A Few of My Favorite Things

It will be hard to leave that exploding pink tree behind. The blooms last about two weeks and are painfully beautiful. It's a good prom tree if the flowers last. We think it's a crabapple because it blooms after the cherry trees do. Another beauty, and one of Marty's favorites, is the Japanese maple the boys planted in my honor several years ago. The variety is "blood good" and it looks like this ornamental comes from a venerable line. I like the shape of it. Most Japanese maples look a little lopsided and grow straight up. I like how ours spreads wide and is more or less symmetrical. Planting it was a challenge because the spot we chose had a boulder in it that needed to be crow-barred out. Such is gardening in Rhode Island.


Japanese andromeda is one of my favorite plants. It stays green all year and has a cascade of white flowers that last from spring through fall. They are very hardy and can take all kinds of abuse, such as cat urine.

I hope the new residents will enjoy these ornamentals as much as we have.

Many Words in the Woods

The house sale is boring me. I can only imagine what it's doing to you. I've been waiting for the crab apple tree to burst into bloom so I can post a photo. In the meantime ...

I feel like a writer these days. I try and usually succeed in putting in several hours a day. Some of this time I use for sending query letters to agents. This has been a frustrating task, not so much because of the kind rejections but because it takes me away from real writing.

My book is getting fatter as I add an essay each week. If I don't find an agent, I will self-publish and go from there. I'm trying one more ploy to find an agent by submitting a story I wrote about our dogs. The title is P.E.I. (Prince Edward Island) but as I was writing it, it became clear that it was a story about our five bouviers and life in general.

Now, where do I send it? Naturally I want to be published in something highbrow like The Paris Review but Yankee Magazine might be more suitable. I will do my research and see where I might be able to sell it. I've never received a penny for my published work. It's time I do.

My goal for the morning is to send out the story. Then I will have a massage to knead out the kinks and restore some balance to my crooked body. After that, who knows. Maybe I'll go through some of the boxes in the basement or return the shirt I bought for Mariel to go on her interview. She wore my dress instead and I gave it to her.

Carpe diem.

Turbo Sells the House

Today we had a showing, but I went to yoga. Rich said it was okay to leave Turbo home alone. Turbo served everyone coffee and was a perfect host. The clients showed interest in the house as well.

Even though Turbo is nearly 13, he remains spry and alert, especially at night when I'm trying to sleep. If he sells the house, I'll forgive him.

If you want to see a great house and an even better dog, leave a comment.

Woof.

Bid

Rich left a message on my answering machine. Don't tell me there's another showing. Nope. It was an offer on the house, a low one but from a serious and well-qualified buyer. We're countering, and also calling the other interested clients and informing them that now's their chance to act.

I'm Manhattan bound this weekend to look for an apartment so it's nice to see movement on the house. Harry and my neighbor will be holding down the fort so call for a showing.

The Great Flood of 2010

I lived through the Blizzard of '77 in Buffalo, NY. I survived a 6.8 earthquake in Costa Rica. Now I can add the Rhode Island Flood to my disaster portfolio. Lady Luck saw me through these natural nuisances. Once again we are unscathed.

It turns more of my immediate neighbors had water woes than I realized. Moosehorn was abuzz this morning, not with the sound of lawn and garden equipment but heavy-duty water-removing and foundation-shoring machinery. Shadenfreude is not a word that I use much in my writing (ever??) but I've been checking my pleasuremeter and although I don't think I'm deriving any pain from the misfortunes of my neighbors, I'm sure as heck joyful that my house is dry.

Do you hear that home buyers? My house is dry, has no damage and if it survived the Great Flood, is sure to do better than most homes around here. What with global warming, this should be number one on your priority list, right up there with price. Forget location. The new mantra is Dry Dry Dry.

Maybe we should raise the price.