I Heart Dr. Davis

Being the huge-ass dork that I am, I have added the world's greatest dentist to my list of postcard and letter recipients. When I saw this here card in my mail-slot, I became embarrassingly giddy and said aloud, for only the ducks to hear, "oh yay!!!" This man really is the best of the bestest and a total sweetheart. My family loves this man without reservation and every ounce of praise we heap upon him is totes warranted. Wait til I tell them that Dr. Davis signed his card to me with his first name! Oh the jealousy they will feel...

Lynne Koplitz

Oh my LAWD...what a fresh voice. I love love loved this special. Thank goodness for Netflix, as it continues to introduce me to fabulous performers, stirring documentaries and outstanding series. But mostly, I love it for the laughs I get from people like Ms. Koplitz.

The City Fox on Bolton Street

Ardverikie Gate House

This building in Scotland is so crazy charming that the main house pales in comparison. At least in my opinion.

(photo kidnapped from ardverikie)

Bishop and the Beet

This morning I picked Bishop up at his place and after gabbing with his hubby, Pax, we were off to Heart Beet! Bish had never been there before, so we kinda splurged. Everything was delicious, as usual, and I was so relieved that he liked everything he tried. It was nice to just hang out with Bishop, since the last time we did anything just us was when we saw Skyfall in the theatre in December of 2012 which is appalling.

Bishop said of everything he tried that his fave was the Gingery Carrot soup of the day.

Mmmmm......guac and blue corn chips....

The special for today was smoked bacon, pesto and cashew grilled cheese sandwich. It was yummy, but the Coconut BLT still reigns supreme for me. Yeah, I ordered that as well.

I'm not a portobello fan, but Bishop ordered the Portobello Burger and said it was really satisfying.

Then back to drop off the big lug and say our goodbyes. Ain't he the cutest, tho? (Well, aside from me, of course.)

The In-Between 'do

I had to bleach my hair again before colouring it magenta once more before Autumn begins. I think I'm gonna leave it be for a week or so because it turned out in a groovy kinda ombré, with my roots becoming a buttery yellow and the magenta/purple into a pale pink. Fun, right?

Dorothy Loudon

Last night I watched the effervescent Alexandra Billings' (oh my gosh, I adore her!!) Instagram story. It featured tons of clips of Dorothy Loudon. Ms. Billings does this a lot and previously I've known all of the artists - Eartha Kitt, Judy, Ethel Merman, Elaine Stritch, etc. - but Ms. Loudon was completely unknown to me. I dashed over to iTunes and downloaded the Original Broadway Cast recording of Ballroom and am currently obsessed with the song Fifty Percent. I have listened to it all day at work and have had YouTube clips of her playing in the background. Her interview on Merv Griffin made it clear that she was a warm and funny lady. I had to message Ms. Billings and thank her for introducing me to such a magnetic performer. If you, dear reader, do not know of Dorothy Loudon - check her out. She is spectacular.

What Best Friends Are For

Last night was not great. In fact it stunk out loud. As luck would have it, BFF Amy texted me right when I needed her. 

I'm almost completely guilt free about what happened because I did everything right and was not careless, but I feel absolutely wretched that I was the one that killed that poor little creature. When I'm having a horrible day or depressed, I'll watch silly or cute videos of animals online. Now whenever there's a cat one on IG I'm reminded of my kitty's last moments and how it was all my fault. I can't help feeling that from now on, every time I pull out of a parking space or see the feral cats at my complex, or even a cat, I'll replay what happened. 

Luckily this afternoon I had a coaching session at work with my advisor, who is just a wonderful and warm lady that I really do adore. Karen started off and asked how I was and I said "I'm fine", to which she immediately replied, "what's wrong...." Her sympathetic tone caused me to immediately burst into tears and confess that I accidentally killed a feral cat last night. She spent the next thirty five minutes calming me down. Before we hung up I had already started to feel better. True to form, I've filled out a thank you note to her and will drop it in the mail at the end of my shift. She deserves it! Kindness is never out of style and I'm so thankful to have so many kind and loving people in my life.

5 Flights Up

What a good movie!! I really liked Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton as a couple. Definitely a film to help one relax at the end of a long workday. 

Dumb and Dumber No More

The cutest five year old in existence finally scored a decent haircut. Xavier took Jax to a new gal at the salon and said "no bangs" to which the stylist replied, "Right, no Dumb and Dumber, got it." It's so much better. Those bangs were less than stellar.

Tír na nÓg Stools

Sunday Classic in Phxville!

I seriously love seeing some of my favourite films on the big screen. I also love introducing the kids in my life to classic movies like William Wyler's How To Steal A Million. Kay and I had a marvelous time being the only ones in the balcony, sharing a big ole bag of popcorn and enjoying all the mad-cap silliness that this fab film offers.

One of these years I will attend Phoenixville's Blobfest!!

Heart Beet with Sis

Today I got a chance to have lunch with my sister-in-law. I've converted yet another person to the delightfulness that is Heart Beet Kitchen! 

We started off by splitting an Earl Grey Cupcake with Orange flavoured icing. The cake part was a bit gooey, but the frosting was divine!

Next up was the bruschetta with strawberries, cherries, mint, basil and balsalmic dressing drizzled over top. So light and refreshing.

