a new year

resolved: do more good

i've got a few 2011 resolutions,

the rest a bit more concrete (&

in smaller bites. do more good's

a big one, i believe. wish me luck.)

whether you opt for the

resolution thing or not

(i don't every year, but

this one seems a bright

time for a start), i wish

you a new year full of

wonders. good ones.

We have learned to say that the good

must be extended to all of society

before it can be held secure

by any one person or class;

but we have not yet learned

to add to that statement,

that unless all [people]

and all classes contribute to a good,

we cannot even be sure that it is worth having.

jane addams

addams: hay quaker

categories

how we listen

to our lives

determines

whether we

simply categorize things

as

bad or good,

whether

we spend our lives running

toward

or away

from certain

people

or interactions,

whether

we

greet

the possibilities

in all of life

r. wicks

image: [splendid] topsy design

random pairing moment

because: i don't know why.

but the goods at old town

clothing, via ancient

industries, are awfully neat,

aren't they? the rest: apple

tote from the fabric society

via remodelista. chair from

gould in maine. astonishing

dining room: rhinelander

mansion in the fifties.

tartan: i can't remember.

anyone know? will add.

all clothing: old town

the devonshire parure and lady philippa speke

adding a little splendor

to your tuesday morning

via una rosa d'oro

the hairdresser's wife said That woman writing a cookery book is like sending a blind man down the M1

did you happen to see this interview? they do cover

some interesting questions. those sisters. something

else. quite an indomitable spirit there, hasn't she?

very remarkable. and ms. wilson has done such a

brilliant job on the covers. a joy to behold. truly.

quite a life

(but perhaps a tray of madeleines would be fine)

i thought about naming this

post temps perdu, but that

would be sort of. well. to be

honest, it would be silly (since

i've never actually read mr.

proust's great work and what

do i know?). the reality is that

i'm trying to clean off my

desktop some, and these are bits

i've saved. the procrastination

one is from merlin mann. i think

he's right on this. the sheer &

haunting chandelier is from

tim denike; it's a snapshot of

an rrl room. the party-goers

are from room 26. the chair

is a gould (lord knows i've

raided their coffers lately;

thank you gould auctions,

i love you). and the real

thought behind this is that

times change. our little house

used to be stuffed to the gills

on the holidays, and now it is

not so much. and where i once

prayed for an hour to catch my

breath, i now have ample time

to marvel at the future. and it

is good. but it will be better, i

think, to marvel less & remember

who we are more. here's to a

busy, happy 2011. may you well

remember who you are and what

a great gift it is. i am thankful,

today, for where we have been

and where we are going. and i

wish all of you godspeed.

open to possibility

check twice

on it's way

posted

boxing day

gould again

counting

our blessings

the stockings

were hung by the chimney with care

good

cheer

(have a lovely christmas eve!)

a little

holiday

gould

small things

great love

solstice

& the moon this week

absolute attention

it's time to take a bit of a break. for now, perhaps, wander over

& visit beth nelson. a sea both poignant & sublime, her blog is.

photo: beth nelson

who knows?

"Who knows?" Emily said. "The main thing

is to be as aware as you can, every single

minute. Never be bored by anything."

Madeleine L'Engle

A Winter's Love

inventive repairs & the times

utterly delighted to see mr. baseman (& his dog) here

photo: andrew baseman

see

we're in twin spaceships

signe mae olson

gallery at bullet space

photo: signe mae olson

homebodies & card catalogues

while i channel wrapped presents in the mail (outbound),

please go thou & be edified by the exceedingly inspired

card catalog that david john is putting together. & even

though i never make a list, if santa reads this he can run

out and get this book for me. thank you. (in the instant

gratification department, i must note that i don't need a

subscription to liz's excellent blog: i'm signed up. love.)

reading writing & wrapping

besides wanting to thank about six dozen people and send them all notes + get out christmas cards, i have a rather-too-long-in-waiting stack of gifts to wrap & (yes, it's funny, actually; why wait 'til this moment in december?) mail. all of this, honestly, might be easier to tackle if i didn't sort of expect to do a cracker-jack job on each one & have them be worthy of a small space in a bergdorf (sigh) window. anyhow. i'm going to read this (because i need to) and get back to all of you after at least a half-dozen of those gifts have been wrapped. and they won't need to be bergdorfy, they'll just need to be mailed. right? see you soon. happy wrapping to you, too.

image: jean prouvé desk via sweet handmade charlotte

sarah melling: pencils & paper

a dear friend of mine recently started a blog;

i think her work is divine. (& i can promise you

that she's divine, too. we completed quite a few

projects together, each one a joy -- thanks to her

good eye and keen skills.) sarah melling, so good

to see you here! you made me smile. coffee, soon?

image: sarah melling

the ghost of an idea

I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish slay it!

Their faithful friend and servant,

C. D.

December 1843

via project gutenberg

thankful for

the excellent, well-versed

eye of bws. and that she

chooses to share it with

us. this is pure joy to me.

quickly. thankful for

room 26

(please don't miss their blogroll)

en route

duncan hannah

summer of love

duncan hannah