The glory of puppy love and pool parties.............

In an effort to not sound too happy. I want to express my deep rooted feelings for those around me and this new precious pup. All of whom have made my last month of the brightest!

In the past month my life has completely turned around again. I don't have as much free time as I used to, but it is a good thing. My job is very fullfilling, my friends are "weeding" themselves out, my "love" life is on track to something wonderful, and NOW--puppy breath!

Meet MAXX-E-MO (Maxx for short!). He entered my life last Thursday in a "Lifetime-television for women" saga. His previous owner was re-arrested for parole violations! (HOW IRONIC!) Maxx was to be put down on Friday, so we raced to rescue his precious life. In the process, he has become an integral step in my own returning to normalcy. He was scared. He was abused. He was DIRTY! Now he is loved, loving, and full of life. It amazes me, again, the way life turns around. This puppy is now in homo-heaven. Beauty salons, manicures, numerous treats, and hugs and kisses around the clock!

This is just how life should be.

Good for Maxx. Good for me.

Good for the karma in the universe!

On the other end of the spectrum I am just going to articulate the many joys of summer. Pool parties! It is quite amusing to watch 40-somethings act like teenagers. Alcohol not needed. Just a hot day and a cool pool! Cannonballs, volleyball, diving for toys, and just gossipping like teenage girls. It is a wonderful reminder of days gone by and a perfect way to re-invent the summer I lost. I love all my friends dearly and can't imagine my life without them. Both old and new. The laughter, the love and the bonds. I know this is going to be a memorable summer. I can't wait for the real HEAT to get here.

Peace, love, and bacon grease.

xoxo

Home..........

My dear friend has just been named the Editor-in-Chief of a new magazine for architecture and design in St. Louis. I personally have yet to experience a more beautiful, eclectic, and wonderful city in the United States.

Home.

Many things to many people.

Evocative of security, happiness, trauma, and life.........

Home is often thought of as a refuge.
A place of contentment.
A place of belonging.

St. Louis is this place.
St. Louis is home.

It is very easy to list the many things about this city that make it wonderful. It is very easy to see the beauty in the structures. The grandeur of downtown. The "urban" appeal of the Central West End and Washington Avenue. The "bawdiness" of Soulard and Dogtown. The peacefulness of Forest Park.

Eye candy for the imagination and the soul.

The real "home" in St. Louis is the people. The real architecture of this city is and was built on the hard work and never ending dreams of every last soul who has become entranced with her spell.

We are an "odd" bunch of people in St. Louis.

Embracing the old. Welcoming the new. Yet, in this quest to become "better" and more progressive in the landscape of the "world", we are not taking the time to embrace what St. Louis has to offer. Over the last 10 years, St. Louis has taken on a revitalization of epic proportions. But with progress, comes destruction.
Who would have thought in 2008 Washington avenue would be the showcase it has become? Who would have thought Busch Stadium would be torn down and rebuilt-in a minimal amount of time?
Who could have ever imagined the Riverfront with "live" action billboards and multi-million dollar casinos to distract you on Highway 70?


And WHO could have imagined St. Louis with "rehab" fever?

Remember when Downtown, Tower Grove, Compton Heights, McKinley Heights, and Soulard were NOT the place to live!

I love and admire the many people who sink their souls and savings into their "home". I anticipate the arrival of a new rehab. A true rehab. I love the glean of refinished wood. I love the smell of the earth in an old basement. I love the excitement of homeowners as they tell, in detail, the discovery of an old fireplace mantle or turn of the century tile work under a beat up wooden floor.

I despise the builders and contractors out to make a quick buck. The destruction of beautiful brick work. Exposed beams and dormers covered quickly with drywall. The digging up of a 150 year old tree to make space for a hot tub and in ground pool.

Rehab fever. Buy it, flip it, get out of town.

But, in this eagerness to "rehab" are we forgetting the real roots of St. Louis?
Do we forget the trees that are lost?
Do we ever "rediscover" the cobblestone and bricks of the streets that are paved with asphalt?
What will be the trend once we "rehab" the last building in St. Louis?

Progress and economic stimuli are extremely important to any economy. But as our ever expanding world grows when will the destruction of the old be considered sinful?
Do you think Rome said "Screw the Collesium" put in a Casino!
Do you think China said "Knock down that wall-we need another Walgreens and Walmart!" (The deadly W's as I like to call them!)

In the last 20 years of my life I have lived in many places.
I have lived on a beach in Florida.
I tried the "glamorous" life of California.
I have lived where the "stars at night are big and bright".
I flew the friendly skies of the US Air Force to many bases.

Each of the cities were wonderful. Each experience unique.

None were home.
None compare to St. Louis.

Time and attitudes change constantly.

I am just glad that I live in a city that is not a barometer for the rest of the country's attitude.
I am proud to be St. Louis.