Marilyn's Room

The Cutiest Pooh-tiest!!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:11:56 GMT

Fluffy had to go get groomed at the vet yesterday because her winter coat was a huge gnarly mess. They gave her what is called the "lion shave."

She is just too freakin' cute, gang!! (And nowhere near as fluffy...)

Just like mommy!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:18:50 GMT

Huckleberry and one of her kittens, looking out the family room window yesterday afternoon! I took this photo with my cell phone, so the quality kinda sucks. Sorry!

Forget the News, just hang out here!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:48:05 GMT

Here's an inside tip for you, straight from me: the news is always going to be bad. It doesn't matter what year, what era, or what the names of the players are, the news is just bad. So just hang out here instead.

I don't usually watch the news or read a newspaper; I get my news online. I basically read the headlines and go, "Oh my god, you can't be serious!" And then before I get too many of the horrific or indescribably hard to process "facts," I close the window and move on to the business of praising God anyway, in spite of all the disappointments and horrors.

Granted, it's a whole lot easier to praise God when you have a house full of adorable kittens scampering around. I spend most of my days now just thanking God that I have eyes to see with, and I try to slow down the days. I have about 4 more weeks with these adorable little critters, and then they will move on to great big adventures of their own.

One of them is already spoken for -- the liveliest and friendliest of the whole crop. He's one of Huckleberries babies, one of the cute blondies. He's a total "people" cat. He runs up to see me whenever I enter the family room. He stops whatever he's playing with and runs straight to me. He loves to be cuddled and he loves to play with me. Whereas, all the other kittens stop dead in their tracks whenever I enter the room and they are clearly thinking: Oh no, not her again! She's going to try to catch us and touch us and cuddle us. Blech!! And they high-tail it for their favorite hiding spot: under the Lazyboy recliner.

This morning, around 6:30, I wanted to have my tea out on my back deck-type thingie -- I have my picnic table up there now, because all my patio furniture died a slow and agonizing death and will not be replaced until I move to the new house. So I sat on my deck thingie, at the picnic table, and realized I had the perfect view of both the sun room-- where Tommy and her kittens were playing-- and the family room -- where Huckleberry and her kittens were playing. The best view possible. It was too perfect. They all play like crazy at that early hour, when they don't know I'm watching them.

And it was nice to be out there among my amazing trees. I am trying to absorb every moment of them in this final summer. One nice thing: a client called me late last night and asked if she could have any of my (smaller) trees for her own yard. I was very excited by this idea. Yes, I said, yes, you can, yes! Basically, come over and dig up whatever you want, gang (I mean, wait until I am actually moving), that way all these living things don't have to die and can maybe have a new home.

Well, all right. I am going to leave you with some odds & sods, as they used to say. A photo of Tommy taken just now. Followed by several of Huckleberry's kittens, asleep on the chair -- except the one I told you about above; he woke up the minute I went down there with the camera.

Then followed by another reason to praise God: 4 old-timers who are dear to me heart and still hanging in there! Yay!! Thanks for visiting, gang! Have a great one. See ya!!

Thank God Some People Throw Stuff Away!!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:03:34 GMT

Because then it increases the odds that I might become its new owner.

Sadly, some people throw kittens away and then I become their new "owner" for life. But other times, people I have been friends with since, say, 1966 decide to start downloading all their CDs to their hard drives in order to reduce the clutter in their already incredibly non-cluttered lives, and then I get to go to my mailbox and happily discover that I have become the proud new owner of THIS:

OMG -- YAY!!!! This specific friend and I were big Bowie fans all through our girlhood. We even saw him live, twice, in Cleveland in the 1970s. The Diamond Dogs tour and the Thin White Duke tour (Station to Station). AWESOME tours. What can I say. And then I also saw Bowie in a very small club once with Iggy Pop.

Oops, don't get excited. I wasn't the lucky one "with" Iggy Pop. Iggy Pop and Bowie were performing together. I think it was Iggy's Lust for Life tour. I was underage and got in on a fake ID that said I was from Florida... most underage people get fake IDs so that they can go somewhere and drink. But I had a fake ID solely to see Bowie & Iggy Pop perform in a tiny club on campus. I never used the ID before or after that. (Which doesn't mean I wasn't indescribably fond of underage drinking.... It only means that in the 1970s, it wasn't that hard to cop a lousy bottle of booze.)

Well.

