Another guest here at the hotel recommended The Smith, across the street on Broadway, for breakfast since there is no breakfast served here at the hotel.
So I went to The Smith and the food was incredible, gang! (I’m 2 for 2 — incredible dinner last night, incredible breakfast today!)
I was going through the side pocket of my flight bag just now and I found an old receipt in there!
7 years ago! From Los Angeles. I guess I bought some Altoid mints and a bottle of water at LAX 😆
I’m heading out for breakfast now.
I have to say, gang, that Sandra is not going to be happy with this hotel. Remember the No-frills hotel I stayed in over on W.48th Street back in November? This hotel is way more expensive but has even LESS frills. Nice rooms, but absolutely zero amenities. Not even a little coffee maker. And even though they have an expensive rooftop bar/restaurant, they have no room service.
Okay. Well. I slept TEN hours last night!! Straight through. It felt incredible to just sleep so deeply. In air-conditioning. Wow. I miss the cats, of course, but it’s been 3 months since I had no little kittens waking me all night.
All righty. I will probably post again later. Today is our first day of rehearsals, then dinner with Wayne!
Thanks for visiting… See ya!! 🙋♀️💖
The view out my window from another angle:
Yes!! I’m already in bed!! 😂🤣😂 Me in the mirror across from the bed:
It’s a small room but very nice!
Plus!! I finally got a room with a view!!🥰 (Lincoln Center is out there!)
Nick Cave and Colin Greenwood played their second sold out show in Paris earlier and it looks like it was even more spectacular than the previous! Not sure that’s possible! I think Paris even outdid Hamburg!!
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Well, for me, everything went smoothly today!! Got to the airport in plenty of time. Landed at LaGuardia on time. Both of my Uber drivers were great. And I just had dinner (a table for one) across the street at Cafe Fiorello. The food was fantastic.
You know, gang. As reluctant as I am to even think it, because I really do care about my clients so much, it is such a relief to not have to be taking care of anyone for the next 6 days.
Okay. Since Sandra won’t be getting to the hotel until tomorrow morning, I’m just going to chill in my room now and maybe even watch TV!!!😮
Hope your Sunday has been swell, wherever you are in the world! Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!🥰
Jeepers McCreepers, gang. The kittens just won’t quit this morning.
Can you say:
“Jesus fucking Christ, do NOT tell me you just knocked over my ENTIRE cup of Coffeeee!!!!”
“Jesus fucking Christ, will you STOP chewing on my phone charging cord??!!” (times 4)
“Jesus fucking Christ, who the fuck just THREW UP??!!”
That’s a little bit of what it’s been like around here this morning — in my room. The rest of the housecats are as quiet as little mice.
I had so much extra time this morning and I was planning on really just relaxing in bed with my cup of coffee before heading out for my shift.
But I had to switch over to Plan B and I have no real clue what Plan B is…
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Anyway.
Yesterday turned out to be reasonably okay, regarding having to work a double on the 4th of July.
My 94-year-old Japanese man and I will go get sushi/sashimi today, because Peony Bistro was indeed closed for the holiday yesterday. But we had a nice time just hanging out in his air- conditioned living room, chatting about Hong Kong, Tokyo, NYC — and all his many memories from the past.
And, as always, my shift with the woman who has returned from Florida flew by in a nano second. I left there just as fireworks were getting ready to start all over the place. (And I even got to see some fireworks as I was pulling up into Crazeysburg — one of my neighbors was putting on a really impressive show in his backyard.)
So, I’m just trying to face forward, you know? And hope that things come together soon and I can stop having to work on holidays, and I can start just sitting at my desk again and writing everyday.
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Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File yesterday about his songwriting process. It was very interesting — and very different from any songwriting process I ever experienced. He said, in part:
“The hard part for me, the most agonising and uncertain part, the part that keeps me up at night and makes me a complete pain in the arse through the day, is in the initial creation. That is, the unpredictable arrival of those first two lines….”
You can read it in full here.
And don’t forget!!
Tonight and tomorrow night in Paris!! TWO sold out shows, neither of which can you attend if you don’t already have your precious ticket!! Alas…
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Okay. I don’t have much to post about today. I’m not only focused on trying to get my suitcase packed as minimally as possible, I am also a little out of sorts mentally, since my prized morning Cup o’ Joe ended up all over my night table AND all over 3 brand new books!!!
