A Song of Blessings

     In this special season of giving thanks for all we have, I want to share one of my favorite songs, Count Your Blessings, by Bing Crosby, from 1954's White Christmas. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cleaning Test

It's that time again.  Company is coming for Thanksgiving so, you guessed it.  I'm cleaning the house, top to bottom.  My husband says, "Why bother?  They'll just mess it up the moment they walk in the door."  While he's right--They drop off purses, coats, extra shoes, dolls, coloring stuff, games, suitcases, dog food, dog leashes, beach chairs, coolers, etc.  Any surface I've cleaned is pretty much covered up.  Still, the idea that those surfaces are germ, grit and gravel free, to the best of my ability, is a point of pride for me.

So while I was running the sweeper, a flash from the past entered my mind.  I don't remember where or when I heard it, but here it is.  A less than kind mother-in-law was playing got-cha with her daughter-in-law.  Her ultimate test of a good housekeeper was to run a gloved hand on the underside of the toilet tank to check for dust, dirt--whatever might collect there and be less than desirable.  As I think back, I can honestly confess, I don't recall ever actually cleaning the underside of the toilet tank.  Around the tank, beside the tank, yes.  But under?  Nope.  Go ahead, call me a slob. I guess that means I'm not as great a housekeeper as I should be. Guess I never will be...

By the way, this mother-in-law, could be named Aunt Noreen, the mean-spirited yet still beloved character in my historical series, The Goodbye Lie.  Her evil characteristics are timeless.  Once a meanie, most often forever a meanie, huh?  

Military Working Dogs

During a visit to our local American Legion Post 54 in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida, we discovered a very handsome and equally fascinating vet.  There on the floor, with people stepping over him, unflustered, enjoying his low level view, was a military working dog. A  Belgium Malinois (pronounced mal-in-wah),  Bartje (pronounced Bar-shay) retired in October of 2013 after serving in  Afghanistan and Mayport, Florida. His handler, Master-at-Arms (MA) 1st Class Eliot Fiaschi, is responsible for military working dog teams in the South East, US. He has adopted Bartje and it's plain to see their mutual devotion.

Before I reached to pet Bartje, I asked Fiaschi, "Does he bite?"

He replied casually, "Only when I tell him to."


Well, Bartje got lots of attention and lots of petting that day, dressed as he was in his official vest, complete with his name and ribbons.

Until this time, I'd heard of and seen military dogs on the news, but never realized how vital they are to our national security.  They are determined to please their masters, following commands to the point of self sacrifice. 

To read more about Navy man Fiaschi, visit
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=73402

Most importantly, please take a few minutes to check out K9 Pride.  This site lists three non-profit organizations supporting our military dogs, including Kevlar for K9s, and explains what equipment these wonderful animals need to stay safe and comfortable in harsh conditions like Afghanistan. http://k9pride.wordpress.com/how-to-support-the-war-dog-teams/

Master-at-Arms (MA) 1st Class Eliot Fiaschi is featured in

 K9 Heroes by Nicole Arbelo

http://www.amazon.com/K9-Heroes-Together-Protect-Conquer/dp/1432742019/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385009176&sr=8-1&keywords=k9+heroes#_

 

 

I also want to mention that Bartje's visit to the American Legion Post was due to Karen Kelley with BARC, Boxer Aid & Rescue Coalition.  Visit her non-profit boxer rescue site at  www.boxerarc.org.  