Then I also saw Bowie again at Madison Square Garden during his Serious Moonlight tour, which was also seriously phenomenal. I feel indescribably sorry for you if you didn't see it.

And now. To finally have all of Bowie's greatest hits collected in one place.... Wow. The soundtrack to my entire girlhood on one CD. What can I say besides "awesome" again?? What a great gift to receive totally unawares. Yay. I hope all you guys go out to your respective mailboxes and find something equally delightful some day soon.

And on your way to and from the mailbox, you can hum this wonderful ditty that I had forgotten about (if you can imagine that!):

See ya, gang!! Thanks for visiting.

Probably my all-time favorite

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sat, 11 May 2013 14:40:42 GMT

My favorite hymn, that is. For me, it captures that absolute feeling of bliss.Well, at least when it is sung in exactly the right way. For instance, as the opening & closing theme song for the 1985 film version of the Trip to Bountiful. (Which is currently back on Broadway, but with an all-Black cast.)

This morning, I discovered a version of it sung by that hillbilly angel, Dolly Parton. Back when she had a voice like a silver bell. Okay, like a hillbilly silver bell. I loved Dolly Parton when I was growing up and saw her perform a couple times at the Ohio State Fair. But I had never heard her singing my favorite hymn until this morning. I was already having a terrific morning, but now it has become positively stellar.

I share the joy with you here! Watch & listen if you dare... Have a great Saturday, gang!! Thanks for visiting!

Screen door update

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:21:21 GMT

Sorry to leave you all hanging regarding such an important topic!

The bad news is that the damage that was done to my door frame when the wind blew off my other (really heavy) screen door (that's how strong the wind was -- I couldn't even lift the screen door out of my flower bed. I had to leave it where it landed until someone could help me; it was like a hurricane-force wind that tore the screen door off its hinges). Anyway -- there was a lot of damage done to my door frame, and the only way the really adorable new screen door would have fit was going to involve destroying the cute door!

So... I wound up with basically the ugliest screen door ever. But it only has to last one summer.

My prospects went from this:

To this:

But I have to say, Buster, Bunny, and Fluffy love this new (cheap/ugly) screen door because they get an unhampered view of the entire world!! They just sit there at the door and look, and look, and look. Joggers go by, and kids on their bikes, and of course cars go by all day long, and the occasional fire engine, making that alarming racket... The cats love it. The screen door I had for 7 years, was only a screen from the waist up, so the cats couldn't see anything at all unless they stood on their hind feet (and stuck their front claws into the screen and caused big holes that looked seriously attractive).

So that's the screen door saga. But at least it got put up in time for some really great weather. The last week or so was just perfect. So far, it's been a wonderful spring.

The kittens continue to do indescribably cute things! Oh, okay, I'll try to describe some of them. The other day, I went down to the family room, late morning, and all 4 of Huck's kittens, along with Huckleberry herself, were lined up on the windowsill, looking out at the backyard. It was the first time those particular kittens had ever seen the outside world. They are 7 weeks old today.

Tom's kittens are in the sun room, so they see outside all the time. They are slightly younger -- they'll be 7 weeks old at the end of the week.

And all seven of the kittens are in various stages of understanding that whole litter box idea. They're getting better. The cutest thing was when one of the kittens took a perfect little pooh on the floor right next to the litter box, then got in the box and kicked the litter around.... Close, but no cigar, as they were wont to say at county fairs a long time ago.

I don't know what it is, gang, but life just gets better and better around here. I wake up in the morning, open my eyes and wonder: Okay, what doom-filled thing is on the verge of happening today? I search the contents of my brain for all the things that are going wrong... and... and... and I suddenly remember that everything is going right for a change and I happily spring out of bed, trying not to trip on any of the 13 cats that currently live here.

Well, I hope life is being just as good to you guys, gang, wherever you happen to be right now and whatever it is you're doing. I gotta scoot. I have to be at the church in about two seconds to help the pastor's wife with setting up a blog. So I'm outta here! Have a great day, gang. Thanks for visiting. See ya.

An awesome spring

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:20:00 GMT

Apparently, I haven't posted here for almost 20 days. That is kind of hard to believe. My world is overrun with kittens, schoolwork, writing, editing, working with clients, teaching, collapsing AND I've also been managing to go out and see movies, even have a few dinners out, and even play Scrabble with some friends downtown!!