But here’s what I’m grateful for– the coffee didn’t spill all over me in the bed, and the coffee mug didn’t break… because I only have about 17 million other coffee mugs to choose from…
I’m going to be out of here early tomorrow morning, in that Uber heading to the airport (an hour from here), but I will probably post something from my hotel tomorrow evening.
Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Not me this morning… but it’s something to aim for.
A song I have LOVED since the very first moment I heard it on my AM radio.
Enjoy, gang!
The Eagles. “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, 1972.
It’s been an interesting time since I was last here on the blog!
Here are a couple of things:
Anyway. The cats consider this their home — especially the fosters, who have been here well over a year — closer to two. They are so happy to no longer be living in a car. They are really happy, loving cats.
So I will figure out how to have a life (not the old one I used to have) but a life, nevertheless!
You know, when I used to take care of that 99-year-old blind lady — she had 3 very large Labrador Retrievers and 2 cats. Her doctor told her that taking care of all of those pets was keeping her mentally sharp and emotionally involved.
So maybe that’s why all these many cats found their ways to me — to help me, well, not “stay young” but mentally engaged for years to come! We shall see! (I mean, this is aside from the fact that I ADORE all of them.)
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Okay. The other cool thing!
I finally got a chance to chat on the phone with my birth mom. It had been a while since we actually spoke on the phone (Christmas) — just texts and greeting cars, etc.
She said she was just on her way out to Walgreens to buy me a birthday card. So I said–
ME: “Do you know how old I’m gonna be???”
SHE: “No… not really…”
ME: “65!!! I started Medicare on July 1st.”
Dead silence.
Then —
SHE: “Shit. I can’t believe it. Are you serious? You’re 65?”
So it was kind of nice to share that feeling of utter disbelief with my own mother. You know, the fact that BOTH of us are now really old…
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Tomorrow!!
Nick Cave and Colin Greenwood! The tour resumes in Paris. 2 sold out shows, back-to-back.
There are still tickets available for an upcoming show in Italy on July 16th. You can buy tickets here.
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Also!
The other day, I was trying to find the password for my WIFI router. I searched through all my desk drawers trying to find it, but what I found instead were about 10 years of my life that I had sort of forgotten about.
Notes from my dad. Tons of Christmas and birthday cards from family, friends, a few from people whose names I no longer even recognize.
Many pages of notes from when I studied basic Greek; and from when I studied Galilean Aramaic (similar to Hebrew — it’s the language Jesus of Nazareth spoke); and TONS of notes from various French lessons. Yes. The French never stops. But what is curious is that I used to know LOTS more conversational French than I remember now, even though I still study a little bit of French every morning… It’s insane.
It was also kind of heartbreaking, going through these desk drawers — this feeling that I’m losing track of most of what has been my life.
But then, yesterday, I was with my favorite client who is back from Florida and she said something remarkably similar (at age 88), about how we can’t go back and re-live our lives, and we’ve already lived most of what we intended to experience, and we can’t know what the remaining future is bringing.
It really sums out how I feel these days. She and I had a good talk about all that and I felt a little better about things, in general.
I’m working a double today — yes, 2 shifts on a National Holiday. (heavy, heavy sigh.) And tonight I will be with her again. It’s the last time she’s on my schedule for the rest of the summer!!
I’m not going to tell her that, because I don’t want to disappoint her. But if they ask me to take any last minute shifts with her this summer, I certainly will. We’ll just see how it plays out, gang.
I can’t stress enough how, being with her, just never feels like work. We talk for hours about the most amazing stuff and the time just flies.
Anyway.
The trip to NYC is looming large! I leave for the airport Sunday morning. AND– as luck would have it, I will be alone in the hotel until Monday.
Aaarrrghh….
Sandra wasn’t able to get a train ticket between Rhinebeck and Manhattan because all the trains were sold out!! Holiday weekend!!
Darn it. So, we’ll see how it goes. I’ll have an afternoon and an evening all to myself in a neighborhood that I used to know very well (just off of Columbus Circle). I will probably get too nostalgic, but that’s just me, I guess. No escaping it.
This is how Columbus Circle looked back in the 1980s:
In the 1980s, I worked for Ralph Ginzburg’s publishing company. The offices were about one block from Columbus Circle. I often spent my lunch hour roaming around the neighborhood. (If you don’t know NYC, this area is also really close to Central Park.)
