Disparate Houseguests

So the blog's been a little quiet, eh? That doesn't mean that the Old Stone House Gang has been lolling around. We've had Houseguests.

First, we welcomed our old friend Mary Muffin, her husband John, and their adorable baby boy, JackJack. Sorry, no pictures, but take my word for it. That is one.cute.baby.

Then Grendel arrived. He's a really big Bearded Dragon lizard, who eats lots of crickets every day. (Garden Girl calls the cricket cage "Village of the Damned.") He'll be with us until the end of the summer. We're watching him while friends move to a new house.

Then came the puppies! One plaintive phone call to my office was all it took for Garden Girl to persuade me that we could foster seven three-week old puppies and their mom. In no time, Lily and her puppies, Raven, Winston, Ringo, Gracie, Peach, Echo, and Bernie arrived to spend a few weeks with us until they're ready to be weaned and sent on to permanent homes. And no, we didn't have the heart to let them all go -- Lily will stay with us. And we found homes for a few more. Ringo will go with a cousin. One will go to Nashy's beau, and our neighbors are looking them over every day, so we hope one will go to them. One of them will stay with us, though we're not sure which. Which means we'll go from two dogs to four, but it won't feel like a big change, since we passed through being a ten dog house first.

What We've Been Doing Around Here

I haven't been posting as much as I should, because it's been a little crazy around here. I'll share a little photo album of what we've been up to. It's not the complete docket, but it will give you a taste of life around this little patch of the Little Blue State. I don't have pictures of Nashy and Witter, because they are away at school, working hard to finish the semester. Witter is rehearsing for juries, and the sound of French and Italian art songs and arias don't photograph very well. Neither do Nashy's activities;she's finishing her Senior Thesis and final classes before she graduates from BMC on May 18. Oh, and interviewing for jobs for next year.

Shiny has been very creative in the last few weeks. She played Poppy in Noises Off, put up her art installation, sang Stormy Weather with the school jazz band, and went to the prom before finally collapsing in a heap of sleepy girlness on Saturday afternoon. Nature Boy, Garden Girl and I have been getting ready for Corporate City Garden Day, which benefits a local children's charity. Oh, and Garden Girl got some bees! I hope we'll have some honey in the fall.

Here are the photos --

Blessing of the Animals

Today was the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, so we attended a blessing of the animals at Church in the City. Our contribution? Our puppy, Blue, recently acquired from the Little Blue State Humane Association* and a young bearded dragon, still small enough to be carried in a large jar, but destined to grow to a couple of feet in length. We left one dog, two geckos, a cat, a hamster, and numerous fish and guinea hens at home.

Our interim rector has a way with children and animals. She didn’t flinch when our eight-year-old son and his friend ran up to the old high altar to inspect the timpani. Nor did she flinch when she blessed our nameless bearded dragon and stroked his knobby head. She blessed our puppy with such dignity that he temporarily gave up chasing the miniature pinscher seated next to us. But best of all, she blessed the animals one by one, calling them by name, except for the lizard of course. This pleased Garden Girl no end.

A number of years ago, I persuaded Garden Girl to come with me to a blessing of the animals, thinking that this would be a good way to get my unchurched animal loving spouse into the swing of things with us Episcopalians. It was not our finest hour as a church. The service was long. The dogs and cats growled and scuffled in the recently restored colonial church, scratching at the pristine doors of the box pews. And the rector blessed the people, not the animals, praying that the owners would be blessed by caring for their beloved pets. This did not sit well with Garden Girl, who worried that the priest considered blessing the actual animals heretical, until I reminded her that Episcopal priests have been blessing the hounds from time immemorial.

Fortunately, tonight’s service was nearly perfect, and included a reading from Job: “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind."

*The Little Blue State Humane Association is holding a black tie benefit gala in November. Blue has been invited to be on the host committee, along with Garden Girl and me. Tee-hee.

UPDATE Here is a photo of Nature Boy and his friend Best Kid Ever, taken by Best Kid's mom.