmy summer night, the air hung heavy...our hair falling victim to the humid summer thickness and our clothes slightly damp; sticking to us as we peeled ourselves off and on the red vinyl chairs.  

I walked up to the bar to order another beer.  What was I drinking those days?  Miller Light, no doubt.  The bartendress was terribly hip, hip, new hippy, hipster like.  You know....one of the individuals proud to "Keep Austin Weird."  One of the regulars asked her, "Who would you wait in line for two days to watch perform a concert?"

Not a second flew by before she beamed, "Tom Waits."

I ordered my beer and shamefully slid back to the table...where Ciara had been invaded by a group of young men who told us they were in a band.  (I don't recall the name of the band....but they actually turned out to be a one hit wonder.  She and I laughed every time we heard their song on the radio.)

I didn't have time to ask her, "Who is Tom Waits?"  The boys had dominated the conversation.  They wanted to go salsa dancing.  We politely declined; a regret I have always had because one of them was so sweet and gentle and seemed genuinely interested in knowing me....if even just for one salsa dance.  My negative "zero" self image wouldn't allow it.

I never admitted I didn't know who Tom Waits was.  How could I, world traveler, college graduate, music snob not have encountered Tom Waits by 1998?

It would be years before I remembered to find Tom.  

Tonight I heard this song for the first time.  

Now I know why she would wait in line for two days.

I hope you are listening right now....

So, how are you feeling tonight?  Red?  White?  Or gin-soaked? -Jason Stiles

My new vintage bracelet!  Thanks, Mom!

Things are coming along nicely.  A corner has been turned.  I am going to be okay! 

"I woke up on Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that didn't hurt..."

Hearts in Harmony Gala: Part II

With so many people to thank I figured I would include parts of the program from Gala.

(Program created by the devilishly talented Christin Gish)

A list of the individuals, businesses and supporters I am BEYOND indebted to....and so proud to know:

This photo was in the San Antonio Express News this Sunday.

From left to right: Barbara Stevens, Gala Chair; Patty Vela (Me), Silent Auction Chair; Traci Gomez, Executive Director of The Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas; and Linda Fugit, Barrerras Volunteer of the Year.  I also took the time to get a little "crafty"; paper crafty, that is.  I haven't played with paper in a LONG time.  With the extra time...I figured, why not.  

Originally handed to me as a sample, I have fallen deeply, madly, passionately in love with my new bath gel.  

Created by the masters at Molton Brown, London, this fragrance is called

Paradisiac Pink Pepperpod.

Pepper-ish, indeed!  There is a hint of "man" in the shower gel that I enjoy wearing throughout the day.

(Photo from www.moltonbrown.com)

I don't need you to be sorry.  I need you to be "there." -Lorelai

A nervous breakdown can really work wonders for a girl. -Rory

(I found this one in the parking lot at work)

New people will bring new realizations, especially big issues.

Silent Auction-Year Two

On Thursday, February 24, 2011 The Friends of The Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas celebrated its 10th Annual Hearts in Harmony Gala.  Below are some photos of our Silent Auction.  These were the only photos I had time to shoot.  Once Silent Auction and Gala got underway, I completely forgot I even had a camera.  Hell, I forgot I even had a name!  Anyhow...enjoy the photos.

To everyone who supported me, secured a donation item, collected a donation item, decorated a donation item, suggested an item, set up, tore down, volunteered, calculated, fielded questions, called my name out 20 times before I was able to address the situation, prayed, reminded me to chill, listened to me lament, sensed the tension in my voice, honored my obsessive compulsive tendencies, reigned in my obsessive compulsive tendencies, purchased an item, bid on an item....and drove all the way in from Austin AND back on the same day.....I want to THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

No more Silent Auction!  I officially resigned my chairmanship.  I would like to explore different positions on the board.  This two year projects has taught me a lot about myself.  Some good; some not so good.  The ultimate goal, however, never changed: to foster healing for grieving families in this community.

Thank you, Friends Board, for trusting me with this project.  It has been an honor to serve you all!  Most of all, thank you for believing in me....when maybe I didn't believe in myself!

This Photo Makes My Eyes Smile....

Today I was poking around on Design*Sponge  and I came across this photo.  The photo set designer is Chelsea Fuss.  Check out Chelsea's great blog at {frolic!} The photographer is Lisa Warninger.  This photo struck me because the subtext is books, flowers, white and vintage hotel silver.  These are a few of my favorite things......

Cheers to Snow

I love snow!  Everything is magical when it snows.  Everything looks pretty.... Do you know the best things in my life have happened when it snowed? -Lorelai

Lorelai: I smell snow.

Luke: What?

Lorelai: It's coming.  I always know.  I can smell it and I am never wrong.

Luke: It wasn't in the forecast.

It's just my favorite time of the year!  The whole world changes color. -Lorelai

Flakes, flurries, swirls, crystals.....whatever form it comes in, I'll take it.  We go back...me and snow...we have a history. -Lorelai

Lorelai: Hey!  You know who just nipped at my nose?  Jack Frost!

Michele: You know who just nipped at my ear?  Jack I don't care!

 How are you loving our winter wonderland? -Lorelai

 Close your eyes, and breathe.....I smell snow! -Lorelai

 Lorelai: I feel good, tingly.

Rory: That's called Frostbite.

 The world changes when it snows...it gets quiet...everything softens. -Lorelai

When it snows, something inside me says, "Here's your present." -Lorelai