Ralph Ginzburg was a great man to work for. I really, really liked him.
He was the last US citizen to serve time in a federal prison for publishing/selling pornographic literature. (The actual charge was using the US Mail to ship obscene materials — even erotica was illegal back then.)
Anyway. I have tons of great memories from that neighborhood. I was also doing my singer-songwriting thing in the West Village back then, in the evenings and on the weekends. It was a huge part of my life when I worked for Ralph. So this area I’ll be staying in will be just FULL of so many memories, and I will be all by myself for one day/night.
Needless to say, I will post to the blog from my phone while I’m in NYC.
Me, in NYC, during the time I worked for Ralph, in the mid-1980s — and, btw, he was VERY supportive of my songwriting. He and his wife both thought I was a great songwriter:
And here’s a popular song of mine from that era:
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Okay. I better scoot or I’m gonna be late. I’m seeing my favorite 94-year-old Japanese man today! It’s sushi and sashimi time! Assuming the Peony Bistro is open on the holiday!
If you live State-side, enjoy your 4th of July!!!
Otherwise, have a great Friday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I forgot to mention in my post this morning that I won’t be back on the blog until Friday!!
Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting!!!
I love you guys. See ya!
Can’t help it, gang. We gotta start with this!
It was 61 degrees Fahrenheit when I woke up this morning! I even had to turn the fans off because it was “too cool”… Yay!!
The day should really just be fantastic out here in the Hinterlands. I am really looking forward to it.
I won’t say that I wish I had the day off, but I kinda wish I had the day off. I got so much done yesterday and I would love to just hang out in this beautiful weather and work on the novel.
But, alas… the caregiving work continues.
Still, Sandra and I got the finishing touches done on the play yesterday, so we are ready for NYC next week.
In case you forgot, we’ll be staying here! The Empire Hotel:
Oh, and I watched this, on Sandra’s request. I had to sign up for HBO-Max, which I did, but then promptly cancelled the subscription after watching the film because I have way too many subscriptions going on over here. but anyway– I loved it!!!!
Enigma
I thought this documentary was so well done and really just very informative about the Paris and London TS/TV scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
I already knew a little about Amanda Lear because she was connected to David Bowie in the 70s, but I knew nothing about any of the rest of it. Very, very interesting. And very well done.
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And just FYI — if you are new to the blog. Yes, I support Trump. Yes, I follow Q. Yes, I was a digital soldier for General Flynn throughout the fake Biden regime and no, I don’t regret a minute of that indescribably time-consuming, and sometimes frightening, work. And yes, I am AGAINST allowing children to make irreversible decisions about their gender identity — it is hard enough for adults to make informed decisions about that.
However —
Yes, I am part of the LGBTQ+ community and have been, since, like, FOREVER. And most of the LGBTQ+ friends I still have (the ones who are still alive, anyway, most of them died from AIDS) are old school, like me, and also tend to be pro-Trump, pro-USA, pro-US Constitution, pro-Protect the Children.
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On that note!! Back to our program!!
THANK YOU, once again, to all of you who are already downloading my eBooks over at the Smashwords Summer Sale! Which started yesterday! (Details HERE. Adults Only!! Bisexual/Fetish Erotica.)
It always makes my heart sing just a little bit when I see those downloads getting underway, since these particular eBooks are really, really OLD. They’ve been around forever! I love it that people still read them.
I still remember every story I wrote, every publisher I worked with, every editor and every underground zine — the whole sh-bang, What a great time it was, gang.
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Also, a huge thank you to readers in the UK who are downloading the Kindle edition of Neptune and Surf, which was my first book, originally published by the legendary Richard Kasak at Masquerade Books, NYC, in 1999. (The rights are now owned by Hachette UK, as part of their Modern Erotic Classics series.)
Things like this, gang, all these years later, just make me really happy. So thank you, UK readers, whoever you are!
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Okay! Well.
I’m still a little concerned about leaving all these cats with a cat sitter who won’t actually be staying in my house (in the past, my birth mom would stay here and take care of the cats while I was gone, but now there are too many cats and she has gotten too old). I’m worried about them being alone too much. But other than that, I am finally starting to get excited about going back to NYC.
I think this break in the weather helps, since it makes everything just feel “lighter,” you know? Now that I can think straight again, I want to just have some fun.
