Cabbages and Roses Girl

I have a dream of being a Cabbages and Roses kind of girl.

Do you know what I mean?

I grew up in the arid dessert of Southern California (Pasadena). As school approached, every year, we would receive catalogs full of plaid and wool and dark colors. The stores would be full of these same kind of autumnal/winter fashions. Hungry for and excited about the change of season, our parents would fill our drawers and closets with these adorable outfits. The first day of school, we would be dressed to the teeth and drippingly hot. Sometimes the temperature would be in the hundreds (Fahrenheit)! We still had a couple of months to go before we got cool rainy weather and the trees would start to change their colors. The next day, finished with our first impressions, we would all be in shorts again!

Who came up with that ritual?

Well, now I live where the air has turned brisk at the appropriately fashionable time!

....and,

I would love to be a Cabbages and Roses Girl!

Sigh! First I have to lose a little weight (not as much as this lovely model, though, please!) and save a little money to look like this on the outside!

I can play the piano, though! =]

~I think that plaid and sweaters, florals, dresses and petticoats are a state of mind, anyway!~

I want to look like a Cabbages and Roses girl on the outside because I already am inwardly.

heeheee!

If you want to see more from the link that I was emailed - have fun!

Cabbages and Roses Autumn/Winter clothing preview

Just a few honestly dreamy and happy thoughts! Love, Katy Noelle P.S. Thank you, all, for your empathetic and kindly encouraging thoughts and concerns from what I shared in my last post. I just can't tell you how much it meant!

Even when there are clouds....

You know, even when there are clouds, the sun is still shining. Dear friends, this is not a platitude! If the sun were not shining up above the clouds, we would be a frozen wasteland. Even when we live in the frozen tundra - we are not in the wastelands of Pluto! The sun shines and it sustains us. (Although, in the winters, it is a good idea to find protection and shelter, eh?)

There is something that you don't know about me - it is not a secret - it just hasn't come up before.

You have been witnessing me blog in one of the most stressful times of my life. I have been most genuinely sharing my joys, little triumphs and peace with you but this particular situation has always been there.

     A little over two years ago, on the very day that we moved into our new home, we had an appointment up at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center that we had waited for for over a month. I almost didn't go - there was so much to do. Little did I know how God was orchestrating my life. At the appointment, I finally found some answers to so much confusion and anxiety. My youngest son was diagnosed with high functioning autism (HFA). I cried and cried! They were concerned that I was crying but it wasn't from grief! It was just from severe relief! I was so relieved to have an explanation - to find someone who understood deeply and perfectly!

     Since then, I have been gaining in knowledge and experience. We've realized some other things about our family, too, but I won't go into that. Most of this journey has been brilliantly good, a little more than fascinating and a privilege but, truthfully, some of it has been utterly frustrating. However, just understanding what's going on has diffused most of the craziness. We even quip that, "now we have a diagnosis for why life is so unusually wonderful for us!" It certainly explains why my youngest boy is such a sweet angel and has such a large soul.

I wouldn't change this journey for anything!

     The biggest pain and challenge we have is with school.  Although, school holds out so much to be gained for us, it's still a tough situation.

School started, yesterday!

I have been digging my emotional heels in but I just couldn't hold time back. It truly has been a sad couple of weeks for me. I need to stop fretting and move along with joy!

I need a different approach to this year!!!

It's a curious thing but, even though God has been absolutely taking care of me and sustaining me, I have been attempting to carry far too much of this burden - like, all of it. What can I do, really? I can only do my part. Even, then, the world does not rest on my shoulders.

Well, in the last two weeks, an attitude adjustment has been taking place. It must take place! I am changing how I, personally, am going to tackle all of this!

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

~ Isaiah 41:10

This is really it in a nutshell!

He (God) has spoken this to me. I know Him and trust Him. He has  never ever failed!

"Trust in the LORD with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

~ Proverbs 3: 5 & 6

Okay!

So!

I am going to let HIM be the brains AND the muscle, this year!!!