This is unheard of. It is almost as if I have a social life again. Well, a social life that doesn't keep me out too late because my world still revolves around kittens. Indescribably adorable kittens, I might add. And for me to not be able to describe them really says so much -- I am the same writer who wrote a twenty page sex scene in my novel Freak Parade. (An award-winning novel, to boot.) If I can sustain a sex scene for twenty award-winning pages, surely I can describe how adorable these kittens are, but au contraire, my friends! I will have to let my camera do the describing for me. (See below, if you dare!!)

I also want to add that my garden has astounded me this spring. So many more flowers bloomed than I have seen around here since my first spring in 2007. (Well, that wasn't my first spring, it was more like my 46th spring, but it was my first spring in this particular house.)

I know that it most likely has something to do with the type of winter we had, but I prefer to think of it as all my flowers saying goodbye to me, with a final astounding BLOOM. And because I am so overwhelmed by all this life around me, I have decided, through the help and encouragement of a friend, to dig up all the bulbs, and take cuttings from some of the other plants, and even outright transfer some of the shrubs, to the new house. Wherever that winds up being. The thought that they are going to destroy my trees is heartbreaking enough. I am going to save whatever plants I can and bring them with me. (I'm also going to take my skunk, my possum, my raccoon family, my chipmunks, my squirrels, my groundhog, my rabbit, my field mice, my baby moles, all my many birds; my spiders, my butterflies, my ladybugs, my bees, my wasps, and all those other creepy-crawly things too hideous to name!! ALL are coming with me to the new humble abode.) (Just kidding. Six cats will be more than enough.)

I did, however, just get a brand new adorable (!!) screen door because my old one blew off in a high wind back in February, and the new screen door is so adorable that it is, indeed, coming with me to the new house. Once the screen door has actually been put up (in a couple days), I will take a photo of it and post it, because I'm sure you're wondering what on earth could make a screen door adorable...

Well, okay. Today is my day to Skype for many hours with Kevin, as we work on our latest screenplay. (A screen play having nothing to do with the screen door, FYI.) And that marathon session will begin here momentarily. So I will leave you with some recent shots of some of the cutie pies around here! Hopefully, I will be back to posting on a regular basis now. Thanks for visiting, gang. See ya!

Two of Tom's cuties:

All 4 of Huckleberry's Cuties:

Say hello!!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:07:44 GMT

Here are Huckleberry's 4 babies! (Tommy's 3 kittens are a lot harder to get photos of because she keeps them hidden inside the cat house and is extremely protective, but I'm working on it!)

An extraordinary time

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 12:31:32 GMT

The past couple weeks, since I last wrote, has been an extraordinary time, gang. So much beauty, even though some of it has been bittersweet.

After I last posted about the kittens, one of them died. I tried to look on it as simply Mother Nature, the whole process. Huckleberry didn't seem fazed by it at all, so I tried to follow her lead, although it was tough. More than a little heartbreaking. I finally got up the courage to take the dead kitten away from her little nest, take it out back and bury it in the nearly frozen ground. But I soon discovered, through a convoluted series of events that I won't even go into here, that Tom -- the other female in my trio of rescued kittens -- had also had a litter of kittens at the same time. So, yes, I have had seven newborn kittens in the house. In addition to the six other cats who live here.

To say it has been surreal is an understatement. But also what an extraordinary amount of joy, gang. As they have grown and opened their eyes and started to just barely move around a bit, they are the most beautiful little creatures I have ever seen.

Right after the kittens were born -- on the first day of spring, in fact -- a favorite uncle of mine died. It was not tragic, because he was nearly 100 years old. An auspicious day, in my opinion, to go off to the next big adventure. However, it was still bittersweet. When he and my aunt were both still alive, and back when I lived in New York City, they would come visit me and we would have the very best times. It is kind of hard to believe all of that is over. Every bit of it, in fact, because even New York City has changed so much since those days that it is almost unrecognizable.

Then I got a text message from my sister the other day that if I wanted to say goodbye to my grandmother, I needed to drive down there immediately. (This is my biological family.) My grandmother was also very old, although nowhere near 100. But she'd had a long, full life. I don't know that she would have described it as "fulfilling" but certainly full and long. So I tried like crazy to rearrange my schedule and I got down there to say goodbye. She did indeed die the next night -- this past Thursday. The trip itself was kind of amazing because it was a really gorgeous spring day, and I made the drive down there with a very old friend of mine. (She's not old, we've just known each other for 41 years.) We had the very best time, oddly enough -- considering the circumstances. It was a sort of homecoming for both of us. The first time I met my grandmother -- in the spring of 1986 -- this same friend had been with me. So it was rather fitting and nice that she would be with me when I went to tell my grandmother goodbye.