And I can’t stress enough what a great feeling it is — for both Sandra and me — to be undertaking this version of “The Guide to Being Fabulous” rather than the version that was ultimately produced in Toronto back in 2023.
It has been a long, long time coming. And after having watched Enigma on MAX, I now feel that, more than ever, Sandra’s story needs to be told in a way that doesn’t short change her entire life.
It’s exciting, gang.
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Other than that, there’s not much going on!
I should probably close this and get ready to go to town. It’s another afternoon with my favorite 94-year-old Japanese man.
Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Okay. Here’s this!
I saw this on Instagram the other day, but I didn’t know it was on YouTube!! So here you go!
The Stones’ New Single | Tribute to Clifton Chenier | June 25, 2025 | The Rolling Stones
Wow!
Not only an actual day off, but the bearable weather continues — which means my brain is still working! Yay!!
AND — the Summer Sale over at Smashwords starts today, gang, and continues through the month of July.
All the info and direct links are on my substack page. The sale includes free downloads of Freak Parade and The Muse Revisited: Volumes, 1,2, &3.
The sale is for my eBooks only. And these books, as always, are intended for ADULT READSERS ONLY. Thanks!!
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In other great SALE news!!
Cave Things started a summer sale today, too!
All kinds of cool things are on sale over there to help you beat the heat, or whatever it is you’re trying to beat….
Yet again, some of my favorites are on sale!! Including, but not limited to;
The Hotel Girls Notebook — $12.00 (plus tons of shipping to the USA) (Only adults can look at the image below, thank you very much for your cooperation)
The fantastic Happy Tea Set, the whole set, or separate pieces of it! The Happy Tea Pot, $68.00 (plus all sorts of overseas shipping fees!)
Up Jumped the Devil Milk Jug! $40.00 (no shipping Oops! Tons of shipping there, too!)
That milk jug commemorates one of my absolute favorite Nick Cave songs of all time!!!
“Up Jumped the Devil”, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, 1988, from the incredible album, Tender Prey.
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Here’s this!
Not only because I love this photo so much, but also because my great-great grandmother was a full-blood Blackfoot Indian, and judging by the date listed below, she very well might have known Chief Two Guns White Calf! I think that is so cool.
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And speaking of guns…
I am really, really thinking I will have to cancel my monthly membership at the shooting range, gang. I am only getting one day off a week these days, and it is going to continue for the rest of the summer.
I’m going to call over there today and see if maybe I can just temporarily suspend my membership until Fall. We’ll see. I hate to do it, but I have` absolutely no time. And I just keep paying and paying and paying…
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Okay, well. have I had some intense shifts the last couple of days. In a good way, but still intense.
I saw the retired Minister and his wife on Sunday evening and it was great. He is making such great progress. He was lucid the entire time I was with him, and he talked a lot about his ministry, as well as when he first decided to become a Christian when he was in his teens (he is 80 now).
It was an amazing evening, but as usual it sort of wiped me out emotionally.
Ditto, my shift with my favorite client who is back from Florida. For different reasons, although she is a retired Chaplain, so it was all in the same vein.
I still don’t understand WHY ON EARTH I decided to return to this type of work, but clearly, all of this is on my path right now for a reason.
Oh, and oddly enough!! In my novel-in-progress, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, that I am working on after a 26-year hiatus… the father in the story is a retired Minister. And the upcoming remainder of the novel is primarily about HIM.
Hmmm…….
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On the home front —
I downloaded all the forms I need to fill out in order to apply for that USDA home-improvement loan/grant for low-income seniors living in rural areas.
We’ll see if I can get those filled out before I leave for NYC, but something tells me it would be pushing my luck. I have some stuff I need to do on the play today, and today is my only day off.
But at least I have the forms!!
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And I think that’s it for now!
I have to finish doing the laundry then get focused on “The Guide to Being Fabulous”!
Have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Yes, the Annie Murray kick continues around here!
How can you NOT love this one, gang??? One of her first hits — “Snowbird.”
Anne Murray, “Snowbird”, 1969. From her album, This Way is My Way. Enjoy, gang!!
