My Summer of Love

Christmas in Killarney

Hello!

Am back from the holidays.  Hope that all of you are still taking a break from work, and you're thoroughly enjoying life this week.

I didn't spend Christmas in Ireland, no matter what the title of this post is.  I have that song in my head, since I'm nearly obsessed with it this year.  Love that song. 

Christmas in Killarney is wonderful to see.
Listen to my story, and I'll take you back with me.
The holly green, the ivy green, the prettiest picture you've ever seen is Christmas in Killarney, with all of the folks from home.  It's nice you know to kiss your beau while cuddling under the mistletoe.  And Santa Claus of course you know is one of the boys from home. 

I learned Irish dancing when I was in elementary school, and that song makes me want to do it again, if only for a few minutes.

At my family's Christmas party, some friends and relatives brought their pets so that they could stay for an extended amount of time without rushing home.  Here is my puppy in an Eskimo kiss with a miniature Schnauzer.

This week lots of tea is being poured.  I have a collection of honeys.  What I'm presently using is one of my jars of Heather Honey. This particular jar was made by the honeybees whose diet consists of the heather flowers in Tuscany, Italy. 

My family isn't Italian, and I'd never realized heathers were growing in Italy, until I started learning about bee populations and delicious, aromatic, healthy honeys.  If it's of interest to any of you, I suppose now is as good a time as any, to mention that I was named in honor of my grandfather.  He was a violin-playing writer and swimmer.  He was incredibly fond of the heather plants on the Isle of Man in the early 1900s.

The card in the photo is Spanish, and translates to "Especially for you on Christmas." I thought it was strange but cool that someone gave me a foreign language greeting card. 

 

My favorite ornaments might be birds that feel real to the touch with their beautiful feathers and talons.  I love that they perch on the Christmas tree's branches instead of hanging from strings.  I held my camera inside the tree, to spot the hidden pale pink bird. 

The glass "bubble" ornaments on the tree reminded me of a room I saw in Lyndhurst Castle.  When I visited their historic stone building years ago, they gave tours of mind-blowing fairy-tale rooms with a wintry feel.  The interiors were designed by amazing artists, who transform 17 rooms in 7 days. It's hard to find photos online that compare to what it's like being there. It's just so detailed and creative.  They decorate every space, even down to the washroom...where they filled a claw-foot bathtub with an overflowing pile of clear orbs. There were glass "bubbles" floating through the air.   The transparent globes were meant to resemble sea foam.

Sea foam is one of my very favorite visuals. 

 

I guess that's why that particular room stayed in my mind all these years.

Bummer I don't have a digital photo of that "foamy" room in the castle.  I found this lovely photo online...it's Drew Barrymore in that same building I'm talking about.  She was photographed there by Annie Leibovitz.  She is doing a vignette of Beauty and the Beast.

 

When I was growing up, I lived in a cedar house in Scarsdale with cathedral ceilings.  We had 10-foot-high trees every year! I'll look for old photos to scan for you.  

I'm getting used to much smaller evergreens in my current life. In this moment, the house was entirely dark except for the lights on the tree by the hearth:
 

This year my father shopped for most of the groceries for the family party, and I was so impressed that he went to Whole Foods.  He's decided that Whole Foods is his preffered store if he wants a good quality Bûche De Noël, among all the other things he buys there.  The "Yule Log" is a French tradition. It's basically a chocolate cake made to resemble a real tree trunk, with fresh raw cranberries and real green holly leaves on top, and a couple of white marzipan mushrooms... strategically placed to look like they are wildly growing on the log.  My papa doesn't like the kind from a regular market.  This one tastes like a vegan cake, or a flourless passover cake.

We ate delicious savory courses.  Here is the tender beef brisket with organic vegetables and fresh spices. Dinner was served on some of our family heirlooms; a set of antique painted china plates made by Rosenthal in Europe.

