Pen and Ink

Nothing gives greater pleasure than a letter penned by hand. Paper and pen still have their magic. We still entrust them with our dearest wishes and innermost thoughts and dreams.

~ Kate's Paperie With Bo Niles

Above and below - Wedding cards

Life would split asunder without letters.
~ Virginia Woolf

Birthday card for a dear friend.

I love to make special occasion cards like these above although I must be honest and tell you that I don't make as many as I did prior to blogging! This will change in 2009 ~ back to the drawing board, literally! I also plan to write more letters by hand. I still have older friends in England who don't use a computer and perhaps never will. They will be the recipients of a letter during the year, not just a note written inside their birthday or Christmas card.

My recent post By Hand has opened Pandora's box, though hopefully there are no evils inside! There are several of you out there who are are excited about hand writing a letter to a blog friend. Some of you are already pairing up and planning to write with pen and ink. Maybe that letter will drop on your doormat or peek from your mailbox soon. Can we return to days of the 'pen pal' and look forward once again to the post/mail arriving at our home with something other than those bills and junk mail?

And none will hear the postman's knock

Without a quickening of the heart.

For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?

~ W.H.Auden

I often wonder what would happen if the Internet collapsed permanently and we could no longer e-mail. Many of the younger generation have never penned a real letter full of news about their lives. I have always encouraged children to write letters by providing the necessary accouterments. A great gift at any time is a box with some attractive paper and envelopes, personalized return address labels, seals, stickers, a nice pen and a roll of stamps. Of course children today may need you to sit with them when they first put pen to paper. Encouragement, praise and patience to compose and execute a well written letter will be needed.........after all, this may be a totally new experience for them.

I hope you will write a letter to someone. You don't need to have perfect penmanship. You can use a modern roller ball pen if you don't posses a fountain pen and ink. Nice writing paper and envelopes will bring a smile to the recipient's face, or you can use a sheet of composition book paper, even a notepad. Your letter does not need to be long and rambling, even short notes are enjoyable. You may not be an artist (however I believe everyone can make a squiggle that often looks better than a million dollar painting!), but you can attach a sticker or rubber stamp an impression to add some pizazz. Whatever you choose, the recipient of your letter will be happy. You will be sharing something very personal that has come from your heart and hand.

Letters give life a rich dimension. They can be saved, savored, reread and treasured for hundreds of years.

~ Alexandra Stoddard

The healthy plan is......................

...........................I'll start the new year with fresh juice, yogurt, organic granola, blueberries and of course coffee, lots of strong black coffee.

In France it's strong black coffee with a buttery croissant or pain au chocolat. So why are the French in better shape and apparently healthier than many US citizens? It's all about walking. Walk the village streets as I did in October. Walk the wide boulevards of Aix-en-Provence, Paris and other French cities. No fancy equipment required. Jogging not necessary. Walk to the bakery, the village grocery, the flea market, through the vineyard, up into the hills for the view and the fresh air. I know ~ most of us can't do those romantic sounding walks, sigh!

Just get out there and do it anyway. Let's all walk somewhere today!

Images by my granddaughter Jasmin as we plan our

healthy lifestyle for 2009.

By hand..........

............we kept in touch by sitting down, pen in hand, covering sheets of pretty paper in perfect penmanship.

These letters would be signed, sealed, stamped and delivered. Dependent on how many miles they traveled by land, sea, and later through the clouds, in days or weeks they would drop through the letter box in the front door, or await the daily opening of the mailbox at the curb.

The first person to pick up the mail would call out, "there's a letter for YOU". The handwriting was neat and sometimes recognized. A favorite cousin from "across the pond". An elderly auntie who shared family history. An old school friend keeping you up to date on who got married. The stamp, often pretty and perhaps foreign, would later be soaked off and given to a child who'd started a stamp collection.

The joy of opening an envelope containing a hand written letter seems to be almost forgotten in this world of technology and speed. Perhaps that's why receiving a card with handwritten greetings is still so pleasant. E-cards and e-mails are nice because they still show someone is thinking of you, but they can't compare to carefully slitting a parchment envelope and pulling out pages lovingly written with a vintage fountain pen.

I sit on the love seat in my bedroom in the late afternoon sun, a delicate curl of warm steam wafts from a cup of Earl Grey. Opening my mail is no longer very exciting, just advertising, medical news, offers for items nobody needs, and of course bills! But now and then, my heart leaps, there's a handwritten envelope, a pretty canceled stamp......................and inside news that may already be old but reading it brings joy knowing someone took the time to write.

Do you still receive handwritten letters? Does your heart flutter knowing someone special took the time to actually write to you with a pen?

Are you interested in joining a group who would exchange words, thoughts, short letters written by hand so that you could still experience this now old-fashioned joy?

Pink Saturday

Just when I thought I was all 'pinked out' I took a trip over to SuzAnna's Antiques to hunt among the displays for more precious pink treasures. First I hung about outside looking for something to photograph..............and there he was, not pink but grey. Pink and grey look good together! Anyway, hanging out playing with a purring kitty gave me time to look about and find........................

..........these Pepto pink garden chairs looking really snazzy up against the purple door......

...........some pink frames, a pink watering can, pink rush seat chair, and a great pink screen door with a heron.

