Sunday, May 31, 2020

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Smacksy Sunday Links


I was in charge of the deck chairs on the titanic.

Searching for the superhero.

Cooking by women who lived within hard limits.

The family stories that bind us.

I can (and do) scroll this site forever.

And this bear takes a splashy bath.

Happy Sunday.


Friday, May 22, 2020

Aw, Ted


Still just the tiniest bit clingy, bless his heart.



Thursday, May 21, 2020

Another Graduation


I saw this little mourning dove hiding behind an azalea in the backyard.  She wasn't able to fly but did a good deal of hopping and flapping when she saw me. I thought she might be hurt so I consulted with The Google, and found out that she's a fledgling. Doves leave the nest at around twelve-days-old. Fledglings will spend about four days on the ground before they learn to fly. They are still fed by their bird parents, but are left alone the rest of the time. It's the fledgling equivalent of backpacking through Europe during their gap year. This hostel is a mess.

Fledglings are vulnerable to predators during this grounding time. I will keep an eye on her, and not let the dogs in the backyard for a few days, lest they see her as a fun, feathery snack option. I put a small saucer of water near her because she is a guest, and I her hostess. She denied the chips and onion dip.

I will check her out every couple of hours partly because I have a crush on her and partly because I have literally nothing else going on these days.





Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Smacksy Sunday Links


Here's how time works now.

But really how and why the virus is changing our sense of time.

Reading the classics during quarantine.

He gave the world electrifying fairytales.

A lovely song from Colin Hay and his family.

The comedy wildlife photography awards.

And this groundhog.

Happy Sunday.


Thursday, May 14, 2020

Constant Ted


We think we're rolling along here doing a-okay, and I guess we are. Teddy, however, seems to be absorbing the low hum of something in the house. Anxiety? Uncertainty? Always-home-ness? Constant dish washing? Restlessness? Maybe all of that? Whatever it is, has parked itself in Ted's noggin. In short, my man is feeling off.

He'll follow me into the bathroom and attempt to scratch the door down if he gets left out. Same if I head to the back porch without him. He is my constant shadow in the house, aiming to stand between me and the sink and laying down in front of the washer when I attempt to do laundry. When I take a bath he sits with his chin on the edge of the tub. It's his thunderstorm behavior but the weather is sunny and warm.

I get it, Ted. I do. Times are weird and your people are weird and everything's weird. The best I can do is let you do your own weird thing, stuck to me like these quarantine yoga pants.




Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Time Is a Meaningless Construct


Time is just different now. Do you feel it too? Days are hours and months are weeks except when it's 3:00 AM when minutes are years.

Anyway.

With all of the weirdness of being locked out of my blog for ten days and the whole upside down time situation of the world, I ran right past my blog anniversary. Last Saturday, May 9,  marked eleven years of Smacksy.

Maybe you've heard me talk about how this space has been life changing. I've been introduced to friends I don't know how I could live without. I've generated a writing practice. I've had to notice the seemingly small moments and conversations of my life in order to find themes and topics to write about. My time is measured here in words and pictures.  It's all one big gift to me and I thank you for being a part of it, a part of my time.



Friday, May 8, 2020

And Just Like That, It Was Gone



A week and a half ago, Karen called to let me know Smacksy was down. Not sad down, more omg-where-the-hell-did-all-my-writing-from-the-last-eleven-years-go down. This site has never been down.

During the first ten years of Smacksy, when I posted every day, if I was late with a post, I would get emails and messages asking if I was okay. For the past year, I've eased off a little and my posting has been spottier but I still post multiple times a week, with a photo, a piece of writing, a video, a something. Smacksy is my home, of sorts, and this felt as if I came home from Von's one day to find that my family had moved and forgotten to tell me.

Where my site had been, there was a page listing my domain name as lapsed. I will spare you the details of the hours Mr. Rosenberg spent on the phone with GoDaddy. Just know that it was a week and a half of not knowing if Smacksy was dead or alive. The problem was ultimately solved, obviously, because here we are. I am grateful to be back. Having a live-in internet technology expert is fantastic. I highly recommend it.

If you missed Smacksy - Hey! We're back!
If you hadn't missed Smacksy - Hey! We're back!

We're back.  Thank you for still being here.




Sunday, May 3, 2020