“Snowbird”
Beneath this snowy mantle cold and clean
The unborn grass lies waiting
For its coat to turn to green
The snowbird sings the song he always sings
And speaks to me of flowers
That will bloom again in spring
When I was young
My heart was young then, too
Anything that it would tell me
That’s the thing that I would do
But now I feel such emptiness within
For the thing that I want most in life’s
The thing that I can’t win
Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would
Fly away with you
The breeze along the river seems to say
That he’ll only break my heart again
Should I decide to stay
So, little snowbird
Take me with you when you go
To that land of gentle breezes
Where the peaceful waters flow
Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would
Fly away with you
Yeah, if I could you know that I would
Fl-y-y-y-y away with you
c – 1969 – Gene MacLellan
I once again have this thing called a BRAIN. I can BREATHE. I can actually walk across the room without feeling like I’m going to faint!!
Yay!!
And it occurred to me, gang, this home improvement loan that I’m at least going to apply for — I guess I will add getting Central AC in with the things that should get done around here.
I really never wanted AC in this specific house because of all the great windows and the usually great cross-breezes. But when I first moved in, I did get all the duct work done so that Central AC can be easily installed. And after what I just went through this past week — at least having the option to turn on AC would probably be a really smart thing to do.
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Yesterday was a really good day. Not only was it FILLED with rain and thunderstorms out here in the Hinterlands, I also had a really wonderful time with my favorite 94-year-old Japanese man.
We talked a lot about his past, his incredible father, his life in Hong Kong, in Tokyo, and the years he attended a small college in Kansas for his Ministerial Degree — we talk about this stuff all the time, because his long-term memory is fantastic. However, this time, through a sort of heroic mental effort, he said to me as I was getting ready to leave: “Without you, Marilyn, I would have no reason to remember what a wonderful life I’ve had. I appreciate you so much.”
It is kind of astounding that he was able to express himself in that specific way, since his short term memory is extremely faulty, to say the least, and using his brain in the “present” is very difficult for him. To be able to help someone give the gift of his whole life back to himself, is, well — I don’t know. It overwhelms me, but in a good way.
And this evening, I’m back with the former Minister and his wife, and I’m really looking froward to that. I had such an interesting time with them last week.
And, luckily, ALL my clients have Central AC, so I at least have a brain when I’m working…
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Okay, so I am officially getting myself into “going to NYC” mode around here. Even though I have 7 shifts between today and next Sunday, when I leave for the airport, I’m trying to focus more on that feeling of freedom I get when I am in NYC.
Add to that, the feeling that Sandra and I are finally going to get the version of “The Guide to Being Fabulous” that we had always envisioned — I would really much rather dwell on that than on all the shifts I have to work this week!!
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This was really, really worth listening to, gang. If you have 22 minutes, check it out. FYI — Warren G. Harding was another President from Ohio who was allegedly and/or officially murdered. [Direct link gives you more control over the ads!]
Mike King’s “Show & Tell” — Who Killed President Warren Harding? (22 mins):
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Okay!
I saw this great photo last night. It’s from the show they did in Rochefort, France on Wednesday — Nick Cave and Colin Greenwood:
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And I think that’s it for right now! I want to actually try to do some yoga today, before heading out for my shift.
Tomorrow morning I have to leave the house around 6:30AM, so I won’t be posting to the blog.
Enjoy what’s left of your weekend, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting!!
I love you guys. See ya!!
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Okay. Bear with me!! I’m on an Annie Murray kick around here!!!
I love this song, gang. I’ve posted it here before, but I really just love it. It’s been filling my kitchen the last couple of mornings. And, truthfully, I would love to be able to sing a song like this for somebody, someday. We shall see… I’m not dead yet!
Anne Murray, “You Needed Me”, 1978, from her album Restoring The Past. Enjoy, gang.
“You Needed Me”
I cried a tear, you wiped it dry
I was confused, you cleared my mind
I sold my soul, you bought it back for me
And held me up and gave me dignity
Somehow you needed me
You gave me strength to stand alone again
To face the world out on my own again
You put me high upon a pedestal
So high that I could almost see eternity
You needed me, you needed me
And I can’t believe it’s you I can’t believe it’s true
I needed you and you were there
And I’ll never leave, why should I leave, I’d be a fool
‘Cause I finally found someone who really cares
You held my hand when it was cold
When I was lost, you took me home
You gave me hope when I was at the end
And turned my lies back into truth again
You even called me friend
You gave me strength to stand alone again
To face the world out on my own again
You put me high upon a pedestal
So high that I could almost see eternity
You needed me, you needed me
You needed me, you needed me
c – 1978 – Randy Goodrum
Marilyn's Room 