 
We drank excellent French wines from Zachys, which is a special wine shop in our old home town. These bottles were part of the evening thanks to my sister's husband who brought them for everyone.

We wound up playing a game called Funglish, and it was absolute hilarity. We didn't want the night to end; everyone wanted to stay over.

 

How was your Christmas, or any other holiday you celebrated this month, my dearest readers?  Please share some of your highlights with me. 

Happy New Year's Eve to all of you!

Currently listening to:

"Auld Lang Syne"

based on a poem by Robert Burns (1788)

 

Give a listen to Mairi Campbell's version if you've never heard it before.   She uses a different tune than the traditional melody we're accustomed to.  Her band's rendition has a tear-jerking quality, and lets us hear the authentic Scottish pronunciation of the lyrics.  I'll paste the link, if you require a cathartic cry after your raucous partying:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U3w_zpiWSE

 

Reaching for a peach

I love this kimono I saw for sale. 

I also love the photo of the girl reaching for the peach and the guy reaching for her. 

Cute moment.

 

 

Via Ms. Wood

Quix

 

Above:  How things feel for me today.

Below:  How things look.

Old mahogany wooden beams, new porcelain heated floor, new picture window.

This may be the first time I posted something that I don't consider a good-looking snapshot.  It's nothing gorgeous, so I may take this post down later.  I included it so that you'd see what I see on this fine day.

I'm writing quickly again.  I don't like to rush.  It feels way better when I put together a heathery post during a peaceful time of day, with pretty pictures and text. 

I always say that if I had more time, I'd make it shorter.  I'm not a writer, but I'm sure writers know what I mean by that.

I'm surrounded by boxes, workmen, the scent of sawdust, and the sounds of hand-tools.  Some of the guys are cute and funny, and it's pretty cool to be involved with this kind of installation.

I'm slowly but surely responding to all comments.  Usually, I reply by my own comment beneath yours.  My response may not come immediately when yours goes up.  

I love your input.  I'm going through my blog posts, before they become too numerous. Want to make sure every comment was acknowledged.  I've done a bunch.

Good luck with all you're doing!  What a busy time of year for all of us.

Wishing you speed in your fingertips,

and wishing you strokes of brilliance,

in both your creative and critical thinking this week. 

 

P.S.

I'll embed a video here.  It's for all the folks who aren't into the holiday season.  Most of my friends seem psyched about it this year, but you never know who will stumble upon My Summer of Love.  A lot of people get the blues.  It's normal for this to happen at least once in our lives.   For some peeps it's a blue-ish gray December every year; I feel for those folks.  Whether you're full of cheer or you're more of a misanthrope these days, know that I get it. 

I appreciate so much that you read this blog.  I hope it provides a soothing place for your eyes whenever you need an escape.  Helene once told me she felt as if this page was "like stepping into a pleasant dream" and I loved that idea.

Here's a video for anyone who isn't the jolly type (although I'm quite spritely today and I love it too).  It's a slideshow of Marilyn Monroe photos. 

My main message today is that I have love for grinches, scrooges, etc.  and I wish I could give each of you a warm heathery hug.  It has been known to work wonders, for some mysterious reason.  Maybe I sound corny right now, but I don't even mean to say this in a corny way.

Here are lovely black and white images taken in New York, California, with her various suitors, and more.  The music is the song "Hard Candy Christmas," composed by Carol Hall in 1978, sung by Dolly Parton in 1982.  In a way, it doesn't seem like something I'd pick out for myself to enjoy, at least not for my blog.  But somehow it works. 

The Arthur Miller years are evocative to me.  I'm not a Marilyn buff, but I love almost every photo of her in this video.  This three minute ditty spoke to me a few years ago- a time when I wasn't enjoying the holidays as much as I always had.  This year, I'm loving the season.

Take heart.

3 mins 33 secs

 

 

Photo of Miller and Monroe via clickable link.

