After the Rain

Thunder rolled in the distance, some lightning flashed and a gentle rain fell for a short time. Precious raindrops last evening making the garden inviting this morning. Camera time instead of having to water with the sprinklers and hoses. With cooler nights creeping closer the trees will soon start to turn. These lovely greens will change and fade into Autumn's golden shades.

A gentle Sunday morning garden. Humidity has been literally breath taking these past few days. Today should be the last unbearable one..........a perfect day forecast for tomorrow's holiday. Enjoy the fruits of your labor on the holiday.

Pink Saturday

Pull up a chair and sit a while.....................it's Saturday, PINK Saturday. Your week has been busy, perhaps hectic, possibly chaotic. For many of you it required getting the children back to school after the long Summer vacation. Are you breathing again? Are you happy they're gone from under your feet for a while? Or are you worried because they're no longer within earshot and view all those hours of each school day? I hope all the children will have a great school year.

Truly a 'shabby chic' chair from SuzAnna's Antiques

While you're taking a breather why not have fun filling out a "happiness card"..........................

...........................and then stop over to visit Beverly our hostess at How Sweet the Sound to see the long list of Pink Saturday participants.

Round Every Corner

Rounding the corners of life can bring one face to face with many surprises.

Sometimes you turn to the left and there spread before you are cold hardscapes, concrete jungles, pavements, winding gravel paths, rocky roads and stony byways, colored grey by mist and rain................

.......................or you may turn right and feel the sun on your face as it warms a generous landscape made up of meadows painted with wildflowers, grassy pastures, rolling green hills, fields of golden grain and tall primeval forests.

Corners, whether hard right angles or soft rounded curves, are always interesting. Turning them can determine your pathway in life, similar to reaching that fork in the road where you hesitate before deciding whether you should go left or right.

Personally I'm of an age where hopefully I will no longer have to make such an important decision, turn left or go right. I feel my turns have all become straight lines, a road whose perspective disappears into infinity......................and I'm following it joyfully.

I hope you enjoy life's journey no matter which corner you round or road you take.

Corners and edges around my home.

In a Rain Storm

"Anyone who thinks sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain."

~ Anonymous ~

A beautiful watercolor found tucked away in an antiques shop. I have yet to frame it, perhaps never will, but today it stands on the mantel as it feels like the day.

The rains came..........................yesterday light and drippy, this morning heavy and saturating. The parched earth is soaking up each drop, manna from heaven, nourishment for all that struggles to grow, flower, feed and share its beauty....................unattained in any other way than that given as a gift by Nature.

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without rain, there would be no rainbow."

~ G.K. Chesterton -1874-1936 ~

All Creatures Great & Small

There have been dragonflies this Summer.................but butterflies have been sparse. How I've missed them flitting from plant to plant in the garden.

The parsley, usual depository for the beautiful Monarch's eggs, has been munched on by just one lonely green and yellow striped caterpillar - usually there are dozens.

The weather conditions are to blame for our gardening woes this year. No beans or peppers made it. Tomatoes just now turning red for picking but not by the pound as in other years. Cucumbers not bad, but not many. Eggplants? Well there's one hanging on waiting to be harvested - eggplant Parmigiana for one perhaps!

Lack of rain, unbearable heat..................how the farmers make it remains a mystery. How grateful we are to them for bringing their vegetables and fruits to the weekly market.

Decoupaged pot with dragonfly.

Do you have butterflies in your garden this year?

Not Far From the Tree

"When the oak is felled the whole forest echoes with its fall, but a hundred acorns are sown in silence by an unnoticed breeze."

Thomas Carlyle (Scottish Historian and Essayist ~1795-1881)

Yesterday I noticed a true sign that Summer is on the wane and Autumn is imminent. Not only do I see them, I hear them falling on the roof with a clatter, then rolling down and bouncing off the back deck. Some are still attached to sprays of leaves like this, bright green acorns stuffed into their little rough textured cups. Some years we have thousands fall from several mighty oaks on our property - they'd be ankle deep if we didn't sweep and blow often.

The first acorns of the season.

Background is Edith Holden's beautiful watercolor illustration in

The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady (1905).

"If the 24th of August be fair and clear

Then hope for a prosperous Autumn that year".

