fleetingstories Weblog

Home Is In the Details, Perhaps?

a tab' lo — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:49:26 +0000

Glimpses of Second Seating

a tab' lo — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:59:19 +0000

Second Seating is coming to life. Seven artists are at work creating a fantasy space of recycled products and found objects, filled with references to Houston’s East End culture and industry.

Food To Love In Turkey

a tab' lo — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:20:51 +0000

So many kabobs and grilled vegetables, so many glasses of tea with two sugar cubes, so many honey soaked desserts. We savored every mouthful. What is not to love? Turkish food is wholesome. Their tea is like rocket fuel. Their sweets are divine. When can we return?

Dinner at Karen’s

a tab' lo — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:26:44 +0000

Work In Progress: Second Seating

a tab' lo — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:40:36 +0000

Second Seating, the art installation on which I am now working, received a grant in January from The Idea Fund, a program of Diverse Works ArtSpace, Aurora Picture Show and Project Row Houses made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation. The grant was a terrific boost for the project and we’re well underway toward the late September opening. Here are some photos of work in progress – or at least some of the materials that will go into the fantasy dinner tables and chandeliers that will make up Second Seating.

Following My Shoes

a tab' lo — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:03:56 +0000

Remembering Christmas

a tab' lo — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:03:56 +0000

Here is what I remember about the Christmas holiday season. This year Christmas was celebrated in bits and pieces and came in fits and starts.
The holiday season was strange, unlike any other. There were the snow storms and icy roads that kept our five family households from gathering for Christmas plum pudding and foamy yellow sauce and an exchange of gifts. Then there was Mom’s trip to the hospital where she’s stayed throughout the holiday.
Layered between the snow and Mom’s afflictions, were the bits and pieces of Christmas.

Kelan and Lauren frosted cookies and sprinkled colored sugar over them. Their cookies were quite beautiful and tasted yummy too.

Kelan and Lauren’s Mameau (that would be me) played in the snow with them and even slid down the snow packed street. I use an old phrase to describe sledding, “It was very fun.”

Caroline and I found little silver and Lucite shoes for the girls and they clattered around the house on Christmas afternoon, with always a slip and a fall about to happen.

The McGrady’s tree held an ornament given to Jeanne some 35 years ago when she was three. Looks just like her.

Lovely bottle of wine that evening in Caroline’s kitchen. Exactly what night was that?

Christmas table setting. I missed the dinner which included The Silver Palate’s Chicken Marbella and went instead to see Mom in the hospital.

Lulu Bell and her mom played on the kitchen floor on Christmas afternoon. More fun than anything.

Jeanne made blueberry pancakes for the kids the morning before Christmas. Mameau had some too.

John and I shopped at Pike’s Market. It was raining when we left.

Dad listened to a tape of Mom’s 1958 Christmas concert and then we took the tape to her in the hospital where she listened as her hands moved ever so slightly, conducting a fifty year old choir.

Cousins in the kitchen the evening that we all got together for tamales and pecan pie, among other things.

Denny made black eyed peas on New Year’s Day. What will this new year bring? Mom and Dad are frail and 91 and something is always happening to them. The great grandchildren will all grow bigger and talk more and more. And we, in the middle? We will follow our paths toward fulfillment, but only if we keep our minds focused.

Discovery Park: A Restorative

a tab' lo — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:50:01 +0000

I’ve been commuting between Houston and Seattle for over a year as my 91 year old parents become less and less able to fend for themselves – even with 24/7 caregivers. There are a myriad of day-to-day living needs that seem to benefit from Mom and Dad’s three children’s expertise such as attendance at doctor and dental appointments, special food purchases, sudden skin rashes, yeast infections, lost mail, unopened mail, sudden depletion of boxes of tissues, hair care, food spots on clothing to name a few of the issues that arise each day. My brother and I spell my sister who tends to these endless requests every single day.

All that being said, what saves the days in Seattle from being all about dying and loved ones’ diminishing abilities to navigate life are the walks I take in Discovery Park. I don’t get to the park every day that I’m in Seattle, but I have walked the trails often enough this year to see the seasons change. Each walk this fall has been glorious and restorative.

Afternoon in San Francisco – Blog Her Tomorrow

a tab' lo — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:05:50 +0000

Arrived a day early in San Francisco for the Blog Her conference and spent the afternoon to spend with my sister Kate who flew in from Seattle. We saw wonderful things here in this city that was suffused with both sunshine and soft fog as we toured the labyrinths at Grace Cathedral and then cabbed to golden Gate Park to tour the Conservatory of Flowers, Strybing Arboretum and the Japanese Tea Room. We ended up in a boutique adjacent to the hotel where we looked at very little dresses with plenty of this year’s tucks, pleats and ruching, perfect for Laura. Here are a few photos from our quite wonderful day.

End of the Meal

a tab' lo — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:47:13 +0000

Ever ponder how many meals we savor and then push ourselves away from the table sated and leaving the plates mottled with crumbs and sauce, napkins wrinkled, glasses emptied. Here are a few tables I’ve shared of late. Consider us very lucky to have good food to eat with folks we love.