Yesterday Elliott and I found ourselves with some unexpected alone time! If you knew our crazy household, you’d know what a miracle that is. We’ve started sending the kids all away on Sunday afternoons just so we can have some quality time, but this little window of opportunity yesterday was a nice surprise. After a cool shower (because it was hot weather) I teased him about playing “naughty masseur and bored rich housewife”. We had a couple of untouched massage bars from the last trip to Lush, just begging to be used. He picked the spicy one of course, the one with a nice slow burn. Lessons learned from this: feels wonderful and tingly, but is anathema to lubrication. :)

After happy alone time, we went into town to meet a couple of friends for dinner. It was my girlfriend Zale’s birthday so we wanted to take her out. Dinner was on the veranda of one of our favorite Italian places, on a warm summer night, with one-too-many bottles of Valpolicella Ripasso. Perfect way to spend an evening.

Of course today I am paying for the excess, with a very mild headache and way too much to do. Doggie seemed way better yesterday, but again today took a downturn. We’re taking him to the vet again this afternoon, since it’s a holiday weekend and we’ll be away on a boat. His fever is up again. We also have to load the boat, because the loading zone where we’re docked is being closed tomorrow for the 4th. So, we’ll get ready today, then take off in the morning for beautiful Roche Harbor.

We were supposed to go to a party tomorrow in honor of a dear friend who died a couple of weeks ago. However, my friend Rita is coming with us and her ex-husband (and his new wife) pitched an absolute fit that she was going to be there. As I told a friend, it’s the first time in my adult life that I’d been so angry with someone that I wasn’t in the midst of divorcing. First, I don’t think there are any good times to be territorial about joint friends or places. The person with the problem needs to either get over it, or stay away. I chose to stay away from my ex for quite a long time because it was upsetting to me to be around him. I did not try to convince mutual friends to do the same, that’s just lame. BUT, of all the times NOT to be a jerk about “territory”, at the top of the list are weddings, wakes and graduations. I am appalled at people sometimes.

At any rate, what we decided was to have our own small memorial, sharing memories of our friend quietly. I don’t think participating in drama is a good way to honor someone. She was one of the most amazing, big-hearted, courageous people I knew.

Looking forward to the weekend, with doggie, Elliott, a pile of teenagers, Rita, and many other friends on the water… Naomi, we’ll be thinking of you.

~Jane

I think that title is the first time I’ve used the phrase “one sick puppy” for an ACTUAL sick puppy. My doggie was sick, and last night we were at the emergency vet until after midnight. His white blood cell count was high, he spiked a fever, was lethargic and overall just not acting like a puppy. We already knew he had an infection, we took him to the regular vet last week. We got a doctor we’d never seen before (we’ve been going to this vet for years) who prescribed an oral antibiotic that he kept puking up. We found out last night it was one that shouldn’t be given to puppies, hence the problem.

At any rate, my day is starting out a bit slower. I was exhausted by the time we got home, hadn’t gotten a chance to have dinner, overslept this morning. The good part is doggie is WAY better today. His fever is gone, he’s got a bit of perk in his step again, and while he’s not his usual tasmanian-devil self, he’s definitely on the mend.

Very much looking forward to a tiny sailing getaway over the 4th of July weekend. We all need it.

~jane

Back from the weekend - I absolutely love how 24 hours on the boat seems like a week away. Something about the water, wind and waves. I always sleep best on the boat. I also get to relax and read, which never seems to happen at home. Home is never quiet enough with 3+ teenagers at all times, and all the pets.

My favorite author ever, Alice Hoffman, has a new book out that I’m currently in the middle of. We were coming back across the bay last night, and Elliott noticed tears rolling down my face under my sunglasses, because her stories always make me cry. She writes about loss in a way that just gets me.

Anyhow, I have piles of stuff on my desk to get done today, so I’d better get back to it.

~jane

Hooray, the sun came back for the weekend! How often does THAT happen in Wa? I have to go into work for a little bit this morning, but then it’s going to be on the boat, headed for a little rendezvous with some of our friends on the water. Grilled salmon, beautiful harbor, overnight on the boat, yay!

