Skip to main content

My Susans


I have four favorite Susans. They are wonderful, each and every one of them.  If I could nominate a panel of experts to help me run the world, my Susans would be on it.

Susan #1 is a friend, a professional associate, and a mentor to FarmWife. She's kind, caring, and really great at her job, which makes FarmWife's job a lot easier. She has taught FarmWife much of what she knows and her effectiveness as an editor is a thing of wonder and beauty. On top of that, she's sweet and smart and poised and beautiful. Her strength of intellect and character make her a hero to FarmWife, which makes her a hero to me.

Susan #2 is the mother of FarmWife's very good friend Marie. Marie is swell enough to be an honorary sister to FarmWife, so I'm going to go ahead and call Susan #2 my auntie. Auntie Susan is a fabulous knitter, a lover of books, and a darned good mom. Her momness rubs off on everyone around her, making us all feel loved and safe and encouraged and warm. She even extends this warmth to my chihuahua, for whom she knits wonderful sweaters. She is a good aunt, a good mom, a good Grandma, and a good friend. She is honest and kind and inspires peace and happiness.

Susan #3 lives in the sunny south and I've never met her in person, but she's been a good friend to FarmWife and to me. The value she has always placed on FarmWife's creative work has had a profound effect on our lives. Susan discovered my blog in its very first days, and it was Susan's encouragement of my early blogging efforts which helped FarmWife see writing as a viable career. Susan helped FarmWife make the leap from thinking of herself as an underemployed homemaker who writes to thinking of herself as an employable writer who works from home, and here we are: it's a couple of years later, and we're working every day. I have my column, FarmWife has her clients, and Susan remains a good friend and a constant source of inspiration, encouragement, and friendship.

Susan #4 is FarmWife's cousin (once removed) and was once billed as Canada's best modern dancer. She is a Canada Council for the Arts senior fellow and a notable ceramic sculptor. She is the kind of person who fills up a room with her elegance and her grace and her tremendous personality. Susan reminds FarmWife of childhood and of peaceful summers in the Thousand Islands and of her grandmother, whom she loved.

My Susans are independent, creative, beautiful, respectful, encouraging, and loving. If my Susans were in charge of everything, I guarantee the world would be a better place.

Ears,
FenBar

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks in Advance for Your Mulish Opinion!

Popular Posts

Here are the Cloud Dog's X-Rays

Here, for your edification, are the X-rays of dear Paisley's leg. There is, apparently, no new break (since his Monday siezure) but there is, of course, a great deal of abnormality caused by years of living with a shortened ulna. His pronounced lameness, the vet says, may temporarily improve. Unlike me, Fenway Bartholomule, poor cloud dog can't expect much in the way of a full recovery.   Not having the $$$$ for surgery to fuse the joint, we are working on making some sort of rigid splint to support the limb and prevent further degeneration. That is, the humans (with their space-age material inventions and their opposable thumbs) are working on making a splint; I am working on giving cloud dog brayful looks of support and encouragement every time he totters into the yard to relieve himself. As always, he fears me (me?!) and keeps his distance.  Ears to you,  Fenway
2 comments
Continued . . .

Vegan Spring Rolls

I, Fenway Bartholomule, am a vegan: of course I only eat plants, not people! My human is too, so I'm sharing my blog with her today so that she can participate in the 2014 Virtual Vegan Potluck ! When you're done perusing the recipe for these delicious spring rolls, click "back" or "forward" for the entire potluck experience! Virtual Vegan Potluck: Spring Roll Appetizers Beautiful? Check. Healthy? Check. Delicious? Check. Easy? Check. Fancy? Check. Quick to clean up after? Check. Vegan? OF COURSE! If you're looking for something portable, colorful, and crowd-pleasing for your next potluck, look no further than these simple vegan spring rolls! The best part? You can substitute ANYTHING. I never make these the same way twice, so play around with cilantro, kale, cabbage, scallions, or whatever you think sounds good! Ingredients Veggie mix: 2 carrots (grated) 4 oz mung bean sprouts 1/3 cup chopped peanuts (raw, or roasted and salted) or ...
11 comments
Continued . . .

The Scoop on Bird

 Human here, to give you the scoop on Songbird. He is shiny, sweet, and wonderful . . . and a little bit broken hearted. (Fenway was once, too.) As I've gotten to know him more over the last month, I've come to understand that he associates humans with unpleasantness, at least, and suffering, at worst. He has some gnarly scars. He flinches away from touch, though he warms up quickly when treats are involved. He's quite a foodie. He's easily startled. He's alert, and vigilant. He doesn't always feel safe. He also really likes it at my mom's house, which has a slower pace than the wonderful boarding and lesson barn where he lived in June. He appreciates the predictable routine, the long quiet afternoons, and the retired horses who give him company. He has flattened the grass under the big cedar out back and created nests to rest in. The soft footing at my mom's is better for his newly bare feet. He is starting to believe he'll be ok.  I have ridden him...
2 comments
Continued . . .

That Which Was Foretold Has Come To Pass

  After some negotiation and exchange of words like "motheaten" and "raggedy", Farmwife talked me into enduring the roaching of my mane, which I had rubbed on the fence while reaching for delectable edibles at my previous home. We both agreed on four things: 1)  it was essential to retain my forelock, which is a thing of splendor that adds greatly to my dashing good looks. I'll get a picture for you tomorrow. 2) once the cut has grown out a bit, she will give me those fancy castle turrets that she used to style for Fenway.  3) we owe our dear readers a better photo, when I have not just rolled in the mud.  4) there is no hairstyle capable of making me look anything but marvelous. 
1 comment
Continued . . .