This grandmother and I did not get along too well for many, many years. She had some issues with/about my biological dad. You know how sometimes people force you "to choose"? Oh well. But it was still nice to be there in her hospice room with both of my uncles, my biological mom, my sister, and of course my grandmother -- it was the first time all of us had been in the same room together, ever. It was a very special, poignant, beautiful feeling. Then I had to turn around and drive back home. But my friend and I shared some wonderful memories about those first years that I knew my grandmother -- a fried catfish dinner that was superb -- my friend was also at the dinner. In fact, she and another close friend of ours was there, along with my grandmother and her husband, Wayne; my Aunt Dot and my Uncle Jim were both still alive, too. It was a really sunny summer evening, and Wayne had caught the catfish fresh that afternoon. We were all sitting around my Aunt Dot's small kitchen table, having the time of our lives as the sun went down in a small Ohio town. A memory so perfect it is preserved in my mind as one of my very happiest memories. I was 27.

Well, throughout all this these last two weeks, I was also still in school full-time, also out looking at houses that I might want to buy since, by this time next year, I'll be in a whole new world; and I've been working like crazy as three more former clients popped up out of nowhere -- I've also been teaching and editing. And still writing that fantastic screenplay with my co-writer, Kevin, in Brooklyn. Going to church. Celebrating Easter with the little girl I mentor. And on top of that, other personal stuff is going on that is very challenging in a couple different areas of my life. I now rely on melatonin to get any sleep whatsoever, my life is so in overdrive...

Yes, in short, an extraordinary time.

All right, in closing, I leave you with a few photos from the past couple weeks! Thanks for visiting, gang.

A few photos of Huckleberry and her kittens over 2 weeks' time.

The only photo so far of Tommy and one of her kittens. They live in the insulated cat house out in my sun room.

Happy Spring!!! Yay!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:18:08 GMT

Even though it is 28 degrees Fahrenheit here this morning, it is still the first day of Spring and I couldn't be happier. I love spring.

That said, though, life continues to wreak a wellspring of HAVOC on my wee bonny head.

Yesterday, just when everything felt absolutely wonderful -- I was having a great St. Joseph's Day, feeling so happy about Huckleberry and her soon-to-be incredibly adorable little kittens. I was also feeling unencumbered; I knew I didn't have to do anything today but homework, which is a nice feeling. Then a friend and I are going to go see the Lawrence Ferlinghetti documentary late in the day today and I'm really excited about seeing that film and having someone to go see it with. And even though my royalty check still has not arrived and it is taking every ounce of self-control I can muster to not think really mean & evil thoughts about that publisher who keeps assuring me they are looking into it, I was still feeling very upbeat overall and encouraged about everything in life...

Until I went to the bank to deposit a check around 5 PM and discovered that Time Warner Cable had wreaked absolute havoc on my bank account. They accidentally took out their money for my cable bill one week early, causing me to be stupefyingly overdrawn, with checks bouncing everywhere and overdraft fees springing up like I don't know what!

It was unbelievable; the sudden chaos. Then I spent an hour and a half on the phone with Time Warner Cable, while trying to feed the cats and make & eat my own dinner at the same time, and get ready for a writing student who was coming over at 7 o'clock.

I had to speak to nine different people within Time Warner, all of whom assured me there was absolutely nothing they could do about reimbursing me until early next week. I finally spoke to my own bank and they told me the same thing -- that it would be at least Monday before a merchant credit could show up in my account. They did remove all the overdraft fees, but this means any money I have in that account is frozen, and until Monday I have to drive 20 minutes out of my way to use my indescribably inconvenient other bank if I want to utilize anything that resembles money.

No, it's not the end of the world, but it is unbelievably annoying. They made the mistake in an instant, but reimbursing me for their mistake takes several days. It's my money and I can't touch it!

It's sort of like: It's not the end of the world when a cat has kittens, but I rescued three abandoned kittens in order to keep any more unwanted cats from coming into the world, only to immediately create six more!

And to add to the stress-heap, someone I really trusted and bent over backwards for, stole something from me and lied about it.

ME (flabbergasted): "Really? That's where we're going?"
THE WORLD: "I guess so."

And other really personal family relationship-stuff is going on in various areas of my world that I can't even begin to blog about...

Life seems incredibly out of my control these days, you know?

