My Funny Valentine

My mom, Marie

My mom passed away on Friday, February 8, 2013. She was 77. After a lifetime of good health, she became ill in the fall of 2011. She battled long and hard but finally the curse that is cancer wore her down. She was herself even in her final days: fiery, infuriating, lovely, funny, and heartbreaking. There's gonna be a hole in this Valentine's heart this year and forevermore. Love you, Mom.

The Plum Blush of Dusk

"Sunset in the Hills" (Maine), photo by Richard Blanco

Like many Americans, we were moved by Richard Blanco's inaugural poem "One Today," a tribute to the American experience and his own story as the son of Cuban exiles. The lines about his mother and her 20 years working as a grocery cashier touched us especially, perhaps because we are home now with our own hard-working Latina mother as she fights for her health and prepares for her journey home "... through the gloss of rain or weight of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always - home, always under one sky, our sky."

Southern Food Reads and One Super Cute Kitty

Kona curls up with a few good books at Bound to Be Read.

Check out my roundup of Southern cookbooks and other food reads from 2012 on Creative Loafing's Omnivore blog. Pecans, food trucks, an ode to the Mississippi Delta, craft brews, poetry, and more. 

Pour Me Another Cup of Coffee

Coffee mug from the Rumpus store 

This is my last To-Do list. Thank you, Mayans. I only have eight minutes left, so here's the plan:

Finish listening to "Truck Driving Man" by Boxcar Willie
Turn in writing assignment due tomorrow
Put Teresa's birthday card in mailbox
Check bank balance
Put on some lipstick
Update Facebook status

Woofy Christmas: Luke and Lola

Deck the Halls  Dogs

Thank you, BarkAtl, for making this happen. 

Tinsel and Lights

Our Thanksgiving was filled with a lot of time traveling to and fro in the car, beginning with a morning ride out to the wilds of Smyrna to pick up mom. While we could've done without the speeding nut jobs barreling down I-20, we were thankful we caught the "Good Morning Blues" program, hosted by U.K. Bob at WRFG 89.3 FM. Otherwise, we would've missed the nice tidbit he played from Tracey Thorne's  new "Tinsel and Lights" album. The plucky yet tender English songbird's voice is instantly familiar as the other half of the duo Everything But the Girl, and it was just the remedy we needed to calm our fraying holiday nerves. Check out this video for more on the making of her first holiday compilation. Its retro-meets-alt sensibility won't make you wince.

My Hostess Timeline

7 a.m. every Sunday morning ...

... along with "Tom and Jerry" cartoons

Every Friday night after work, my parents would take me grocery shopping at our local Safeway in Southern California. I always asked for a two-pack of Hostess cupcakes. They were part of my Sunday morning ritual, which meant waking early before the folks were up, sitting cross-legged in my jammers on the den floor, just inches away from the TV screen, and watching my favorite cartoon.

It was a lunchbox staple ...

The Hostess Fruit Pie, a hefty noontime tummy filler was a desirable "trade" item at the community-style lunch tables at my Catholic grammar school. For me, it was Apple, Cherry, or Lemon. No Blueberry. Ever.

... and this was one of my lunch boxes

By the way, you never forget the smell of late-afternoon lunchbox vinyl.

An acquired taste in my teens.

And, finally, this week: The loneliest Hostess treat at the hoarding party.