I am going to just look to Him and follow!

I already know that He is a faithful, compassionate and amazing guide. The things He has planned for my family and I were put together with extreme love and wisdom!

Well, now I am doing better than "okay" and that is not just a platitude! 

I have found my protection and shelter - my warmth!

Actually, yesterday, I felt so much better, that I needed to go and do something very happy, like, make a special snack for when the boys got home!!!

 Fun!

er, I had two "croissants" but was munching the other one while I took pictures of this one!

I got this idea from Cathleen at "My Sewing Serenity". (She got it from somewhere else but I couldn't find the link.)

Homemade chocolate croissants!!!

The idea is to take Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls dough and to put chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli, which is the best that we can easily get, here, in the states) in the middle - roll up and bake.

 It was really, really good!!!

Especially with the Smuggler's Tea, to be exact - it was that delicious!

I am doing much better, now!

Faith, trust, love and a few simple pleasures have seriously carried the day!

Love and best wishes to you and yours,

Katy Noelle

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

Vision

      It has been a remarkably hot and humid July. I confess that I haven't been handling the heat very well, this year. I keep asking everyone, "is it usually this hot?" They assure me it is but I'm not so sure. The very pleasant thing about Vermont is that, eventually, the weather changes. (Unlike California, in the summer, where it's hot and sunny with no rain for months at a time.) I know that I just have to hang on a little longer.

     In the meantime, I've had a tremendous struggle. Here I am, wanting to be a "photographer" - to just capture and share some of the beauty around me - and the light is as soft and beautiful as it could possibly be. Too many times, I've chosen a chair over a walk. This gorgeous evening, however, I couldn't resist the 7 minute drive in our air conditioned vehicle to chase this sunset from the vantage point of the dam. I had to help someone before I left, though, and wound up with a soft dusk instead.

     Honestly, these photos couldn't have been any clearer. This is a true representation of the hazy humidity. It feels as though you could scoop the air up in your hands and take a sip.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

     Anyway, about the view. When I first moved to Vermont, I found that I felt claustrophobic in my little town, nestled in the mountains. There didn't seem to be any wide open, flat spaces. Even the trees made me feel closed in - I couldn't see far because of them. I was used to the wide open spaces of the west. I mentioned this to a new friend of mine and she said that a friend of hers had told her, 

"Muriel, you need a good view at least once a week."

      In Vermont, when you climb to a vista, what you see is hill after hill after mountain range after mountain range stretching on and on. It's very good to know that there's so much beyond those hills and that my own life in this tiny town isn't the whole world. When I get my view, I have a sudden shocking realization that they don't cut me off - they are what's in between, what connects me to the outside. It's really the same with anything - the desert - the ocean - even "the other side of the tracks". These are really the connectors - not the dividers. My, it really gives one a feeling of Wanderlust!

 

     Well, I have to confess that a lot of lovely things have been coming my way. I got some money for my birthday and spent some of it on books. They came in the mail, yesterday. One was, Within the Frame: the Journey of Photographic Vision by David duChemin. I had seen this book at a large bookstore but didn't have the money to buy it at the moment. As I stood there reading, however, my heart was so incredibly moved. His words have an impact that is not for photography only. They moved me as a musician and as a woman with a beating heart, too. I've been on a 3 month search for it and, finally - finally - it's mine. As I was reading along, I read this about vision and connection:

Make Me Care

Shooting from the heart and telling the visual stories you love and care about is the first step in making your viewers care. If we do not tell stories in a way that people care about, we've failed. We've failed to create an image that connects on some level, failed to pull the viewer into the frame and show them something new. This doesn't mean we shoot only those things that others want to see. It means we shoot the things that move us in ways that will move others.

p.13 italics and bold added

     Maybe my images aren't quite living up to this ideal but it encourages me on. It makes me think about several things that I'm working on, right now: music, blogging, photography, gardening, yea, even how I make my home, and all the way through my spiritual life. With me, I want there to be a point. This definitely renews my vision - to connect. I just thought that his words are tremendously inspiring and wanted to share them with you. I hope that you all don't mind. Honestly, I hope that someone is resonating with this.

