So, our house caught on fire last night!
We were so incredible lucky that we caught it
before it spread into the ceiling- I am really
feeling so grateful right now to whatever is
protecting us. We smelled smoke, and discovered
that a fire was building in the wall behind our dryer.
The dryer vent got too hot, and caught the old, dry wood,
perhaps smoldering it again and again before in burst
into flames. I ran for a fire extinguisher while the boys
hacked into the wall with an axe. When I got back, there
were five firetrucks and ambulances with stretchers and
I nearly had a heart-attack. Luckily (between my sweetheart
and twenty or so brawny firemen) it was quickly dispatched!
Such a terrifying experience, though.We can deal with
the damage from this, though- and it’s a really good wake up
call to replace our smoke detectors and get new extinguishers.
Please do the same- protect your home and yourself,
because you really never do know. I shudder to think
what would have happened had we been asleep, or out…
Horrors. I’m pretty ready to not have any more disasters
or destruction in my life, okay? Seriously. Enough!
Alright, without further ado: the latest installment
in my Magic Windows series:

My friend Corrine had
a sparkle birthday party recently where being glittery from head to toe was mandatory.
Luckily, this has never been a problem for me. I live for the razzle-dazzle.

The latest acquisition to my treasure hoard: a hard carved (or is it pyrographed?)
wooden box from Russia, with firebird corners done in beautiful repoussage.

Some furry friends from the shop– actually the box, and the treasures below
came from there as well- of course! These fine fellows were formerly
scientific specimens tucked away in some dusty drawer. Now they can
come out and play! They need some jewels for eyes.
Chipmunks are so great- I wish we had them in Texas.

Monkey toes (not fingers!) and ivory fan. Have you ever seen such long toes
on sock monkey before? I sure hadn’t! It’s so hard not to adopt every
single orphaned sock money I see. I love them so.

Too true.

The storms have finally come, and everyone is so relieved.
You can feel the change in the air! I am hoping I won’t totally miss
that spell-binding time when the shift in seasons is so palpable
that everyone starts practically dancing in the streets.

I saw a double rainbow! Good omens. Double happiness.

Frannie also had a birthday, and we celebrated by going down to
Paradise Grove, along the river. We ate fruit-tarts and drank champagne
on the little sandy beach. Later when the moon rose, we built a fire
and danced and sang and skinny-dipped in the silvery water.

I just discovered that my phone actually does a quite good video-
I managed to catch this story from my Grampa Charlie while he
was recuperating from bronchitis in the hospital- he’s home now,
and feeling a lot better! The prelude to this story is that
my grandmother, Jean Goldstick Polacheck, was photographer
in New York in the 40’s and 50’s, and was good friends with
Weegee, and Stieglitz and all those guys.
She was working for Cue Magazine, taking pictures
of Zero Mostel during his show at El Morocco.
If you aren’t familiar with Zero Mostel, here are some clips of him
on the Muppet Show (!) and from The Producers
(it’s the great scene with Gene Wilder, who I adore.)
MAGIC WINDOWS #2
These magic windows are a view into my day-to-day,
and the wondrous things I espy. All photos
and video are shot on my magical celephone,
which has enabled me to capture so many of
the fleeting images that heretofore were
recorded only upon the back wall of my brainpan.