I need to remember to take pictures. Back when I was blogging all the time a million years ago, I took pictures practically daily. Somehow I got out of the habit of it, and now I don’t even know where my camera is half the time. The other day though I was looking through old scrapbooks (yes, I had a scrapbooking phase) and I’m SO GLAD I have all of those pictures. This is my goal for the summer, to get back into it.

Anyhow, maybe pictures Monday with a blog entry. :)

have a wonderful weekend!
~jane

Good morning! I am sitting here in the home office, with a light breeze from the window coming over my shoulder and a nice hot mug of coffee at hand. The house is quiet, Natasha and her husband (he doesn’t have a blog name!) are still asleep. Doggie was up for awhile, but he went back to bed with Elliott, and all 3 teenagers are still asleep. It’s almost 9am, so it’s weird to have the household so quiet still. Now that school is out though, the teenagers are being teenagers and rolling out of bed just shy of noon. heh.

Elliott won at poker last night, 3 bottles of wine and $50. woo! They didn’t get in until almost 2am though, which was cause for slight worry when I woke up at 1:30 to find that they still weren’t home. Girls night didn’t last as long, we were home by 11. Mostly because for all of the girls involved it was a “school night”. But not for me and Natasha, we get to wander local shops this morning and have lunch. I LOVE having teenagers who can work in the shop so I can have a morning off.

Doggie’s vet visit yesterday went ok, but they aren’t quite sure what’s wrong with him. They just prescribed some antibiotics and gave him some doggie-vicodine for his cough, which is sorta weird. I didn’t know vicodine was a cough remedy. He goes back in a couple of weeks for a checkup.

On the daily menu today: a bit of work here on the site, a bit of shopping before Natasha leaves for home, 3 hours in the shop later, and I have no idea what in the evening. No plans as of now, which is kind of nice. I just hope the weather clears by the afternoon, I’m ready for another heat wave! :)

~jane

The second love of my life, my cute little doggie, is sick. Elliott is taking him to the vet, they’re leaving as I type. Ever since he had a vaccination for kennel cough, he’s had wheezing attacks. This morning he had two, and I’m just too worried about him. It’s ridiculous how much I love this little dog. I adore the little guy to an embarrassing degree. :)

On another note, Natasha is coming to visit tonight, with her husband. Yay! One of the best things about opening the retail shop is that she comes out to Bham way more often. She runs the shop when I have to be out of town for a day or two, but we almost always have time to get together at the beginning or end of one of her visits. Tonight she’s actually NOT coming out to work at the shop, rather her husband and Elliott are going to a wine poker night ($30 bottle of wine buy-in) and we’re going to girl’s night at a friend’s house. I have this amazingly wonderful friend who just bought her first home that is all her own, but it’s not feeling like home to her yet. We all decided that we needed to fill it with laughter on a regular basis, so it’ll feel like her old home that she rented.

So that’s my day, trying to get ready for Natasha’s visit because they’re staying over, and trying to get my doggie healed. And honestly, I WILL post a picture soon. He’s the cutest. :)

~jane

edited to add: picture of doggie!

This is when he was a baby, but he’s not a lot bigger even now. 12 lbs.

Wow. Ok, so I made a decision the other day that I’m going to start blogging again. It’s been WAY too long, and well I guess I’m just in the mood again.

Things are very happy around the Janie household. I have a new dog that is the second love of my life, just behind Elliott. He’s adorable, and I will post a picture or ten in the near future. The girls are doing well, two out of three are driving now. Eek! But it’s a good thing, and I have a bit more time (hence the time to actually blog again) now that I’m not being a constant taxi-driver. Oh, and the youngest daughter moved her horse to a barn within walking distance, so that is pretty darn cool too.

Elliott and I are gearing up for extra sailing, a 3 week visit from the same French exchange student we had last summer, and a slew of other random projects.