Tussie Mussie- a Goodbye Lie favorite

a Goodbye Lie favorite Crafts: Tussie Mussies Home: greenlightwrite.com featuring GraciousJaneMarie.com - Roses, Recipes, Romance

Gardening   Gracious Living / Victorian Life   Home Help   Weddings

Tussie Mussies         see our Tussie Mussie shirts and more goodies at our T shirt shop   A tussie mussie, also known as a nosegay (doesn’t that conjure a delightful image of sweet-smells?) is a small bouquet of fresh, artificial, or dried flowers.  Sometimes it has a lace, paper or greenery collar, tied with a bow.  The flower stems can be inserted into a silver filigree or ceramic holder for carrying or wrapped with stretchy florist tape and covered with ribbon.    If a suitor is particular in his choice of flowers, the tussie mussie can convey special meaning when presented because each flower may represent distinct emotions.  Usually handheld, a tussie mussie is sometimes pinned to the bodice of a gown.  According to the language of flowers, if centered at the bosom, it suggests friendship toward the giver.  Should it be pinned over the heart, it stands for undying affection.  And the Flowers Spoke has a detailed explanation of the language of flowers.     This is  the first novel in Amelia Island's Goodbye Lie Trilogy set in the 1880s  and available where books are sold.     Excerpt from The Goodbye Lie:    Eager eyes were fixed on the entrance to see who arrived with whom and in what fashionable garb. As Trip removed her black velvet cape with burgundy satin lining, Breelan's friends found her. Tonight, she wore the prettiest dress she'd ever possessed. Her mother and grandmother had created an entire gown of horizontally sewn rows of ivory lace. The drop shoulders were edged with four-inch white fringe, which allowed her upper arms to peek out. Pink and gold silk rosebuds intertwined in a vine of ivy leaves to diagonally cross the bodice. More rosebuds sat atop pale bows scattered over the drape covering an underskirt of ecru satin. An oval coral brooch outlined with tiny seed pearls and pinned to her mother's string of pearls, was positioned at the base of her throat, her earbobs matching. White gloves only long enough to cover her forearms, an amethyst ring on her right hand overtop the glove, and a tussie mussie of small pink poinsettias in a lace cone completed the picture of loveliness that she was. The women touched her gown, admiring its grandeur and the beauty of the woman who wore it.   To make your own Tussie Mussie, you’ll need:   Silk (artificial) or fresh or dried flowers - enough so that when gathered together, they will form a 3 inch to 6 inch diameter bouquet 6 inch paper doily a roll of green florist tape 1/2 inch satin or organdy ribbon in a coordinating color scented floral air freshener (optional)   Method: Cut an X shape approximately 1 inch wide in the center of your 6 inch doily.  You will insert your floral stems through this.  Cut the stems of your flowers approximately 4 to 5 inches long.  Gather them into bouquet, artfully arranging them in your hand for balance and color. Wrap the stems lightly with florist tape.  Slide the flower stems into your doily so the doily touches the bases of the flowers. Wrap the stems with ribbon, covering the florist tape. Tightly tie a ribbon into a bow just beneath the doily to secure your bouquet. If desired, spray artificial or dried flowers with the floral air freshener.  Fresh flowers, such as roses, need no spray.  Mother Nature has done her part already.   Present the tussie mussie to someone special or tie it to a package as a favor or use it as a lovely “sit about” for any room in the house.  If you’ve made your tussie mussie from fresh flowers, let it dry naturally and it will keep indefinitely.  Remember to handle dried flowers with care.   PS I made s slew of tussie mussies as favors for my daughter's wedding reception and the female guests seemed to love them.  I used roses from my garden picked all spring and summer and gathered bunches with rubber bands, hanging them on a wooden clothes drying rack to dry.   This Tussie Mussie article is copied from my website, GraciousJaneMarie.com- http://www.greenlightwrite.com/tussiemussie.htm, so readers realize this blog is only part of our Goodbye Lie world on Amelia Island, Florida.    Hugs and Blisses!    jmm

Remember our Veterans!

