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Even when dining alone at Amelie's French Bakery in Charlotte, NC, I still managed to have a mouthful to say and nobody to hear me when I said.....
"Mmm.... smell the delicious aroma of coffee steeping in a classic French press", AND
"Wow, mouthwatering melted cheese, toasted atop a crusty "Croque Monsieur", AND "Ahh, gooey chocolate brownie, smothered in caramel and sea salt topping.
c'est très magnifique
I will just never get over loving the feeling of taking a bunch of random stuff, piling it all up on a table, then
Whenever my husband packs up his road warrior gear to do battle with the business world, I pack up my camera bag and hitch a ride to "wherever". There is always something new to discover and something interesting to photograph.
His last trip took me up the highway to Charlotte, North Carolina and a wonderful photo opportunity in the McGill Rose Garden. The once private garden, cultivated by Henry and Helen McGill was opened to the public for the first time on Mother's Day, 1967. What began as an attempt by the McGills to beautify a once blighted area, has now become home to over 200 species of roses.
My morning in the garden was delightful. The loving care given the plants in this garden is obvious. The roses were abundant and hearty. My new macro lens got a real workout capturing so much beauty in this Charlotte garden.
I set up a site on Fine Art America where you could order some greeting cards or prints of the photos I took in this garden. You can click on the slide show on the side bar of this post to see more photos. The cards come with envelopes and you can have whatever message you like printed on the inside. The site also offers wonderful canvas and framed prints as well.
Oh, and ... last, but not least, thanks for the Mother's Day roses, son. They were a feast for this mother's eyes and a gift to my soul.
Twenty-five years ago, We drove up in front of a ramshackle, two story duplex that was nearly condemnable. There wasn't a single room that could actually be lived in. I fell in love with this needy old house and vowed to restore her to new life. I was a fan of the PBS show "This Old House" and I just knew we were up to the task.
Our kids, parents and friends were appalled. We underestimated every single thing that needed to be done to this house and our $30,000 of restoration money was eaten up in about two months, just getting the place to the point where we could live in it.
Once we moved in, the work began in earnest and I have to be truthful in saying we have been working on this place for 25 years and thought it was just about perfect.... until we put it up for sale and a new generation of young folks, raised on HGTV, began coming around to take a look.
The HGTV kids are looking for move in ready, Pottery Barn, neutral. The mere sight of wallpaper or carpet, makes them head for the hills. So, here I am back in my jeans, scraper in hand and wondering what in the world I was thinking when I hung up all that pretty wall paper.
I know I wasn't thinking I'd be the one to have to "neutralize", as in..... remove toxic elements like ugly wallpaper and out of date blue paint. Everything must be builder beige and trendy new. I suppose I understand. I watch HGTV too.
In the end, I hope we served this old beauty well. She was built in 1925 and the wood for her walls was brought in on horse drawn carriage. We saved everything we could from old floors to antique hardware and now, we hope to pass it along to another owner, who hopefully, scraper and paintbrush in hand, will know how to bring her along another 25 years.
Suddenly, my focus for work was distracted by a flurry of activity outside the window next to my computer screen. At first it appeared to be a little swirl of leaves caught up into activity by a passing car or a random breeze. Curiously, no cars had passed and the air was still. I expected whatever had motivated this event would quickly pass and my momentary pause would come to a swift end, but no, the thing just grew larger. I'm not the type to be easily distracted, but this phenomenon got me up out of my chair and out the door. Thinking this undulating mass of wings might just be the most butterflies I had ever seen in one place, I took to the street with my camera.
My pictures fail miserably in trying to describe what I saw. There were hundreds of flying things working their way methodically around and around in a circle. They rose and fell together as if commanded by cadence call. I stepped into the swarm to try to identify just what I was seeing, then quickly fled the dive bombing action my intrusion had triggered. It was a bit frightening and, at the same time, awe inspiring .
I managed to snap one weary participant resting on my front step. Mystery solved. It was a swarm of Odonate, more commonly known as Dragonfly. I have never seen anything like this in my life. It was quite a sight.
A little internet research resulted in scientific information about why my area may have been visited by such a rare event. Some more browsing led me to a treasure trove of gorgeous dragonfly photography and some legends and symbolism associated with them.
Japanese culture believes a swarm of dragonflies herald the coming of prosperity and happiness, good luck and new beginnings. We are all praying for exactly those things here in Florida where we are hard hit with the economic downturn. It was good to be drawn away from my own personal focus to see the wonder of this rare event. God can do great things, such as I have never seen before. A swarm of dragonflies is a physical reminder of His overarching power. He commands even the waves and is present in all our struggles. We just have to look up from our circumstances to see it.
Apparently, it's very common for our anxieties to revisit us in our dreams. Experts say, we work on solutions and coping strategies while we sleep. Perhaps that's why I keep dreaming of stuffing important things in boxes and not being able to locate them again.
The concept of packing up my studio and moving into a new space is both frightening and exhilerating at the same time. I'm not alone in having these feelings. This year I followed along and learned from several others as they faced the same thing.
Debra Cooper of A Little Imagination , made a move this year and is back to work doing her wonderful painting and mixed media in a new home. It can be done.
Sandy Babb, of Quill Cottage approached her studio project with determined imagination.
Jerri Jimenez of A Touch of Grace showed me what a little patience and planning can produce.
If I were giving awards for the most inspiring of all, it would be to Melissa Sue Stanley, of Art, Love, Life who not only packed her studio up, left her day job, moved her frogs and all and shipped it all to Switzerland and her new home and studio there.
If these girls can do it with such courage, I can sure get over my little hissy fit, don't you think?
