Home Again

I have been trying to convince myself that we still have a good week's worth of summer left and that I might as well not be sad until the time actually comes for school to start and our carefree existence to end. I can no longer fool myself, however. The time has come to prepare.

I have laundry and clothes, new shoes and haircuts, pencils and paper, organization stations, clean rooms and fresh starts, sack lunches and oatmeal breakfasts running through my mind. Honestly, this year, my heart is aching. I needed more summer.

This photo is a representation of my life.

Do you notice how it appears that one clock is off. Well, in truth, both clocks have stopped. They are totally uncoordinated and not working. One stands for the summer that has passed in such a queer and quick way, this year, and the other is me. sigh.

sniff.

On the other hand, I have very happy homey thoughts running through my mind.

This is not my home but, the other day, when the clouds were dark and I was driving by, there were warm lights shining through the dark windows. It was so welcoming and cozy and sheltering. Maybe it's not so bad to be settled back in to a routine and tied to home. Anyway, there are always still some little Autumn jaunts that are full of adventure. Hmm, I guess that our lives aren't over.

Also, I gather from your comments that September is many of your favorite time of year. I know that it is mine. It's so quiet and reflective. The kids are back in school and the tourists have gone home and the weather is splendidly mild.


It will be just me and the crickets in a couple of weeks.

Also, our nights are getting chillier and I love the warm kitchen and the smell of Tom's coffee in the morning.

Well, this lovely home made me remember and feel all of this. It, also, snapped me into Faure, Ravel and Debussy mode and made me think of the poetry to one of my favorite "chansons".

Au bord de l'eau

S'asseoir tous deux au bord du glot qui passe,
Le voir passer;
Tous deux s'il glisse un nuage en l'espace,
Le voir glisser;
A l'horizon s'il fume un toit de chaume,
Le voir fumer;
Aux alentours, si quelque fleur embaume,
S'en embaumer;
Entendre au pied du saule ou l'eau murmure,
L'eau murmurer,
Ne pas sentir tant que ce reve dure
Le temps durer,
Mais n'apportant de passion profonde
Qu'a s'adorer,
Sans nul souci des querelles du monde,
Les ignorer,
Et seuls tous deux devant tout ce qui lasse,
Sans se lasser;
Sentir l'amour devant tout ce qui passe,
Ne point passer!

~Sully Prudhomme

Beside the waters

To sit together on the bank of the stream that passes,
To see it pass;
Together, when a cloud floats in space,
To see it float;
When a cottage chimney is smoking on the horizon,
To see it smoke;
If nearby a flower spreads its fragrance,
To absorb its scent;
To hear at the foot of the willow, where water murmurs,
The water murmur,
Not to notice, while this dream lasts,
The passage of time,
But to feel deep passion
Only to adore each other;
Not to care at all about the world's quarrels,
To ignore them,
And alone, together, facing all that grows weary,
Not to grow weary;
To be in love while all passes away,
Never to change!

~ Sully Prudhomme

I am soothed and feel much better, now!

Also, I have noticed something lovely. I am over 100 followers.

This calls for a celebration and, when everyone is back (in September), I will have a little party. It will be hobbit fashion and I will give a gift. Please, make sure that you don't miss it!

In the meantime, I would like to thank you all so very sincerely for your comments and responses to my posts. They, truly, mean an awful lot to me!

Yes, home is wonderful! I will be content.

Love,

Katy Noelle xo

Troika Gifts

     I grew up in Pasadena, California. It's a lovely city! Of course, it was a bit more sleepy and quiet when I lived there (even with the world famous New Year's Rose Parade and Rose Bowl). Anyway, I was floating a little after I graduated from college - I mean, being a voice major doesn't exactly spell out your immediate career path. While I was trying to figure out which way to go, I worked in a very, very British tea room, Rose Tree Cottage. I enjoyed it so much that, when I was visiting Vermont and my family happened to see a unique Victorian Home for sale, I had the idea for a similar business but in my own style. I moved to VT and opened a tea room, gift shop and bed and breakfast in the charming town of Chester.

     It was a lovely family venture but, then, I started having babies and I had to make a choice - both the business and my son always seemed to be needy at the same time. Who would get the attention? For me, the decision (though, a little heart wrenching) was easy.  I chose to stay at home - my son being a deeper and longer lasting investment. Happily, as life moved along, my sister was able to move to Vermont and take my place. This past week, she had a large shipment of treasure come in and I went and helped her out. I should say, I got to go and "play store"! What a beautiful place to spend time and, oooooh, you should see what she got in!! I am going to blog about it, soon, but, in the meantime, I wanted to share a few of the small goodies that I couldn't resist bringing home with me.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sometimes, we joke that my house is beautiful because of all of the things that have come from Rose Arbour. This is not entirely true, at all, but there is more than a grain of truth in it. I'll say this - Rose Arbour is just my kind of store.

Anyhoo, I do love brown and blue! Look at my new pretty tea cozy!

It's reversible! Look what's on the other side!

The flower candle is from my days there but the little book was a gift from my sister for mother's day.

Look what's revealed inside of it!

