St. Asaph's

Spotted this on my way home from BMFI the other day and looped around the block to get a shot of it. Messages of love are so uplifting and this one made me smile the whole way home.

Karl the Courthouse Dog

I came across this story over the weekend and was crying reading about Karl. This is such a phenomenal idea and the part about the little girl on the witness stand rubbing Karl's fur with her toes made me sob out loud. Seriously the sweetest and most touching thing I've read in, I can't remember how long.

The K-9th Circuit Program in Orange County pairs children with therapy dogs to help them become more comfortable with the process of testifying in court. The dogs stay with the child through depositions and other questionings and all the way through to the trial, if necessary, and sometimes even after.

These children are in a difficult situation. Sometimes they’ve been abused or neglected. Sometimes they’ve witnessed abuse or neglect — or worse. It can be scary for these children to open up, especially to strange adults. That’s why dogs like Karl are important.

One child had to go through two depositions and a trial, and Karl stayed with her the whole time – without doing much at all.“It was a lot of hours on the witness stand, and Karl slept through the whole thing, which was really wonderful,” Hart-Rittenhouse said. “He did his job. Because she couldn’t really reach down to pet him, she kicked her shoes off and ran her toes through his fur and knew that he was there if she needed him. He accompanied her into the witness stand, which gives a child confidence.”

Karl is not just a courthouse therapy dog, though. He also visits a nearby hospice center, reads with children, and even has his own coloring book, in which he teaches children the proper ways to approach and care for dogs and other animals.

(photos and story kidnapped from dogster)

Maggie's Plan

On Sunday evening I went to the Bryn Mawr Film Institute to catch the latest Rebecca Miller flick. Since I really loved Personal Velocity and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee and I also adore Greta Gerwig (I think that she is incredible and genuine and honest in each role she takes on) I had no doubts that I was in for an enjoyable couple hours. Arriving wicked early, I took a seat toward the back and noticed that the crowd at the theatre seemed to be primarily retirees who provided non-stop entertainment for this little eavesdropper. My favourite moment was from the three ladies to my left who after spending way too much time complaining about the lack of visitor parking at their complex (apparently all the caregivers take the spots up front - why this is a problem is beyond me), anyway the one 70-something-ish gal relayed the story of a friend of hers who was lounging on the lawn and enjoying the sunshine. I felt truly blessed to have actually heard her say the following: "A rabid raccoon was being chased by a swan......ripped her arm right open...." Clearly I was horrified that some poor elderly woman was out catchin' some 'rays when she suddenly is attacked and maimed, but hearing someone say "A rabid raccoon was being chased by a swan" made me feel like I was overhearing the dialogue from a David Lynch film. It was very "there was a fish in the percolator." But I digress....

As the film came to a close, most of the theatre-goers were giving blah reviews on their way up the aisle toward the exit. It always makes me a little sad when people do this, since I really liked the movie, I feel like they are criticising me and my opinion. Anyway, after my suspicion was confirmed that the singer at the lodge in Quebec was the delightful Ms. Kathleen Hanna, I dashed to the loo. There I ran into a lovely early 30s gal with cute wire-rimmed glasses and a pale green sundress with a grey cardigan who asked me, "What did ya think?" while she washed her hands. I told her I liked it, that I feel that Greta Gerwig always gives a solid performance and how I have liked Rebecca Miller's other films, to which she replied, "She's like the feminist Woody Allen." I thought that was such a cute thing to say, but really, I don't think Rebecca Miller's style of film-making is similar to anyone else on the planet. Maggie's Plan could have been so typical and cliché, but it wasn't. It didn't try to be anything other than the story of the lives of a handful of people. It wasn't trying to be campy or screwball or melodramatic or Indy-New-York. It was a good film and why try to make it into anything other than that? I will say that I loved Travis Fimmel's character (almost as much as I loved Maggie's apartment and all of her books) the most out of everything. He seemed perfect - passionate about his pickle business (how freakin' cute is that?), generous, charming, quirky and a bit eccentric. Plus that beard... I'd pick his odd-ness over Ethan Hawke's hum-drum-ness anyday. All in all it was the perfect end to my weekend and there were no cockroach sightings like the last time I was at that theatre. Thank gawd!

