Since my last post

I have developed sciatica, which sounds like some sort of beautiful flower (I arranged bunches of lovely pink and blue sciatica) but is actually a darn painful condition. It could be worse ( I would rate the pain as only 3-4 on a scale of 1-10, so that's not too bad) but it has certainly slowed me down. Ah well - it will probably go away on its own in another week or so.

Neil has been in and out of the hospital.

When we returned from Lambertville last Friday, he developed chills and a low fever. Went to the doc and had a blood test. Sunday morning the doc called and told him to get to the hospital.

It was a blood infection, and IV antibiotics took care of it. We never did find out the cause.

I turned in the final draft (I hope) of the article I'm writing for In Trust. I graded many papers for the online course I teach. I went to work and did work stuff.

Mr. Bean has been very good; he does have a weird way of lying down, though.

And now I'm getting ready for an overnight visit from Neil's brother and his wife this weekend. Getting ready slowly, limping a bit - but still very happy to be having company!

Twenty-four hour getaway, forty-five minutes from home

Last Thursday we drove to lovely Lambertville, New Jersey (about 45 minutes from home) and used a Christmas present - a LivingSocial voucher for the Chimney Hill Estate Inn Bed and Breakfast.

In addition to a nice old farmhouse (the older part built in 1820, the newer part in 1920), this B&B has suites in the "barn" (it's not like any barn I ever saw), and is also an alpaca farm.

Upon arrival we were given a bottle of wine, a $50 certificate for dinner at a local restaurant, a $25 voucher for the alpaca-related item gift shop, and two bags of alpaca food. (Plus a voucher for a tour of a local winery, which we didn't use. I remember being so thrilled with my first winery tour, and with the next three or four, and then it started to all seem like just a sales pitch to try to get you to buy wine, and the thrill was over, just like that.)

But this was my first experience with alpacas, so I was suitably entertained. The alpaca herd is guarded by a pair of llamas, although I forgot to ask what they are protecting the alpacas from. Llamas look a little more intimidating than alpacas:

Alpacas seem to have some rather serious dental situations going on, but they nibble food right out of your hand with their almost prehensile lips, resting those enormous bottom teeth against your hand. It's weird, but not unpleasant.

Dinner was at Anton's at the Swan.

I had duck breast.

Neil had a steak.

This was one of the best dinners we've ever had. In the top twenty without a doubt.

But I will remember Anton's not only for the food, but because it had the only women's room I've been in that is decorated with erotic posters, magazine covers, and art - not hard core, mostly just funny stuff. Still, I've been in a lot of women's restrooms and I've never before seen one with such an obvious theme. Perhaps I've just been going to the wrong restaurants.

The next morning we woke up a couple hours before breakfast was served, so we drove into Lambertville to a local beanery (I've been wanting to use that word!), Rojo's Roastery. The owners are very serious about coffee. Inside, tables and chairs are placed inside space that is filled with huge bags of coffee beans, a vintage gas-fired roaster, and lots of coffee equipment. I wish they had been roasting beans while we were there:

Then we drove back to Chimney Hill for breakfast, which was Heavenly Bananas, bacon, home fries, and a sausage and cheese strada. Everything was great except the coffee, which tasted like water after the good coffee we had just had at Rojo's.

We said good-by to the alpacas, and got rid of the rest of the alpaca kibble.

There was time to sit on the little balcony outside our bedroom and read a few poems.

And time to look at some of the outbuildings on the property. I don't know whether or not this is a common type of shed, but it looks unusual to me.

We visited the alpaca gift store, where we exchanged our gift certificate for a man's tie and a little coin purse for our granddaughter. But there were lots of other knit and woven items, very pretty.

We drove across the Delaware River to New Hope, which is Lambertville's sister city. Both are tourist towns, very old - lots of restaurants, galleries, antique stores, book stores, gift shops. A bicycle club was visiting on this perfectly gorgeous day.

You can't tell from the photo, but it was a group of more than twenty cyclists, and they are all over 60 years old.

On the main street there is a church that has been turned into a restaurant.

I admired the hand-crafted items for sale, with a very contented non-desire to purchase anything at all. (What a pleasant change from the continual frustration of my earlier years, when I wanted to OWN everything I admired.)

If I did have lots of money I might be tempted to buy odd things, like this etagere featuring carved monkeys.

You can't really appreciate it until you look a little closer.

 It's probably a good thing that I don't have $28,000 to throw around casually. It seems as though it could be one of those impulse purchases you regret later.

