alejandro

please adopt this stray pup! my stepdaughter found him starving to death along the highway after witnessing him almost being hit several times. she took him to nearest building to ask if it was their dog or if they knew who the pup belonged to. the response was horrifying! the person said it wasn't their dog and if they saw it again they would shoot it! my stepdaughter quickly placed dog in her truck and got out of there.

we have been calling him alejandro or "dro" for short. he's a smart and sweet puppy. who likes to play. he loves toys. and food! he looks like a cross between some kind of hound dog and a red heeler cattle dog. he still has puppy teeth and puppy nails. so, my guess is he has a long way to grow.

please adopt him! if you can't, tell all your friends about this beautiful boy! he needs a forever home fast!

like a ghost thru the fog...

"and to those that i love, like a ghost thru a fog, like a charmed hour, and a haunted song..." - s. nicks

susan and kristi came to visit. it was so good seeing friends. catching up. sipping wine. being happy. jason made wonderful meals, fresh bread and wild berry cobbler. we bought antique hats, made an entrance at an art show, invaded a local winery, ate rita's chili, toasted a 67 yr old survivor, sent dinky dog off to her new home, and watched the sun set while the fog rolled in.

now they are gone. the bottles are empty. the sink is full of dishes. the dogs are sleeping. and the fog lingers as it has and always will. old timers say that for every day of fog in late summer, a day of snow that winter. it's been foggy for 30 days. i'm afraid.

me, kristi, emily (a 67 yr old survivor we picked up at the 12 west martini bar), and susan

kristi & me

amber adopts dinkerbell

mmm... bread!

happy birthday amber!

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappy birthday, big sis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love, porkchop

she did it!

congratualations amber!

if the may flower brought the pilgrims...

what do may showers bring? it keeps raining. today is cold. rainy. misty. i had to wear boots. not cool boots. the big black rubber kind. which i suppose are cool in some ways. but i'm sick of wearing them. i long for sandals. and bare feet.

but tomorrow is supposed to bring some sun. and with it, the graduation of my stepdaughter. it's been a difficult year. and i am wishing her the best for the future. and am hoping that she is able to see possibilities, to opens doors, and to discover places in the world and in her heart where she has never been before.

"Love in speech is truth; love in action is righteousness." - Sai Baba

the hardest part.

you got to walk down that road
keep your head up high
god don't make no deals
he just wants you to try
keep on trying

see, i've been there before
when the sun leaves the sky
sometimes all you can do
is hold your head and cry
go on, cry

night falls
you have my hand to hold
as we run
all the way back home

you got to walk down that road
keep your head up high
if there is one thing i know
you got to live 'for you die
keep on trying

night falls
you have my hand to hold
as we run
all the way back home

you got to walk down that road
keep your head up high
if there is one thing i know
we are all just trying to get over
we are all just trying to get over it
keep on trying
try harder

- larisssa

cha, cha, cha, changes....

what a week it has been. i celebrated halloween in the hospital getting my good breast (well actually at that point it was down-graded to "fair" or "as-is") hacked off. the doctors put me back together a la frankenstein. literally. my new breast is partially made from cadaver skin. how fitting for a halloween mastectomy. i got a sneak peek at hospital before they bandaged me up. looks awesome. maybe the skin came from a neurosurgeon, an olympic athlete or a famous super-model. maybe i will develop super powers. maybe i'll finally be able to dream in french.

this week also marked the arrival of our 70 inch long baby girl. well, she's not really a baby. she's 17 years old and a senior in high school. amber, my step-daughter, has come to live with us permanently due to some unfortunate circumstances beyond her control. the timing was a little weird. most women have 9 months to prepare for motherhood. i had a week. but that is just fine. everything happens for a reason. and i couldn't be more thrilled. i'm so happy she is here. this new house of ours really feels like home now.

in addition to amber, the homestead acquired another family member this weekend. leroy, the turkey. and now for a little background on leroy.... leroy had a rough beginning. he was raised in a cage entirely too small for his body. as he grew, his legs became maimed, his feet became swollen and his wings became broken. jason's parents rescued the poor creature at a local animal sale. he's a funny fellow. loves junk food, especially donuts. he's been pardoned for life. he will never be dinner. he'll get to spent the rest of his days eating bugs, wandering the fields, and eating the occasional hostess ding-dong.

november is gonna be alright....

amber's new room.

leroy's arrival.

mmm.. bread.

just like the white winged dove....

sings a song, sounds like she's singing...

happy 17th, ambo!

for some reason i'm not able to create a title for this entry. some kind of computer snag. and i had a very clever title picked out too. oh well.

this weekend we inducted amber into the rook family of rock. whilst our drummer sam was busy chasing lions in africa, we recruited amber as a guest member of wormwood scrubs to play the "south side rocks off" festival in south st louis. jason played sitar, amber played guitar, mandolin & tambourine, and i played my keyboard while sitting in the lotus position on the floor. actually we all played sitting down, and barefoot. it was a psychedelic hippy extravaganza complete with an impromptu indian raga with a hindu mantra sang over the top. i think we confused a lot of people. which was exactly what we had planned.

after our show we headed down to off-broadway to catch our friends the black diamond heavies. who are quite possibly the best band in the world. john wesley told one of his crazy stories that starts with "i tell you what, man............." and ends with him jumping out of a truck or setting something on fire.

pre-show jason.

pre-show ambo.

pre-show me in need of a haircut.

jason and john wesley "i'll tell you what..."

donkey, scrappy and the zoo.

this weekend, jason and i drove out to the country to get some fresh air. along the way we stopped for a garage sale at a goat farm. i purchased some lovely curtains. we got a vintage chair for the studio. mr donkey got a stuffed animal. and choppy got a very classy pilot's sport coat. amber came to visit saturday night. we ate mexican food and watched dazed and confused. then on sunday we were joined by my mom and amber's friend michelle. we celebrated earth day at the zoo. and amber drove herself home in her "new" car.

donkey & the bear.

choppy's on the prowl.

scrappy.

global warming earth day bear.

amber & michelle.

heaven help us!

at aproximately 11am on wednesday the 28th of march, the state of missouri issued amber rook a drivers license. i'll let you know when it's safe to drive in missouri again. heaven help us all!

how i spent my birthday.

i kicked off my birthday weekend with benign biopsy results. what a relief! i figured that deserved some celebratin'. so mom and i went out friday for some pints of bitter at a local welsh pub. and i pretended i was back in the UK.

then saturday morning....

mr donkey helped me open presents

then we drove to joe & linda's tater patch in rolla, mo

to see our friends the dirty 30s play
and i did my leprechaun-prince impression

then jason did his gene simmons impression

then i blew out the candles on my completely truthful cake


then choppy got irish

then amber did too (ew... choppy was just wearing that!)

the best christmas ever.

i know i say it every year. but this really was the best christmas ever. and it took me by surprise. i was anticipating a bleak and meager holiday. but thanks to a loving family and a few secret santas, hope was reborn. it is amazing how contagious good cheer is. and once again i was filled with christmas spirit. cookies were baked. ornaments were made. presents were acquired. candles were lit. smiles were flashed. and good tidings were shared. and i am reminded of how blessed i am to be surrounded by so much love.

santa elf & billie holiday.

the ranconteurs on vinyl! oh my!

a bacon and gravy christmas breakfast.

brother in law john and baby rosie.

reindeer in law angie.

rita's in the kitchen with jaybird.

3 generations.

christmas din-din feast.

christmas din-din dogs.

christmas din-din love.