Pink Saturday

Blooms in the garden are few now ~ the torrid heat and almost non-existent rain have wreaked havoc....................Nature struggles to put forth anything fresh, new or colorful these past few weeks. But I do love green! When permitted we water. Still restricted to a few hours a week but this does enable the many shades of green, from chartreuse to hunter, to fill in the bare spaces.

But this is PINK SATURDAY so I had to find something pretty and PINK. Here is the Mandevilla vine making its way up the gazebo and blooming in the heat because it's tropical.

The flowers start out pointed, somewhat like a Morning Glory bud, then slowly unfold and open in their stunning pinkness, surrounded by a backdrop of thick, leathery, dark green leaves.


The Mandevilla is an annual here so I plant a new one each year after the last frost ~ must have something pink throughout the long, hot Summer.



Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound our Pink Saturday hostess. There you will find the list of this week's participants and I'm certain many of them are surrounded by every shade of pink imaginable!

Friday's Favorite Family Foto

Lost in the music while playing the piano at Arts Together

~ August 2008 ~

A granddaughter wants a piano. It doesn't have to be a fancy one. It does need to be in tune. The wood can be scratched...................piano shawls are beautiful. It has to fold up to fit into a small apartment or cottage!

Dream on sweet child. Sometimes dreams come true.

**************

Visit our hostess Deborah at Pictures, Pots & Pens for more FFFF posts ~ and do join in by sharing your favorite family photos each Friday.

Decoupage

I've always enjoyed painting and decoupaging pots. If you peek in the door of my potting shed you will find several stacks of plain terra cotta pots awaiting embellishment when the cooler weather arrives.

These below I decorated some years ago ~ they move around from shelf to shelf on the Welsh dresser in the dining room.

The one with the butterflies is a favorite. I was pleasantly surprised to see this image in the ad below in a current national magazine. Target will be selling John Derian decorative items during the month of September. He is the master of decoupage ~ cutting and gluing paper images to surfaces ~ his special talent being layering images under glass such as plates, platters, paperweights, coasters, bowls, bell jars, urns etc. I will be checking the Target offers as they often do well with affordable designer items.

Walking to France

Carcassonne, France~2006

Before visiting France in October, I need to get some exercise! The heat of this Summer has kept me indoors a lot. My walking shoes have been left empty by the door and the spare pair in the trunk of the car has probably broiled in the heat! Every now and then I play 'Hampton and The Hamster Dance' - go ahead laugh but I assure you it will get you moving! It will not however provide the same benefits as some serious walking.



Staying here while in Provence.

France......................aah! Think food, of course, great food. Beginning with breakfast croissants and baguettes still warm from the village boulangerie oven, followed by a light lunch to hold one until dinner...........that lovely time when, the foods of France and the talents of great cooks, bring families and friends together for leisurely eating and interesting conversation. Think wine, fabulous wine from grapes growing all around the village where I'll be staying - just take your jug and fill at the co-op for a couple of euros!

My neighborhood running/walking track.

So before climbing the hills of the Luberon which I'll also be visiting on a side trip to Provence, and to have the stamina required for many hours of market browsing so I can bring you photos of all the lovely things to buy..........................I plan to be walking here (Boring? Yes!) as often as possible.

My posts may become sporadic for a while - walking takes time - however I will check in with you now and then. I'm also cleaning out closets and organizing Fall clothing, spending a lot of time on my French homework assignments, trying to keep the parched garden from completely dying on me, making some important travel plans for next year, and squeezing in a little time for some creative projects which need attention.......as well as all the regular household stuff.

Life is busy, but then that's what life's all about, right?

Pink Saturday

"Come quickly Grandma, there's a visitor on the front doormat and I've taken a photo for you".

It had not flown into the glass storm door, thank goodness. This little fledgling was just visiting with its Daddy, a handsome tri-color Eastern Towhee, who was giving lessons on how to find food and take a drink from the fountain.

And look at this Dad.....................packing up the car to take the entire family on a Summer road trip in that big old gas guzzler................bet those were the days of 29 cents a gallon gas!

Hopefully that Mom will soon be out of that ladylike dress with the Peter Pan collar, and into her nifty swimming costume to join these gals who certainly seem to enjoy the beach.

