What To Do:

Someone in my life has shown her true colors. I realize now why I've never trusted her with my most intimate thoughts. She shared a confidential conversation. And now I know, she is not to be trusted. And I'm very uncertain as to what to do... how do I proceed? Where do I go from here? Do I confront her? Be really mean about it? Or forgive and forget? Do I move on and separate myself from her? If I end our relationship I know I will miss what she brings to the table, so I'm in a bit of a quandry.

Trust: firm belief in the honesty, reliability of another; confident expectation and hope.

Hartley:

I recently re-discovered Alice Neel. If you aren't familiar with her and her work, you should be, shame on you! She's as fresh today as she ever was. I don't hold against her all the things I am at odds with because she had a hard, hard life and was one amazing painter.

To Watch or Not To Watch:
My oldest daughter and her husband are currently deployed. They are both serving in Northern Iraq. I don’t think about their safety 24/7, but it is on my mind -- a lot -- especially in the mornings. I brace myself before opening any kind of newsfeed or news broadcast or newspaper/newsmagazine. Has an “incident” taken place near them? How many were killed? Any soldiers? Some days I just don’t have the strength to look.

It makes me wonder if all of this “instant access” stuff a good thing or a bad thing. When the internet is working over there, we correspond by email. And Skype -- although the connection is always shaky -- is a dream! There’s nothing I look forward to more than our Sunday afternoon visits. I love seeing their faces and hearing their voices -- even though they always look tired.

My mother and I have discussed and debated this subject many times. Was it was harder for the loved ones of service men and women during World War II who had little contact and sparse news, or is it harder now with every detail and up-to-the-minute report in your face?

Was ignorance better?

Hello Cowgirl in the Sand:
A dear, dear friend sent his daughter's photo to me with this tagline... now I can't get the song out of my head!!!
Neil Young was the soundtrack of my life during the summer of 1972. I was so young and my body was strong and firm and tan. I had long blond hair hanging down to my waist which was shiny from the overabundance of chlorine and sun. I drove my car with the windows down, the radio blaring and friends piled in. I was deeply in love and didn't have a worry in the world. Ah, nostalgia!

(Nostalgia describes a longing for the past, often in idealized form. The word is a form of a Greek compound, consisting of νόστος, nóstos, "returning home", amd a Homeric word, άλγος, álgos, "pain" or "ache.")

Yumminess:

Goat Cheese Bites
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves
1 (8-oz.) goat cheese log
1 (8-oz.) French bread baguette, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1. Combine and finely chop first 4 ingredients. Roll cheese log evenly in herb mixture; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Drizzle baguette slices with olive oil. Gently press slices into 24 muffin cups in muffin pans.
3. Bake at 350° for 7 to 9 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned. Remove from oven; let cool in pans 5 minutes.
4. Spread goat cheese into baguette cups; top with sun-dried tomatoes and basil leaves.

Adapted from Tyler's Ultimate by Tyler Florence, Southern Living, January 2009

My Obsession:

I recently visited The Conduit Gallery in Dallas to view an exhibit of Rex Ray's work. What can I say about Rex Ray? To actually see his work up-close was a dream. I'm obsessed!

"Rex Ray's work both in graphics and in the fine arts completely captures the times we live in. His pieces look both backward and forward; they're decorative yet have a self-conscious conceptual framework; they're alike yet different" –Michael Paglia, Westword.

The Party Bed:
When my three daughters visit their grandmother's house, they look forward to sleeping on the "party bed." It is king-sized and soft and lumpy and old. During the hot Louisiana summers, it sits in quiet repose in the coldest and darkest room of the house like a cocoon. The old sheets that fit the party bed are as soft as only old sheets can be. Depending on how you lay, it can sleep at least ten -- which includes all ages of humans beings and pets. And because everyone can sleep together, no one is ever left out of late night, just-before-sleep conversations and story-telling and laughter. It's the kind of a bed you can "snuggle deep-down-into-the-covers" on. It's the kind of bed you can "lay-on-top-of-each-other-while-watching-old-movies" on. And now, after all these years, my Mother is thinking of replacing the party bed with a "new luxury firm Euro pillowtop, queen-size set." Being replaced is a sad thing -- especially for a party bed.