Four More Years

                                         Four more years of love.

Nora

I hate it when you wake up in the morning and find someone whom you really liked died, and you didn't even know they were ill.  So this morning, on Day Three of my summer vacation, I was totally saddened by the news that one of my favorite women in the world, Nora Ephron, had passed away.


She created so many of my favorite movie moments, no less one of my favorite films, You've Got Mail.



"I was hoping it was you." has to be one of the most touching closing lines in film.

          


Loved the Book Store Around the Corner.  Brought back part of a childhood I had, going to the library in the summer, and part of one I wished I had had.  I always cry at the part when Meg Ryan looks into the bookstore and imagines she sees her mother dancing with her and twirling her around.

Adored the film Michael, especially the scene where John Travolta dances.



"I'll have what she's having."

Julie and Julia-Bon Appetite!



Three of my favorite women together.


After hearing the news this morning, Billy Crystal remarked, "Sadness reigns." I agree


.

First Day of Vacation

That was yesterday.  Learned how to crochet a circle. 

Today has been pretty much like this.  I am digging it though. 

Don't feel sorry for me.  I don't go back to work until the end of August.  I have days to burn.

Improved?

If I had a classroom I would have snapped this fellow up

Ladies Taylor? Ouch!

This is what I am naming my next dog.

So Blogger has "improved" the interface for my blog and so I am in learning mode all over again.  Swell.  That I discovered when I went to Brimfield and went to post pictures with comments.  My daughter has been suggesting I switch to Tumbler for years, and I might.  Moving text and pictures used to be a snap.  Now, not so much.  Well here are a few more pictures from Brimfield.  Enjoy!

I have a box in the basement marked CIRCUS and my kids think I am crazy because of it, but this would go in that box.

Bought a trio, cup, saucer, and cake plate from this vendor.  When I mentioned my love of tea, she said in her proper British accent, "Would you like a cup?  I just put the pot on."  Loved it.

Would love to see these on my deck, but it is currently being torn up to be replaced.  Hear the hammering?

This seemed liked a great deal.



In honor of Her Majesty's 60th I should have bought at least one.

Snapped those up.

There was a lot of furniture and accessories painted in flat paint, drab tones.  Looked fabulous.

An old set dolled up.  Loved the branches that had little glass vases wired on with hydragena.  Lovely

That Happy Holiday Season

Christmas comes to the front door with bows and garland.The tree is trimmed and carols float on the air.

The table is ready for the next gathering.

Silver reminds us of the snow outside.

Light the fire to keep us cozy.

Skookum

Years ago, while waiting for my daughter and son to have their swimming lesson at the YMCA, I flipped through the pages of a local free newspaper. There I found a column entitled Free Will Astrology by Rob Brezney. Among his pearls I recognized some truths, some posibilities and questions. For example, this week the horoscope  for Aquarians reads:" Your new vocabulary word for the week if 'skookum,' a term from the Chinook Indians that is still used in some parts of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest." Skookum means "in cahoots with good spirits" and, after what I experienced today, I would say that must be true. But Rob knew something big metaphysically was about to happen to me. A month or so ago he wrote that in the near future I would have an experience that would put me in touch with "otherness." And over the weeks that prediction has crossed my mind.  I wondered, where is it? I found out on my way to work this morning.

I, along with thousands of fellow New Englanders, travel a road know as the Merritt Parkway, aka Route 15, to get to work. This road was constructed in the 1930's and its claim to fame is that all if its bridges are different and lovely.  It is a National Historic treasure.

Well, today, as I was about to drive under one of these bridges, a steel girder fell onto the pavement. I swerved into the right lane immediately and was grateful that there was no one there to hit.  I was confused as to whether I should pull over, or call someone (whom?) or what.  I kept on driving when I saw a van and a sports car slow to stop.  I put the thought of the near disaster for me out of my mind, as I was driving to test a student at a school dedicated to students with learning disabilities.  I could not be upset for him.  The experience hit me, however, when I returned to my office building and I could not help but to share the story with friends and co-workers.  Returning to my office, I went to place my car keys into the pocket of a raincoat that I have had for many seasons.  For the first time I noticed a label that had been sewn into the pocket.  It read: Life is a journey.  Stay warm.  Keep dry.  If there was an iota of doubt about the fact that I was being protected by "otherness" and today was not my day to die, it evaporated upon reading the message in the pocket. 

Life is a journey.  Stay warm.  Keep dry.

The Garden

I am particularly fond of a pink, blue, and purple palette, accented with yellow and white. The thing is, I love flowers, so that makes me susceptible to any pretty little thing in bloom. I have Bee Balm that is a glorious red and a Lupine that is terracotta. These iris are ones my mother bought from a man who was selling them road side. Irises are funny, because they bloom for such a short period and melt in the sun or rain. I had some pink ones with brown centers planted by a wall, but they would bend over the wall and look terrible in no time flat. I hoiked them out last weekend. I usually transplant, however when plants fail to please me year after year, out they go to the compost pile. My yard seems big to me, but it is only about an acre. Still, that is way too much to keep neat and tidy. Our borders are laced with bushes and trees, and on one side is a steep drop to a white pine stand. There are various spots where my husband has created paths that lead deeper into the woods. They always look a little mysterious to me, even though I know where they lead. I once read an article that showed what happened to a well maintained and manicured garden that was left unattended for just three years. Nature had taken over and it was hardly identifiable. I wish nature would slow down a bit so that we could catch up. This morning my husband reported that there was feasting in the back 40 last night. We have been successful in keeping the nibblers at bay, but the garden obviously needs another spray with deer repellent. A fantastic one, Deer Stopper, smells lovely, works well and only needs to be applied monthly. That is the one I use in the front of the house. My husband uses Deer Solution in the back. We have been running our own trials, to see which works better. I am in the lead, because I have a system. I apply it at the beginning of the month, so I don't forget. It is the same system I use for remembering to give Lacey her Heartguard. Looks like I better give my better half a hand, if I want to enjoy my garden this summer.