OK, it’s not that I have that many friends, it’s that I want to give each person a proper description.

And I am doing tons of remodeling this weekend and need two days worth of blog posts.

Now reality is I could have done this post with some regular old pictures of people who I know. Pictures like this:

Or like this:

But this is me we are talking about. So I had to do something different.

Enter something different …

The Mask. More specifically an antique Mardi Gras mask owned by my friend Texas Linda. It has been hanging on the wall in her dressing room for decades I guess. And it occurred to me that it would be cool … and protective of identities … to use it for all of the pictures of all of my friends.

About Friends.

In the main part of this site, there is a page … several pages in fact … entitled “Friends of Holly”. This is not to be confused with either Friends of Bill or Friends of Dorothy. Which is not to say that I don’t have friends who are also Friends of Bill or Friends of Dorothy. It’s just that my friends are different.

Are they ever.

In one of the earliest posts, the second one I believe, I mentioned that a person was fortunate to have one or two friends. I am blessed with many, many more than that. And they all have wonderful senses of humor.

They would have to have wonderful senses of humor to deal with me.

And all of them graciously agreed to have their pictures taken wearing the same mask. Some insisted on it.

So today, I thought I would start with the three people mentioned in the early post, and then go on from there. Tomorrow will be the rest of the assorted friends and family that have been mentioned here.

Well, some of them.

Just in the for what its worth department, these pictures and words will appear on the Friends of Holly pages here on the blog.

First we have My Friend Ann.

In many regards, Ann is the founder of the feast here.

She is the one who, before the start of this blog on June 24th, 2012, said “You need to do something every day that will make you happy. And then you need to write about it.”

Thus was born the Happy Holly Project.

She also is the do-it-yourself guru who took one look at the Front Room of my house and proclaimed “This carpet needs to be taken up.” And the rest of the house renovation that is following is history.

Ann is a transplant from the North and Deep South and is now contemplating her next move in life.

I have never been to her house twice in a row where the furniture was in the same location. And each move has been a step toward making the house ready for eventual sale.

It is my personal hope for her that she goes to college this year to earn the much deserved and wanted degree she has discussed.

But no matter what … she will always be My Friend Ann.

Then we have Texas Linda.

Texas Linda comes from … well … Texas. By way of several other states. If I am not mistaken she ended up here by virtue of some relatives who live in the area.

In many ways this woman has served as my muse … with her witty stories and incredible sense of humor. When I am at a loss for a topic to write about, leave it to Linda to point out “Well, you know, you could write about nothing.” or something equally inspiring.

She recently lost a newborn Granddaughter, the story of which was written about here. That story and its subsequent entries have been among the most rewarding writing I have done thus far.

She went back to college at age 60 and has earned two degrees since then.

And in the for what its worth department, I will be writing some of her seemingly unending stories in a separate blog here for Texas Linda Stories.

And finally, we have Toozie … or 2Z if you prefer.

With a given name of Timberlee, this woman has glided through life as the eternal hippie. Look up Outgoing Hippie or Steven King Fan in the dictionary and her picture will be there.

Although she is for the most part bed-ridden and house-bound she boasts one of the most active social lives of anyone that I know.

Her beautiful singing voice and poetic creativity have provided more than a few original songs which she used to sing regularly at the dining and drinking establishments in the area.

Given another set of life situations, she would be on American Idol. And doing well with it I would think.

It is my fondest wish for her, other than a miracle cure, to have her various songs recorded and perhaps bought by someone who can bring them to life on an album some day.

So, that is the short introduction to the people who are spoken of the most here in the Happy Holly Project.

With masks.

Can you blame them?