And yet... it's Spring. I've got daffodils on the verge of blooming all over my yard. I've got tulips and hyacinths and lilies pushing up in the gardens to bloom next in line. And I have a future that's so bright, I gotta wear shades, gang. And soon, the lower level of my house will be filled with adorable kittens skittering around for a couple months. Plus, Easter is coming and, next to Christmas, Easter is my favorite holiday. I so love Easter. And Monday night, I got an email from someone I love, followed by emails yesterday from several other people I love in a different way. People just sending me links to stuff because it made them think of me. I love that. My writing partner in New York sent me about 3 dozen links to animated TV shows on YouTube that he loves so that I can watch them and laugh at them when I am feeling overwhelmed with stress. Even my ex-husband sent me an iTune yesterday, saying, "You're the only one I know who would appreciate how cool this is" -- stuff like that, stuff that just makes stupid things like money and Time Warner Cable and banks seem a lot less interesting.

I guess it's that St. Francis of Assisi "aura of poverty" still alive and kicking in my world. Yes, money is important. Yes, I need money, I always need more money than I have these days, and I always have more money coming in that never seems to arrive, but meanwhile, life is glorious, gang. Life is incredible. Life is springing up everywhere and being joyful all over the place in its simplicity.

I am so happy it's Spring.

Have a good one, gang, wherever you are today and whatever you wind up doing!! Thanks for visiting.

Happy St. Joseph's Day!!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:17:15 GMT

I hope everyone is enjoying their legendary St. Joseph's Day cream puffs! (Visit Catholic Cuisine for what seems like an "official" recipe -- if you're in the mood for baking today!)

I just wanted to drop in and say a quick "hello" because I am starting a new course in school today and much homework awaits.

There is an official update on Huckleberry's kittens: She had six, not four. And all of them, including mom, are healthy. (To think that only a few months ago, I had three cats. Now I have twelve........)

I leave you with a recent photo of Huckleberry, followed by my favorite little "Huckleberry" song that I do indeed sing to her! Have a a great St. Joseph's Day, wherever you are!! Thanks for visiting.

MOON RIVER

Moon river, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me

(Moon river, wider than a mile)
(I'm crossin' you in style some day)
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after that same rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me
c- Mercer/Mancini

An overloaded plate, followed by turmoil

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:18:37 GMT

You know how your life can get so overloaded that you can't handle another thing?

At 2 AM, I was lurched awake by everything that is going on in my world that I can just barely handle, including an overloaded schedule, people I don't understand anymore & perhaps never did, checks that are due that continue to NOT arrive, kittens that need to be taken to the vet to get fixed but I can't do it yet because checks continue to not arrive, a house that desperately needs cleaning but it seems I have no time or energy these days so teh chaos piles up -- stuff like that. Making me crazy. Making it so that I cannot sleep through the night yet again.

Just when I felt like everything possible was out of control, at 4:30 this morning, one of the stray kittens I rescued at Christmas, my beloved Huckleberry, gave birth to 4 kittens and I did not even know she was pregnant.

I am about to seriously lose my mind.

But I thank God that Huck is okay and all the kittens appear to be healthy and fine. At times like this, you just have to look at the reasons to praise God and hang on.

Well now, arrrn't you the clever grrrl?

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 11:56:49 GMT

Happy St. Paddy's Day, everybody!! Enjoy!

[From Darby O'Gill and the Little People]

Gettin' ready to be SUPER Holy!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:54:37 GMT

Yes, it is almost time for the Feast Day of our beloved St. Paddy, the patron saint of Ireland...

Here I am last year, looking bonny as all get out! Perhaps this year will be a wee bit more of the same!

Yes, indeedy!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:20:47 GMT

Pope Francis I (An auspicious sign, I think! He's probably been reading my blog!)

(thanks Jeffrey Alan F. !!)

The joy runs bittersweet today, gang

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:32:20 GMT

No, I am not going to turn this blog into a celebration of the Saints and their various Feast Days, but I still need to just say this one thing: Today is the Feast Day of Blessed Agnello of Pisa. He was of the Franciscan Order and was admitted into the Order by St. Francis of Assisi himself -- so, naturally, since St. Francis is one of my very favorite Saints, that caught my eye and I eagerly read all about Blessed Agnello of Pisa.

This was the part I loved best: Blessed Agnello's "zeal for poverty". Wow, a man after my own heart!! I certainly have learned how to have a zeal for poverty, God knows.

