The Hangover Honeymoon!

…..and we’re recovering nicely, thank you🙂

It’s probably one of the shortest honeymoons in history. We started celebrating at about noon. Pizza was ordered, a few beers cracked, then Kara showed up with a bottle of wine. Mercy….As they say, never mix, never worry. We shouldn’t have mixed, is all I can say. But, we had a marvelous day. Laughed the whole time, cuddled when necessary, and giggled coyly at each other.

I have to say one of the highlights was when the pizza arrived. This truly nice old man (probably in his early 70’s) knocked on the door. I went outside to greet and pay him and he said, “Sounds like quite the party in there!” I couldn’t help myself, “Yeah! I just got married!” And he asked so innocently, “What’s the lucky girl’s name?” I said in the most deplorable baritone, “(BUUUUUURRRRP!) Phillip….”

Without missing a beat, he says, “You know I was married to my wife for 48 years. I’d still be with her if she hadn’t passed. Oh, I miss her. I got this job just to get out of the house. I still walked around, expecting to find her, or even the ghost of her somewhere there….alas, she is gone….”

I paused for a moment and said, “That is soooo SAD! What are you, Irish?”

He laughed, “Why, yes I am!”

“What’s your name?”

“Bill!”

“If I ever order a pizza can I request you as a delivery driver?”

“Well, sure you can! Just ask if the old man is around. And I leave work at about 3 in the afternoon.”

“Thank you, Bill!”

I paid and went back to our little get together. I know I promised a video of our little reception, but to be truthful, my functions weren’t camera friendly🙂 And today, we’re both nursing our own individual hangovers, being slothy and lazy. I had to take this picture of Phillip. Just to show how far down the rabbit hole we have to crawl back from. I begged him, “PLEASE let me use this pic on my blog??? PLEASE???” And he responded quite appropriately, “It’s YOUR blog, why not a picture of you???”

“Dude, I have my career to think of…..”

And with a smile he said, “Fine, use the picture, but I want you to know I wanna be like Dolly Parton’s husband. Nobody knows who the hell he is….” (A kiss to my forehead). And this is why I love him.

So, there you have it, the perfect picture of our day after, honeymoon extravaganza. I can’t thank all of you enough for your well wishes, and your congratulations, and your prayers. We are both so grateful for all of you thinking of us on our wedding day. Tomorrow I meet Phillip’s family for the first time. I’m more nervous about meeting them than I was marrying him!

Thanks you all so much!

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Just Married

Home. Couldn’t help it. I had all ideas I’d be reserved and well put together. Nope. I started bawling the minute Phillip put his pen to the paper. And I haven’t stopped.🙂 We’ll update with a video later of how “beer and pizza” reception. Just taking a moment to keep all of you with us on this very special day.

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Two Guys, 10k Friends, a Buddhist and an Alien Walk into a Chapel….

The other day Phillip and I received our first wedding gifts. Now, just to show you how varied our interests are, and wide range  of friends we have, I thought I’d share them with you. First, we received the most beautiful, hand carved, Buddhist book ends. I just fell in love with them. They were crafted in Bali and sent with a hand written card of thanks. So beautiful. Eventually, I’ll set all of my books that lean towards the spirit in between them, but for now, I’m leaving them bright in the window so that they can be seen by everyone. What we really love about them is that they were sent by one of the kindest people we’ve come to meet on your journey, and we cannot thank her enough for being so mindful of my spiritual path, of my love for books, and the reminder of not just one Buddha, but two, to symbolize Phillip and I. I truly love these book ends!

Then later that day, a coworker of Phillip’s sent home a wedding gift. Knowing my love for “Aliens,” Shane sent along a little Alien figurine for me to keep on my desk. How wonderful was that! Yes, It’s quite true, I’m a big fan of the first two “Alien” films, and watch them often. You see how varied our interests are? We can be reading “A Passage to India” by E.M. Forster the first part of the day, switch to “Aliens” later while having dinner, then crawl into bed to scan a few passages from Thomas Merton’s “The Waters of Siloe.” And because Phillip and I have such wildly eclectic interests, those interests also invite such a great mix of friends. Like all of you! You’re all so different, so unique. And I’m so blessed to have such a beautiful group of people sharing my journey with me.

Tomorrow is the big day. (Thursday 22 Sept). Now, on paper, our anniversary will be the 22nd, but in our little world, and the way we view things, our anniversary will always be the Autumnal Equinox, whatever day that will happen to fall on in the future. Phillip has been so adorable the closer we get to tomorrow. So full of joy. And VERY affectionate. He’s been laughing a lot, smiling a lot, so I know I found the right guy to spend the rest of my life with. His dimples say so. I’m so grateful that I get to see them more and more lately.