Funnily enough, this week's "The Creative Sunday's"  word is connect.

Here I was thinking of trains and tea rooms - all the while this thought and hope and struggle had been simmering in the back of my mind.

Well, that's me from the Vermont hills. Reaching out to you.

Katy

P.S. Oh, dearie me! I just thought of something. Do you remember that telephone slogan: "Reach out and touch someone"? =]

Madeline Bea's - The Sunday Creative: Connect

I missed Flag Day!

Photograph on card by Keith Scott Morton for Country Living Magazine

 I missed Flag Day!

Yes, I did!

I do every year!

I promise myself at the beginning of June that, "this year, I will be ready. This year I will get to it right away," but June 14th comes and goes. Sometimes, I don't even realize it until I'm, almost halfway through July. You know how it goes, though, don't you? It's June! weddings and gardens and graduations and Father's Day and church picnics and the end of school and alumni day. Phew! What a month!

So,

Why does it matter that I miss Flag Day? I mean, we always have a flag hanging, anyway.

June 14th is one of my best friend's, Freya's, birthday. It is quickly followed by one of my other best friend's, Charley's, birthday, on the 18th. Then, it's mine on the 24th and my other two best friend's birthdays are in July. I always miss all of them! (Note: I didn't say forget! I remember that they're there. I just miss them. i.e. bad aim!) Now, you know my sad and shameful truth. To lessen my guilt just a tiny bit, they are all my very best, forever, dearest, been through thick and thin friends from California. California is a long ways away.

Maybe, I should establish a "best friend's day"! You know, like "Mother's Day" or "Father's Day". Then, I could put it in the middle of a month that needs a little action and cheeriness - like March!

Well, Sweet Friends, the wishes will be belated but the love will be just as strong!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well, this brings up a point that I need to discuss with you all. It's getting a bit frazzled around here. Alina, asked me how I was doing everything - you know, puppies, 3 little boys, house and home and garden (still nonexistent) and church, etc. (BTW, our "worship/music team" from my church will be leading the music at a big retreat this Saturday.) Oh, and blogging, too.

This question really made me laugh. Did I give the impression that I was doing it all???

Hahahahahahahahahaaaaaa!

I am sorry to say that my house is a bit of a catastrophe. I've been loving (and chasing and feeding and cleaning up after) those puppies and letting other things go. Also, the puppies have caused me to be a bit sleep deprived - very sleep deprived. Until, about, yesterday, I've been a walking zombie.

All of this to say that, my blogging may be a little bit sparse through the next few weeks. I don't know quite how it will work out. Sometimes I may have more time than others. If I am exhausted, then, blogging is a pleasant way to occupy my time while I rest. I just want you to know what is happening with me since, up until now, I've been blogging up a storm.

Er, speaking of graduations.

 That's my oldest boy, Lliam. He graduated from elementary school, last night. Next fall, he will start up at the big school. (For those of you across the Atlantic, we have Kindergarten and 1st - 6th grade for elementary school. 7th and 8th grade for middle school and 9th - 12th grade is the high school. Graduating from the sixth grade means that he is perched on the cusp of all that comes with transforming into an adult.)

I, somehow, just can't believe it.

Well, first, we have carefree summertime!

Love,

Katy Noelle.

You know, it's not too late to send an overnight card to Charley....

Maybe, I could send Freya her card for next year, now!

Hmmm, maybe, I'll just call them in the meantime....

I am so glad that my friends know all about me and still love me - no matter what! 

 Photograph on card by Keith Scott Morton for Country Living Magazine

You know, you really should click twice on the moon and really zoom in. I cannot believe I got this photograph. (Although, I know it won't be winning any contests.=])

It was a perfectly shiny ending to a stellar evening.

oh, haha! I have to tell you what my son just said. I said, "okay, boys! What I want for my birthday is a clean house." Toby said, "don't worry, mom, we'll find one."