have a treat

time for a break

love you, LERB

dear reynards

Mr. Huntington, of Maine, has a keen family

of foxes on his site. Made me think of a few

foxes elsewhere. Have a brilliant Monday, all.

A Match Made in Heaven

LRB+KHB

Maira Kalman, The Pursuit of Happiness

Strawberry Blonde

This morning, found myself staring at the art of Carl Larsson and thinking that his rendering of linens, bedclothes, garments, and thus and such was magnificent, as well as timely and--that old chestnut--classic. (The above version doesn't do justice to the color. Will hunt for better.)

Wouldn't you love to have the stripey curtains tucked behind those Swedish beds, or draped in that domino-esque way on the ceiling? Those little red wool tufts hanging at perfect intervals above it all? Is this not magic?

And, below, there's a strawberry blonde on a sled that makes me miss my sister...but not those long northern nights that we knew in Germany.


Do you remember the smell of melted ice on wool, mittens with a slight crust of snow from the lunky snowman we tried to roll together in the yard? Pinecones worked pretty well for eyes, and there was always a sprig of cedar for a lame little arm or two. Carrots for noses were not so easy, so a rock often sufficed. And, since they were there again, more pinecones for the smile. By the time we got to putting him all together, it was sort of done already...wasn't there a cup of hot chocolate waiting for us, maybe? Shouldn't we just plop his head on, stick those pinecones well in, and go somewhere warm?

I love the pale sun working it's way through the frostridden sky. And I miss that strawberry blonde, and her parents.

Love to all in Virginia, New York, Germany and elsewhere.

Happy Places I

I hope that our incredibly talented 

man in the hamptons 

doesn't mind that I've posted these...

it's just that, as we cruise into fall, 

and summer fades to a glimmer on the far horizon...

well, I wanted to take one more look. 

You can see why. 

This heavenly place: isn't it amazing?

Don't you want one? 

If it looks like the cottage of your dreams, 

I can verify that it most certainly is...

Cheers to a very gifted KB 

(another strange coincidence--see below--all the marvelous KB's in our lives...I'm even married to one. Two of the others are in these photos, as are the birthday girls from St. Barbara's day, and St. Barbara + one).

Next happy place? 

Surely, we will visit Hawaii, again, on the blog. 

With Mom and Dad. 

Magical.

Just like them.

Six Degrees of St. Barbara

Of course, you know that St. Barbara is 

the patron saint of the Artillery (go Dad!). 

But did you know that her feast day is on 

December 4th? 

Imagine.

A lovely day it is, as is the day after.

These are the dates, respectively, 

of my daughter's and my sister's birthdays. 

It often amazes me that St. Barbara

 shares her name (and date)

with many of the dearest friends and family in my life. 

Happy Birthday, a few days late, to 

Barbara Catherine. 

This coincidence of Barbaras has often caused me to wonder 

if there are, really, any coincidences.

And, I promise, there will be more pictures of flowers soon. 

It's just that, tonight, I am floral-ed out, 

having been madly arranging for days now. 

Exhausting, exhilarating, enlightening--

I adore flowers, working with them, looking at them...and, 

golly, 

I surely would love to cultivate 

a sweet little quarter-acre of some...

the gardener in me, 

perhaps she is just 

a 

late 

bloomer?