by aha42
by amboowho?
by floridapfe
by Baqir Ali
by ronicotton
It is getting warmer and before long it will be raspberry lime rickey weather -I can't wait! It is a New England staple of sorts and although there are numerous variations, including those with alcohol, I love the ones that harken back to the days of drugstore soda fountains. That was before my time, but I remember my mum would order a rickey when we went for ice cream at the local Brigham's. Even though I could barely understand the complete craziness of passing up a giant sugar cone of chocolate chip for just a drink, I was intrigued. They seemed "grown-up", so when I was about 9-years-old I asked if I could have one too. I have never regretted it- now it is the refreshing, comforting, taste of childhood summers that I am so looking forward to on our next trip for ice cream....in addition to those sugar cones full of chocolate chip of course. 
Raspberry Lime Rickey
Back in 6th grade I had a best friend. Melissa. We didn't last too long (it's a long and complicated and heart-wrenching story about friendship torn apart due to diverging musical tastes - she was all about the hair metal band "Winger" while I still couldn't get enough of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"), but the friendship was true. How am I so sure? We had the broken heart "best friend" necklaces for, like, a week before we (well, actually, before she) called it quits. Melissa went on to have other broken charms with other bffs while I was left with (and still have) my half, my "-est -end."
Well, since I am now my mid-30s, I think it's time to pick up the pieces and find a new best friend. And thank goodness that etsy has plenty of modern and classic charms for me to bring to the bff table...
First, for the really cool girl with actual good taste in music way out of my league (and maybe if she's really into whales too):
Almost as soon as you crack open a book, you stumble upon a dedication, and that sentence or phrase is nearly as fascinating to me as the author's work that follows it. Maybe it is because those dedications have their own stories that we are not privy to or maybe it is because it seems to be the ultimate gesture of gratitude....whatever the reason, I always read the dedication before I start a book and again when I finish it. I'm often disappointed when it reads matter-of-factly "To John" or "For Jane" (despite the honor and beauty in those simple words) because I want to know more....
It turns out there is actually a book, "Once Again to Zelda: The Stories Behind Literature's Most Intriguing Dedications" by Marlene Wagman-Geller, that tells us about some of those "John"s and "Jane"s. It was in an article in the the New York Times about this book that I read the story of the dedication to Tabby (the one that is this post's title in fact) from author Stephen King.
For instance, in his first novel, “Carrie,” Stephen King wrote, “This is for
Tabby, who got me into it — and then bailed me out of it.” Was Tabby a cat? No.She’s Mr. King’s wife, Tabitha, whom he started dating in college, after they both reached for the same copy of “The Joy of Sex” in the library. They married in 1971, and Tabby worked at Dunkin’ Donuts to give Mr. King time to write.
When he threw away a draft of “Carrie,” she fished it out of the trash,
encouraged him to finish it, and helped him flesh out the girls’ locker-room scenes. Ms. Wagman-Geller writes that, when the book sold for $400,000,“Tabitha, who was sitting on a sofa that she had salvaged from a yard sale,put her head in her hands and wept.”It is just the kind of quirky story of inspiration and love I imagine when I read a dedication. To think there are 49 other tales in Ms. Wagman-Geller's book....I will definitely be checking it out.
Is your husband unsightly? Does he clash with your decor? Have a pair of sweats he calls his "fancy sweats"? Never fear! the long thread has a solution:
Can't wait to get started.
