So much to catch up on!...

A very well-defined orb, above Mark's head
The haunted Hermitage Hotel looms beyond...!

I have so many photos from so many events to finish, and so much to post about here:

The Horror Hootenanny... Doc Satan's Halloween Hoedown... Mount Olivet Cemetery... and of course, Halloween night spent with our small close group of friends down in Daves Hollow.

Just a few of the Jack O'Lanterns carved, plus the Ofrenda
at Daves Hollow on Halloween night

Yes, it will all get done... in time! Time is a precious commodity, and we never seem to have enough of it, do we.

I'm realizing I seriously need to reorganize this site, and set up a separate page for each event to properly convey the photos I take - and lordy, I seem to take a LOT, judging by the count of pics on my Canon: 1,010 of them! And that's just this past month's worth! Eeek.

Guess no time like the present to enjoy time off this Autumn, and get busy doing it all. Keep ya posted!

A lone tree I call 'The Sentinel' as dusk falls
across the way from our campsite at Daves Hollow

Late in All Hallows Eve, and it seems a lot of
spirits are out and about!

Farewell, Princess Yeti...

Rest in peace, beautiful girl.  10/1995 - 7/20/2011

Yeti slipped peacefully away earlier this morning. I said fare thee well to my dearest, sweet, funny, clever Friend of over seventeen years. That span of time passed in the blink of an eye! A thousand years would not have been nearly enough. Humans are selfish, aren't we. We have grief for what is taken from us that was never really ours to begin with... everything is only on loan, temporarily. I pray to remember to have thankfulness for the love and good times shared while on this mortal plane.

I know she has set off for the Summerland, to laze in the soft sunshine, and of course to chase all those fat, slow, abundant mice there. Yeti, the mighty Huntress! No more pain in that tiny, depleted, frail body... but needless to say, there is much sorrow in my soul as I had to come to terms with letting her go. She was a truly amazing, special girl, intelligent like no other, responding to verbal commands and even playing fetch like a dog. I recall so many times, simply thinking of her, and she'd show up, jump onto my lap, and give a loud, Siamese "ROWLLL." A lot to be said about pets having a sixth sense, for certain, and with Yeti, it was uncanny. We went through a lot together, our lives intertwined across time and miles. How do you bid goodbye to a friend and not fall apart, I ask you?

My heart grieves deeply, beyond any sort of description... and right when I think the tears may finally be subsiding, along comes another fresh river that torrents out from my soul. The house seems so incredibly quiet without her presence. She used to sit outside our bedroom door and sing raucous arias in the wee hours of the night, awakening Mark and I. What I wouldn't give to have her sing for me again... 


I asked her to please come visit me... to come give me a sign, when she's ready. I'll be looking for her in the sheen of every iridescent butterfly's wing, in every autumn leaf that drifts gently in the breeze and makes a dappled shadow, in every gleaming diamond sparkle of snow... while my heart breaks further into pieces and I sob at the void she's left in me. But my real comfort comes knowing that she is now with her Daddy, Everett, accompanied by my other beloved Kitty Souls who have passed before her: Grizz and Misha, and also Coco, my much-loved childhood Border Collie. May they all reunite, to rest and romp among their many friends and ancestors.

May the mighty Bast receive you back among the fold, to walk with you and your fellow Felines. I was so honored to have you in my life, Yeti. Thank you for the years you enriched all aspects of my existence. You taught me many valuable lessons... you are so loved.

Merry Meet, and sad to part... but Merry Meet again one day.

I dubbed this "IlluminYeti" as she appears to glow... 2007

Yeti... our first winter in Nashville, 2005

17 years ago today...

Everett and I were married in a lovely outdoor ceremony at our dear friend's home in North Hollywood. How ever does time pass the way it does...!? Truly amazing to think of.

Everett, you may be gone from physical life (going on eight years now; amazing in itself) but I still think of you - and of us - on these special, important days.

And alien tears will fill for him,
Pity's long-broken urn,
For his mourners will be outcast men,
And outcasts always mourn.
- Oscar Wilde, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"

c. 2000. 

Think good thoughts for my Yeti...

Yeti has an appointment with the veterinarian this morning. She's an old cat - 15 going on 16, but acts like the perennial kitten in so many ways. Lately she's been losing weight and her glossy, snow white fur is shedding rapidly. I know that older cats often develop thyroid problems. I'm hoping she gets a clean bill of health and will be with me for many more years to come. 

Yeti has been an exemplary friend to me over the years. She is more like a dog in so many ways, too - she'll listen to my verbal commands, play fetch, and follow me wherever I go, and back again. Her sense of being in tune with me is uncanny. I am very philosophical about life and death, but when confronted with the fact of her not being here one day, I feel... anxious and sad. Can't even think of it right now.

More later once we return from the vet.

