Hey everyone, don't forget to check out Bjorn's new blog entry on BjornPages: B J O R N P A G E S: Yes, I'm a Rockstar.

~:L O V E * L E T S * G O:~

I came across this beautiful quote yesterday in our Emotive Alphabet calligraphy class at PC yesterday. Christy brought in a bunch of great quotes all about traveling and being free, letting go, etc. I wrote this one down for myself. It reminds me to let go of those who need more than what I have to offer. Especially those who have died - who have moved on, whether that choice was theirs or not.

Tommy was one of those folks who needed to go. Was unhappy for too much of his life. In respecting his choice, in the end, I chose honor him by letting him go. It is very freeing. Sure, I still get mad and angry and relive the process of letting go all over again. But coming back to this point of surrender is beautiful, welcoming and real.

When someone makes a choice that puzzles me, whose left a trail of destruction for all to remember and I'm thinking, "What an asshole - what's their fucking problem!????" - I will try think of this quote and to remember that it's not up to me to save ANYONE, except for myself.

Thanks for the epiphany. {{sigh}}

~: O H * M Y:~ And I thought I was creative! Thank you to Wogah for this fun link. Check out the terrificly brilliant wit in Patricia Waller’s Alluring Crochet Works. Can't decide if my favorite is the bunny stabbed with carrot or the pink fetish ware. Hmmmm. What are yours?

~:D O G * C H A T:~ Ruthie and Bjorn took over our fancy iSight cameras and had a little chat yesterday. One would bark, the other would look around the room, behind one of us, then back at the camera. Very confusing. Mom and I are laughing all the while. This is what I do, instead of doing something productive.

~E A S T E R * N A P:~

Holidays are hard work, as you can see here. It's hard for both of these creatures to stay so cute. Who can say no to a man in pink? Lying down in a bay window with a papillon? I can't. We took many pictures during our time up in Clayton, during which I first told you and my grandmother Nonie that we were pregnant. I spent that Sunday reading through your gazillion lovely comments and answering e-mails from friends and family. Lots of fun. I can't thank you enough for your support and love. Really means a lot.

We also graduated Bjorn to almost free status of life without a leash (for the most part). Dad's dog Alice Faye was wonderfully calm and very gentle with BjornMouse, as were other dogs who visited us that day. If you'd like to see more Easter in Clayton photos, there are more here.

~:C H A T T 'N * W H O R E:~

My dorky (and generous) little brother Peter got me an iSight thingie for my birthday! Woo hoo! Mom got one, too. And we've been chattn away. Now that there's an Elser baby on the way - it makes sense for our family to have cameras, so we can enjoy each other virtually and for virtually nuth'n.

Today, Audrey graciously allowed me to interrupt her important school work and accepted my iChat invitation. So for those of you who have one - look me up!

The latest and greatest photo of my niece Mia. There are more Easter photos here, if you wanna see 'em!

~: I N T R O D U C I N G * B I M P :~

I have some very happy Easter news for all of you. This little sweater I just finished belongs to the new Elser baby who will arrive to meet you all in mid-October! We are calling him/her "Bimp" for now and are sooooo excited. I have been dying to tell you and at last have said goodbye to the 1st trimester (and I hope nausea as well!). We are at 13 weeks - heard the heartbeat yesterday and saw Bimp wiggle and dance at week 9. UH-MAY-ZING. Quite a little miracle this pregnancy is. We are counting our blessings and I am feeling kinda like Wonder Woman. It's an amazing experience.

So now you guys know I have not just let myself go and gotten FAT! For the first time in my life, I have boobs - thank God in heaven I have boobs! Sorry - don't have a picture for that one. And Bjorn will have a little sister or brother! And God has been good to us! And Spring is here! Remember those little seeds I tried to plant in the little indoor greenhouse kit? They DIED. Who cares - I've got something better growing in my belly.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers for the next few months. Happy. Excited. Nervous. Grateful. And my husband Doug? He's been a dream. I can't wait to see him as a father. Oh happy, happy day. Happy Easter everyone!

~Anne

One of Mom's new landscapes. Sorry about the glare. But isn't it beautiful? Luscious.

~:L A T E * T H I R T I E S * F E E L * F A B:~

We took many more birthday pictures of dinner last night, if you care to see them. My actual birthday isn't until Monday, during which I will be ushering in a new group of first quarter PC students - so we decided to celebrate last night. Mom, Dad and Doug pitched in together and bought me this lovely Elsa Perretti necklace from Tiffany's. She's the same designer of my wedding ring. This necklace is en route to atlanta - so I should receive it Monday. Thank you so much Mom, Dad and Doug! I can't wait to wear it.

