BFF

These two get each other

Wha????

If you haven't seen this, it's like you can hear Beyonce's bank account kaching-ing from the endorsement money. Because otherwise I cannot fathom WHY on earth you'd make this video. Paul and I each have our favorite parts, and it gets better each time you watch it. Enjoy!

What was that like again??

You know how great it is when you're on vacation, and the feeling of, oh, peace, lasts for a few days, then you just have to be content with photos and the odd "that was a great trip, wasn't it?" Paul and I were in Vail a couple of months ago and went on a beautiful hike up Vail Mountain and stopped by this creek. I guess it could be a bit Jack Handy-ish, but it can also remind you of the feeling you had on that last vacation that you need to be reminded of every now and then. Slight, crisp chill, clean mountain air, and the knowledge that there's nothing you have to do and no one whose calls you have to take. Well, maybe just not right at that moment anyway ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Sorry I haven't posted much in the last week. It was a rough time after Smokey, and a few things have been going on. But on a much lighter note, there isn't a holiday movie I love more than Home for the Holidays except for the incomparable It's A Wonderful Life. But for Thanksgiving, it's this! I know I'll be watching it tomorrow... Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone, wherever you may be and whomever you may be with.

Goodbye Smokey 1997-2007

Paul and I decided after a rough two weeks to put Smokey the cat down this afternoon. For those of that you don't know, two weeks ago tonight we realized something was not right with him, and ended up finding out that he was in renal failure, a very common disease for cats, and also one that does not carry a very good prognosis. We took him to a specialist, had him monitored for 5 days at the vet, and hoped that we could continue to take care of him at home, even if it meant giving him extra care with IV's. What became clear after just one week was that he was not getting better, eating only enough for the minor sustenance, and so we began to wonder what his life was beginning to be like. He was weak but spirited, as best he could be, and it was a painless end. We decided to bury him in the backyard of our new home, and now he will always be with us and the a part of the future we began imagining when he was still healthy. He was a great cat, we were lucky. Goodbye Smoketilla the Hun, Smokedog, Kitschy. XXX

Off-the-Grid Campaign Ads

What's great about the out-of-nowhere candidates like Ron Paul, aside from an invigorating shot to the debate, are his supporters. Only an outside-the-establishment, grass-roots kind of organization can spawn this. Kinda catchy... if you see any other creative upstarts, for any candidates, send them to me and I'll post them.

How Come We Can Go To The Moon, But We Can't....

So I'm going to start a recurring post titled "How come we can go to the moon but we can't xyz.."
Because it completely baffles me how ingenious man can be, the things he can dream up and achieve, and then juxtapose that with some just completely asinine creation. Like our inaugural item:
How come we can go to the moon but we can't make an easier container to open than these ultra-hard plastic, be careful-after-you-cut-it-because-you-may-hurt-yourself-getting-that-super-important-shaving-mirror-out!
Seriously!

The Other, First, Pets

So someone mentioned that it seems a bit unfair to Gypsy and Smokey that only Monte is represented on the new blog. I totally agree (if Gypsy knew she'd behead Monte at this point). So here are a few photos of the dynamic duo as they were before life with the new puppy, and one of Gypsy the day that Monte came home - man, I love this photo; she looks sooooo mischievous!

That song

If you guys have been bopping like Paul and I to that song in the new iPhone commercial, here it is:

The Best Idea

So before they shuttered their doors, House & Garden left us with a few, last interesting tidbits. Like Charles Best (above), who was a recent Yale graduate working at an inner-city NY school when he had the idea to start a site called DonorsChoose.org. It's a terrific solution to helping our often embattled teachers and faculty who, for whatever reason - bureaucracy, lack of funds, whatever - cannot find the funding to initiate programs or learning opportunities for their kids. But now they can, because we the enterprising public can search through their short proposals that say all the why, when, where and how much that we need to know about what's needed. It is holiday time, and this is definitely a gift that keeps on giving. You can also partially fund projects, so get a group together and go in on it to spread some cheer!

www.donorschoose.org

Goodbye House & Garden

House & Garden magazine very swiftly announced its closing, just as its December issue (its last) reached stands. This magazine was always my favorite, even before we began building our home. There was something so comforting about it as we began to build our life, since it was really about that, a well-lived life, as the tag line read, and they never disappointed. Thoughtful and beautiful, it will be sorely missed by me and scores of others. Even my husband (no H & G fan himself) called me from a business trip when he heard the news, wanting to be the one to break it. What will be missed all really came from the deft hand of the editor, Dominique Browning, whose letters themselves were a pleasure to read each month. Below an excerpt from her final one, published online at houseandgarden.com.

What she describes here is exactly the reason I've been working so hard on our new home, to make every tiny detail something that is much larger than the sum of its parts. This home is supposed to feel enveloping and faithful, like it has been there forever, steadfast, and ready to hold our hands as we pass through a series of unpredictable milestones ... (even if I planned it that way...)

Thank You, and Farewell

“Houses and gardens have inspired wonderful writing and thinking for many, many years—centuries, really. And the reason is that the most important things happen at home, and home shapes us as we head out into the world, to engage with the issues of the day, and we bring all those concerns home with us again. Our magazine showed beautiful rooms, perfect in their design, and what I wanted to talk about was how things aren't always perfect in those rooms—we make messes, and we ponder how to fix them, and we wish and hope that we can make homes in which we can let in only the good, and keep the bad out.”

Monte's one-week anniversary

It is a dog's life. And if it isn't, it should be!