Okay. It's Monday. Time for a new challenge...?!

Yeah, I know, it's Monday morning, and nobody wants to have to *think* about anything. But not me - I awoke at 5:40am and felt suddenly renewed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for a shiny new leaf to flip over (and hopefully there won't be a scary, big-ass bug clinging underneath it). Maybe it's 'cuz the rain has passed and the sun is out (eeek! says the ghostly pale, freckled Vampire Goth Girl that still resides within me), but I think it's because I'm feeling good and focused about a bunch of things in my life. Or perhaps I've finally gone completely stir crazy after such a long and cold winter...

First up on the agenda. I like Kirstie Alley. I mean, I really, really like her. Always have. I can totally relate to her and feel she's a kindred spirit. I think she's a hoot, a real pistol. I love her kooky and sarcastic personality, her love of animals, her eccentrically-decorated 'Alice in Wonderland' home (in Los Feliz - my old neighborhood back in California!!!), and mostly of late, her unabashed candor at her current state of being: admitting that, yes, people, she got fat - again. You know, in case anyone hadn't noticed.

But instead of crying and whining and hiding away like most of us who have put on a few pounds, Alley has bravely turned the spotlight on her big bad self, humorously poking fun at her entire day to day existence on her new A&E channel show ("Kirstie Alley's Big Life"). Mark and I have watched each episode since it aired in March, and have been laughing hysterically at her daily happenings, which includes running an entire coterie of occasionally inept staffers who help to guide her hectic home life, raising her much-loved and very beautiful children (who, like me, are adopted... Kirstie, please consider adopting me! I beg you, please!), scooping her pet lemur's poop, and dealing with the awful marauding tabloid paparazzi outside the gates of her mansion. How does she manage - and not lose her mind altogether?  Girl, I applaud your honesty and pluck! Not sure if I'd have the huevos to do such a thing in my own private life.

Kirstie's motto: Life. Lick it! (photo: AETV)

http://www.aetv.com/kirstie-alleys-big-life/about/

However, what I find most interesting is Alley's formation of her new weight loss company, Organic Liaison. Organic? Weight loss? Hey, I wanna be a part of it!

Okay. I know what y'all are thinking - that I'm jumping on a bandwagon here. 'T'ain't so. Generally I'm the last one to do such things, but hear me out. I've always purchased and consumed organic foods and products, and after doing research on her line, am seriously considering joining it. It's the first all-organic weight loss support system, and it appears nutritionally-sound, like it could truly help people lose weight in a healthy and supportive way (including me, as I would like to lose 20 pounds of pudge). I went to her website and even signed up. Have not purchased the monthly product yet, but I'll keep you informed.

Next up deals with my ongoing love affair ... with gardening and landscaping. I'm still new to this, only  having lived in this house on all this acreage for a scant two years, but I am learning more and implementing things better. Last year I grew some of the most amazing, luscious organic herbs and heirloom tomatoes I've ever tasted (the fat, meaty Cherokee Purple variety you may recall from last summer's blog) and this year, Poopy is helping me to have an actual growing field that we've already mapped out. A slew of organic veggies will be harvested by summer's end, I tell you! It is my goal!

And because this blog (which was initially and solely art-inspired) has turned into a "My Life and Welcome To It" hodge-podge of interests and subjects - mostly the aforementioned gardening projects - I've decided to create yet another new blog. This one will be 100% devoted exclusively to all of the gardening/landscaping/organic vegetable growing that my existence has morphed into. And yes, it took me quite a great stretch of the imagination to conjure up a proper name for it: The Quirky Gardener.  Yeah, I know, isn't it brilliant?

You better be laughing right now, cuz it is funny! So from here on, that's where you need to go to when you have an absolute driving desire to see what in the world that Ellen is currently digging. And planting. And growing. Click on the link to take you directly to it, and yes, it's still a brand-new work in progress, so there's not a whole heckuva lot there just yet, but give it time.

And: We have an addition to our family: Lily, the black cat. She's a beauty, with glossy black fur and green-golden eyes, about a year old, and adopted from a lady here in the Nashville area who rescues kitties. 

She's a bit of a shy 'fraidy cat right now, hiding in our spare downstairs bedroom, but in a day or so, she's sure to be roaming here among us humans and her 'sister,' Yeti. More photos to come!


Lastly. The sometimes-neglected "Poopy's Words of Wisdom" column has been updated, thanks to a fresh quote from the Poopmeister himself (love you, honey! Mua!). He touches ever-so-briefly on a recent event here at our home... the fire we had in the kitchen. It's in the process of being fixed and made all nice and pretty again. If you want to know all the gory details, leave a comment here and I'll make sure Poopy answers it in a timely fashion.


Okee dokee, kids. Time to get movin' and shakin' here! Back soon...