So, we wake tomorrow, head to the court house……we’re going to come home, order a pizza, shut off the phones, put a “do not disturb” sign on the front door, binge the latest “Penny Dreadful,” and do what we love to do more than anything. Be with each other. Phillip’s family will be coming up from Ft. Myers on Saturday to meet me, have lunch, and spend the day. (I’m going to convince them to play croquet with me:) ). I’m looking forward to meeting them, and I hope I make a good impression. I’m old school in the manners department, and tend to be a charmer, so I’m hopeful we’ll all get along just fine.

Well, I guess that’s it for now. Next time I blog, I’ll be a married man! Can you just imagine???? Wow……

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Is That Glitter in Your Hair?

Some of Phillip’s “Strange Friends” are pretty clever. Take this guy for instance. He wanted to be pretty, he wanted to be dashing and daring. He wanted to walk out into the world and get a little attention. So, he combed his hair, found an awesome pair of specks, and subtly worked a bit of glitter into his style. And it worked! He strutted, he posed, he found a little smile from people that noticed that little shimmer in his design. So, this dashing dude is looking for just the right abode. If you’d like to take him home with you, click here. Oh! I forgot to mention! He makes a very cool  appearance in my new book, “The Teddy Bear That Saved Me.” So be sure to check it out!

 

As Bats Swarm Through the Purple Shadows

I finished this little bear  just shy after sundown. I have to sell him tonight, so I had to take a picture of him quickly, as I was racing against sunset. And there, as the bear sat cradled in the crook of my door’s threshold, I watched the bats come out, gobbling up the zika-skitas (as we’ve come to call mosquitoes in Florida these days). They flurried and bounced, frolicked and flounced, and I could not help but stop and take notice.

The light began to dim, the shadows began to conquer, and though I should apologize for the quality of the photograph, it looks right to me. Deeply detailed in purples that hint at shadows, as bats danced and dined above, that bear looks just right as the sun declines. Some purple hues are only beautiful when the light quiets, when the bright glare of the beautiful sun takes a moment to rest, and lets the other colors come forth for a while. And the bats applaud.

He’s ready for a home. And there is only one. If you’d like him, click here.

 

Getting to Meet All of You.

So, we’ve been mulling over the idea of doing a book tour for “The Teddy Bear That Saved Me,” which, as some of you may know, is rather difficult for me. It’s not easy for me to be in public, and I don’t go out very often. I’m at Publix by 7am, then back home, and it is quite rare for me to leave again. There is a three block radius that I rarely shy from. And we picked this particular apartment because of that. The grocery store is just over there, and beyond those tall oaks a few streets over is the little church I like with the little thrift store where I get my books to read. The post office picks up my packages, so I don’t have to go there, and anything else I need is beautifully supplied thanks to the internet. So, doing a book tour would be quite like throwing a cat in the bathtub and expecting serenity. However, I would like to the opportunity to meet all of you. I really would like that.

I feel if I can take baby steps, then maybe I could eventually go so far as doing a full tour across the States. If book sales for “The Teddy Bear That Saved Me” get going, maybe I could rent out a little space somewhere to do a live reading and a get together here in Orlando some time in October. I feel if I can take baby steps, then maybe I could eventually go so far as doing a full tour across the States. I wouldn’t need security. That’s what Phillip is for. (He’s terribly protective, you know).

I’m sure we can come up with something, if the book does well enough. All kinds of ideas are at the ready, and being creative about the how’s and why’s can really move mountains. I really do want to get a chance to meet all of you. You’ve all been so very kind. And I want to get that beautiful moment where I get to look into all of your eyes, shake your hands, hug you and say, “Thank you for saving me….”

 

For My Friends in the UK

I’ve mentioned it before, but I often must admit, I’ve spent many years spending Saturdays in Britain.

Throughout this journey of mine, I have found that while some become big in Japan, I’m proud to say I seem to have made a little mark in the UK. I’ve been in a couple of magazines, and sold teddy bears and books to quite a few people there. Perhaps, as E.M. Forster says, “You see? It was ancestral voices calling….”

So, I just wanted to take a moment on this perfectly beautiful and crisp Saturday to thank all of the wonderful people of Britain that have taken note of my work. I wish I could be there with you. Would love to take a trip to the Isle of Wight. Maybe some day.🙂 Maybe I’ll get the chance to step the green grass in a shepherd’s field as his flock grazes beside me. Perhaps I’ll one day get the chance to sit quietly beside you in a field of blooming wildflowers and hear you tell me about your day. Maybe one day I’ll be afforded the opportunity to wake with the grace of the piercing sunlight in a little village that still believes that big, welcoming smiles get more done than screaming voices.

I can safely say, as Mrs. Wilcox once put it, “Charles is like me, you see. He truly loves England…..He’s on a motoring tour in Yorkshire.” That’s the England I wish to someday see….

A great many thanks to all of you in England. Thank you for welcoming me into your homes and hearts, for embracing me, and appreciating my work, and for treating me not as a foreigner, but as your friend.

I can’t tell you what that means to me.🙂

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