There's deeper meaning in this froggy floating candle. My son adores frogs! Someday, I'll share with you his own, very dear, Froggy. (At the moment, however, I'll spare you - Froggy needs a bath!)

Then, there's the floral box on the bottom. I dove for it when I first saw it. It's irresistable to me! I wanted to know what pretty designs were in it.

Oh, beautiful joy!

Then, there are these little pieces of broken china.

They're not from Rose Arbour. They were found, hidden in the earth, during the excavations around our home. They are gifts from history. A link to the past lives of those who were here before me. Treasure, indeed!

Well, I have been given a few more gifts, lately. Nestled inside of them is encouragement! Would you like to know what they were?

Well,......

Awards!

One is from Nicola at September Cottage. She is a lovely, lovely lady with a beautiful eye. I've been enjoying her blog and her friendship very much!

There's another quote from my "Susan Branch: Summer Cookbook". It says,

"Charm: the quality in others that makes us more satisfied with ourselves."

~Henri-Frederik Amiel

I would like to pass this award on to two lovely bloggers who reflect this very sentiment and seem to be perfect for this award:

 The Purple Caravan
This is a link to one of my favorite posts. (And, believe you me, I had a hard time choosing one!) She has a wonderful agility with words and the gift of capturing moods, emotions and ideas with those very same words and the  brilliant images that she uses on her blog.

and

 Cassandra Considers

She strikes such a deep and nostalgic chord with me! Just go and see what I mean!

Then, I have received another kind and complimentary award from Catherine at Corner of Cat's Mind. Catherine is so wonderfully fresh and down to earth.

 

I know just who to give this award to!!!

Jeanne at Tales From a Cottage Garden.
She's a treasure - I really mean it -  and where would we all be without her Monday poems?!?!?!

Thank you, dear friends for your encouragement. It means a lot!!!

The rules of the awards are that I am supposed to pass them along and, that I am supposed to share some things about myself. In the first part of this post, I shared several things that, I think, most of you did not know about me. Maybe, I can dig just a few more things out.

1. I am addicted to ice cream.
2. This makes me a bit chubby!
3. I climbed half dome in Yosemite National Park when I was in High School.
4. I wanted to be Cinderella, desperately, when I was a little girl.
5. I can never think of a clever reply when someone is being rude or unkind. I used to think that this was a downfall but others have assured me that I'm blessed with the gift of stunned silence.
6. I've had "Bei mir bist du schon" (sung by the Andrews Sisters) stuck in my head for 3 days, now!
7. I have been procrastinating making dinner! We are having a slow cooked herbal pork loin with peaches. I'd better get going or we'll be eating at midnight.

First, though, I think that I need a cup of tea!

Love,

Katy Noelle

A Peach in The Sunny Spot!

     I am afraid that now that I have my new camera, I am going through some adolescent photographer growing pains. My blog is not only about the photo images - it's about, well, all sorts of things - thoughts, words, sharing happy times, ridiculous chickens, to name a few 'things'. Right at the moment, though, I am on a steep learning curve as I concentrate a little on what makes a moving scene. If my focused bent starts to bother you, give a holler, please! (By the way, I am, also, working strongly on how to edit!) Honestly, I am having sooooooo much fun with my Canon!!!

     In this vein of thought, I had just found a blog that had been having a weekly party called "Creative Boot Camp". In the CBC, everyone who was participating would be given a word prompt and they would go and do something - anything - that spoke to the idea of that word. Unfortunately, I found it just as they had concluded their last week. Happily, happily, happily for me, though, everyone had such a grand time that they decided to continue the idea with a weekly venture called "The Sunday Creative". This week's word prompt was:

Open

     Well, then, what would you think of. I'm guessing that most of your thoughts would fly where mine did - to a flower (probably a rose) opening it's petals! Then, I thought of an open door and open window. I am fascinated with them since, those sunbeams and dappled sunlight (that I tend to happily stare at) often stream through them. What does 'open' mean? Well, that's obvious! The question is more, 'why?' The reason that I ever 'open' anything is so that I can let or get something in or out. Well, then, I had all sorts of thoughts that I may still follow through on some time. However, the word was given last Sunday and, here it is, Saturday, already. Last night, I was grabbing my camera to go and try to capture the golden hour. I was hungry and grabbed a peach and took a few bites and looked into my dining room and, there it was again, the beautiful glow of the evening sun shining through the open curtains on the table. It's a daily happiness that I enjoy. Do you know what I mean, I wonder? Well, I seized the moment and...

....here it is! A busy Mom's 'open'.

It is "taking a luscious bite of a beautifully ripened summer that is open full throttle!"

(I love that it's a still life. hee hee.)

 

If you would like to see this wondrously creative blog, it's Madeline Bea: Life Set To Words and this is a link to The Sunday Creative

Ferns and Gesnariads!

 

 Thank you everyone for your lovely well wishes on my birthday, last Thursday. I was, actually, really surprised and overwhelmed. Even still, I'm getting a bit misty eyed just thinking about it. Well, that's the truth! It's amazing how pleasant a kind word and gentle thought can mean to the one who receives it.