Oh, and I actually went back to the Seattle Center for Sex Positive Culture (formerly the Wetspot) for the first time in years. It was great to get to see old familiar faces, especially that of Allena (Georgina), whom I shared a partner with for many years. It was the ten year anniversary of the space, so I was there for the birthday celebration. In some ways, I couldn’t believe it had ONLY been ten years. It’s pretty amazing what they’ve accomplished, and it was nice of them to honor me as a founder, when that was really all I ever did. I dropped out of the board pretty early on, because the girls were so little then. At any rate, I really applaud what they’ve done there, and it was good for me to re-visit something that was such a part of my life for a few years. Lots of memories in that space…

If you’ve been reading me for years, you’re probably now shocked that I actually had an entry - and if you’re new here, well, probably much of the above made no sense whatsoever. Too much backstory to even attempt to fill in. But, I’m ready to start with the next chapter now… :)

~Jane

I figured it was time for a check-in, since it’s been awhile. It’s a super-snowy Christmas Eve Day, and our little family is preparing for a bunch of guests. Molly and her family are staying the night tonight, and hopefully my mom will make it here also. She’s working all day in Seattle, so I’m crossing my fingers that the roads will be better later. It’s not supposed to warm up that much here, but it IS supposed to rain in Seattle. At any rate, we’re having friends and family over tonight for games and hot chocolate (and hot buttered rums)

Things are wonderful - my little retail shop is going well, my girls are happy and healthy, and Elliott is as awesome as always. I love having a husband and partner that I can share ALL of my facets with. I’ll admit to being an odd mix of traditional and wacky, conventional and kinky. It’s nice not having to be just one thing.

We’re planning a little two-day getaway before the year is over, once family time is done. My favorite little quiet waterfront spot, the place we fell in love a few years ago. Then we’ll spend New Year’s with Natasha and her husband, then it’ll be back to the normal grind for awhile, until (hopefully) we’ll find the time for a warm getaway in February. Mexico always starts calling my name around February.

I need to get some work done with AAG on the site - she’s been doing a ton around here, which I’m grateful for since I have a couple of other jobs as well. I’m hoping to finally spend some time with some site upgrades. It’s needed, we’ve been stagnant for too long. So… look for something there in the new year, it’s my resolution. :)

anyhow, just wanted to wish you all a wonderful holiday. I hope you’re spending it with those you love.
~jane

So a very nice reader wrote to inquire about the health of everyone here at JanesGuide, worried we might be on the Gulf Coast because of our lack of updates for a couple of weeks. Everyone is fine, though we’re scattered across the country (and a couple of our reviewers are in Canada), none of us are in a hurricane affected area. Rather, it was just the life turmoil for me of the change of season from summer to back-to-school. I know, that’s kinda silly. It’s not like it takes huge amounts of time to sit down and get some updating done, and I should be putting up new reviews daily. I guess I just sort of forgot that it had been two WEEKS because life is rushing by so quickly.

Getting ready to open my retail shop in about 3 weeks, which will be a huge life change also. For 11 years, I’ve worked mostly from home. Sometimes from an office, when I needed more separation of home/work. Coming up though, I’ll trade in the freedom of my “work whenever I have the time” lifestyle to an actual daily schedule. Eek! Actually, I’m very much looking forward to it. I’m ready to interact with people face to face. And I LOVE my shop. I get to sell all of the pretty things I love, to other people with a similar aesthetic. I am a little nervous about grand opening time, only because the shop is so very much me, that it’s like inviting strangers into my home. What if they don’t like it? I think I’ll get my feelings hurt. heh.

Anyhow, don’t worry about the site - we’ll still be going. It was an absolute joy to have Vamp back for the summer. I would love to brag about all of the things she’s been keeping busy with the rest of the year, but since she doesn’t publicly blog anymore, I’d better not. Suffice to say she’s an amazingly talented and smart woman. And I am trying to figure out time for us to do one of our every couple of years dinners. Yes, that’s how often I get to see her in person, once every year or two. Peter too, every couple of years. And dear sweet AAG I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting in person yet, more’s the pity.

Oh, I have another reviewer coming on board, who I will have to tell you about shortly. She’s totally awesome though, and will fit right in around here. While I love Wolfe and Peter, I do love having lots of women around here to write from a different perspective. :)

Anyhow, there it is - my once in a blue moon checkin. Here’s wishing you all well, the 3 of you who still read when I’m this flaky. heh. :)

~Jane

from a week in the sunshine, on a boat, racing, getting bruised up and battered. Guess I *am* still a masochist a bit. heh.

will update the site later, too much to catch up on right now… hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

(p.s. at the races, a rollerbetty sighting! who woulda thought.)