My Dad...

He always called me his first love...he always bought me little special things my whole life long...a thermos for school...a chunky silver charm bracelet that I have still...a little coffee pot like his that I said I loved. He loved my cats and had treats waiting for them, too. He packed my lunch on my first day of teaching school. He helped me buy my first car...he wanted me to live at home forever...my one and only dad.

I can only go by what I am feeling but...I don't think it ever gets easier or better...I think you just put it in the back of your mind...and I imagine what it would be like if he was still here. Den and I talk about how much he would have loved our house and the pond...and feeding the ducks...we so wanted him to be well enough to come here...and he wanted that, too. He would have armed himself with bread every day...and walked and made sure the ducks and geese were fat and sassy. But...it wasn't meant to be. So...I think of him...and hold one of his soft flannel shirts...the ones he loved and no one got why I wanted them...and...








I think of him...I think of him every day...I look at photos of him...and I look at my collection of his soft flannel shirts that I can't bear to part with...and I miss him still...

Happy Father's Day, Dad...

Finally...A Sunny Saturday!

Woke up to a down filled back yard! That's a duck...the spot just beyond my hammock poles!




And the goose family came back from the other pond...they had 7 babies but only 2 are left...so sad...the babies look just like their parents now but they can't fly!


They all sit under or close to the deck and wait for us to fill the feeders. Roxie and Lucy love watching them...especially Roxie...Lucy got bored and wanted inside. She abandoned Roxie and me!


Today the air is turned off...we are doing yard work and having deck time...grilling turkey burgers tonight...with salad and watermelon for dessert!


Still reading this...still really loving it...


What are your Saturday plans?


Buona Lettura!

Pondering Summer Stuff...Shoes In Particular!

I still can't stop titling posts as though they were bulletin boards...sheesh!

I love this warm tan color!

Want these...Nordstrom's...





Want these...Sundance...love their shoes!








And these...from Free People!






Love comfy comfy shoes! Love this color!

Love wedges...love flats...love sandals!

What about you? Flats, higher heels, wedges? Or just barefooted all summer long?

Oh...by the way...I am still
reading this and LOVING it...it razzle dazzles me!



Buona Lettura!

Wow...Wicked Weather!

I have never seen so much wind, rain and lightning! I was sitting in the dark at around 9 this morning...sipping coffee...and praying...you could not see outside...except for lightning flashes...Den is sitting in the airport in St. Louis trying to get home before the next storm comes in a few hours...of course the phone was ringing but my mom always said not to answer the phone if it was lightning so that was even worse...worser...more worse...lol.

The entire time I was trying to figure out how to get two kitties and one birdie to safety. Amazingly the kitties did not seem that stressed by the storm. And now it's really quiet...but it's supposed to come again later. Hopefully it won't. But even yesterday the ground was so squishy from all of this rain...so I guess it will be even squishier.

Finished this...good but not as good as I wanted it to be...


Reading this...oh so good...I need a bit of YA...sort of a secret society paranormal mystery. This is my break from all the adult dysfunction I have been reading.


Want these...with battery operated tea lights I can hang them everywhere! I think I will!


Bought this...it's yummy, oversized and awesome with jeans!



Bought this...comfy go everywhere dress! I love dresses in the summer!



My airport shoes...sorry, Juju! Really comfy!



What's your favorite summer go to outfit? I really need to know!

Buona Lettura!

Life!

Finished this...who knew Dottie had such a snarky sense of humor...lol...and husbands such as the ones in this book can not exist...right? The kind who play golf every week end and take their wives for granted or turn them in for a younger model...no way! This book was way too much fun!



Reading this...it's good...really good...it reeks of family dysfunction and I only just started it this morning!