The kitty was soon chased off by a tiny Yorkie named Charlie who's person, Tracy, has a room full of gorgeous things for sale at SuzAnna's, see some of them in my recent post here. So I went inside and found a pretty pink smocked and embroidered frock for a toddler princess, a pink lined china shell................

.........more pink china with painted roses, glasses and glass plates..........

..........and this pink framed teddy named Tim who would be

so cute in a little girl's bedroom.

It seems there's always something pink tucked away some place, so head on over to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound and see her list of Pink Saturday friends - bet they've all found something pretty to share.

Enjoy your first weekend of the new year.

Choosing your wheels - Part 2

Only because you asked. Many were the wrong color. Several caused severe sticker shock!

But one was perfect for me!

My parents married while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II. I grew up in a place and time where very few people had cars ~ money was tight and used for food, bus fares, and the basics of life. My parents never owned a car. I rode a bike to school for many years. Even into the early 1960's when I left England, I could count the number of friends who had cars on one hand. I didn't get a driver's license until I was in my 30's and had lived in the USA for almost 13 years.

I've had OK cars and very nice cars, but I've never craved a luxury car. As long as a reliable car got me from point A to point B, I was happy. My first ever new car was crushed in my driveway when a mighty oak fell on it that terrible night Hurricane Fran paid North Carolina a horrific visit in 1996. My last new car purchased in 2002 was loaned to a needy family member over a year ago and has never returned! This is why my wonderful dh saved to buy me some new wheels.

And ladies..................perhaps I should have added this to that list in my previous

'Hot Wheels' post.

When your dh eventually joins you in the world of the retired, don't let him talk you into existing with one car if you've always been used to two. "Honey we can work out a schedule for the car and, if need be, we can always go everywhere together". Heed my words, this seldom works. After spending a year doing just this I could share horror stories.

So, in answer to your question, the Toyoto Avalon Limited is my new car! After three Camrys, all fabulous cars, I'm now the owner of a somewhat 'posh' car in my golden years. Like I've said before, age does have it's perks. Sometimes it's free coffee and a cheaper movie seat...............this time it's a really big perk and I'm extremely grateful.

I'll pick the car up Monday and toot the horn if I pass by your house!

Hot Wheels - Part 1

Have you done this recently? Trudged back and forth through lines of cars, carefully comparing sticker prices. Did you change your mind on your favorite color twenty times? Did you know that even on a cold, sunny Winter day, when placing your hands on a light colored car it's cool to the touch, while a dark colored car is red hot?

Two days at two dealerships.........I deserve a new car after all this!

Hot cars and grandma ~ sounds better than cars and hot grandma!

Important lessons for ladies ~ learned from chilly visits to new car dealerships.

• When shopping for a new car.................if you have one, always take a granddaughter with you. Preferably one who's spent a lot of time in your care since birth. I'll elaborate on this later.
• Let this wonderful grandchild hold your camera. When you arrive home and upload your photos of the day, you will be gloriously entertained by a slide show beyond comparison to anything you could shoot yourself. They know how to work all the controls effortlessly, including 'color change'. Oh to see the world through creative 12 year old eyes again!
• Know a wonderful person who has a brother/sister who is a new car sales person. This sales person will be wonderful too!
• You should carry bug spray, even in December. Apparently there is a bug who loves hanging out on shiny new car roofs...........and he brings his entire family along to hop in your hair while you bend over gasping at those sticker prices on the window.
• Remember, you'll always need twice the amount of money than what you budgeted for the car of your dreams..........some extra bells and whistles may have to be crossed off your wish list. Be prepared to wave a wand in hopes a fairy godmother (or wealthy sugar daddy!) will appear who can come up with something a little more classy than a pumpkin coach pulled by mice.
  

Anyone know the name of these bugs?

There are often shadowy/shady characters hanging about a car dealership ~ sometimes they're the customers, not the dapper salesmen who seem to appear the instant you pull into the parking lot. (No offence to any readers who are car sales persons ~ you do a great job most of the time).

Now, about having a granddaughter tag along. She will always be on your side............even though she adores her granddad. She will loll in the back seat during the test drives, extolling the virtues of the reclining rear seats, the overhead reading lights, the extra leg room now she's getting taller. When sitting at the sales person's desk while granddad crunches numbers with a pained look, she will blithely repeat, several times, that her grandma deserves the nicer car, she's earned it, she's worth it, that it's the perfect vehicle for granddad's girls to drive around town, down to the shore, up to the mountains! Yes, a granddaughter can cinch the deal in your favor because her granddad is "the best granddad in the whole world".

Thanks Jasmin.......and granddad. Now, let's ride!!!!!

On a Clear Night.............

....................another year began. It was cold and windy. A slice of bright, waxing crescent moon, rocked toward Venus, lighting the black sky. From old stone churches bells rang, stained glass windows glowed.

Downtown..........a vibrant place to join in the merriment and say goodbye to 2008

Kilted fife and drum band and brilliant fireworks at

First Night in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We go to the early celebration. Step briskly in the Peoples' Procession, enjoy the early fireworks display for the children...............and older people like us who don't relish being out in the crackly cold at midnight!

Returning home, the front porch welcomed. A fire soon burned in the hearth. Friends stopped by to raise a glass. And at midnight? Of course dh and I finished the champagne, sang Auld Lang Syne, hopped into bed, and hoped for that great 2009 that we wish for all of you!

~~~~~ HAPPY NEW YEAR ~~~~~