Office Fire in Houston

Last night about 5:30 PM, I was working on the computer and watching the news and saw a building that I thought looked very familiar. It took me a little while to figure out how I knew the building, but I finally realized that I worked in this building several times during my ten years at my previous job.

The phone calls started with me calling to check on a friend who still works in the building and with others calling me to see if I had been watching the news. I found out about 9:00 PM that my friend made it out, but she was still on site waiting for supervisors to arrive at the building to assess the situation in person.

This morning I found out that two of my former co-workers did not make it out of the building. I spent much of the day in disbelief that something like this could happen so quickly that they couldn't get out of the building. I made and received calls and e-mails from people I know there, and everyone I spoke to is in shock at this terrible waste.

Links to the story:

http://www.khou.com/images/0703/hargrove.pdf

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou070329_jj_buildinghistory.1259b17f.html#

Hotei in the House

Last week we bid on and won two statues of Hotei (Buddha) on Ebay. I am thrilled because we had a statue that was almost identical to this one when I was very young.This is a painting of the statue that we used to have. When I hold them up together, they look like mirror images.

This is the two statues together. Diva is nestled in her box between them. Looking at this has reinforced to me how much I need to remove that mirror behind the book case.

Dovely Ada

Here is Ada with her Great Nana at Jimmy G's near the airport. I think it is impossible for Ada to take a bad picture. I woke up this morning and heard the doves cooing outside, and thought just for a minute that Ada was in the next room. She babbles so sweetly in the morning, it's more like music than fussing. It never occurred to me how hard it was going to be after she went back to Tennessee.

Venice Charcoal

This is my latest art find. I wish I could read the name at the bottom. I found it at a resale shop labeled "small poster of Venice." The glass was cracked and when I asked them to keep the glass, so I wouldn't have to dispose of it, we realized that it was an original charcoal. I think I like it because most drawings/paintings of Venice are happy/pretty works, but this has an expressionistic quality about it and I would not call it happy. It's not quite sinister, but I do think it is moody and maybe even melancholy.

Eureka! Aubrey Beardsley

The Platonic Lament

I finally figured it out - my print is an Art Nouveau stone lithograph by Aubrey Beardsley. It's called The Platonic Lament and it is from Oscar Wilde's Salome. I took the print into Michael's today to buy a frame and matting for it. The counter girl who helped me said she thought it looked like a French Art Nouveau lithograph. She suggested it was a stone litho, rather than a wood cut, and it turns out she was mostly right. I never heard of Aubrey Beardsley before today, but after some searching on the net for Art Nouveau lithographs, I found some prints that seemed to be by the same artist who made my print. I looked through page after page of Beardsley's work and eventually found my print, The Platonic Lament.

http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/beardsley/works.html

Post-Visit Blues

Steve's Angels

Steve, Gina, and Ada came for the weekend. We had a great visit and got the chance to shop the wholesale shops on Harwin. We mainly bought at Mulan, where Ada and Gina got silk pajamas.

Matt, Caryn, and Sammy

We had a great meal and visit with Matt and Caryn at Dimassi's (and at Outback). Sammy is too cute for words - and what gorgeous hair!

Ada's Table Dance at Dimassi's

We had a really laid back visit. We met Mike and Bill at the Buffalo Grille for brunch (we should have taken pictures there), and spent the rest of the time it seems like we watched TV, played Balderdash and slept. I have really had the blues since they left. There is something about having family close by that can't be beat.

Beautiful Girl

I don't think it is possible for me to have a more beautiful grandniece. Ada has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen - she he absolutely angelic.

Grandma and Linda would be spoiling her rotten if they were here. I'm planning to fill in for them (or channel them) - so I'll apologize to Gina and Steve ahead of time.

Gina looks awfully happy to have her pretty little Christmas elf. We're pretty happy she's here too.

Here is Steve being the doting father he was always meant to be. We can't wait to see you guys!!

Sleeping Beauty?

I found a print at The Guild Shop that I really like a lot. I have never seen anything quite like it, so if you know what it is from, please let me know. I am guessing that it is a reproduction of woodblock print from some edition of Sleeping Beauty. This illustration seems odd to me for a few reasons. The first reason is that the character that I think depicts the prince is so very effeminate, and the second is that he is naked. I don't recall the prince being naked in any version of Sleeping Beauty that I have read. I thought at first that it might be Romeo and Juliet, but Romeo is only naked in one scene in that story and it's not the one where Juliet is sleeping fully clothed. Another thing that seemed strange to me is the triangular tree in the background. It measures about 18" X 26"

ACEO's

Candid Goblin

Since our walls are for the most part bare, I started looking for original art on Ebay. After slogging through page after page of junk, I found some drawings that jumped out at me.

Hangin' Too Loose

The artist is Nancy Tuttle and she draws goblins. Yes, I have fallen in love with little bitty pictures of goblins. I am completely captivated by detail in their faces. It all started when I saw the King of Melancholy.

King of Melancholy

These are all of the pictures we bid on and won. They are only slightly larger than the pictures shown, because they are ACEO's (Art Cards, Editions, and Originals). Finding these drawings has brought me into the world of ACEO's, which to be honest, I had not head of before finding Ms. Tuttles work. The format is on art card stock and each measures only 2.5 by 3 inches. They are little trading cards for artists, but each one is an original work of art. I am pretty sure I have a new thing to collect.

New Stuff

I bought some new stuff for the house. Internet shopping is GREAT! I found a rug for the entry way, and it was immediately taken over by the cats. Connor found out that he couldn't replace Bodhi on the rug.

Bodhi is especially fond of the rug. While I am on the computer, I can look over and see his eyes glowing out at me from the darkened entry way, as he sits in the middle of the rug, like it's his throne.