Sis got Peanut Free Pad Thai Noodles which she devoured and adored.

I actually tried something new today - the Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich. It was mega spicy (I'm a wimp in the spice department, so I'm sure most people would find this to be mega-mild) but chock full of flavours and really hit the spot.

Just so you know, these lil' chocolate fudgey cake bars were absolutely scrumptious.

Sweetness Overload!

This text from Kayla last night definitely made up for the crappy one I'd received earlier in the day from my godson. I asked MJ when he was free to hang out and he said April. April. When I assumed he was kidding he said he wasn't and that April was better for him because that's when school slows down. I'd like to point out that it is in fact still Summer right now and he is not currently in school. Clearly his response was code for "I have zero interest in seeing you." Like, seriously? You can't spare two hours on a Saturday or Sunday within the next eight months to have me pick your ass up and buy you lunch while providing stirring and enlightening conversation? Ugh, I was so annoyed and hurt. Anyway, Kayla, who I'd like to point out is an A student who takes her academic life extremely seriously, does make time for me and is actually looking forward to hanging out on Sunday. She texted me out of the blue and for no reason. That's the best isn't it? When someone just sends you a message to say hi with no questions or favours; just wanting to say hello. I love it. And I love Kay. 

Fun Time Photo Shoot

Th other night Kimmy and I met up for a late dinner at Tír na nÓg, a pub halfway between our homes. It was only the second time we'd hung out in person and the first as just us. The conversation was easy and covered such topics as juicing, veganism, music from our past (like Debbie Gibson, Depeche Mode, The Cure, and so on), fathers and the roles they have in our lives, nieces and nephews, work, coworkers, Debbie Harry, how happy we both are for Jennifer Aniston and Justin Threoux as well as Amal and George Clooney and how truly odd it is to care so much about people we have never met, old Zenith and Magnavox TVs where the kids were the remote control/clicker/wand because we had to get up, go across the room and change the channel for our parents, the old Plastic Fantastic shop, the awesomeness that is records and record players, movies, mutual friends, Nana Irma and her fantastic style, "kids these days", and friendships that we had once that were so strong but seem to fade away over the years. We stayed til just before closing and honestly, the four hours we shared went by in the blink of an eye. We goofed off and took some photos then walked to our cars and each indulged in a Nat Sherman Fantasia cigarette, in pink, of course. It was one of the best nights I've had in a very long time and we parted ways with hugs and more hugs and lots of "I love you"s. I cannot wait for next time because we didn't even get a chance to discuss travel!

What To Do

With all the scariness and nonsense going on lately, one can often feel powerless. It can seem that the only thing one can do to make a difference is to take to the streets and join a protest. This is not true. There are plenty of options and I am so thankful to my beloved Maria Bamford for sending out this email. It was the perfect thing to motivate me to write a post in regards to Charlottesville, the current state of this Country, and the fact that we still have to remind people that Black Lives Matter.

Please visit the Southern Poverty Law Center and put their Ten Ways to Fight Hate into action in your life. They are as follows and are a great jumping off point to finding new ways to help.

Act

Join Forces

Support the Victims

Speak Up

Educate Yourself

Create an Alternative

Pressure Leaders

Stay Engaged

Teach Acceptance

Dig Deeper

Do all of the above or even just one and do it with a core of non-violence and peace. It's not easy and often is damn near impossible to act calmly and peacefully when something like hatred and bigotry in others can fill you with such blinding rage. Push past that and act in kindness. Nothing is more fulfilling or beautiful than living a life of kindness. Pass that ish on! Focus on the good that exists and persevere through all this madness and horror and do all you can to better the space you occupy in this universe and make it a space of goodness for everyone. Especially the haters. They are the most damaged ones of all. Ugh, I know that came off as so Pollyanna or Dalai Lama, but I really and truly hope hope hope that things will get better. Love love!!

Marietta

Gwen Guthrie Bringin' Us Together

These past couple years Bishop and I seem to be drifting apart a bit. I feel like he's not putting any effort into our friendship and that if we were dating, I'd have broken up with him ages ago. But I love the big lug and so I see him when I want to, rather than feeling I have to go over every Sunday. I have sort of accepted that this is the way it is now. I can either take the time he's willing to dole out to me or walk away. There's over a decades worth of history with us, with some very sweet moments of real compassion and love, herds and herds of laughs and a strong connection that I really miss. I'm not quite ready to release all that for good. Then tonight I get a text like this one and I feel like melted velvet all over.

Livin' La Vida Loca

Marina and I were out and about buying e.l.f. facial exfoliating brushes. Exciting, no? We old broads know how to par-tay and turn the shit OUT!

Death Comes to Pemberley

I haven't read Pride and Prejudice (shameful, I know, I plan to! Really I do!) nor have I checked out the fab follow-up-concept novel, Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. However, I have seen the BBC version of P&P and loved it like a newborn kitten's meow. The characters were so perfectly played by each actor and yet, when first watching Pemberley a couple years ago I found that I never once compared the actor's to those that had previously enveloped the role for the BBC. They were all so flawless and captivating and it's such a fun, fun series to watch again and again.

(Last photo kidnapped from frockflicks - I love this shot. It just makes me smile.)