Singer, songwriter and actor Troye Sivan marks their debut as Dazzler of the Day. There’s a fine line between Hunk and Dazzler, but Troye straddles the line with perfect panache. Besides, you ca’t go wrong with a guy in a thong, so this is your Dazzler of the Day: Troye Sivan. Check out their enchanting website here.
This colorful homage to Nipper is one of several scattered throughout downtown Albany, and thanks to its artistic bark, this may be my favorite. As we barrel into the end of May, good things are in the works – let’s get on with the recap so we can move forward. There’s a full Flower Moon this Wednesday, so I’ll be laying low…Be careful and watch yourselves…
Dazzlers of the Day included: Kirk Acevedo, Leslie Jones, Andy Cohen, Letitia James, Brian Tyler Cohen, and Ken Jeong.
While Andy may better know his way around automobiles and kitchen stuff, I’m the master in the garden. Sometimes, the master has much to learn, and that was the case when I happened upon Andy’s weigela at his old house. It bloomed prolifically at this time of the year, beginning a cavalcade of pink that lasted a solid week or two, especially if nights stayed cool and there was enough moisture in the air. I asked him what it was and he said he thought it was a Weigela. It was the first and only time he knew the name of a plant before I did.
When we moved into our current home, and the first spring began to reveal which plants were in the backyard, I watched as a rather plain-leaved bush sprouted. It’s form was somewhat fountain-like, similar to a forsythia. Nearby, a Japanese maple unfurled its fine maroon leaves. Carpets of pachysandra extended well beyond where we would eat them. The shrub I couldn’t identity slowly revealed more of itself as the warm weather arrived. Buds appeared, and I recalled the Weigela. A few days later they bloomed pink as seen here – a standard variety that made its way around the upstate New York landscaping. It felt like a link to the past, blooming in our future backyard.
It’s been a while since we’ve had some male nudity on this blog, not for any other reasons than the regular evolution of taste and style, cultural tone, and the gradual trajectory of such an ancient website. Moving deeper into my forties I find myself spending less time on the superficial and frivolous – two founding aspects of this site – and more on items that defy egotistical self-examination or silly frills. Not that I would begrudge anyone, including myself, the indulgence a pursuit in such frills might produce. But that’s getting a little deep for a Sunday post, so I turn your attention to the brilliant Moira Rose, always one with a striking assembly of words and wisdom.
“Take a thousand naked pictures of yourself now.” ~ ‘Schitt’s Creek’
A fox would not be entirely unwelcome in our yard at any time, especially considering the abundance of rodents the last few years have brought into our neighborhood. Foxgloves have long been a magical plant, one that I’ve mostly ignored growing for their unreliable growing pattern. Mostly biennial, they depend on spreading their second-year seed, leading to unpredictable clumps of future foxgloves, assuming they safely germinate. Too much chance in a world where chance is never a safe friend.
That said, I’ve been embracing such unpredictability, so maybe this is a good time to sow a few of these and give them their first year of leaves for a floriferous show next year. Slowly, we begin to plan ahead. Slowly, we feel the way to a future. In the speckled loveliness of a fox’s glove…
“In the night time (Night tiiiiimmme) oh baby that’s the right time…”
Try as I might, I cannot figure out which 80’s relic that catchy little bit originates from, and so I’m left leaving it out of this post. Instead, feast your eyes upon the pool at night, where and when so much summer magic and splendor occurs. We are lucky to have it open already, to make up for last year’s sucky season. Jump in and join the party…
When comedy and intelligence meet, it’s a profoundly wondrous thing, and for some reason it still takes people by surprise that two entities can so brilliantly co-exists, one feeding into the other. Dr. Ken Jeong exemplifies this, in his career and life, as succinctly described on his Twitter bio: “Come for the fart jokes, stay for the science-based, peer-reviewed public health & medical information.” He is crowned Dazzler of the Day thanks to his many contributions not only to the entertainment world, but to everything he has done for humanity. He’s spent a lifetime making people laugh, and making the world better for everyone. See the long list of his current endeavors here.
EXCLUSIVE – Ken Jeong speaks on stage at the Television Academy’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Phil McCarten/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)
One of the best ground-covers if you want a touch of blue/purple majesty at this time of the year is Ajuga, commonly known as bugleweed. The weed part is apt for its aggressive tendency, something typically valued in a ground-cover. I appreciate it best up-close and contained, so I allow other gardeners to grow it, then admire it away from my limited yard, which doesn’t have the space for such rampant behavior.
