Metal Meredith

More Sibling Rivalry Needed

On Jan 2nd, we added 2 more residents to our humble home. I had been looking for a pair of sibling kittens to make my life a little more interesting (read:difficult), but hadn’t come across the right pair.

I was searching some local adoption sites when I came across a boy and a girl, 5 months old, rescued from Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. They are very sweet, somewhat rambunctious but not scarily so. As of this moment, they have been doing laps around the house for almost 4 minutes. Oh, to have that energy.

They have been renamed Liesl and Friedrich and have settled in quite nice this past week. I gave a wad of money to Save Our Shelters and picked them up from their foster parents. It is amazing how much like animal control you feel when taking someone’s kittens away.

S.O.S. seems like a great organization and it made me happy to help them out. If you haven’t already, go take a look and see if any of their animals catch your eye.

Bubbles, Skeletons and Goodbyes

So much has been said over the past week about the events of New Year’s Day in Richmond that I am not sure what to add. I feel that it is important to say something about it, as it has greatly affected my life this week.

It has been so long that I don’t remember the first time I met Kathryn Harvey, but I know it was in her little shop in the second floor building of Exile on Grace Street. Exile is this little punk shop where I so badly wanted to fit in. I would go and covet the newest Doc Martens and cool jackets. Then we (Kym and I or Michelle and I) would venture upstairs to fondle all the goofy toys, retro furniture and kooky antiques. This is where I first saw those Day of the Dead statues that made me a smile spread across my face in delight.

I remember talking to Kathryn on those trips and thinking about how nice she seemed and embarrassingly, how much older she seemed than me. I must have been about 20-ish and she barely, if not even, 30. She explained the Day of the Dead things and in that visit, created a customer for life.

She moved to Carytown in that tiny little spot and I was delighted. I met Phil somewhere around then, lived only a few blocks from her store, as it was between my house and Phil’s work. We met in the area often and I would typically stop in every week to check out what was new. I bought these great sunglasses there that Phil sat on (and I am not over it yet, buddy) and an embarrassing amount of those silly skeletons. At one point, I remember asking her to point out to Phil what I wanted for my birthday since I knew he was going in for a present for me later that week.

One of my fondest memories is of the installation of the bubble maker above the store entrance. When it was turned on, bubbles would stream down Cary Street as far as you could see. It delighted shoppers and neighbors alike. There was always this big sticky puddle right in the entrance that you had to step over. To Kathryn, it was a small price to pay for such fun.

We would go on Saturdays for a special treat of Espresso Milkshakes, best I have ever had. Phil and I would talk with her and Bryan for a while, shop and talk some more. They were a couple that we aspired to be, happy, loving and utterly joyous. So you can imagine when we found out she was pregnant, we made a special trip to stop by and congratulate. When Stella was born, I remember Kathryn taking me in to the backroom to meet her as an infant. She was beaming, Stella was adorable and Bryan was every bit the proud Dad.

Over the years, as we moved to Oregon Hill, Northside and then to the West End of Richmond, we grew as a family and only went back on occasion to pick up a gift or give Vivienne a place to play while we shopped for new toys for her and ourselves. I only saw Kathryn a handful of times in the past few years, Bryan almost never.

There was always something so special about going into World of Mirth when she was there, seeing an old friend, knowing that she would say hello, ask how we were doing and smile and laugh with us for a moment. The store is part of our life. I cannot look in any corner of my house without seeing something purchased there. Every year at either Christmas or my birthday, I get a World of Mirth bag. Every year, the contents make me smile, giggle and laugh.

I am so lucky to have known them personally, to have witnessed their love for each other and their children by just being near them, to have been there sharing laughs, conversations and wit. They were wonderful people that with their passing, have left a hole bigger than any I have felt before in my heart, in my community and in all of our lives.

R.I.P. Bryan, Kathryn, Stella and Ruby. You have made my world a better place, even though you have gone. I am forever thankful I was able to know you.

Meredith

*This photo is one of Vivienne’s first Christmas in 2003, opening her first big bag of World of Mirth toys. She still has each one of these toys today.

So, of course, I made one.

What I did do was take a page from another blogger (who took one from another, who took one from another, get it?), and decided to do a Tuesday Night Family & Friends Dinner:

Tuesday Night Drop In Dinner: You’re Invited!

“The idea is that at least half of the effort of having people over for dinner is the hassle of emailing back and forth, trying to find a date that works for everyone, then hoping that no one gets stuck working late and the kids stay healthy. This hassle can be largely overcome by just saying ‘Ok, standing invitation for dinner on Tuesday night. If you can’t make it this week, come next.’ The menus are centered on the sort of low-fuss dishes that can be cooked in large batches as easily as in small (and that freeze well if no one shows up some week). And it will be good for us to have a precipitating event that forces us to vacuum the cat hair off the living room furniture once a week. I’m serious about the invitation. Since we can’t guarantee that we’ll be home every single Tuesday evening, I’m making a list to send everyone who’s interested a weekly notice of a) whether we’re on and b) what’s for dinner (this week, it’s homemade pizza). If you’re in the greater DC area and would like to be added to the list, send me an email.”

Here is a little known fact about me; I don’t really like to have people over. I stress about entertaining. I don’t like to be in control of whether or not people are having a good time. It is simply too much to bear. On the other hand, Phil often talks about having parties and how great it would be. If you ask me, his idea is really to wait until it is warm and drink beer on the back porch. Not really a party, in my opinion.

When this idea came up, I ran with it. What if, I asked myself, I just did it? What if I just invited people over, with no expectations of it being fun, of being entertained or wowed by my culinary skills? Would they still come? Would they eat my food? Would it be able to remain casual? So, I am jumping right in.

We will start out slow. We will start with every other Tuesday starting January 17th, 2006; which will be pizza, a garden salad and some cookies. Then, as I get more comfortable and we see how many people to expect, the menu will get more interesting. Come summer, Phil and I will be the reigning king and queen of the cookout, I am sure.

There are a few very good reasons to take this one. The first being that I need some more interaction with people I love, like and rarely get to see. Getting them into my house, I will have a better chance than trying to work both schedules around kids, pets, husbands, and jobs. Secondly, Phil and I know so many amazing people who have incredibly interesting lives, stories, jobs and families to share. As much as I want to see everyone, I want all of my friends to have the chance to meet my other friends, kids to meet other kids, my family to talk to the people I choose to surround myself as an adult. It just feels like the right time to share everyone.

Now that I am all sounding corny, you know that you are all invited. I can’t say that I will be able to cook for 40, but I am willing to try a good 10-20 people. We will be sitting on the floor, sometimes (and hopefully soon) amidst some minor construction in the house. Kids are happily invited; although babysitting services will not be offered. We will all take care of our own and each other’s. While I have no problem with drinking, I will not be purchasing wine or beer for guests, it is BYOB. And lastly, we will hold strict to the 6pm-8pm policy, lest Phil’s friends want to stay all hours. (Hey, I have a kid to get to bed!)

Come one, come all! Please, give me a reason to clean, give me a reason to socialize.

Happy New Year 2006!