I also got a wicker window seat for my room. I had a little window ledge for the cats, but only two of them could get on it at the same time, and it seemed like it would buckle under their weight.

Now all three of them fit in the window, where they can watch the birds and squirrels all day long. I love the seat because it holds my linens, but I think the cats may love it more than I do.

Memphis Belle

We arrived home today from our wonderful trip to Memphis. We flew out last Thursday to meet Ada face to face. Seeing Gina and Steve was the icing on our Ada cake. We went to the Bolton High School production of It's A Wonderful Life, in which Gina's niece, Emily, played the part of Zuzu.
She is a GREAT baby! In addition to being beautiful and good natured, she is going to be an astronaut - her daddy says so (so I'm sure it's true).

It got pretty chilly in Memphis, so I got some great shots of Gina, Steve, and Connor in the steam of the hot tub this morning. Con and Stevo made a pretty good team this weekend when they cleaned the leaves off the deck and the hot tub cover.
You have to click on this picture to see the great expressions on their faces. Biscuit the wonder-schnauzer impatiently waited for someone to brave the cold and throw the tennis ball for her to fetch. Needless to say, her wait was in vain - it was just too cold to stand up and throw the ball.
Marilyn had a strange and wonderful effect on Ada. It seems that whenever Ada gazes up into Marilyn's lovely hazel eyes, she gets the urge to evacuate her bowels. Before leaving, Marilyn was given a new nickname, Auntiepoo.

Funeral for a Friend

We attended the funeral of Karim's mother, Nadia, today. She had a lovely service and eulogy. Nadia was a great lady

Here is her obituary:

NADIA WASSEF passed from this life on Monday November 6, 2006, following a courageous battle with cancer. Nadia was born on July 2, 1943, in Cairo, Egypt. She immigrated to the US in 1980. Nadia ran a successful real estate business in Houston, Texas. She saw real estate as a wonderful investment and started her own brokerage company, Imperial Properties. Nadia enjoyed painting, creating stained glass, and repairing heirloom crystal and porcelain. Her greatest love was spending time with family and close friends. Her son, Karim, whom she loved dearly, brought great joy to her life. Nadia has so many friends that have been touched in some way by her smile, her great wisdom, caring spirit and gentle touch. We know she will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Preceded in death by parents, her mother Saniya and her father Fahmy, she leaves to cherish her memory her devoted son Karim, her husband Samir and her great aunt Afifa. She will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by several other close family relatives in the U.S. and Egypt. A celebration of Nadia's life will be held in a closed casket service on Wednesday, November 8th, at 2 O'clock P.M. at St Anne's Catholic Church, located at 2140 Westheimer, Houston, Texas, 77098 The Family wishes to thank Wilfred Smith, Cordelia Cockrell, Nedira Abdowaise, Pam Clift and especially J. Nicole Rogers for their unconditional love, care and devotion throughout Nadia's fight with cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions are made to the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. Because of Nadia's great love for nature and birds, arrangements have been made to plant a tree and place a bench in Nadia's name. You may send your donation to the Houston Aboretum located at 4501 Woodway Dr, Houston, TX 77024. Interment will follow the service at Glenwood Cemetery, located at 2525 Washington Ave, Houston, Texas 77007.

Published in the Houston Chronicle on 11/8/2006.

Woody Wants to Die

Today Mikey sent me a link to a funny site. One of Mike's coworkers is deliciously twisted. It seems that Woody is oh so bored at work, and he just can't take it anymore. Woody tries to off himself again and again - he's the hapless Harold of the toothpick set.

You have to visit the site to see the rest of Woody's failed suicide attempts. His real life tormentor has a wonderfully vivid imagination and a wicked sense of humor. I give this site two severed thumbs up.

Eleanor Rigby

The last book I read was just prior to our move. I started to blog it, but didn't get the chance to finish it before everything became too hectic.

After reading this book, I still have to say Douglas Coupland is still one of my favorite authors. In Eleanor Rigby, Coupland tells the story of a woman in her 40's who is not married, lives alone, and has only her work as a source of social activity. She doesn't particularly like her work, but she is good at her job. As her life goes on the same, day in and day out until one day something unexpected changes her life and her world forever. She receives a call from a hospital, where a young man has listed her as his emergency contact. The young man listed her as his mother.

Whenever I read Douglas Coupland's books, I feel like I know the characters. The people he writes about seem like people I've met or worked with before, so his stories always feel familiar and somehow comforting. Douglas Coupland has a knack for telling stories about ordinary people living ordinary lives, but as Coupland develops his characters, it become apparent that they are more complex than they seem at first glance. His characters become strange and extraordinary, after the reader discovers unusual events in their history. Coupland's characters are proof that life story of every person is profound when viewed in the context of what circumstances they have survived.

Moon Cake

Moon Cake - Red Lotus Paste with Two Egg.



I went to Chinatown a couple of weeks ago and saw a table piled high with these beautiful red tins. The lady behind the counter informed me that they were for the Moon Festival, which fell on October 6th this year.

I was feeling adventurous, so I bought one of the tins of moon cakes and took them home. Unfortunately, I forgot that I bought them, so they have been sitting in the pantry until today.

There are four moon cakes to a tin and I was told by the lady behind the counter that they are to be cut in quarters, and each person is only supposed to eat one of the quarters because they are very filling. I was also told that I should eat them with a cup of green tea.

I bought the Red Lotus with Two Egg variety, because I was told they are the "most beautiful." They are definitely the most interesting. I like the lotus paste, but I am not sold on the egg yoke, and they are more than a little oily. I don't think I am going to crave moon cakes in the future, but I'm glad I tried them. Now, who do I make a gift of the remaining moon cakes to?