 

The spirit is always warm

Clearly the designer of this Japanese cotton was a sentimental fool like me.

Or trying desperately to convince himself that he could still be warm when it was freezing cold outside.

This is the fabric I'll use to wrap Christmas presents.  Fabric costs a few dollars more than traditional wrapping paper, but I find it's less wasteful (doesn't use virgin trees as most wrapping paper does).  I'll only do this for people I know who appreciate this type of touch.

The print resembles a pattern of homemade stamps dunked in golden paint.  There are phrases scattered about the plane. 

Dangling participles are plentiful on this.  I love them all.

There are also plenty of full sentences :)

In addition to

"The spirit is always warm." 

you'll find

"A lovely word." and

"Wishes from everybody."

(What kind of wishes?  And they're from everybody?  Wow.)

And so on and so forth. 

It's the style of the fabric that I like, more than the content.  I mean, anyone can make a print with birds and candy canes.  But this one seemed stylish and special, and also a little bit funny and tender.  It goes without saying, but I always love to hear people laughing and see people smiling during the holidays.

One of my personal favorites on this textile:

"Be gentle in your heart."

 

 

photo via ikoplus

Hello from the kitchen

I want to post at least one blog today, aside from the one I'm writing you in this very moment.  This one is quickly saying hi and touching base with you guys.  

I want to write off the cuff right now.  I began this blog in late June.  Some newcomers to the blog may not know yet, that it was right after my father was diagnosed with a serious illness.  This came after he'd been in extremely good health all his life, besides his belly, which he'd developed in his "old" age.  His is a common illness and they say it should be treatable, but we're still in the process.  My dad's a strong guy.  Most of his family has lived long and well, so we're all trying to remain positive.

I tried to post one blog every day at first.  I've been known to post more than once in a 24 hour period if possible.   Would be nice to get back to doing that more often.

Lately I've been working on a kitchen, which has been really hard.  It's stimulating the parts of my brain that handle mathematical, spatial, and artistic thought, which is so much fun.

Lee is one of my first puppy loves and oldest friends. He lives too far away now and hopefully we'll see each other in the coming year.  He's a photographer, and speaking of which, I'd actually like to show you some of his shots soon.  He's also a brilliant engineer. I've been talking to engineers lately and thinking of him, even though he doesn't work much on residences like this. Lee, come visit me, I need your mind for this big installation.

While the other stuff I'm dealing with has been awful, this home project is a sweet experience that I never would have imagined I'd enjoy so much.  I can't wait to show you pictures.  This blog brings so much peace and beauty into my days, and I thank you for being part of that.  Thank you for feeling that this is a special little page to swim around in.

On a light note, I've spent hours looking at beautiful tiles, and I still cannot decide if it's wise to go with a bold Moroccan back-splash, or whether Moroccan tile is something one could grow tired of looking at day after day.  Do you have experience with these?  I found one tile design called Moroccan Heather, I wonder if that is a cute sign... perhaps it makes my decision for me to go with something Moroccan.  I'm also interested in hand painted Portuguese azulejos, or French mosaics.

I may need your advice and I'll let you know when I do- all of you clever, creative, sensitive, artistic folks.  So stay tuned and please chime in when I post pictures.  I'll be back later.

 

 

Kitchen photo by Thibault Jeanson

A lovely triangle: Dalmatian, Marianne, and a Painting

A Dalmatian next to Marianne Faithfull. 

 

 

 

photo via astral boutique

Winter at last

 
The title of my post is best for December 21st, the winter solstice.  I'm about a fortnight early.  However, the first snowfall of the season has made me so cheerful that I cannot wait to post wintry images.  I spotted these in a magazine I paged through at someone's house.  I crossed my fingers that they were somewhere online, because I couldn't forget them and wanted to see them once more.  Then I realized I'd like to share them with you. 

 

My favorite of the lot is the photo above, because I'm a sucker for canines from cold climates, and for igloos as well.  I'd love to build one, no kidding.  I need to travel to the Arctic and be taught the technique.