We've had a weekend to remember our wonderful veterans with today being the official holiday.  Fernandina, here on Amelia Island in Florida, held our annual parade on Saturday morning.  I heard there were more than 90 groups participating. For a small town, that's a ton!  Below are a few pictures I snapped after the fact.  I forgot to take along my camera when I rode in the American Legion Auxiliary wagon.  That means I didn't get a picture of Bruce riding on the back of a three wheel motorcycle.   Bummer.  He was up front with the American Legion group and I was way back, number 67 or so, so I didn't even see him!  No matter.  The parade was to remind us all of our military men and women.  So fly your flags to honor them and our country which they protect. Thanks to them, we are free enjoy such patriotic holidays.  If you see someone who is in uniform or ever was, acknowledge their service.  Let them know we appreciate them.

lady pirate

 

Civil War reenactors

 

pirate ship on wheels

 

Lady Liberty on the right

 

 

True Love

So you see the title of this posting and wonder to yourself: Oh this has to be about Jane Marie and her  husband, Bruce.  Maybe how they met...Or perhaps how they've survived their long years of marriage together.

Or maybe Jane Marie will link to YouTube and the song True Love sung to Grace Kelly by Bing Crosby in High Society from 1956. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UPHAfvbs08

No, the true love of which I write is between my dog, Abby, and me.  In every love story, there is a lover and a beloved.  Abby is the lover and I, the beloved.  How do I determine who has which role? I know this because Abby not only finds my shoes and carries them with her around the house, but she licks the inside of them to the point of sopping. While disgusting, this practice of hers demonstrates her depth of devotion to me.  I adore the old Abster, but I draw the line when it comes to me slobbering over her paws.  Therefore, she wins.  She loves me more.

Abby enjoying my old shoe

Hollywood Hearts- Love with All the Trimmings

If you love musicals and if you've never seen On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, starring Barbra Streisand, do find a copy and watch it.  A romantic comedy with ESP and reincarnation, Streisand's 1970s character returns to 19th century England. It's colorful movie with memorable songs, but the most memorable for me are during her flashbacks.

I have loved Love with All the Trimmings from the first moment I heard it. And the detail of the period scene in which it is set is spectacular. Click here to listen to the lyrics as they tell her story and delight in the romance of it with the added perfection of her costume and acting.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xvRb9-ft4M&list=RD02JESFet2Bxkg 

One other romantic song from the movie is He Isn't You.  Again, if you listen to the words, they color a picture of longing and the romance meter is off the charts.  Watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YL1odq7I74

As always, thank you to YouTube.com.

Enjoy!

PS  You can watch the entire movie by movie clips on YouTube, but it's broken up into eight segments.  Hey, but where there's a will, as they say...

Year of Living Graciously - November

"Giggles polish the heart and keep it from rusting."  -Jane Marie

Happy Halloween!

BOO-TIFUL Abby!

 

 

Goodbye Lie Diaries - Jane Marie & Peeper

Fernandina on Amelia Island
Present Day

Jane Marie writes:  I recently heard a name and was reminded of a childhood neighbor. Let's call him Jakie.  He was a year younger than I and would cock his head to the right and squint when he was in the sun.  While that was all understandable, the thing I remember most about him was that he ate worms. I'm serious.  I think he did it to amuse little girls.  I was one of them. I have been accused by a sibling of enjoying a nibble or two of worm myself.  Said sibling was, is and forever will be WRONG.  Jakie ate them, not me!  You'd think I would remember such a revolting thing, wouldn't you?

As the years advanced, our daughter, Barbra, told us her first grade boyfriend, Randy Snort, liked to lick rocks.  If this is a generational thing, and we continue to be fascinated by such oddities, I wonder if granddaughter Ava's first boyfriend will chew his own toenails. It could happen.

*************                                                                                          
Fernandina on Amelia Island
1880s

Grandmother Peeper writes: That ain't nothin'.  I once knowed a fella we called Lucky Lucas who shined his boots with his own ear wax.  That's disgustin' but his shoes always looked most handsome.                                                                                 
                                                                             
                                                                      Grandmother Peeper

Through the magic of modern electronics, The Goodbye Lie Diaries feature comments on every day happenings between author Jane Marie Malcolm and the characters from her historical novels.  

