I can’t let another day go by without paying tribute to the Matron Saint of The House of Mirth, my beloved Ms. Beatrice Arthur.

It’s ridiculous, I know, but I’m so sad. Call it projection, transference, whatever you want, all I know is I loved her, and I’m sorry she’s gone

Obituaries all over the news outlets list her accolades: an amazing talent who both adored and was frustrated by her singular talents, Bea was unstoppable. She won a Tony for Mame and multiple Emmys for her work on television. She elevated that crappy Star Wars Holiday Special into a yearned-for classic; she made Maude divine like no one else could; she truly made that other show Golden.

For me, she was my pretend tv grandma; as silly as it sounds, it was like she was a glimpse of what my own beloved Grandma J might have been like if she’d lived beyond my eighth year. Tall and stately, ready with a zinger and a hug. I was so taken with her that I’ve seen the film version of Mame (1974) dozens of times, Enemies of Laughter (2000) twice, her guest stint on Malcolm in the Middle too many times; I own and have listened to the CD of her one-woman show over and over, and can quote more of Dorothy Zbornak’s lines than I care to admit. I can even spell “Zbornak” without looking it up.

She was the greatest.

I don’t know what’ll I do, Ms. Bea, except be ever grateful for you.

The world is better because you’re in it.

Here’s the graduation story in a few pictures.

The family & nervous grad about two hours before the ceremony.

Not so nervous now. In fact, I could not contain my glee.

Having doffed my cap & gown, I was still thrilled.

The beautiful croquembouche Derek made for my dinner party, complete with spun sugar mortarboard on top.

A happy, happy day.

I know. I’m surprised too, and I’ve known for a month that this day was coming.

On this eve of my last walks, I want to thank Apple, The Monkees, Matthew Sweet, Blondie, Billy Joel, Blood, Sweat, & Tears, The Guess Who, Vince Guaraldi, The Cars, Steely Dan, Rose Smith, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Fleetwood Mac, The Association, Shonen Knife, Bea Arthur, Joe Jackson, Nirvana, Rosemary Clooney, Bobby Darin, Cat Stevens, Jerry Lewis, The Pretenders, America, Lily Allen, Alison Moyet, James Taylor, Zero 7, The Moody Blues, NPR, Terry Gross, RetroCrush, Dan Savage, and Ira Glass for the kick-ass soundtrack that took me through the last three years.

me with some good girls.

As a wise man said, the times they are a changin’. I just hope I’m ready.

I’m thankful for:

hot chocolate
greyhounds
rain
health
iTunes
love

Have wonderful holiday, everyone.

Reviews are forthcoming.

In the meantime…

…a little happy moment for me: A sweet blogger named ShAé has given me a Rockin’ Girl Blogger Award.

I’m loving this little award sticker because it reminds me of Jem. Truly outrageous! I’m not sure how we met, ShAé , but I’m really cheeked that you’ve called me out. Thanks so much! Check out ShAé ‘s blog, and Roberta Ferguson, who started the Rockin’ Girl Award.

As for some Girl Bloggers that I think rock, here’s my top five:

Joy Nash - You may have seen Joy’s famous Fant Rant on YouTube. She’s a funny, smart, beauty of a blogger, too.

Jen @ The Swimming Cow – I was lucky enough to meet Jen around three years ago at a Fat Girl retreat. She’s got a wicked sense of humor and a beautiful cracked sense of life. Congrats on your new wee one, Jen!

Asia Carrera – I compulsively read Asia’s Bulletins to see how this incredibly strong mother of two is doing. Yep, she’s that Asia Carrera, and she rocks.

The RetroFood Gal – She just loves everything I love.

KayRay – Kara is a LibriVox voluteer, knitting rockstar, and awesome mom to her sweet son, Henry. And she loves video games.

By the way, the music’s contagious.

for absent friends

We lost Derek’s father on October 11. We are comforted in knowing that we loved him well; we cared for him in the most difficult hour; and we were given the gift of a few last words with him.

But change is terribly hard, loss is so painful, and we’re tired.

We’ll be changing webhosts, and with that change will come a new life for this blog. There have been problems with the old service, and this content management software is becoming obsolete, so it’s time to pack up and move out. I hope to have something I can better use and more importantly, enjoy using, up by the new year. Addresses will remain mostly the same.

That’s all I have for now. Even in such a pisser of a year as this, I have homework to finish.