To be honest, though, I do find the premise of true Christian poverty remarkable and, as I have studied it more, I find it really comforting. Of course, there is a HUGE difference in the type of poverty St. Francis and St. Clare adhered to, and the kind I have lived with for the last few years. Theirs concerned making vows that their lives would be entirely in the Lord's keeping and so they didn't need to own anything. Whereas, mine has come from trying to maintain a house I can't afford, while simultaneously loving the house and being wholly unwilling to sell it. Sort of, "holy" poverty vs. "wholly" impoverished.

For those of you who are not-so-loyal readers of this lofty blog (oh, let's put a better spin on that and call you "the newly arrived to this lofty blog"), the Universe came up with an ingenious plan to take care of my poverty problem once and for all: If you can't afford it and yet you won't sell it, we'll simply return it the proverbial Dust whence it came. Yes. The city is re-zoning my street for commercial use and will be demolishing the house I love. Problem solved. And, as these things go, they're giving me adequate compensation for taking my house, my yard, my many trees and flowers, out from under me.

Even while this whole scenario breaks my heart, I am finally able to get some rest at night -- for the first time in many years, to be honest.

And that's where this whole "vow of poverty" idea becomes really attractive to me. No, I don't want to not own anything. I am just so looking forward to the peace of mind that comes from not owing anything. I barely remember what that feels like, gang. But it is on its way to me.

On another topic... This pertains to the subject heading of this post today. [I will give you a moment to scroll back up and read it.] One of my client's had a chocolate lab that I just adored. His name was Sweet Pea and he and I got along famously. We really did. Whenever I would go over to their house, Sweet Pea and I would be inseparable. He followed every move I made. (Not the easiest thing to do in a small house with a huge dog!) I just loved him and I paid a lot of attention to him. Sweeet Pea was really old, however. And two weeks ago, when I last saw him, I got the profound impression that he wasn't going to be with us much longer. I didn't tell his owner that, but I sensed it. Even though Sweet Pea was in fine health and great spirits and seemed just exactly like he always did, I sensed it wouldn't be long. And I told myself, "Oh no, I don't want to still be living around here when he goes because it will break my heart." And I just gave him a lot of love that day.

I am supposed to be working for that client again tomorrow. That client wrote to me last night to tell me that Sweet Pea had died the other day, out of the blue. I was so sad, but also there was that bittersweet joy that I had taken extra time playing with him the last time I saw him, because I was thinking of his mortality.

In a way, it's what I'm feeling about this house. I know my days in it are numbered, and that its days on Earth are numbered, so I am just trying to take in every moment. All the daffodils are coming up. Some other little flowers have already bloomed -- even though we have another dusting of snow out there this morning. The robins have returned. There is a cardinal in my backyard who sings me awake every morning. I try to just take it all in and not think about the bulldozers that will be coming. Making that effort to find the joy in the fleeting moments. Just allow the joy. Feel gratitude. And accept change.

All right. Well. My final week in Bible Study Methods is upon me, and this week focuses on becoming a teaching minister, making my first lesson plan for bible study; being real as opposed to just thinking about being real. An interesting week.

Okay. I am not going to say "Happy Hump Day," (but if you watched that David Bowie video I posted a couple weeks ago, wasn't that so ironic that he said "happy hump day"???!!!) I'll just say, Happy Wednesday. I hope it's a good one, gang, wherever you are. Take a moment to cherish stuff today, okay? When we consciously cherish the moments, transition is easier. And I guarantee you, transition comes, in all sorts of ways. Thanks for visiting, gang! See ya.

[Not Sweet Pea, but close! Stay frisky, sweetheart. Onward.]

Honestly, the joys of punctuation!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:38:32 GMT

Do you get those daily emails from the HARO (Help A Reporter Out) PR and Marketing list? I do. I had 2 nanoseconds left in my daily schedule so I thought, Hey! Why not sign up for yet another e-list and read some more emails?

This morning, there was a listing on HARO that caught my eye because I love to bake. A newspaper was looking for a specific cream puff recipe. It was one of those things where punctuation really would have helped a lot. I thought it said that they wanted recipes for cream puffs that were filled with face cream! A type of face cream made by the brand name of "St. Josephs." YUCK. But au contraire! What they were looking for were recipes for special cream puffs to serve on St. Joseph's Day:

Saint Josephs Day Cream Puffs.