                                                                                                                                   Grandmother Peeper

Joke for Kids

What kind of doggie does a vampire have?

Answer: a bloodhound, of course!

Nineteen Shades of Day

Amelia Island, Florida

 

 

 

 

 

Boots on the Ground

The second annual Boots on the  Ground event was held today here in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida. As a tribute to our fallen military men and women, over 1,800 boots lined both sides of Atlantic Avenue from the beach running a good mile and a half west to 8th Street.  Volunteers began setting the boots out at 4 am this morning, evenly spacing them with military precision. I heard from one of the veterans how a storefront owner offered an empty showroom where all the incoming boots were stored and staging began. Many of the boots came in without shoelaces, some brand new, some mildly used.  So besides lacing, each had a red solo cup inside to catch any rain and to support the individual flag that floated above it. Attached to each boot was a badge bearing the photograph of a military hero, his name, hometown and battle where he or she had fallen. Sadly, mothers had to make  7,000 badges and all those extras were displayed hanging from ropes behind the boots.  Many families sought out their particular hero and discovered the boots and badges were set out/organized by year, beginning with September 11, 2001. 
 

boots as far as the eye can see

note a few motorcycle riders on the upper left of the photo

 

  

boots and badges on both sides of the street

 

I learned the first year was just the motorcycle run.  This year, there was a 5K/10K run/walk and kids' fun run, a silent auction, patriotically decorated motorcycle parade, geocaching, weapons display, postcards for families of the fallen and sale of American Legion brick pavers, Bruce and I did this,  plus more. They expect next year's Boots on the Ground event to be even bigger.

It was a solemn occasion yet one filled with pride as we talked and listened to the families tell about the sons and daughters.  As one mother explained to me, "When somebody thanks me for my son's service, it means the world to me, that he's not forgotten. As they thank me, I thank them right back."

For more information, please follow this link: http://mothersofamf.com/boots-on-the-ground-america-remembers/.

Sweetest Day Cometh

Sweetest Day is fast approaching.  This year it is on Saturday,  October 19th, always the third Saturday in the tenth month.
  

Celebrate Sweetest Day

By Jane Marie

 

The Roaring 20s were not all rolled stockings, bobbed hair, rouged knees and Charleston kicks. There was also kindness.  Herbert Birch Kingston, a candy salesman from Cleveland, Ohio, took time to share his wares with orphans, shut-ins and unfortunate souls, thereby, beginning Sweetest Day.

At first, it was celebrated primarily in the northern states, along the Great Lakes, due, in part, to the participation of Theda Bara, a silent film actress of that era.   It is said she passed out candy to those attending her movies.  Today, the custom of Sweetest Day is spreading as people move and take the tradition with them.  If your friend, relative or lover has never heard of this delightful holiday, enlighten them.  Give a candy bar, homemade cookies or other goody, though the remembrance doesn't have to be high in calories.  (Although who can resist chocolate.)  Here are some alternatives:

