But Call Me Betsy

We had Carrie's baby shower a couple of weekends ago, and I took just a few photos. Here they are.I didn't take a ton, because it made me feel self-conscious and plus impaired my ability to eat everything. Participants were given a letter of the alphabet to create a baby book. My letter was "L." Dan helped me make it. Ioana and Stephanie did the decorations. It was a French theme. Carrie and Padhriag got to keep the adorable baby clothes and shoes circa 1950s Jenn Bing and I made the party favors--little earrings out of baby buttons + chocolate + a little candle. This is Jeanne's dog, Dasher. He was exhausted by the end. Twins. Both are nice (I'm told), though one is harder to get to know (they say). Aside from my own letter, I thought "P" turned out very well too. A giant brie. Our host, Jeanne. Carrie's mom, Joyce, is on the right. I do not know the other lady. Carrie used to collect antiques, so this...

Mom sent me these two pictures of her new quilt challenge. I can't remember exactly what the challenge was--maybe to create a quilt that focuses on reading or on the brain. But anyway, she made this quilt and you'll notice that it's covered in small handwriting; all of which she did herself. Look closely. Those are all handwritten words. See the detail? I wish I had that kind of patience, but I don't. I also have never really learned to sew, despite my mother's many attempts to get me into it and the many sewing machines she's bought me, including the very nice Singer sewing machine currently in my second bedroom.. I like things to be done immediately. If I could make an outfit out of paper and glue, I would do it and wear it out the door. I took a class in college when I was a drama major--something like Costume I and it was taught by this very tall and thin man named Fred (? I think?)and I had the distinct feeling that Fred didn't like me, but ...

I can't even begin to tell you the clatter these high heels made on the subway steps. Here is a cat who looks like he's in jail. And another who is very casual. This is a photo from this morning's walk to the subway. Very mysterious And just so you don't think I"m too cat-centric, here is a dog from Alumni Weekend this past May. And his buddy. I am 95% sure that I will be going to Home Depot again today for sandpaper and to have keys made. Let me know if you need me to pick you up anything. They know me by name now.

Ernesto. I screened that bitch out. Here is a terrible picture attempting to depict the screen roll-away door that Dan added to my back patio. It's ingenious, especially for a house like mine, wherein the door frame would need to be built out to add an actual door. This one rolls out and attaches via magnets, so you don't have have hinges or anything complicated. Dan installed it and almost right away, Emma Carol charged it and actually ran under the screen, as if she had suddenly morphed into water. For whatever reason, this didn't break the screen, but I could see it might be a problem in the future. I also bought a ceiling fan at Home Depot this weekend for $70. I'm going to hire someone to put it in. Dan has refused on the grounds that he might short circuit the entire house.

The bad news first: I killed my free dogwood tree. It's totally crispy and brown. It's because I didn't water it enough. The good news is that I had an air conditioning company come out on Tuesday, and the guy fixed the central air for a mere $312. It's totally worthy it, though of course, I was hoping it would cost just the standard $89 for a tune up. He had to replace some kind of metal thing. I also learned where my filters are located. The one that the guy pulled out looked like it had 15 years worth of cat hair on it, which is probably accurate. So, immediately after that, Dan and I went to Lowe's and bought new filters. I put it in myself. Hooray! The other house improvement we made was to add a rolling screen door on the back patio. Previously, I couldn't get any cross ventilation b.c there was no back screen door, but then my sister-in-law mentioned this accordion-type screen door thing, so we bought that and Dan finished it up on Tuesday too. A miracle....

Now that it's officially summer (and HOT. And my central air appears to be broken so that I sleep most nights flat on my back on top of the covers with two fans blowing on me), sandals and flip flops are back in. I don't think I ever even wore flip flops until maybe the last 5 years. I've never gotten used to having a piece of plastic wedged between my two front toes. I have maybe one pair that I can wear for any length of time. But here are a couple of examples of summer foot wear that you will not catch me in: You can't really tell in the photograph below, but those are white patent leather shoes. How did these women get down or up the subway stairs without tripping and knocking out their two front teeth? And then, not to go too far off topic, but I admire the bravery and unselfconsciousness of the man below, who is happy to read his subscription of Wood magazine on the subway without shame. I wonder what the articles are like and how, if you were a contributor ...