light step

here

all photos:

textileArtLace

on

etsy

with a view

st. john

london

a little story

dress: small earth vintage

spoon & textile: nettie's

shoes: topsy

flowers: for nellie

love letters

claudia schwartz's

artistry never ceases

to amaze me.

her bell'occhio

has so clearly

influenced the art of our time-

it's really something perfectly

extraordinary. from the moment so

many of us first laid eyes on the shop,

sitting- still- on the small corner in the

city that seems- because bell'occhio is

there- suffused with magic, claudia's

amazing vision and brilliant artistry

has influenced our lives. it seems

to me that she is truly one of the

masters of our age, and i'd put

forth that the whole endeavor

and- most especially- it's

proprietress ought to be

considered one of our

national treasures.

brava, bell'occhio!

all images: bell'occhio

rosenthaler strasse

berlin

les bucoliques

honestly,

i'm starting to love linkedin;

think i've been on it forever,

and really pay little attention

to my profile (yikes, right?)...

but the most amazing people

turn up & then link to you &

what's not to love? above,

please meet the magnificent

Sarah Wels. i know of her

through her brilliant art and

the marvelous family that our

daughter stayed with when

studying in France (both

parents are wonderful

artists, and friends of Ms.

Wels). Fell in love with

Sarah's les bucoliques while

visiting Viv, & couldn't have

been happier when a few

lovely pieces found their

way to our Christmas tree.

All, simply gorgeous; just go see.

those acme girls,

they're neat

(quite truly nifty)

visit them

here

or here or

here or here

brilliant ideas

&

such a delight

ph: acme party box company

initial impression

here

nettie

here

sempervivum & such

wouldn't this be fun

for father's day?

here via here

(love it that they've been

doing this for 15 years)

succulents galore

tied up

in string; a few of my favorite things

(more to come)

fan

flowers, II

from the delightful anna

at prim and posies

flowers, I

the work of

debbie carlos-

a perfect

way to grace

your wall

w/ thanks to mr. sung ;)

scrolled, frilled and resolutely foliated

proceed

"We must

always

change,

renew,

rejuvenate

ourselves-

otherwise,

we harden."

goethe

photo: home of johann wolfgang goethe, weimar

[taken in early winter, 2011]

today, for one minute, measure something only with your heart. [on the twenty-sixth]

today, it seems, is a day of milestones. arrivals and departures.

always i wonder: how to honor life as you go along, how to mean it.

not just live by rote.

not just calculate reality. calculate the incalculable. live.

the sun outside, an almost-sheer sliver of leaf on the white rose

just past my window, the cool metal of the ancient tiny scratched

kitchen table currently acting as my desk: that's what's here now.

and us, we are here. you are reading this, i wrote it.

how to honor all these things, and people? you. my dear friend and her

mother, the sun beyond the window. the man i met 33 years ago (today)

and married 29 years ago next week, the birthday he celebrates today.

the calculus of love. what's to measure? what life brings?

we are such a rational society! we seem to want to measure everything.

it makes it more real. if it's real, we can use it. no equivocating. it's on

paper, it's online, it's on a ledger, it's the astute observation of an expert

in the field. it's a fact. is that how we measure life? (as if we know what

will happen next!)

today, for one minute, measure something only with your heart. measure

the translucency of a leaf, or the white of the rose, or maybe how many

miles high your love for someone is- would it reach straight through the

center of the earth, come back again on the other side, fly off toward the

sun & go beyond? 33 years. he called me on the phone, and we talked

for almost an hour. about what? it was pretty unusual for either one of

us. there was some discussion about my scrapbooks. (scrapbooks?) paper,

old-style scrapbooks, pieces of life. rather odd. he listened. very wonderful.

he is still listening. we have created, now, a hundred thousand memories.

scrapbooks? in a sense. no glue. well, lots of glue. the glue: love. the scraps:

life. no books. just moments. a hundred thousand moments together, with

our children, with our parents, with our family. with our friends. with love.

so much in our society is calculation. what's wealth? a bank book? a

scrapbook? a vault of art, locked away? we are the richest people we

know, he and i. the treasure? our children, our families, our friends; our

life together. time is the real wealth. and love. time spent with care.

care spent with love.

how to honor this (or any) moment? the sun rose today. you and i are

here, others gone. we've got now, we've got the love they gave us, we've

got love to give. as far as i can see, that's it. no hidden art in a vault.

spend the time, calculate the cost. measure life.

but measure it with only love.

marylebone

didn't break stride

structure

note

this Easter, a young man we are very fond of snapped a

photo of the bookcase in our front hall; later, he sent

it (and others)- a thoughtful note. what a lovely

way to thank someone. what a delightful gift it is

to see the funny little set of shelves through his eyes.

photo: k. chaves

edifice

sander. campari.

karin sander

campari soda

rise. shine. address powerful goodness.

posting these for a friend; i went, i saw, i didn't stay long.

but the bit i did glimpse was divine. someday, maybe, will

bunk at the st. john or have one of these fabulous lamps to

switch on when i crack open a book. or maybe not. well.

either way, it's fun to imagine. sources? sam baron: light.

st. john: rest. and happy mother's day (a bit late) to julie.

& everyone else. with love. surely & truly.

title quote: ben (sort of)