Category Archives: Inspiration

Howling at the Moon

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Our night guard walked by the patio one evening this week and noted how gorgeous the moon was, and said, “it makes our atmosphere so friendly at night.”

How true.

A pack of neighborhood dogs were howling into the darkness, as if in tribute to a buttery, full moon rising over the mountains.

Our family went to our first Game Reserve, called Mlilwane 20 minutes from Mbabane. Such panoramic views, and we were delighted to see zebras, impalas, baby warthogs running with tails straight up in the air, and other “DLA’s”: Deer Like Animals that we have yet to identify, as we didn’t have a guide.
Here are some photos:

A Tale of Two Cities, a Toddler, Some Tea…

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Hi! It’s good to get back to blogging after a little summer break!  So much to catch up on. Took baby Ramsay on a two-city tour of Tucson, Arizona and Columbus, Georgia to see family. It was so much fun to watch him with his grandparents, and so good to get hugs and feel taken care of.

Too many random thoughts for any cohesive writing lately, so here’s a summary of things I am grateful for lately through photos:

The ritual of making tea with loose tea leaves

How baking makes the house smell good. (And the deliciousness of devouring Madeleines).

Quiet time in the evenings to read, and to collage some “mail art” and create with molding paste, which is a fun, new medium I’m learning about.

Discovering what interests my son:  especially the color yellow, and shoes in general.

Surprises and beauty in nature, architecture, and daily life:

Hope your summer is going well, and there are many amazing moments in each day.

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Serendipity on a Winding Path

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IMG_1375When I saw this mixed-media necklace at our local Art Fair in historic Occoquan recently, the word JOURNEY called to me.  We are all on a journey, a winding path of moments and days.

Lately, the days on my journey have felt longer, and a bit emptier.  My sweet honey got orders to work overseas until Mid-August. I miss him terribly, and so does our little fella, who teeters from room to room in our house, calling, “DaDa?” “DaDA!” and it’s heart wrenching not to be able to explain that Daddy is far away, but we’ll see him in a couple of months.

We made time for a date night before he left, and had dinner at Central in D.C.

IMG_1360   The Oysters Rockefeller were divine, and I loved the artistic display of herbs and spices on rock salt on the platter.  IMG_1351Thank you for paying attention to detail, chef Michel Richard!  It’s all in the details… I love details, especially artistic ones.

So, do you remember in my last post when I quoted a Shel Silverstein Poem about the girl who would not take out the trash (Cynthia Sylvia Stout)?  It was an odd coincidence that this poem (that I first read in the 70’s, and had not thought about for years), popped up on my radar at LUSH (homemade bath products) a few days later as the name of a Shampoo. Ha! IMG_1300 Don’t you love it when something random appears on your radar and then unexpectedly resurfaces again soon after? (Am I  the only person amused by this sort of thing)?  Serendipity? Chance? Fate? The law of attraction?

Are you familiar with Paulo Coelho’s book, The Alchemist?  It’s one of my favorites, and I am drawn to his idea that the universe teaches us (brings things to us) when we are ready.  I bought a small original watercolor in Rome in 1999, and when I asked the artist what inspired him, he told me about this book. When I returned to London the following week (where I was working at the time), I read The Alchemist cover to cover, and suddenly, it seemed everyone I met was talking about it. (It had been published almost a decade earlier, so it wasn’t new on the scene). Have you had something similar happen?

Wishing for you lots of serendipity in the coming days.

Cheers,

Starry