~:I S * I T * M E ?: ~ Ahh, the hosts of Atlanta's Classic Radio. Is it me? Or does the radio voice of FM 90.1 WABE'S Wanda Yang Temko sound like she's ripping the upholstery off the seat of her chair with her asshole? Listening to her makes me extremely nervous and uptight. I have to admit that she was much more uptight when she first came to the station in 2002. Sadly, now the affected voice of Lois Reitzes (who sounds like she's speaking with cotton balls in her cheeks and is guided by a broken metronome) isn't the only voice that makes me cringe. God help me.

I'd have to say that after all this needling complaining, my favorite radio personality on WABE is H. Johnson - Saturday night's host of Jazz Classics. What a character and what energy and what fun to listen to him on a Saturday night with friends. Even though you are guaranteed to be interrupted by his energetic comments for the first 2 minutes of each piece, you're sure to be entertained by a truly genuine and upbeat voice. The classics don't have to be boring, people.

7 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE:

1. Have a baby
2. Finish my wedding album
3. Spend a week in Provence
4. Talk to Tommy again
5. Have multiple orgasms
6. Convert the back porch into a ceramics and painting studio
7. Get a female Papillon for Bjorn and name her Inga

7 THINGS I CANNOT DO

1. Wait to have a baby
2. Imagine life before marriage
3. Run
4. Put the left sock on before the right without falling
5. Have multiple orgasms
6. Sight read sheet music
7. Feel at peace without the house being clean

7 THINGS I SAY MOST OFTEN

1. Bjorn! Come!
2. Bjorn! Go to bed!
3. Jesus Fucking Christ!!
4. Honey - can you do me a favor?
5. What's for dessert?
6. People are so fucking stupid
7. No, thanks.

7 BOOKS I LOVE

1. Chicken, Shadow, Moon and More - Mark Strand
2. Socks Socks Socks - (Knitting patterns)
3. Cloud Nine (A Dreamer's Dictionary)
4. The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy
5. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
6. Please Understand Me - Meyers Briggs
7. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

7 MOVIES I CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER

1. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
2. Raising Arizona
3. The Pink Panther
4. Young Frankenstein
5. The Sound of Music
6. West Side Story
7. The Jerk

~:S U N S H I N E * I N:~

Doug and I have one common "sport" we love to do together (other than going to see movies or watching the Sopranos). We love taking care of the house - working on the yard, gardening, painting, laying brick, etc. And we love taking a whole day to do it together. We find a little shady spot for Bjorn and set him down in between us while we work. Owning a house and taking care of it is one of life's great pleasures. It's the only thing you can spend money on without feeling guilty. Curb appeal just makes life rosier. For everyone.

SO! One of the things Doug started doing last year wass removing the screens from our windows. The difference is night and day, I tell you. Screens make your windows look sad and neglected. Gray, muddy, like a smoker's car windows, TV screen or computer keyboard. Tinted with tar. Totally gross. Being a smoker for 15 years (I quit 3.5 years ago) I should know. Back to the window screens - we got half way around the house last year - and then got distracted. All the screens from the front of the house had gone to the Dekalb County dump while the back of the house remained smothered in screens for another season.

Just last weekend, Doug took the remaining screens off the back of the house. This means the kitchen and music room. Oh my goodness what a difference. We spend most of our time together in the cozy bay window nook in our kitchen. The photo you see here shows the difference. Crisp, clear true-to-life color beaming in with no inhibitions. Green that's proud of itself. I swear - there is no place - I mean NO place I'd rather be than in my kitchen bay window.

So I took lots more pictures, if you'd like to see them. I know many are of Bjorn, but man - can't you just feel that sun? Sheer heaven.

I found the following mean spirited comment on Mary's blog and just HAD to add my two cents:

Audrey said...
did you know at 5am mary resembles the stray cat that hangs out across from PC? meow! just wanted to add some love to your neverending comment list....

Mary said...
HEY NOW, Audrey...that was studio week...Hank's class and NO sleep all rolled up into one. If you post that picture I will kill you...

So our dear friend Tania generously sent me the above pic she took of Mary during studio week---or what she likes to call Week of the Living Dead.

Mary must be some kind of Exotic Longhair???