• Give lipstick flavored kisses to your love.
• Watch a romantic comedy.
• Make a list of your sweetie's favorite sweeties, including foods, drinks, candy, movies, books, CDs, activities.  Take a weekend and try to eat/do/participate in as many as you can.
• Play cards or a game.  The winner gets a cupcake!   Play poker with M&M's®.
• Give a romance novel from one friend to another, married or single.   She will love it.  He may hide away and read it with a flashlight, but he just might learn a thing or two about romance!
• Give a new nightie or boxer shorts, potted plant or flowers, 8"x10" glossy, whatever conveys the appropriate affection.
• Give a gift certificate for a manicure, pedicure, spa treatment or makeover.
• Give a gift certificate for his, her, their favorite hobby supplies.
• Go to the movies or theater, preferably choosing light-hearted entertainment, nothing heavy.   Remember, the purpose of Sweetest Day is to lift the spirits by showing love and caring.   No depression allowed!
• Go on a picnic or prepare a meal together.
• Get a new bell or handlebar streamers for your bikes, and ride through the neighborhood showing them off and wishing everyone a Happy Sweetest Day!
• For fun, eat your meal or special dessert in the living room on the floor or a card table or in the bedroom.
• Put clean sheets on the bed and spritz with scented linen spray or perfume.
• Hand write a love letter or note of friendship.
• Make a homemade card and snail mail it in time for the holiday or deliver it in person, if possible.
• Give a Secret Pebble™.   Because they are hand painted, no two are ever alike.   The secret in the pebble is whatever you share with the recipient.
• Offer to watch the kids so parents can spend some alone time.
• Help the children draw their hand prints.   Cut them out.  Staple a hand on each end of a 3 foot by 8 inch length of paper.   Have the kids write, "Here's a hug for you!" and draw on the paper hands.  They can give these to someone special.
• Gather special photos, home movies, and/or favorite songs and spend happy hours remembering - with a special dessert during intermission - wonderful memories.  Perfect for couples and families.

Whatever you decide to do for those who mean so much to you, let it begin a tradition. Telling someone you love him or her is not just for Valentine's Day or even Sweetest Day.   Tell them every day, every chance you get!

(Reprinted from our website, www.GraciousJaneMarie.com, at http://www.greenlightwrite.com/sweetestday.html.)

Goodbye Lie Favorite - Apple Butter

a Goodbye Lie favorite Recipes: Apple Butter Home: greenlightwrite.com featuring GraciousJaneMarie.com - Roses, Recipes, Romance

Breakfast Recipes   Fruit Recipes I was raised to love apple butter, and I still do. Miss Ella, matriarch of the Dunnigan family in my historical novel, The Goodbye Lie, pacifies her husband Michael's empty stomach with a slice of hot cornbread spread with her homemade apple butter.      Enjoy,      Jane Marie

Apple Butter You'll need: 4 cups unsweetened applesauce (made from cored apples that have been slowly cooked to reduce them to pulp or purchased applesauce) 1 cup sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon Nutmeg to taste (use sparingly) Cloves to taste (use sparingly) Combine the ingredients and bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.   Spice to taste. Serve on warm cornbread, muffins or bread. Makes five cups.     Reprinted from http://www.greenlightwrite.com/applebutter.htm, part of our 700 plus page website, also available  at www.GraciousJaneMarie.com.

Behind the Scenes

After a constructive talk with my always honest brother, Bob, I have spent several hours trying to improve the look of this blog. From making the too light print and links darker, to removing too many hyphens and keeping the headings in the different blocks in the right column consistent, I have spent the last couple hours, working on these issues.  While I had no difficulty changing the background and making it fun Fall colors a few weeks back, I am having little luck saving any of my changes. I have signed out and signed back in again.  I have repeated the process with which I've had success in the past. Not today.  So, my dear friends, if a link is not as bright or the font not large enough to easily read, I'm sorry. Stick with me as I continue to remedy these issues.  So long as we can keep in touch with Breelan and Peeper and the rest of everybody's favorite characters in our Goodbye Lie series and I tell on myself with my Lucy moments, we're good.  Just remember, there's is only one being who is perfect and I ain't Him.  :-)

Great Christmas Idea

Speaking of Christmas---I recently emailed  our annual randomly chosen Christmas List to everyone in the family who is  employed and out of school and is old enough to purchase one gift for another member.   Every adult has something to open  and no one has to worry about breaking the bank with buying individual gifts for all. Anything on sale works, but a reasonable limit is set and, ignoring inflation, we always keep the limit the same.  I’d tell you what our limit is but then you would discover either how cheap or extravagant we are. Besides, I like to add mystery to your lives. 
 