Vintage pink framed prints from SuzAnna's Antiques

***** Hot Pink Saturday in the Summertime *****

Visit Pink Saturday hostess Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for the complete list of participants. Lots of fun pink posts to visit this week.

Friday's Favorite Family Foto

Driving to Spain from the South of France takes you through the incredibly picturesque Mediterranean seaside town of Collioure. Just a few miles north of the Spanish border it has a strong Catalan culture. The beautiful ancient terraced vines in the hills behind the town produce a fine full-bodied red wine and also the tiny sun baked grapes for the famous Banyuls aperitif and dessert wine.
Sharing a short travelogue from a favorite place plus pics of family having fun.

These favorite pictures of my brother, niece and granddaughter were taken when we stopped here for a quick beach breakfast of pain au chocolat and croissants, followed by rock climbing and a whiz around the local outdoor market.

Collioure - June 2006



Collioure's famous lighthouse converted into a church, Notre-Dame-des-Anges.
The medieval streets and the Royal Castle on the distant hill.
Today, August 15, Collioure starts its famous 3-day Summer celebration and the population doubles with visitors coming from all over France. I wish I could go back and join in!!

Deborah at Pictures, Pots & Pens is our hostess for Friday's Favorite Family Foto.

If Walls Could Talk

You move through the shop taking in the array of antique and vintage treasure piled on tables and chests, tucked into corners on shelves, balanced on wobbly chairs. You glance up. There, hanging silently, are the chandeliers, the prisms catching the afternoon sun as it streams through the big open doors. The delicate lighter chairs, waiting for a dining table, swing from the rafters. In the vintage kitchen section, old timey hand mixers and box graters dangle like holiday ornaments.

But don't forget the walls! I especially love the treasures hanging on weathered wood with peeling paint, on vintage bits of leftover wallpaper, on painted brick or natural stone. The walls themselves are treasures too, becoming lovely backdrops for prints and paintings, or for frames holding pictures, mirrors, pieces of tapestry embroidery or photos. Often frames are empty and their loveliness awaits some special treasure you might like to place inside.

All photos of treasures taken at SuzAnna's Antiques last weekend when shopping with my fun blog friends.

Framed smidgen of tapestry to give a room a touch of France.

Such an elegant 'black tie' apron.

Rusty iron ~ shimmering crystal.

The sconce of my heart ~ now on sale, shall I splurge?

What a great idea ~ using the little metal bench as a picture 'frame'.

Very old wedding photograph ~ circa early 1900's by the clothing I think ~ a huge family. Someone should have kept this treasure for future generations of their family.

Friendship

When you are fortunate to meet some of your blogger friends in person it can be a really fun time......and even more special if you can hang out with them at a favorite place!

On Saturday I met up with Deborah from Pictures, Pots & Pens, and Vanessa from Vanilla Lavender - we three have been known to hunt often at SuzAnna's Antiques - and we were thrilled to welcome Jeanne from Backyard Neighbor who came down from her beautiful home in the North Carolina mountains to spend time with us. We enjoyed a great lunch at Cafe Capistrano and then headed across the road to SuzAnna's. Jeanne is an expert treasure hunter, having been in the antiques business for many years with her sisters. I was so impressed at her knowledge of items she picked out. We all had a great time together - hope we can do this again soon.

Deborah, Mary, Vanessa and Jeanne

Sometimes you pick your friends, sometimes they pick you.

~ Anonymous ~

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.

~ Douglas Pagels ~

The Dance Class

My granddaughter Jasmin spent two hours a day last week in a wonderful class named "Art & Dance Extravaganza". The small group of participants built a village of clay, painted and collaged several pieces of colorful art, and choreographed and performed an amazing dance. All the elements came together in a celebration of life. What made it special was that some children were physically handicapped and yet they joyfully joined in. How touching it was to see a loving mother carry her son with Down Syndrome on her back to enable him "to dance".

At the end of the class the teacher and her assistant sat the children in a circle and allowed them to reach into a bag and take out a gift wrapped in tissue paper. Each gift was a smooth pebble with one word carved into surface - Jasmin's word was HOPE. This incredibly patient and talented teacher told the class that this dance was "their dance". Never performed by anyone else, at any other time, or in any other place, it belonged only to each of them. Those words truly touched my soul....................these are words that make a difference in a child's life. The world needs more teachers like this.