Goodbye Teddy

I watched Ted Kennedy's memorial service last night and sobbed like it was one of my own relatives or friends. This morning I'll watch the funeral and do the same. I never met Senator Kennedy, nor can I say things about him as eloquently as others on CNN have continuously said. Yet, he's touched me. I grew up in Massachusetts. Every classroom had a picture of JFK. Ted Kennedy was a senator for more years than I've been alive. As a child, I recall someone-- relative, family friend, not sure who-- commenting at every infraction (be it a bad pothole, the cost of milk that week)-- "I'm going to write Senator Kennedy!" It instilled in me a sense that, whatever the problem was, Senator Kennedy could probably fix it. So I guess that's my connection to him, my enduring memory. Tenuous, yes, but nevertheless, a feeling that's been with me my entire life. Whether you agreed with his politics or lifestyle, there's no denying how much he and his family have given to our country. Goodbye, Senator Kennedy. There will never be another one like you.

A weirdly exotic red flower

This is growing alongside John's pond in the backyard. I figured I'd better take a picture of it because they don't last long. I have no idea what it's called, but it's huge-- close to dinner plate size. Pretty cool, huh?

IKEA, I'm glad to see ya!

I think I watch too much HGTV. It can get me into trouble. This time, it is leading to a mini-renovation of the master bathroom. I say "mini" because we're leaving the floor, tile and tub as-is-- eventually, I want to gut the place and go higher-end, but not until we finish wrestling with and conquering the BIG cost of last year's kitchen redo.

So where can you get a fun and funky, but not especially costly new look? Why, IKEA of course! Off we go on Sunday. Just to look. Who am I kidding? In situations such as these, "just looking" most often turns into "let's do it now." I'm pretty decisive when I see what I want. It's a line of their bath "furniture" with a very unpronounceable and equally unspellable Swedish name, so I'll just call it modern and sleek, with birch wood and aluminum. Oh yeah, and we got some of those yummy lemon cookies while we were there.

John successfully tore out the old sink, vanity, medicine cabinet/mirror, towel rod, and over-toilet cabinet on Sunday. Then we painted. Or rather, he painted. I'm not allowed to paint walls and ceilings because I make a mess (fine arts degrees be damned). I did do the trim, though, last night. Looks pretty good. The wall color is sort of a deep aqua and the trim is off-white.

Of course, the beauty of modular furniture from IKEA is that you can combine pieces for many unique and personal looks. The downside of modular furniture is when you forget to buy all the pieces you need for that unique, personal look. So John, bless his soul, will trek again to IKEA tomorrow to get a few more things. We're both slightly afraid of the sink install, but we'll have our contractor's number at the ready, just in case a bad thing happens. In any event, I'm looking forward to having a working bathroom again. For now, I trek downstairs and use the sink in the half bath-- I reluctantly shower in John's bathroom under the risk of catching a fatal disease. His bathroom, I think, was once featured in Squalor Today magazine.

Once everything is done, I'll post some pictures.

Rest in peace, Eunice

I just read that Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away this morning. Yeah, I know they have their problems, but I'm a huge fan of the Kennedy family (growing up in Massachusetts probably had something to do with it). But, just look at what this woman accomplished in her 88 years on earth. We should all be so giving. I hope her family, friends and associates take comfort in her life well lived... lots of people think they make the world a better place, but she really did.

Look who John's sleeping with

Is this a Kodak moment, or what? Apparently, Baylee can tolerate his snoring better than I can!