Our New Addition

I am happy to announce the most recent addition to our family, Lilith. She is the type of bunny that stays pretty small. It's hoped that she'll become a companion to our first miniature rabbit, Napoleon, who doesn't seem to be very happy living in his new outdoor abode alone. (Lilith also appears to love to eat flowers. Such a girl!) The other day, my husband saw some very cute bunnies at the pet store. Later, he took Sarah and Jacob to see the new arrivals. Sarah fell in love with this very sweet creature and paid for the bunny herself with her own earnings from babysitting. So, she is officially Sarah's rabbit. Here's a little detail I should probably share. Lilith is not spade and the plan is to breed her and Napoleon. After the babies are old enough, Manny at the pet store will buy them and sell them in his shop. The prospect of animal husbandry has now appeared on my horizon...

Saturday chez Nous

My husband is currently out sailing and I am doing chores. My eldest is in Nyack and my youngest is biking at Graham Hill. Hopefully my middle Sarah, upstairs, is actually doing her homework. In that case, I can rest easy for a moment. I am sure it is beautiful out on the Hudson and James will come home all happy and refreshed. Not to mention the 9 holes of golf he did first thing this morning. Sometimes on boats, I can get violently ill and that's nothing I want to feel today (sick like clinging to the bottom of the boat until the boat returns to the dock). Today I got to fiddle around and made a nice birthday bouquet for Sandra in a vase that I wanted to give her. The light was so pretty in the kitchen that I grabbed a photo before Sarah and I delivered her flowers to her. She was happily surprised and pleased with her gift. Now it's fine to be here and go about my business. Nothing like not being interrupted to improve my mood.

Farewell

James and Sarah and Jacob just left to run errands. One of the more important stops is to give Eloise, Sarah's pet rat to the pet store owner, Manny. He has agreed to find Eloise a good home. Hopefully, she will maintain her status as a pet beloved by someone else and not well, a snack for some much larger creature. Out of all the pets we have had as family members, Eloise gave me the most aggravation. Truthfully, she is very smart and sweet. However given the opportunity she will climb out of her cage and settle on my side of the bed. Under the covers. I have woken up on more than one occasion with something crawling around my legs in the middle of the night. Okay, I scream. I get a little agitated. I even make threatening remarks. So, it should come as no surprise that the other day, when our newest arrival, the lovely bunny Lilith came home, Sarah agreed that it was time for Eloise to go. Now, I am a little sad that she is gone for good. Don't ask me why. I must be an old softy at heart.

Birth Day

I am having a low-key birthday today and it suits me perfectly fine. Sometimes more stuff is just that and I'm not craving anything of note. (Well, I do like these amazing Chanel Khaki nail polishes and would love to paint with them but at $23.00 per it's a little extravagant for our modest means). James and I did sneak out to the movies yesterday and saw a late afternoon show of "Inception" which mesmerized us both. Great twist, an unconventional story line, completely unbelievable but tender at the same time- so hats off to Christopher Nolan for his amazing creation. I'm trying to manage a sore shoulder so James was also my driver and personal assistant. It was very good medicine to be on the receiving end of his attentive care. While it's not wrapped up in paper and tied prettily with a bow, the gift of feeling loved by my family is plenty for me.

School Daze

                                        

When it's 8:00 a.m. and the house is buzzing with activity you know there has been a sea change in our routine. Nora, the professional driver, blasted out the door at 7:30 yelling out "Why didn't anyone get me up?!". Suddenly, other voices are chiming in "What time is it?". When people actually care what time it is, we have entered a new reality. One completely thrilling for me. The day is mine to work, squander, create or run errands without having to think about my children adrift around the house complete with their friends, unwashed glasses, plates and wrappers scattered along their paths. The goal today is to learn how to use my new scanner. I want to take a fresh look at the many fashion images I shot once upon a time when I primarily shot the Hasselblad and film was the only game in town.