happy, happy

reader, today is the brother's birthday! the baron is staggered by the fact that jonathan is 28 years old - she remembers him younger, softer around the middle, with a haircut only a mother could give. his face - always so round, and his eyes, so big and mischievous - has changed into something leaner and harder; it has beautiful edges now. reader, do a mash-up of the two faces below... he kind of looks like that now.

something interesting

the baron is thinking about halloween, still, but her mind occasionally wanders away from the costumed holiday - after all, woman cannot live on candy alone! today, in the afterglow of barack obama's infomercial, her mind wandered over to tax plans (a subject that the baron, alas, knows VERY LITTLE ABOUT). fortunately, the good people at vanityfair.com have made it easy for her. take a look, reader, if you have the time.

fall walk with fido

last weekend, last sunday, the baron and the husband participated in 'fall walk with fido'. the event was held at lake artemesia, a lovely scenic spot very near the baron's house. vendors - both for-and non-profit - set up tables in the center of the lake's walk, where goods were sold and free literature was available for anyone to take. the event was meant to bring people and their dogs out for a walk around the lake and to advertise the work of the baron's city committee. and, frankly, if some dog and his owner wanted to buy a gift basket or a canvas bag, or donate to the committee, that was just fine too.





the day was a modest success, though not as successful as it could have been: 'fall walk with fido' was originally scheduled for saturday, but saturday turned out to be a horrible weather kind of day. sunday, though much nicer on the clouds-in-the-sky front, saw fewer visitors, many of whom just happened on the event and decided to stay. it turns out commerce DOES bring people together.

below, the husband and tucker enjoy the weather and the walk.

the baron, for the most part, sat at the registration desk, announcing to all manner of visitors that an event was going on, and were they here for it? even when they looked her square in the eye and grumpily said 'no', she made her pitch anyway. the day was so nice, harlan was so comfortable... what was there to be grumpy about anyway?

below, harlan sits like a king on the baron's lap.

hot dog

has the baron mentioned how excited she is about halloween? the candy, the neighborhood out together, a good reason to spend the early evening hours outside and fire up the chiminea, the candy, the weather (which promises to be lovely- no rain in sight)...

the baron is most excited about the dogs, because she knows that the dogs will be delighted to spend time outside, watching all the foot traffic. those dogs, they like a little bit of distraction now and again, something different from their usual squirrel watching.

also, they will be wearing costumes.

for the baron's amusement.

baron, below, has had his costume picked out for WEEKS. he can't wait to get put it on. he only hopes his siblings are astute enough to get the pun, though he fears they are not.


he also fears that tucker might mistake him for an actual food product and try to eat him. the baron and the husband have promised to keep an eye on tucker, on baron's behalf. there will be no wieners eaten on halloween night!

pumpkins

halloween's a-comin'! this fact excites the baron very, VERY much, both for the sense of community spirit invoked by the holiday, and - frankly - for the candy. the baron and the husband carve pumpkins every year. below, their 2008 entries:



a friend of theirs couldn't tell who had carved what. the baron was offended at that... and knows that you , reader, can tell which is her handiwork, right?

here to stay

a little while ago, the baron and the husband offered to foster a cat. his name was avery, and he was supposed to stay for a short while only. things didn't quite work out that way. the baron and the husband, after some very serious consideration ('do you think we should keep him?' 'do you?' 'he IS black, and he IS kind of dog-shaped, so he does fit in with our small black dog aesthetic.' 'yeah.'), decided that avery-now-named-chester-copperpot-but-called-jinxy-cat is staying.

so far, he fits in very well with his new brothers and sister, all of whom mostly leave him alone. jinxy cat has even taken up some of their habits, though: he flops onto the floor, loiters around the kitchen waiting for food scraps, and helps himself to whatever piece of furniture he wants. below is the sun room couch:


the only one of the dogs who has any real problem with jinxy is baron, and though baron IS the kind of dog to get his hackles up for NO GOOD REASON, it appears that - when it comes to jinxy cat - baron has a very good reason indeed for avoiding him. it turns out that jinxy weighs 20 lbs. - a whole three pounds more than baron - and is taller than baron too. sensing that he's not the smallest (cat-who-acts-like-a-)dog in town, jinxy follows baron around swatting at his tail or pawing at his, ahem, bottom. baron mostly runs away and looks put out, occasionally turning on jinxy with a gruff grumble. it must be love.

oprah says

today the baron is thinking about oprah winfrey. she doesn't often think of oprah, though it must be noted, the baron is mostly a fan. some episodes of the oprah winfrey show just don't interest her at all, others, she watches from start to finish.

today, though, the baron is fixated on oprah's call to follow your passion. she crows it - find your passion! follow your passion! that's how you will be happy! this missive, on the face of it, seems like a good - a GREAT - idea. follow your passion, do what you love, and the rest will fall into place.

the baron wants to know about the particulars. how, for instance, does one identify her passion? how does one parlay that passion into a monthly mortgage payment? why aren't more people following their passions? do all those hotel maids/garbage men/untouchables find their bliss cleaning other peoples' messes? what about doctors/lawyers/mid-level administrators in government jobs? auto mechanics/teachers/diner waitresses? isn't it more likely that most people are just doing what they can to get by, to make the mortgage, to accrue two weeks' vacation time per year? what would happen if everyone found and followed their bliss?

if it's true, that most people are trying to make house payments, but some (few) people are happy in their jobs (really, REALLY happy), how can one make the jump from the former to the latter? really, reader, the baron wants to know how SHE can jump from the former to the latter. she likes her job well enough, but it doesn't stir her soul, not in the way this does.

it's probably to do with hope, or faith, right? to make the transitional leap from mortgage payer to I AM SO HAPPY, one must have a wishing well of hope, the faith that things will look up, that everything will work out, that by following vegan baking or florence, italy or jonathan or her heart's desire or four legged family, or paris, france, the baron will find I AM SO HAPPY!

she's still missing the connector pieces. anyone have any advice for her?