(photo kidnapped from ew)

Bill Cunningham

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling still sleepy and not quite ready to join the waking world. I grabbed my cell and decided to check my IG account and scroll through some posts. That's when I saw a post (in my suggestions feed) with Bill Cunningham's face. I immediately thought the worst, which was confirmed when I read the post and saw the #RIP. On Saturday June 25th, the world lost a beautiful and remarkable person, Even though he may have had a long and exceptional life, full of colour and joy and kindness, I can't help but feel sad that he's gone forever; that he's taken his endearing and effervescent being to someplace else. Wherever he is, I hope Bill is smiling and riding his bicycle, snapping photos of fabulous things.

Grace VanderWaal

I am obsessed, obsessed with this girl's song. It is so beyond catchy and gorgeous - it is a gorgeous song. I need someone to secure this lady a record deal because I need more.

(photo kidnapped from youtube)

The Boy with the Arab Strap

One of the best albums ever. I first heard of this group back in those BMG / Columbia House days. Since I clearly liked The Smiths, having ordered as many of their CDs as the companies sold, they recommended Belle & Sebastian. I took their advice and all these years later I'm still listening to this album and it is as fresh and seductive as when I first played it, on my Sony Discman while lying on my Ikea bed in my teenage bedroom.

(photo kidnapped from genius)

Grantchester

Season one of this series is currently listed as "In Transit" in my library cart, which means this weekend I will be binging on a new TV series. Just as I finish season 3 of Vikings (which, btw, I totally loved this series even though so many of the characters irk me or gross me out.) I can prepare for some non-stop British hotness in the form of James Norton.

(photo kidnapped from telegraph.co.uk)

It's Back!!!

Got pulled from the phones at work, replaced the broken charger for my laptop with a brand spankin' new one, connected to Mama's wifi and cued up season 4 of Orange Is The New Black. Oh how I missed these gals...

(photo kidnapped from orange-is-the-new-black.wikia)

(ps - In episode 8 when Piper found out her brother was gonna be a father and asked him, "Do you know it's a boy?" and he replied, "I don't, not yet, but I am willing it to be a boy because women are terrifying." I literally LOL'd. Too stinkin' funny!)

The Daddy and the Bailey

Bailey is officially Sean's favourite night-night cuddle toy.

Anton

I still can't believe he's gone. What a remarkably talented young man who had so many more extraordinary performances ahead of him. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that the kid that first caught my eye as Byrd on Huff all those years ago is gone forever. (God, he was so good in that show...) What a craptastic year this has been for celebrity deaths. It's just awful.

(Anton Yelchin as Byrd Huffstodt in Huff - photo kidnapped from tvguide)

Love Wins

Amber snapped this photo whilst wandering around her lovely Windy City and I thought it was perfect so I kidnapped it and am sharing it with y'all!

Dublin City Hall Steps

Bernini's David

 

Farewell Again

Last night I picked up Ashlee after work and we drove out to the Dunkin' on Grant to sit in the lot and chit chat before she moves on to Jacksonville. This became our ritual when she moved to Virginia and every time she came home and then left again. She will be coming back home in October for a bit, but for now, it was nice to have some one on one time, even if we mostly goofed off and took silly photos.

Lucy Monkey

Got a chance to see m'newest niece the other night! I can't wait til she's a bit bigger so I can actually hold her and get in some snuggle time.

 

I Heart Michel

Yesterday I received this What's App text from my favourite Flemish fella, Michel, and it made me adore him even more than ever before. I love kindness and Michel is ranking right up there with the sweetest of sweeties. Ever since my last visit to Antwerp, he and I have kept in touch and it was just really unexpected and so thoughtful of him to check in on me. He's the dog's tuxedo, for sure.

