Maureen O’Hara, Bagdad (1949)

July has been uncommonly hectic… and frankly, unspeakably unkind, so my pictures of the day and regular posts basically took a backseat… to life.

Sometimes life insists on taking the driver’s seat, the passenger seat, the steering wheel AND control of the AC. July took control of just about everything – tossing me into the backseat. All I’ve been able to do is hold on and hope the ride ends soon.

I lost one of my cats earlier this month – a gorgeous 16-1/2 year old spoiled princess named Alexa. It was age-related and I had to watch her, over the course of a week, slow down before leaving me on a Sunday that’ll forever break my heart. I could have taken her to a vet and spared myself a great deal of emotional suffering – but she was always there for me, her entire life, and I had every intention of being there for her. She saw me through each of my daughter’s finishing high school (and having the audacity to grow up… kids, right?!), through their weddings, through losing my mom, and through all of life’s ups and downs. At the end of the day, she’d always be there for me in the den. She’d sit in my lap in our favorite chair and we’d watch old movies, baseball, college hoops, NFL, classic tv, and Bigfoot shows.

She loved those.

On her last day, I knew it would be just that… the last day. I wrapped her in her baby blanket and carried her from her bed in the kitchen (forever near me) into the den and into our chair. Right at the end, I laid in the floor with her and that was it. Looking back, it brings me a level of comfort knowing that she was allowed to die in her beloved den with her mommy who loved her so very, very, very much.

The next day, while cooking supper, I happened to start crying again (horrible thing to do while cooking – especially when said cooking involves an iron skillet and HOT grease). I got a terrible grease burn on my right arm and on my chest. Thankfully my top was pretty thick material, so that burn wasn’t as bad or painful as the one on my arm.

I’ve had two bad burns in my life and, for someone who cooks every single day – often more than once – the odds aren’t bad. The pain, however, is. I take every opportunity to remind people to take extra, extra caution while cooking and I’m doing it now. Always pay 110 percent attention when you’re cooking. Burns are excruciatingly painful and the pain lasts quite a while.

Just be careful, okay? Something else… if you have pets, hug them closely and give them all the time in the world they need, when they need it.

A few reminders that I hope will serve you well.

This month has actually reminded me just how wonderful old movies can be – they’re always there to catch us when we fall. A few nights ago, I watched The Women (for the first time) starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, and Paulette Goddard.

Funny – it’s supposed to be “Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer’s” movie but, as far as I’m concerned, it was very much Rosalind Russell’s movie. She and her antics were exactly the tonic I needed and for a few hours, my entire world was glorious.

The next afternoon, I watched Bagdad, for probably the 99th time and loved it just as much as ever. If Maureen O’Hara wasn’t already one of my absolute favorite actresses, she would be now.

Once again, the magic of an old movie dried every tear and provided a wonderful escape.

If you’ve never seen these movies, I couldn’t possibly recommend them more.

The rest of the stuff I’ve dealt with in July… I don’t recommend one bit.

Maureen O’Hara, Bagdad