 

The pinks and fire tones look beautiful against the blue-ish white landscape.  I always love to see things that glow from within.

 

I bet I'll erase half of this post when I re-read it later.  I think I have a natural high from taking a run in the cold air this morning.

 

Each block of the colorful dwelling above boasts a different artful pattern.  One block has a great alphabet.  Others look like mosaic domes. 

 

One square is a painting of running horses.  It makes me think of my Medieval Studies courses in college, which were some of my favorite academic experiences.  The horses on that igloo bring my brain back to Byzantine art.

 

The horses on the block of ice also remind me of cave drawings.  I had an ivory colored t-shirt, with gold silhouettes of a stampede of horses all over the front. I bought it because it was sooo touchably soft, looked lovely in a very subtle way, kept me close to my favorite animals, and reminded me of equine drawings from art history.  If you ever see a shirt like this, please tell me :)  I think I left it in a cabin in Maine about four summers ago.  Sad that I couldn't replace it.  It's just a thing, so I shouldn't be attached to something like that.  Hopefully a wonderful person found it.  There goes another digression.

 

 

 

  There once was an ancient reindeer, with the strongest antlers any reindeer had ever grown.  He loved a rosy cheeked, pale skinned girl because she had believed in him long before he had his renowned antlers.  He brought her all the way to the North Pole because she'd always wanted to see the Aurora Borealis, and she believed it would solve some of the mysteries of her life.  They tied bright silks around their necks, so that they could spot each other if they were separated.

 

She dismounted when she saw what she thought were giant bear claw prints.

 
 

She followed the footprints to a shining edifice of ice. 

 

 
Inside was an abominable snowman, who snarled and heaved at her, setting off a great battle with the reindeer.  When the battle ended, the yeti was defeated and leaped onto a passing iceberg, sailing off to distant lands where he could be alone once again.

The reindeer suddenly shed his antlers, and transformed into a handsome man.  The rosy cheeked girl didn't know what to make of all this.
 
 



He looked a little silly in his suit, raincoat, and ski gear.

But then he whipped up the most unbelievably delicious hot toddie.
 
 
  

 He explained that she and he were destined for this moment, and that they had many more adventures ahead of them.
 

 
 
Suddenly there appeared a husky puppy, which she placed carefully in her satchel.  They mounted a sled covered in brown and beige fur and a team of dogs whisked them away.
 
She felt so excited, so confused, and so safe all at the same time.

 

 

 

*I changed the order of the pictures from the magazine, to fit the little story I dreamed up.
 
Currently listening to:  The Book Of Right On by Joanna Newsom, 2004  ("do you wanna run with my pack?  do you want to ride on my back?")

 

Photos belong to Hermes, found via luxuo

Need sleep

Last week was a very big week.  Worth it though.

 

 

photo by wonderful gemma booth

Drumroll...

The winner of my first give-away is Anabela. 
 
 
Three cheers and congratulations!

Thank you very much to all who entered.  I wanted each one of you to win.  I don't know if I can bear these give-aways,  you're all so sweet in your own special ways, and I wish that a contest of this nature didn't mean I had to disappoint those of you who aren't taking the sweater home. 

 

I have many great presents to gift you.  The odds are extremely strong that you'll be the person with a prize in the future.  Because I'll make sure the same person doesn't win twice in a row, and I received only about a dozen entries- the perfect sized pool for everyone to have a good chance.  One of the coolest aspects of this contest was that even though we only had a few handfuls of entries, there were over seven countries represented.  Mostly the U.S.A., Canada, England, and Australia, but also Luxembourg, France, India, and Brazil.  Please don't be too shy or too bummed to try again if you see something you like here.

 

 

The view this morning out my windows:
  

I have a bunch of nieces, but one in particular I'm very close with because I take care of her all the time and she's the baby of the family.