I walked across the bridge between the two towns, while the peaceful Delaware flowed calmly below.

Because New Hope and Lambertville are both centers of artistic endeavors, you will sometimes see an odd grouping of items in someone's back yard, perhaps waiting for use in an installation, perhaps just a collection to be admired.

The clothing stores have their own ways of getting the attention of shoppers.

And other shops advertise on benches.

All in all, it was a lovely way to spend Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon. What a refreshing change of pace for just twenty-four hours.

Meet Mr. Bean

I'm in the middle of a busy patch, which is actually nice - not complaining.

The online class is off and running, and this is a large group - 27 students the first week, but the number will probably decrease over the next few weeks. These classes are very compressed - lots of work in just 11 weeks, and online classes require a great deal of self-discipline. I really like the students.

Also in the last stretch of writing an article for In Trust. Lots of interviews, lots of good stuff.

But the big news is that last Saturday afternoon, Neil and I were driving home from grocery shopping, talking about getting a dog or cat. We've been petless for the last seven or eight years, probably the longest time we have been without an animal companion.

Still talking about pets, we pulled into the Sam's Club parking lot, because we have also been talking about getting a membership. Would it be worth the $50? Would it just encourage us to buy huge amounts of stuff we don't really need?

There was a pet adoption event on the sidewalk next to Sam's Club, in front of Pet Smart. A group of dog fosterers called Almost Home. About twenty dogs, all ages and sizes and types.

Lots of charming dogs - some handsome, some cute, some young and frisky. Off to one side was a lady sitting with a small black dog. We walked over and met Mr. Bean.

He immediately sat in front of us and stared at us searchingly. We bent down to pet him, and he was perfect - quiet, friendly, polite. I didn't really want to, but I fell in love.

Mr. Bean moved in the very next day. We are amazed at what a great dog he is. He's obedient, patient, and quiet. He likes to play and he loves to sit in our laps. He knows how to sit, down, stay, and heel. Apparently he can roll over on command, although I haven't been able to get him to do this (my son can do it, though). He doesn't eat much (a cup of dry food daily). He doesn't jump up, rummage through the garbage, or chew things. We have yet to hear him bark (I hope this isn't the sign of some kind of problem).

So why was he up for adoption? The story is that he loves people but doesn't get along with other animals. So we were worried about Mr. Bean trying to fight the dog next door or snarling at other dogs when we walk around the block.

But he's fine. He seems completely unconcerned by other dogs. In fact, Mr. Bean is, so far, an ideal pet.

By the way, we walked through Sam's Club and looked around and decided not to join.

Big weekend

Big, unexpected doings this weekend.

New member of the family, after about seven years of being petless.

It's all good, but I don't have time to do this event justice tonight.

So I'll just post a photo of a small event this weekend - I made braised radishes (including wilted radish leaves) with a miso butter sauce.

I'll try to post news of Mr. Bean tomorrow.

Tulips and azaleas and lilacs

About seven years ago I bought a flower arranger thingy at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Then we moved two times, and it was packed away for several years.

I brought it out of the attic today, and tried it again. Before you add flowers, it looks like this.

Then you put a little water into each tiny vase.

Then you just add whatever you can find.

If you have the time and inclination, you can buy baby's breath and other additions, but I have found that this looks pretty good no matter what I happen to have on hand.

I even took it outside to get a photo in the sunlight.

This is a purchase I do not regret. So nice to unpack it and use it again after so many years!

Easter Sunday visiting, 2012

In addition to seeing my beautiful granddaughter, I saw my pensive grandson.

And a very shy cat:

What does an 8-year-old girl collect?

And how about a boy in his early teens?

A lovely day.

"I don’t own any of his paintings, nor am I drawn to them. Yet, I can see that someone could find in them a small respite from the common driving life. I won’t begrudge anyone that."

This article in a 2009 issue of First Things on the art (or "art," if you're a snob about it) of Thomas Kinkade was fascinating to me, and the comments are quite interesting, too. Very interesting and enlightening back and forth about popular art.

Before I read this article I had never seen Kinkade's earlier work, and it seems that it is exactly the kind of art I love, very evocative of a specific time and place. Later he learned how to create pictures that are evocative of a time and place that have never existed, and that appeals to other people.

Really truly spring

Just a few photos of the flowers in the front. First, the bulbs that were planted two years ago continue to bless us with their loveliness.

And the flowers no one needs to plant, because they just come up every year no matter what, are also providing good cheer.