The Day I Heard Mary Died

long after I got Jim’s call at the Krispy Kreme
long after Kalyani was there to catch my fall

I wrote a letter to Aunt Sue on my best stationery.

No sense having all those real-pressed-flower
fine cotton papers just hanging around in boxes
with no one getting any enjoyment out of them.

Aunt Sue has recently gone deaf
and I miss our phone calls.

She is Dad’s “baby” sister
for whom yours truly is named.

Dad also has one brother living,
Uncle Ken, on the adjacent farm
in the Canadian Maritimes

Aunt Sue lives near Toronto.

Uncle Wes, Uncle Wayne, Aunt Jean, Aunt Bess and Aunt Day have all passed on.

Used the last of my old humming bird stamps on her letter.

And that return address label.

 
I got the Smiley Face stickers as a surprise in a
Wonderful Package from this fine fine lady.
I’ll explain them in a post here one day.

So, one off my list, whooooohoooo. I’m on letters-writing fire now, people!!

This is Jo’s card I’m still writing on…

Pretty, eh?  On linen-laid cotton.

Raoul Dufy’s “The Baie des Anges at Nice” — 1926.

Remember Jo — my “panpal” since 1994?

Remember us at that pub in England in 1999?

And here we are with her daughter Pascell, the first time they came to Texas…

What year was that, Jo? 1997? ‘98?

And Jo recently…

And after I was home from writing Aunt Sue’s letter that day I snapped this with my iPhone…

Mieshka had been with us 2 days.

There you have it for today.

With love, from Jannie Sue Muffin.

P.S. I see I actually had the date wrong on Aunt Sue’s letter. That Friday was really the 15th, not the 16th.

interdoosing meeshka funster — by me, blue bunny

hay, guess what we haz in our house?!!

a bran new kitty!

she name iz meeshka.

she 11 weeks olde and bin with us for 7 days.

she so kurious.

she getting all in my jannies bizniss.

she reely on the moves a lot, hard for my jannies kamera to fokus sumtimes.

at ferst meeshka was thinking my jannies chair was reelly meeshkas chair.

evree time my jannie was turning around, there was meeshka on my jannies chair.

so… my jannie maeked meeshka she own speshill green throne. wit a pilow!

see how nise is she throne!!

but meeshka not falling for the throne trick.

she not stoopid.

she keep sneeking back to my jannies chair, the one wit the best view.

meeshka iz rooling the roosts i thinks.

(pleeze dont look too mutch at my jannies klutter, she stil orginizing she life.)

so…

now my jannie sits on the green throne, wich my jannie do akshually lieks.

meeshka has good karmas i think.

meeshka is also taeking lessins from a spy for lerning to hide in laundrees and jump out at peepil.

i loves meeshka!

she is mutch welkim to our famlee.

~~ end of my poste ~~

wit loves from me — Blue Bunny, butt yoo can calls me BB.

oxoxoxo

p.s. my kelly wants yoo to know the reel speling of she name is Mieshka.

thanks yoo wit mor loves agin.

Mary, I’m Thinking

There will be many more photos to find, of course.

And find them I will on winter afternoons when this house is quiet.

Or on spring mornings when the birds are too happy and I’m least expecting your face.

But there you’ll be.

And I’ll cry. Or smile. Or both.

“Further Along” we sang at your mother’s piano. And at my mother’s piano.

Further along we’ll understand why.

Do the pictures tell how special you were?

Because you were, tho you may not have known it, or chosen to believe.

Sorry I was not in touch so much the past year or so.

And sorry for the pain you must’ve suffered to keep drinking so much so young, your liver failing 2 nights ago.

EDIT – I just learned she bled internally from an ulcer. But she did have cirrhosis too. Poor Mary.

We all loved you. How could we not??

Knowing you knew I loved you gives me a bit of comfort now. 

I’ve started writing you a song.

The chorus might begin…  “Mary, I’m thinking it’s all about loving the ones still here…”

Rest with the angels, my dear dear sweet friend. And dance with them too.

Maryellen Murphy, October 1967 — July 2011.

Love, Jannie.

(All but the photo of Mary and me in Florida are from Jim and my Canadian wedding reception, Nova Scotia, 1992.

The gal in the flowery dress is my sister, Rosie, then only 15.  Still extra super-cute. And sweet.

The gal in the black blazer, Marlene, and I lost touch years ago. I think she dumped me because I laughed when my dog chased her cat. If ever you read this, please forgive me, Marleni-Bandini. And can we try again? We have 2 cats now and I’m a True Believer, just got a new kitten 4 days ago.)

A Kelly Koffee Shop Klip

How ’bout my awesome cinematographer, eh?!?!

She filmed this at The Fair Bean open mike a couple days ago.

How are YOU??? Having fun this summer too? Anything new?

Love, Jannie
xoxooxo

Maya Angelou On Independence & Success

Child, everybody knows you popped out about as independent as a kid gets

but there’ll be times on your journey you’ll need a peptalk, as we all do.

And who better to pep you up than Maya Angelou, whom I fell in love with

forever about as deeply as I fell in love with and will stay in love with you.

Dr. Angelou advises…

“The most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare.”

“To those who are given much, much is expected.”

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”

“If you are not good to yourself, how can you expect anyone else to be good to you?” *

“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.”

“Live as though life was created for you.”

“Whenever you decide something with an open heart, you usually make the right decision.” **

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

“When you get, give. When you learn, teach.”

Dr. Angelou also advises the following, but please don’t read until you’re 12, due to mild language.

In fact, don’t read any of this blog until you’re 12, okay. Thanks!!

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass. ”

Those old enough to read this blog, I hope Dr. Angelou’s wisdom enriches your journey today.

I know she has mine!!

With love from Jannie-Mom.

xoxoxo

(2 iPhone pix from about a year ago)

* and ** were actually written in first person, but I changed them to “you,” because I’m quite the rebel, as you know.