Nomare

Tori Amos - Marianne
Nirvana - Polly
Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon
Nat King Cole - Mona Lisa
The Police - Roxanne
Robert Rodriguez - Marv
Pure Prairie League - Amy
Charles Mingus - Celia
Tony Bennett - Laura
The Smiths - William, It was Really Nothing
The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane
Hole - Jennifer's Body
David Bowie - Jean Genie
Elton John - Empty Garden (Hey, Hey Johnny)
Ben Folds Five - Kate
Tom Jones - Delilah
Stan Getz - Penny
Marry Me Jane - Tabitha
Tom Waits - Table Top Joe
Madonna - Jimmy, Jimmy
Beastie Boys - Ricky's Theme

- July 19, 2005

Bartram's Gardens

On Sunday Anne and I hit another local garden, this time it was John Bartram's gorgeous gardens just off the Schuylkill River. It was hotter than Hell out, but with crazy winds and lots of shade, we wound up having a lovely afternoon. I totally recommend visiting. It's free of charge, unless you want the house tour, which was only twelve bucks and definitely worth it, in my humble opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Downtown Cwood

Last Sunday I snapped these pics whilst strolling through Collingswood with m'gal pals. It's such a classic Main Street America town and I've always loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sponge Worthy

I am trying really hard to not buy random shit online. I have had my eye on this ever since I first saw it on Fishs Eddy and it's killing me (exaggeration) to not buy it, along with about seven other things on the site. I'm gonna sleep on it and see if I can resist it a bit longer...

Sound Advice

Growing up, I needed someone that thought I was funny, that laughed when I was silly and who saw the good in odd things and in odd people. Someone that I loved and respected so much that I believed them when they told me I was good enough; that I belonged. A person that convinced me that all the bad things that people said to me and about me were lies told by mean, misguided souls. If I had this person by my side in my young life, I might not be so bitter and sad all the time. I do try like hell to be this person for my nieces and nephews, but I often wonder who I would have become if I felt worthy.

Helen's Sketches

Check out Ms. Helen Coldwell's fabulous sketches of the characters in Vikings.

(Pretty freakin' incredible, huh? I'm tellin' ya, that Helen's got mad talent.)

Binge-worthy

So Helen Coldwell, the genius behind Bad Books, had posted a few things on Instagram about a series called Vikings. Then photos of the two main actors kept popping up in my feed for the beard oil companies I follow on IG (what a shameful thing to have to publicly admit - my obsession for furry faced men knows no bounds) and so finally I started asking around. No one I knew had seen Vikings and those that had heard of it knew absolutely nothing about the show. Over the weekend I snagged a copy of season one from the library and with exceedingly low expectations (since I loathed the first season of both Game of Thrones and Outlander and can't be bothered with either series and they seem to be in the same vein as Vikings) I settled in Saturday night and started disc one. Well damn it all to hell, I actually seriously really like the series. I'm not bananas over the fact that the Vikings just sort of storm into a village, kill everyone for no reason whatsoever and then make off with the goods, but I do like Lagertha - she's my fave character - and even though the lead guy is a vicious beast in many ways and I disagree with at least 97% of everything he does, he is portrayed with great depth and feeling. Ya gotta respect the writing and acting that goes into making a bad guy someone you don't completely like, but don't despise either. Season two and three, here I's come!

(photo kidnapped from pinterest)

All-Girl Weekend

Saturday afternoon I went to finally hang out with Ashlee and Miss Bailey. I scored tons of cuddle time with the wee one and introduced Ash to Hart to Hart, which of course, she really liked. She could not get over how full and fluffy and fabulous Stefanie Powers hair was. Ah, the hair do's of the late 70s and early 80s...

 

 

Then on Sunday Kat and Abi picked me up and we met Melanie and Lauryn in Cwood for lunch at Sabrina's. Abi had all of us in stitches with her cuteness. She was so well behaved and I even got my hands on the little porkchop to snuggle and steal some smooches. Abi is nothing if not super sweet and affectionate. Like her Mama!