So here is the great Christmas idea. I was talking to Christine Clark, a very nice new acquaintance, and she told me what her family does in December.  They, too, draw names and every Christmas Eve, they exchange a pair of brand new and freshly laundered (to remove the sizing) pajamas and a book!   They dress in their jammies and eat fondue and do  wholesome all-American family activities.  (We always have Grampy read The Night Before Christmas to the children.  Very sweet.  This, of course, goes along with the book theme).
 
No matter what you do for your Christmas, if you don’t already have a single gift exchange with a limit, please consider it. Just think, no after Christmas credit card bills to pay!
 
PS  All bets are off when it comes to the little ones and presents, of course!

Things that Clog My Mind = Score

I was reading The Gettysburg Address the other day, you know I love history, and suddenly I took particular note of the word score.  I thought of its meaning here, 20 years, of course, and then a scroll of definitions unrolled inside my brain.  I don’t know why this word came to represent so many different things but check these out:

 

To score- mark or cut as to score the meat or score the glass before you break it for a clean edge

Score points in a game

Keep score of those points

Score or grade a paper

To score a musical number- write down the notes

A score- the orchestrations of a musical

He scored, as in kissed a girl

“Score!” when you win or succeed and do a high-five because of it

On that score or for that reason

Score drugs

Even the score

 

I haven’t consulted a dictionary so there may be more, but no wonder English is a confusing language to learn.  Hey, wait a minute. Perhaps it’s not so difficult.  Since I just covered twelve meanings with one word, it would reason that we have 12% less words to learn after all. Did I do that math right?  (I do words. Numbers, not so much...)

Year of Living Graciously - October

Life is good when you put a little effort into it. -Nancy Kamp

Inside Secret-Designing Goodbye Lie's Cover

A Goodbye Lie Favorite*

by Jane Marie and Bonnie Shively

 

    Jane Marie:  When I'm at book signings, I often point out the meaning behind the cover of The Goodbye Lie.  I spent a long while deciding how I wanted the cover to look.  It had to be in good taste, of course.  I wanted it to be intriguing, to suggest what the story might be about, but didn't want to give too much away.  Where would the fun be in that?

 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Goodbye-Jane-Marie-Malcolm/dp/0974918229

I knew I wanted sand as a backdrop since the Dunnigan family lives on Amelia Island off the coast of Florida, and the beach and Atlantic Ocean play a significant part in the story.  It would have been ideal to lay out my design on the actual beach, but I didn't want things to blow away or get covered with a dusting of sand, so I asked my husband, Bruce, to tote a pail of sand from the beach to our house.  I found a 3'x4' rectangle of plywood in the garage, laid it in the courtyard inside our wall so no one would see what I was doing, covered the wood with the sand and went to work. 

 

Leaving room for a title in large enough letters to be read in an online bookstore cover photo, I thought about the elements of the book. I used flowers from my garden for color - roses, sweet alyssum, pansies and hibiscus.   But how would I represent a man and a woman?  What did they have in common?  Gloves, among other things!  I chose a long formal glove that was actually worn by my daughter, Barbra, at her wedding.  I asked a former Marine if he had a dress glove he could loan me to use as a soldier's glove.  He did. I put the man's glove over the woman's.  Was he protecting her?  Was she trying to get away from him?

 

I added the pewter jewel “coffin” as the Victorians called it.  It had been our mother's, and I've had it for years filled with religious medals and rosaries.  Since a medallion is mentioned in The Goodbye Lie, I put that in the pewter box.

 

I also wanted a ribbon to weave around and through the picture to represent the meandering story line.  I had the ends of the ribbon running off the edge of the picture to show there was no beginning or end to the story really, that a sequel or even a prequel might happen. 

 

After taking a dozen shots, I went to work on the covers for Velvet Undertow, Mark of a Man and A Thing Most Necessary (now entitled Sand and Sin), the rest of the books in The Goodbye Lie series, so far.  They all have the same sand, flowers and ribbon, but the main objects in the middle are different to represent a different story.  I was pleased with the results.  And apparently the cover for The Goodbye Lie passed muster because my toughest and best critic and editor, Nancy [Kamp] went with it.  Whew!      

