This little guy paid me a visit today. Isn’t he lovely? From what I could dig up quickly, I believe he’s an eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly. As he left, I charged him with a very important message, so unless he gets distracted by other flowers, hopefully he will find his way to my sister’s window sill this afternoon to wish her a happy birthday! We love you, Jessica!
I didn’t anticipate that Josh and I could feel like empty nesters before we even had kids. But let good friends move in with you for a fortnight (we Victorianists even visit Victorian style), and see where that gets you. Our guest room is so empty now. Look at it — just waiting for someone to come back.
It’s not really having houseguests for two weeks that is making me sappy. I do cry at AT&T commercials, so any confusion on the matter is certainly understandable. But empty as our guest room may be, what’s sad is that it’s become somewhat symbolic of the larger emptiness that’s been stealing upon me for the last month. First, Jennie moved herself to Texas. Then, Stacy (who moved last summer) went back to Indiana after a couple of visits. On the same day, Jessica drove off to Illinois. And last weekend, Deb (and houseguest Ron) also flitted off to Illinois for the fall semester. One by one, they are leaving the Iowa nest and settling in elsewhere.
Having moved away from Omaha as soon as I finished college, I never had to go through this phase before. I was one leaving rather than one left. Both positions are difficult, but in leaving, there’s at least excitement as you anticipate what will be; in being left, you know precisely what to anticipate: your regular life — just without the people who have shared it with you and made it better just by being there. (Thank goodness Josh is yoked to me for life!)
So this week I have been reluctantly re-learning how to be alone during the many hours when I can’t pester Josh. Admittedly, it’s not altogether bad for me. I’ve spent the last several months socializing with friends and family to the point that it would do me some good to sit down and remember what it feels like to work. And it has felt good. Have I mentioned here how much I love Augusta Webster? I have been bursting all week with awe and admiration of her.
I just wish there were someone sitting across from me at the coffee shop to tell. Friends, Prairie Lights and “The Morm” are just not the same without you.
Scout without Idgie (nevermind that the following photo depicts Idgie, happily, without Scout):
I’ve been trying to tell Josh that Scout needs a new friend, but he has remained skeptical. Here are some glimpses, though, of how Scout behaved with another animal in the house. Based on the evidence, what do you think — is Scout in need of a companion?
Last Sunday, my friend, Ann, and I hosted a baby shower for our friend Joanne. Since we’re all grad students in English Literature, the theme was — predictably — a book shower. The invitations (which I sadly don’t have a photo of) were small pamphlet books, the cake (which Ann made) an adorable spread from a book, and the favors were bookmarks and secondhand tea cups that Ann picked up from various stores around town. All the guests brought favorite books from their childhood, and in addition to that, one guest brought the gorgeous knitted blanket you see below, which she made herself. I also made a keepsake book that you can see on the mantle below — each guest took a green card from a page and wrote a message to Joanne and the baby about other favorite books and reading experiences. Some of what I mentioned: reading On Beyond Zebra by Dr. Seuss with dad, reading Small Pig by Arnold Lobel with mom and now Ava, and getting If You’re Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow by Cooper Edens from my Grandma Smith. That remains one of my most favorite books.
On the menu: salmon dip, Korean runzas, vegetarian sandwiches on Rosemary foccacia bread, strawberry spinach salad, chicken salad veronique, lemon bars, hummingbird cake, and limeade and tea.
Apologies for the lag time between posts these days! It’s been raining cats and dogs around here (actually quite literally) — so much so that our house is now being referred to as “Headquarters” by several people — well, at least five. Here’s some of what’s been going on:
a) two friends (Deb and Ron) have been staying between moving out of one apartment and back into another
b) another two friends (Jessica and Joe) were also in the midst of moving and thus were frequenting the house since they no longer had furniture, etc.
c) a fifth friend (Stacy) came to visit for a few days
d) Idgie the Cat (Ron and Deb’s) came to stay, suddenly giving Scout a new obsession
e) a stray cat came to the doorstep, demanding food
Also, as I was preparing dinner last week at HQ, I managed to spill a fair amount of chicken broth on my laptop, which sadly ruined my keyboard (though luckily ruined nothing else). But I finally got it back today, and so life — and blogging — can now return to normal.
More to come soon!
Some of you may have experienced some “technical difficulties” when trying to read the site yesterday. Turns out my hosting provider made a change that was at odds with some of my old UNIX admin habits. I generally expect a computer to do exactly as it is told, and the one that hosts this site was trying to be helpful by serving up a long-outdated placeholder file instead of the proper index page.
Anyway, problem solved (hopefully). Thanks to mom for bringing it to my attention!
Finally! Some photos of our whole purpose in going to Alaska in the first place: Jason and Robyn’s wedding. Here are a few details from the day: Robyn had gorgeous flowers everywhere — a combination of flowers that friends donated and the fireweed that naturally grows around their yard. The beautiful cheesecake (or cheesecakes, I should say — there were five of them!) was made by her Maid of Honor, and the two guys playing banjo and guitar were from the great bluegrass band that played at their reception. It was a lovely day — made even lovelier by the fact that on an otherwise cloudy day, the sun peeked out just as Robyn came down the aisle.
The vintage Cadillac was the officiant’s transportation to the wedding (he was dressed as Elvis — rhinestones and everything) and was also supposed to be Jason and Robyn’s getaway vehicle. However, since they were staying nearby, they decided to walk to their wedding-night hideaway. Since we’d already put the effort into a string of aluminum cans and a “Just Married” sign, we just opted to attach the cans to the bride and groom’s ankles and hang the sign around Jason’ neck. Best wedding getaway ever!
Congratulations, Jason and Robyn! And thanks for a fantastic trip.
Although Josh and I were very sad to leave Sprout while we were in Alaska, we were lucky to hang out with four other dogs: Soonx, Sally, Clyde, and Chopper. I got good shots of two of them — Soonx, Jason’s Alaskan Husky, who’s nearing twelve, and Chopper, who’s Jared and Holly’s Blue Heeler / Border Collie mix. They made the separation bearable (though we were overjoyed to see Scout again).
While we were gone, the TiVo picked up a special called “The World’s Funniest Commercials.” A lot of them did not merit such a grandiose title (or maybe their inclusion represents how humorless a lot of our television commercials are), but this one for Dr. Pepper is really clever and one that I had never seen before.
In case you haven’t either, you can watch it here.