A little post for a little plant with a lot of spreading power. Saturdays that show promise should be that way.
“News without the fluff” is what Brian Tyler Cohen does best, as seen on his YouTube Channel, where he offers a truth-based analysis of all the insanity that’s going on in the political world. Thanks to his refreshingly honest take and refusal to offer a nonsensical ‘both sides’ argument on issues that are morally right or wrong, he earns this first Dazzler of the Day honor.
Andy opened the pool this past week and quickly brought the temperature up to the 80’s. It turns out that I need it there, despite my best intentions. On the first day, it rose to 74 degrees, and that sounded doable. I’d been working in the garden and the sun – and it was basically he first day I’ve had such sun exposure this year. In the excitement and work of trying to wrestle an unruly clump of Fountain grass into submission, rather unsuccessfully at that, I felt dizzy and shaky and overheated, so I thought a quick dip in 74 degree water would be ideal, just like I used to do as a kid.
I made it to my waist, and then realized that my tolerance as an adult apparently begins at about 80 degrees. I got out, dried my lower half off, and waited until it got into the 80’s, at which point I jumped in and enjoyed the first swim of the season.
JoAnn has scheduled her first visit with us since COVID began for this July, and this is the start of the coming summer season. It felt good to give in to some hope, and to indulge in some planning for the future. That’s been the saddest part of this pandemic – not being able to plan for the future. We are taking tentative steps to finding that joy again, and that begins simply with a dip in the pool.
New York Attorney General Letitia James earns her first Dazzler of the Day honor because she is such a bad-ass. If anyone can take down such evil entities as the NRA and the Former Guy, it’s her. The search for the truth is always an admirable endeavor, no matter who is involved.
These buds were just opening in the Boston Public Garden when we were last there, but they hadn’t advanced to the point where I could recognize the tree. It didn’t matter – it wasn’t the name or variety that so enchanted and inspired me – it was the sense of freshness that signifies spring at its best moments. It was that essence of being new, of starting all over again, that felt magical. This year, more than most, I feel the tug of such a moment, when so many of us just want a fresh beginning. If 2020 taught me anything, it was that nothing stays the same forever, no matter how good or bad it might have been. There was something very scary and powerful about that realization, and I’ve carried it with me with a certain weary resignation, couple with a certain fortitude. The rose and the thorn – and without one the other is missing something.
In honor of this evening’s premiere of ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ the Dazzler of the Day is Andy Cohen. Anyone who can herd a breed like the Real Housewives is nothing short of a hero in my eyes, and anyone who has carved such a consistently-stellar career in the entertainment business is practically miracle worker. Cohen has also written a few indelible books that are as entertaining as his on-screen persona – ‘Most Talkative‘ and ‘The Andy Cohen Diaries‘. During the pandemic, he successfully transferred ‘Watch What Happens Live’ to his own home and it proved just as enduring and laugh-inducing, becoming the must-see night-time appointment when others floundered and struggled to find their way. His endearing friendship with Anderson Cooper has also proven to be something genuine and dear in an industry where that is all too infrequent and rare.
From Tom Ford’s ‘Lavender Palm’ to the Beekman Boys latest whipped body cream, lavender has been a favorite scent in these parts, particularly when summer comes streaming in through the sun-filled days. This year I planted a number of new lavender plants near the pool, where the heat stays close to the concrete, and the silvery foliage soaks it all in. The bonus is the scent that arises when one brushes past the leaves and flowers.
That scent finds its way into just about everything these days, and not all of it is done well. Like my friend JoAnn, I’m very particular about the lavender products that find their way into our home. Only the true lavender scent – simple, not too sweet or cloying, with just a hint of the medicinal – is what we seek. Far too often products contain vanilla or some other addition that mars the rustic essence of true lavender. When done right, however, it is a fragrance that signifies peace and relaxation – and is usually used to bring about better sleep.
In these photos, a lavender candle burns in our attic loft in the midst of a minor make-over for the space, lending positive vibrations for a summer on the distant horizon.
These perky pansy faces cheered me up on a recent spring day.
May they do the same for you.