Since you already know that I am a bit on the indulgent and obsessed side when it comes to face cream, you can see why my brain zeroed in on "day cream" and not on "Saint Josephs Day". What a difference a lone little apostrophe would have made, right gang??

(BTW, here is where your knowledge of Feast Days for all the Saints now comes in handy!! The Feast Day for St. Joseph, as I know you know, is on March 19th. However, this Feast Day is often wildly overshadowed by our much more favorite Saint, Patrick!! Whose Feast Day is, of course, March 17th!! And right around the corner, to boot!! Yippee ki yi yay!!) (Another "BTW"... while I heartily enjoy the excuse to drink one Guinness and watch Darby O'Gill and the Little People on St. Patrick's Day, my actual favorite Saint is St. Francis, but he runs neck and neck in my esteem with St. Clare. And I consider St. Paul to simply be in a league of his own, without whom there probably wouldn't be all these other thousands of saints, frankly.)

Okay, anyway...

Do you suffer from free-floating anxiety, stress, dread, and a pervasive sense of doom -- and all before you even get out of bed in the morning??!! Wow, I sure do!! Honestly, I go through MUCH pep-talking in order to change my outlook before I toss back those covers and allow my feet to hit the floor every morning. My life is rarely a day at the beach, or a walk in the park, or a trip to the moon on gossamer wings! (It is, however, always, without fail, a cliche!!)

In my never-ending search for clarity and peace of mind while drinking my cup of green tea in the morning, I was blessed today by stumbling upon Joyce Meyer on the TV at 6 AM, and she brought to my attention Proverbs 15:15 and I was so bowled over by its resonance that I wanted to share it with you:

"All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast."

Isn't that cool, gang?? I don't know about you, but I'm taking that Proverb with me today and clinging to it.

Before I close, I wanted to give you some most welcome news: We will soon be blessed with a double-dose of gorgeousness! Yay!! Yes, it was announced the other day that the (in my opinion) really beautiful Rebecca Hall is going to be starring with the often indescribably beautiful Johnny Depp in his upcoming movie, Transcendence. I am really looking forward to this movie, gang. With what little they've released about the plot -- I think it is going to be awesome. And a little scary. Not quite as scary as how old I'm going to be when it finally hits the theaters, but that's another endless topic for which there is no known cure...

Okay, I gotta scoot. Homework awaits, as it usually does. But I really think this is going to be a spectacular day, gang, for all of us. I really do!! So let's hang in there and enjoy the feast! Thanks for visiting, see ya!

[I am just so freakin' glad my waitressing days are long behind me!! -- Ed.]

SNOW day??!!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:56:24 GMT

I grew up in Cleveland, where we never once did not go to school because of weather. It just never would have occurred to us: Weather??!! In Cleveland, we had nothing but weather. So we always simply bundled up and merrily trekked off to school.

Today is a snow day around here. There is, literally, less than 2 inches of snow on the ground. I can readily see my front walk and my driveway through the light gauze of "snow", and the school across the street is closed. Awesome. I am so jealous. Being self-employed, if I decided to take a snow day today, I wouldn't make any money. I would love to get back in my jammies, curl up in bed, eat some sort of piping hot cinnamon roll soaking with melted butter, have a perfect cup of piping hot cafe au lait, watch an old re-run of Perry Mason -- take a snow day. Not do homework, even.

I did the next best thing, though. While sitting listlessly at my computer with a cup of weak green tea that's getting cold and staring blankly at the reading assignment open in front of me -- I discovered that I can take thermal photographs of myself and post them to my blog!!! Who knew??!!

This is me thermalized just now! Wow, right??!!

I look pretty good in thermal, don't you think? Even my bedroom looks good in thermal. I wonder if the Earth of the future is going to include ways for people to walk around, looking thermal. They will probably get way more dates...

Well, fun as it's been to be thermal, I do have to go out and work today, so I must get something that resembles at least a little bit of homework done this morning. I'm not completely convinced it's gonna happen, but I do have to get off this computer and give it the "old college try," as they say.

Have a happy snow day, gang, wherever you are! (And trust me, if it ain't snowin' at all where you're at, that's about as much snow as we have here...) Okay. Time to hit the tundra, gang. See ya!

[Cleveland in winter -- no lie!!]

In honor of Spring, St. Patrick, Passover, Easter....

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:07:32 GMT

For 1 month only!!

Two of my novels are completely FREE!!

For the month of March, you can download Twilight of the Immortal or Freak Parade (or both) absolutely for free.

