RIP Ann Blyth

Ann Blyth, who had a great career but is probably best known for playing Joan Crawford's snobbish monster of a daughter Veda in the classic film Mildred Pierce, died Wednesday at the age of 98. 

 

One of my favorite childhood memories was when I was about ten years old, and my Mom (who, like me, loved classic films) let me stay up late on a school night because a late night movie program was showing Mildred Pierce and she thought it was important for me to see it. To this day it's one of my all-time favorite films. 

 

In spite of how horribly her character behaved toward Mildred in the film, per Blyth she and Crawford got on well.

 

RIP Ann, and thanks for the great performances.

 

Too much counting

This is my 16th Father's Day without my Father. That's just crazy, but the time does go by. Between him, my Mom, and now Sophie, I can't stop counting the days/weeks/months/years without them. I wonder if everyone does it as obsessively as I do.

 

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

I've commented on this one in the past, but this popped up on Post Secret this morning:

 

And again I say, NO! You don't need to temper your celebration just because there are people who can't or don't celebrate this day for whatever reason. Enjoy it and celebrate your Dad while you've still got him. Have a great day with him. No one gets to tell you that you can't or shouldn't. Today is for you and your Dad, no one else. Celebrate!

 

15 years

As I mentioned a few days ago, there's just been too much mortality in my life and on my mind. Today is the fifteenth anniversary of my Dad's death. It's just mind boggling how fast the years have gone by, but there it is. May 14, 2011. Fifteen years.

 

 

Too much mortality

Today is the ninth Mother's Day without my Mom. March was eight years since she passed away. I'm staggered by both of those things. Yesterday we visited her grave and left her a really beautiful bouquet we bought from a super nice vendor set up outside the cemetery. Just beautiful flowers.

 

Thursday will be the fifteenth anniversary of my Dad's death. Again, boggled that it's been that long. His house just sold for the fourth time since his death, for more than twice what we sold it for. Apparently that's how long it takes for your house in Hawaii to double in value - about fifteen years.

 

Everybody was really young when I was born, so for the most part I didn't have to deal with loss until I was well into adulthood. My grandfather was diagnosed with emphesema the year before I was born, so I only ever knew him as a sickly old man (he died when I was twelve, having outlived the doctor who diagnosed him). 

 

 

Then my stepmother Diane died in her early fifties when I was in my early thirties. That was a jolt. She had breast cancer at forty, had the mastectomy, chemo, radiation, lost her hair, the whole bit. She as cancer-free for almost five years, then went through treatment again. The final time they were going to try something new, but her heart started failing (apparently years of chemo and radiation will take a toll) and she just went downhill. A brutal two weeks later she died. I still remember being stunned how the world could just continue to turn after the loss of someone so wonderful, someone who deserved to live forever. Diane was really one of the good ones. She was just awesome.

 

Eventually the grandmothers passed, then the first uncle (the middle brother), then my Dad, then his younger brother. And then my Mom in 2018. It all doesn't seem so long ago, but it was. It's boggling to me how fast the years have flown by.

 

 

 

 

And of course, Saturday marked two weeks without Sophie. Still adjusting to that, and not happily. She was a daily presence in my life for almost two decades and her absence is going to take time to get used to. I understand now why crazy rich people clone their pets, ethics be damned. If someone told me for some ungodly amount of money I could always have a Sophie with me, I'd have done it. I'd have paid that price. 

To everyone fortunate enough to still have their mothers with them, I hope you all have a Happy Mother's Day.

 

March Words of Wisdom

The wisdom, its numbers are dwindling... 

 

But oh my, this is a noisy world. (Mr. Fred Rogers) 

 

We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think. (Rod Serling)

 

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. (Aldous Huxley) 

 

Common sense is not a gift, it's a punishment because you have to deal with everyone who doesn't have it. (George Bernard Shaw) 

NOTE: I love this one because my Dad once told me some of the best advice he'd ever been given (by a teacher) was that, "You'd be surprise how uncommon common sense is." Yup.

 

Ask me to show you poetry in motion and I will show you a horse. (Unknown)  

 

Eight years. I'm boggled by this.

Lost in all the drama with the Kona house yesterday was the eighth anniversary of my Mom's passing. In May it will be fifteen years for my Dad. I still can't get over how fast the years go by. It doesn't seem that long at all for either of them. I also don't think they'd like the changes made to the Kona house. I know I still don't understand the tan walls. It's just so blah.

 

It really is a beautiful, peaceful place.

So I just found out my Dad's Hawaii house is back on the market AGAIN

I don't know what's going on here, but after my Dad's old house in Kailua-Kona sold for $1.3 million in August of 2024 (after being listed for nearly $1.6 million), last night I discovered that it went back on the market in December for just under $1.5 million. 

 

2024's drama:

 

 Surprise! It's baaaaack!

 

A couple weeks ago they reduced the price to $1.45 million, which means even if they get that, they make $150k profit? Is it worth flipping a house like this for that amount of money? It doesn't seem like it. And that doesn't take into consideration what they spent on it since August of 2024.

 

I had no idea it was purchased as a flip, but that's what it looks like. From the pictures, they made two major changes: they removed the carpet and replaced it with wood floors, and painted the interior a very blah shade of tan. I don't know who thought that was a good idea - if I bought the house, the first thing I'd do is paint the walls white again. This does the exact opposite of brightening the place up. I think the place looked a lot better when my Dad had it.

 

 

Bleah. Now to see what they manage to get for it. Kona House Watch 2026, baby!

 

Update 3/21/26: It's under contract (as opposed to sold). I wonder what the offer is. I also bet the neighbors are getting sick of the constant turnover. And I still can't get over how crappy the beigey floors and ceiling are. Someone actually thought that was a good idea. Ick.

 

Updated 5/6/26: Sold. $1,400,000. They made $100,000 after all the "upgrades" and a year and nine months of paying for it. Hope it was worth it. Hope it finally has owners who want to live in it, love it, and not flip it in another year and a half. Aloha.

 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My Mom would be 84 today if she was still with us. 

 

 

December Words of Wisdom

I am still under the impression that there is nothing alive quite so beautiful as a horse. (John Galsworthy) 

 

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. (Oscar Wilde)

 

Don't waste time on anything that doesn't thrill you or bring you love. (Gil Gerard, RIP) 

 

I still remember the days of sitting at book signings, playing with my pen when no one would come, and still I even then thought I was living the dream, because I had a book out. (Harlan Coben) 

 

The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don't write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid's burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest imaginable thing, and you work off the resonance. (Richard Price) 

 

 

85 Candles

Yup, the big guy would be 85 years young if he was still around.

 

The older I get, and the longer it's been since everyone was around, the more I miss everyone. Not just Mom and Dad, but my Grandma and uncles too. Wish I'd spent more time with them. Feel free to learn from my mistake.

 

 

Happy Birthday, Dad!
 

Memorieeeeesss...

Pictures from Kona, when I was there in 2011 when my Dad died. Gorgeous place. Doesn't seem that long ago. The years have really flown by.

 

 

Who's 20 years old today? That would be Sophie!!!

She made it! The big TWO-OH.

Her Highness on her throne.

Sophie, Day 1, Aged 1: