Happy Thanksgiving

painting by Megan Miller

It's the time of year for each of us to reflect on what we're thankful for.


It's also that time of year that is so hard for so many of us.



I'll be missing my dad - but thankful he taught me about kindness and gentleness simply by living it every day of his life.



I'll be missing my mom - but thankful she taught me about speaking up and speaking out for myself and for what I believe in. 



I'll be missing Harley - but thankful for what he taught me about true trust and unconditional love.



I'll be missing loved ones who are no longer with me, but thankful for the fact that they once were in my life and will always be in my heart.  And for the lessons I learned from them.



I'm thankful and grateful for the loved ones in my life who put up with all the things that come with me being me.  They give me deep joy in ways most of them never realize. 



I'm thankful for Donald Barley, who has never wavered.  Who shows me in a million different ways, every day, that he cares.   



I wish each of you a Thanksgiving in which you can remember who and what you're grateful for, and give thanks.

A Great Man, and it ain't Trump

Dear Trump supporters,

In case you haven't figured it out yet, you've been played.

Conned.

Hornswaggled.

The list of campaign promises your guy made is already crumbling faster than that wall he promised you, but now says he won't be building.

Imagine that.

Throwing Hillary in jail?

Nah, changed his mind about attempting to do that too.

Instead he's enjoying the attention he's receiving from throwing temper tantrums on Twitter while showing the world that he's not only a bully, he's finally even showing his supporters what a liar he is.

A misogynist.

A guy who you voted to be a world leader of a democracy.

A guy who doesn't have the first clue about what our constitution says - nor does he care.

A guy who's meeting with world leaders with his kids, but hasn't met with the state department.

A guy who's costing NYC $1 million a day (according to some reports - you look it and come back and tell me I'm wrong if you want) because the White House doesn't exactly "suit" familial needs. 

If he's so rich, I'd suggest he pay for those costs. 

Family is important, I agree.

But.

Not just HIS family.

What about the families he's about to destroy?

If you don't believe me, just sit back, wait and see.

In the meantime, if you'd like something to read, might I suggest a speech written by a truly great man.

Elie Wiesel.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

I can guarantee you, this is not a prize Donald Trump will ever have a chance in hell in winning.

But.

Bless his heart, he's still pretty upset about that Emmy he never won, so he's probably not going to be too broken up about the Nobel Peace Prize.

But, here - give it a quick read, you might enjoy it.
http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org/nobelprizespeech.aspx

'course now, all this is just my opinion. I am, however, going to be interested in learning if any of you come to change your mind in the coming days.

Harley Doodle Barley - R.I.P.

July 4, 2005 - November 19, 2016

"My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet."  

~Edith Wharton

"There is a cycle of love and death that shapes the lives of those who choose to travel in the company of animals. It is a cycle unlike any other. To those who have never lived through its turnings and walked its rocky path, our willingness to give our hearts with full knowledge that they will be broken seems incomprehensible. Only we know how small a price we pay for what we receive; our grief, no matter how powerful it may be, is an insufficient measure of the joy we have been given." 

 - Suzanne Clothier

"I love a dog. 

He does nothing for political reasons."  

~Will Rogers

"Corgis are Welsh in origin . . . They're such characters - a mixture of a dog and a cat, I think. They especially don't like to be scolded in public. They talk back; they growl and show their teeth and pretend they're frightfully savage. However, they never criticize. You're always beautiful to them."

-excerpt from The Private World of Tasha Tudor 

"If you bury him in this spot, he will come to you when you call—come to you over the grim, dim frontiers of death, and down the well-remembered path, and to your side again. And though you call a dozen living dogs to heel they should not growl at him, nor resent his coming, for he is yours and he belongs there.

People may scoff at you, who see no lightest blade of grass bent by his footfall, who hear no whimper pitched too fine for mere audition, people who may never really have had a dog. Smile at them then, for you shall know something that is hidden from them, and which is well worth the knowing: The one best place to bury a dog is in the heart of his master."

-Ben Hur Lampman, Oregonian, 1925

I Loved You Best

by Jim Willis So this is where we part, My Friend, and you'll run on, around the bend, gone from sight, but not from mind, new pleasures there you'll surely find. I will go on, I'll find the strength, life measures quality, not its length. One long embrace before you leave, share one last look, before I grieve. There are others, that much is true, but they be they, and they aren't you. And I, fair, impartial, or so I thought, will remember well all you've taught. Your place I'll hold, you will be missed, the fur I stroked, the nose I kissed. And as you journey to your final rest, take with you this...I loved you best.

Joani McConnell Davis

oh, girl, how I will miss you

But what will I think of when I think of you?

Laughter.

Always, laughter.

Fly high, honey

A Bittersweet Week at the Beach

We spent last week at Topsail Island

I've posted a bunch of pictures for you to enjoy, and I'll let most of them speak for themselves.

It was a bittersweet week.


Good things included beautiful weather, being back at Whale Song, which is probably my favorite house we've ever rented at Topsail, getting to visit with Topsail friends and a fun, successful book signing.


Not such good things included missing our usual visit with the Marons on our way to Topsail.  Thinking this might be Harley's last visit to Topsail.


Hillary losing the election.


Emotions were all over the place, and there were tears aplenty.


Since I'm one to cry when I'm angry, or when I'm sad, or when I'm happy or when I'm in the presence of beauty - then, yes, you can imagine that just about anytime anyone looked at me, there were tears.


I usually try to put the photos in a daily narrative, but today I just really don't feel like doing that, so they're here kinda hodge-podge.  I hope you enjoy them anyway.


Topsail is a beautiful, beautiful spot - it can speak for itself.

Always fun to step into Quarter Moon Books to shop, have coffee (OR a glass of wine) and collect a hug from Lori, the owner.

These next few pictures were taken on Tuesday.  Election Day.

They were taken when we were feeling upbeat, happy and hopeful.

An election day tradition  -  Pizza

And apple pie, to be topped with ice cream, for  celebrating

and that's all I'm going to say about that.


for now.



A good many of these pictures were taken while we were just sitting on the deck.


Some by Donald, some by me.


If I wasn't on the deck or the screen porch, I was inside the house with one of the living room chairs turned to face the sliding glass doors so I could watch the waves from there.


Watching the waves. 

Watching the sky change.


 Listening.  


That's all I really wanted to do.



During the middle of the day, the weather was perfect, but it is, after all, November, so we had some chilly mornings and evenings.  

Chilly, but still perfect.

And we went to visit "my tree."

This is Whale Song.  

I wish it was ours.

I wrote a little while we were here, but not as much as I had anticipated.

But, I did have a spark or two of creative energy and, inspired by my friend, artist Shirley McElhaney, worked on this collage.

We took Harley for some walks on the beach.

Usually, he cannot get enough of the rolling in the sand, and getting his paws wet.

Not this year.

Short walks and he'd be tired and ready to go back inside.

The morning we left Topsail, we stopped by Sugar Island Bakery for their holiday event.

I signed books and had a good day of selling.

But, truth be told, if I hadn't sold a thing, it would have been fine fine fine.

Just spending time here is one of my favorite things to do while we're there.

This is Tana.  Hi, Tana!!!  💟

And, of course, I bought a few things - including this adorable tea towel embroidered by Lumina

This adorable woman is Samantha, who owns Sugar Island and bakes all those wonderful goodies you've been drooling over in these photos.

It was a great day.


Harley was invited too.

AND, he had a good day selling his book, also!