 

    Bonnie:  They taught me in art class in college that true art speaks to the beholder.  It may speak differently to each person, but if it speaks, it is art.

 

The ribbon - I was thinking along the lines of ... she let it fall from her dress in a carefree moment, lost in both thought and contentment.  I can picture her [Breelan] walking hand-in-hand with Waite in the moonlight.   Barefoot, of course.  She's dreamily walking with her eyes closed because she is so happy and serene, and doesn't want the moment or the magic of it to end.  As she slowly walks, she unties her ribbon, plays with it a bit, and it loosely falls from her fingers without notice or care that it has dropped.  Her dress has in that instant gone from formal to romantically casual and flowing. ... Oh man ... am I a hopeless romantic, or what?

 

[The shorter glove]could easily be a man's formal dress glove.  That's what I thought.  The gloves are one of the first things they shed when they reached that beach, and without meaning to, they dropped them one on top of the other in a gesture of everlasting oneness.

 

I hadn't quite figured out the jewel coffin, but the flowers were from the wedding [in the story], and of course they were symbolic too.  Perhaps the jewel symbolized the treasure they had both finally uncovered together (their admitted love for each other).

 

(Reprinted from 

http://www.greenlightwrite.com/goodbyeliecover.htm.)

The Great Uncovering

Due to my Bunko party, I had the annual Great Uncovering.  It was so grand an event, it made our little parlor appear twice the size!  Whatever could this be?  If a cat or dog belongs to you--let me rephrase that--If you belong to a cat or dog, then you will understand the necessity for swathing your furniture in sheets, towels or blankets to protect it from the ravages of stinky, biting, shedding, clawing, but loving, animals.  We have tattered burgundy towels pinned to the back of our recliners overlaid by matching burgundy sheets.  That, dear readers, was what was removed, hence, the Great Uncovering.

 

note attractive shreds

 

The naked easy chairs left such a positive impression, the room could have been photographed for Good Housekeeping magazine. With the towels and sheets, I think Kennel and Flea magazine would be more fitting.  “Let’s give it a try and leave the chairs uncovered,” I said to Bruce. “Button (aka Little Naughty) will be a good girl.  She’s a year older and won’t shred the furniture.”

 

“Go for it,” Bruce replied, laughing in my face.

 

And so I did—for about 17 minutes.  Ignoring the extra tall scratching post which I read was good because it would draw her attention like a tree outside, she eyeballed the furniture and pounced.  I heard the tearing before I saw it.

 

“No!” I commanded.  To her mind, no means: I’ve got their attention now and atta girl. More claws, sharper claws.  Oh, you missed a spot.  Be sure to include every square inch now.

 

After I lifted her from her hang-ten position on the back of Bruce’s chair, I thought to try the water bottle.  Sitting in my still naked chair when she attacked, I sprayed her with water.  On the chin, the side, the hip, I squirted her.  She retreated to lick and clean herself, only to  return for more and more and more.  When she started smelling the water bottle I placed on the floor beside me for easy access, I realized she was clawing the furniture to get me to spray her!  She was training me! And, too, I remembered that she loves water. ( As a kitten, we found her peeking out, yes out, of the toilet bowl.  It seemed reasonable she would like water because someone once told me if a cat has any orange fur, Button is a calico with orange, black and white fur, they are related to tigers and tigers swim. Believe it or don't.)  

 

Well now, the room, once again, appears smaller since I’ve returned the freshly laundered sheets and towels to their permanent positions.  Bruce suggested I add a white hand towel where the head rests.  We wouldn’t want to soil those ripped sheets, now would we?  Besides, a raggedy old white towel will be a standout against the rich dark burgundy—an interior designer's delight, to be sure.  Sigh…