This was a day filled with errands...before Den comes home...and that means lots of different stores...
Target for Target stuff...Pier 1 for room spray and big white coffee mugs...that I don't need...PetCraze for the Weruva Turkey Duck wet food that my girls are inhaling this week and for Grammy's Pot Pie and Turducken...their other faves. My last stop was Whole Foods but there is a huge roadblock in the same little plaza as Whole Foods...and it's called Bejamin Lovell Shoes...be still my beating heart...I needed a pair of shoes that I can walk/ run through airports in...and I found a pair...cute but still comfy! Mission accomplished!

I am always looking for comfy yet trendy shoes...what about you?

Buona Lettura!

Oh My...

We are having really weird weather here. Supposedly a small tornado touched down last night...not far away. We lost power once and I think it rained most of the night.

Today was a day of setting up the kitty tent...then carrying each kitty out and zippering them up in the tent...setting out the furniture pillows...getting iced tea...getting just the right sunglasses...getting my book...only to have the wind mess up everything...the tent blew over with kitties inside...I had to rescue everyone and get everything put away minutes before another downpour. Whew! If the tent was in the ground it would have been fine...but on the deck...it's like a kite in the wind...plus I have learned that cats aren't fond of wind...and one drop of rain puts them into a frenzy!

Reading this...perfect for this time of year...I love it!


These three books have been popping up lately...this one is supposed to be similar to a Sex And The City...kind of mystery...location...NYC!


This one...I think is very Southern...and is about a dysfunctional Southern family...I could not resist and bought Restrike...the other was available on Amazon Vine for review...there is just something about this cover...


This one...is more spiritual...people who have died are coming back home exactly as they left...this one has me fascinated! I have this one, too...thank you to Harlequin...I will read it soon.


With that said...I am off to read!

Buona Lettura!

I Got Nothin!

I think I am going to call this my unBEA post...


I didn't go to BEA...so I have no photos of towering stacks of books, authors, restaurants or special invitations to publisher parties...heck...if I ever went to BEA I would be the person wandering around the Javits Center like a lost soul. Savvy bloggers would cut in front of me in line and I would probably let them. I don't even have a Blogger Business Card...is there such a thing?



It's not that I have never been to NYC...we have...dozens of times...we can take the Acela and be there in an hour...we have favorite restaurants...we usually stay at the W near where the Farmers Market is...we go to shows...always have lunch at Union Square Cafe...and slip into P.J. Clark's because it's our tradition. We try to find time for Balthazar's...another gem. We have eaten at Daniel Boulud's famed restaurant...spent an entire day at the Natural History Museum...and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. I want to go soon to walk the High Line...and eat shaved ice in the heat...because of a show I just saw on the Cooking Channel. One of my favorite things in the world was eating hot sweet peanuts from a vendor in NYC at Christmas time...and a hot dog on the stairs of the Natural History Museum right before an IMax dolphin show.












I look at everyone's BEA photos with interest and if I am totally honest with me...envy...especially when I see all those books...it seems as though everyone gets hundreds of books...literally hundreds...people seem to spend a lot of time mailing books home to themselves.

But...I can't imagine myself ever going to an actual BEA...it just seems overwhelming...too much to take in...too much going on...exhausting...for me...any way...it kind of reminds me of school...in a weird way. I could see myself being excited about going but once I saw crowds and lines...slipping away and going back to my room or to Soho or Greenwich or a bookstore...that's more me...or a least it's the me I think I am.

So...the BEA posts are finally winding down...I am dealing with my envy...sort of...especially for anyone who got this book...sigh!


Buona Lettura!

Today...

Reading this...by the author of What Alice Forgot...which I didn't read...this one is fabulous!



Spending a quiet day at home...yesterday was frantically busy...today I don't want to do anything. The skies are dark...we are supposed to have more rain tomorrow...so we are hunkering down until the sun shines again!

Buona Lettura...

I think I forgot to mention that is Happy Reading in Italian...I am searching for a cool way to end each post...I have a dear friend who says "Toodles" at the end of each post...I quite like that so I am trying to find what works for me...perhaps a different language monthly?

We shall see!