Could it be that, in our everyday lives, we take it for granted that the people who are always around us just somehow magically know how much we're glad that they exist and don't, often, give them the gift of really telling them (and, vice versa)?  It's possible that I say more kind things to my friends when they're online (I mean, the opportunity is there).

I know, I know - some of you have mentioned it in your blogs lately. It's just sinking in. I'm having my own [re]epiphany about this matter, now.

Now, I suspect that some of you just think that I am modest when I say that I'm struggling with a situation. Some of you live with me and know all about it. =] Some of you are new friends and are thinking something like, "uh, oh! Troubles......?!?"

Well, for those of you who have been following along quite regularly, you might just maybe recall me mentioning some troubles with my camera.

You know, Monty Python and the "Holy Grail"? (Some of you are shocked, I know, that I would even be interested in seeing such a movie. Let's just simply say that it was a dare.) You know the knight who, even though he's losing life and limb, every moment declares, "I'm not quite dead, yet!" He and my camera must be related.

Have any of you picked up on the fact that, I was complaining vociferously enough about my dear old dratted camera and, then, suddenly, was taking some pretty okay photos? Well, I'm sure you've all guessed where I'm going by now. Indeed, some of you already know because I couldn't help but 'spill the beans' to quite a few of you.

You guessed it.

I got a new camera for my birthday!

Just look at what it can do....

Isn't it lovely???

It's not just a point and shoot, this time! I got a Canon DSLR! a.k.a. a real camera!

I don't know if anyone can really define a 'photographer'. Honestly, the word has so many different connotations, it seems. There's everyone from Ansel Adams to the man who took the lovely photos for our wedding. For me, this camera is an outlet to record and share maybe a little bit of the loveliness that I see around me all of the time. I don't know. I'm not sure. Something seems to have taken a hold of me. Each photograph seems to be an opportunity to have a window into a little world. 

I am smitten!!!

  

You can, actually, pin point and share the moment that I got the camera. I spent about an hour checking it out and reading a little of the manual and, then, decided that I needed to go out and just figure out where the clicky - take a picture button was. (YES! of course, I'm joking! Well, I mean, I know that it's called a shutter button.) That day, I walked in my heavenly meadow and had the time of my life. The result was the post entitled 'Grass' and I was overwhelmed by your responses to my quiet walk!

All of the photos in the post today were the first time that I've ventured into the creative modes on my camera. I've finally had a chance to play with aperture and shutter speed for myself. All of this on a truly darkly cloudy day!

Then, on my birthday, my sister, Suzy, spent the evening giving me art and composition lessons. We spent several hours going through a beautiful blog of nature photography, 'In a Soft Light'. I got a good lesson in why Mary's photos are not only lovely but emotionally moving. Then, taking what I learned, I put together this mosaic of 'practice' shots. Thanks, again, sis for coaching me through this! My mind and vision feel extremely expanded.

Sooooooooo, of course, I am going to join in Mary's regular get together, 'Mosaic Monday' at the Little Red House!

(Watch out! I've caught a bit of mosaic fever, also!)

Well, what does one do when they want to 'click' away with their new camera? They get their ferns and gesnariads together! A 'gesnariad' is basically a plant that belongs to the 'African Violet' family. They are, actually, a South American herbaceous plant. I love them. I love ferns. You know, I didn't realize how many different kinds of ferns I have, until today. Until I started blogging and putting photos of gesnariads here, in the sunny spot - photos that I can zoom in on - I didn't realize just how beautiful they are. It makes me think of the maxim that my 5th grade art teacher drilled into our heads:

The more you look, the more you see!

Love,

Katy Noelle

I happen to know Mr. Toad.

You know, the one from "the Wind in the Willows".

      I have to say that he is not conceited at all, even though Kenneth Graham thought that it would be fun to paint him with that beloved black brush. He is confident because he really truly is a genius. Nothing seems to be beyond the scope of his interests or expertise. Whatever he does, he loves and does wholeheartedly. True, when he finds a new passion, he's madly focused ~ intent, even. He thinks about his new venture as an adventure. His enthusiasm is completely contagious. He's actually infected many others with a deep love of these same pursuits ~ influencing and changing their lives. This is because, he is eager to share and an earnest teacher.

Indeed, his home is Toad Hall, by the river. He has never been in a deep dungeon with metal bars and a rusty key for the lock. His purchase of his red motor car was clearly on the up and up. He is, also, dear friends with Badger, mole and the water rat, as I know full well!

It is true, Toady is ardent, ebullient and exuberant!

 

He is keen, passionate, rhapsodic!

He is zealous and, well, yes ~ a tad obsessed and fanatical!

Don't we all love to live life this wholeheartedly?

To be absorbed, engrossed, passionate, yeah, even preoccupied!

But what is this???

Gasp! 

Oh, my! Could it be?

It is LOVE and wonderment!!!

A new mania!!!

.....hmmm, I'd best get rid of these weeds!

 

 

Happy Father's Day, Mr. Toad!

Love, Moley and Rat!

*Illustration by Inga Moore

Yes, I know, I know...... I should be the one to talk.......