All I ask in return is that if you like the books, please review them online. If you review them on Amazon Kindle, please state that you received the eBook as a gift. (That part is important, gang. We don't want people thinking I hired you to review me on Amazon.)

You must download these eBooks through Smashwords.com. They have formats that support any e-reader you own. And you must use the following CODES:

Twilight of the Immortal: VQ93K

Freak Parade: RY42Z

A word of advice:

Twilight of the Immortal is historical fiction about Hollywood in the Silent Era. It is scandalous, racy, romantic, and tragic, but it is not erotic. (The links will take you to summaries of each book.)

Freak Parade, on the other hand, is literary erotica. It won the Silver Medal in the Independent Publishers Awards for 2011. However. It is sexually graphic, includes drug use, some violence, as well as some violent sex. It is intended for adults.

If you choose to download either of these novels and you like them, you can pass them along to friends for free!! However, please remember to review the books online, and ask anyone you forward the books to, to do the same. Thanks, gang!!

So Much Monday Joyousness, So Little Time...

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:49:37 GMT

Okay!! Joyousness. What a word!! Who knew that the spell check wouldn't start peeling out a million bells and whistles at that word?? And yet, it did not, so it must be a bona fide word. (Although it does still insist that "bona fide" is/are not (a) word(s).)

Yes. Punctuation. I got a million of 'em...

I am having the best day. I might even go so far as to say that I am having the best life -- you know, really go out on a limb! Yet absolutely everything does seem to be going great. Even stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with me (yes, there are things out there that have nothing to do with me, strange as that may seem). I look around at everything and I see greatness. Yes, I do.

I had a ton of homework over the weekend, gang. 3 papers that I had to write on Saturday, alone. (The "alone" referring to "Saturday," but it could equally refer to the fact that I wrote all three papers "alone.") And by early this morning, my professor had already graded everything and his comments were: "Excellent work!" That makes me feel so much joyousness. I am now only taking courses related to my major, which is pastoral ministry. Coming from my widely far-flung and super non-conformist background to the traditional Christian ministry... well, to be doing excellent work in Bible Study Methods (which teaches me how best to teach others how to effectively study both the Old and New Testaments) is just really joyful for me. A joyful thing.

And speaking of joyful, traditional, and non-conformity... I am reading a great eBook right now, written by a colleague -- Wayne Hatford, the man who wrote two great books that channeled Rudolph Valentino's essence. The book I'm currently reading, Letters from Janice: Correspondence with the Astral Plane, was the first book Wayne wrote that was channeled through someone else. (In this instance, a close friend of his named Janice who had recently died.) It is now available as an eBook. What an exhilarating book, gang. If you are at all interested in the stuff you are going to be doing once you're dead, you should read this!

Okay, I am being a little silly. However, if you are a student of metaphysical thought, believe in an after life, or (as the Gnostic Christians believed) that the "after life" is actually the "LIFE" and that physical reality is more a training ground for utilizing the powers of thought, will, and desire, then you will really enjoy Wayne's book. I highly recommend it.

Back to more traditional stuff. I am not a Catholic and don't anticipate ever being one, nevertheless, I really enjoy learning about the Feast Days of the Saints. (I was born on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the Patron Saint of Women, on July 22nd, which I find indescribably auspicious, frankly). So I signed up for the "Saints of the Day" email list from the Catholic church. Every morning, I find out whose Feast Day it is, and why that Saint is considered a saint, and I find out a little bit about that Saint's life. (I only read about the main Saint, because each day actually has about a zillion Saints.)

Today is the Feast Day of St. Casimir, the Patron Saint of Poland and Lithuania. He lived from 1461- 1484. Yes, he died when he was 23. He was the son of a King -- an heir to the throne -- and he was not at all happy about that. He wore plain clothes instead of his princely clothes, and slept on the floor beside his royal bed instead of in it. But he was intensely devout and devoted to God. And this is the part that really intrigued me -- he was buried with the sheet music to his favorite hymn, Omni Die Dic Mariae (known in English as Daily, Daily Sing to Mary).

I don't know, I just find that really poignant, that a 23 year-old Polish Prince-turned-Saint died 529 years ago, at age 23, and was buried with the lyrics to his favorite hymn.

Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to share this lovely hymn with you on this joyous Monday morning!! While we listen to it, let's think about that fleeting saintly life of St. Casimir! Have a terrific day, gang! And thanks for visiting.