The one who helped me pick the winner:

I cut papers in the shape of hearts.  Each one of your names was typed.  I painted each a different color, then I nestled 'em in a ski hat. 

 

I had to take a photo of my paper hearts, as they looked glowingly pretty in this early December light. 

 

I dusted them with snowflakes for good measure.

 

Yes!  That means today we woke to our first snow. 

 

Here is Anabela, seeing hearts everywhere she looks:

I'm happy that I get to send a package to Anabela this time, because it can serve as a birthday and Christmas gift as well.  And, in my past experiences with her, she's a tasteful, warm, sincere, and generous person.   I hope she loves this parcel.
 
I'm not sure if I should mention this, but I hope that she doesn't mind.  She and her fiance are the brains, hearts, and hands behind the blog fieldguided.  They are based in Toronto.  Their work includes tailored dresses, custom men's ties, cool ceramics, fresh and clean (and simply lovable) drawings, and more.  They sell their work on Etsy worldwide and Bakers Dozen (a shop of exclusive limited editions, based in Australia and founded by artist Amy Borrell, an artist whose paintings are in my home).
 
I own a couple of vintage pieces from Anabela, perhaps you'd like to see.  I cannot remember when exactly I obtained them; seems like ages ago. 

 

First, here's my silk pussy bow blouse, as they called it.  'twas in perfect condition, one hundred percent pure silk, and from Paris. 

 

 
Here's my vintage beaded collar, again in perfect condition. The tag reads:  "Made in Japan, Hand Made, styled exclusively for Segal's Reg'd" and it dates to the 1950s.  I owe Anabela thanks - thank you for bringing lovely little items into my home.  They're classic yet unique.
 

 
I'm peppering this post with stills from A Little Princess, released in 1995.

 

 

 

It came to mind when I saw my favorite toddler in curlers, as she was getting ready to see Santa Claus today. 

 

She reminded me of several scenes, when the boarding school chums are piled on the bed.  They're telling stories late into the night, while their mistress plays a concert harp downstairs.  She's unaware of their mischief.

 

All of the girls use rags for curlers, tied into their silky locks.  I love the way it looks! 

 

Such a beautiful film.  It was nominated for Oscars in Best Art Direction, Set Direction, and Cinematography.
 
Have any of you read the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1904) or seen the movies (1917 starring Mary Pickford, 1939 starring Shirley Temple, 1995 starring Liesel Matthews)? 

 

Here's a preview if you're in the mood  (2 mins 49 secs) :

www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2052259865/

A running theme in the story is exemplified in these lines:
 
Miss Minchin (the head mistress):  "Don't tell me you still fancy yourself a princess?  Look around you!  Or better yet, look in the mirror."

Sara Crewe:  "I am a princess.  All girls are.  Even if they live in tiny old attics.  Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young.  They're still princesses.  All of us.  Didn't your father ever tell you that?  Didn't he?"
 
I was reminded of the film in a second way today, because this is how it felt to see the first snow of the season.  It glistened, covering the landscape outside my windows:
 
 

 
Now I'll bid goodnight to all of my readers out there, who surely are fit to be princesses, young and old.

 

Adieu, mes amis!
 

Currently listening to: 

 

"Step Right Up" by Tom Waits, 1976 

 

(wherein he growls the lyric "prizes, prizes, prizes")

 

Image credits:

1) Prizes girl drawing- by

Heather

2) Girl smiling with snow on her face- belongs to Warner Bros., found via clickable link

3) Snow woods- by Heather

4) Baby with curlers- by

Heather

5) Paper hearts- by

Heather

6) Anabela in glasses - used here with permission from Fieldguided

7) Ivory blouse- by

Fieldguided

8) Beaded collar- by

Fieldguided

9) Girls on head of huge Indian statue with swimming elephant below- belongs to Warner Bros., found via clickable link

10) Girl in open attic window- belongs to Warner Bros., found via clickable link