Someday

I would like to have a meal in a field. I know, it's pretentious.

http://www.outstandinginthefield.com/home.html

Much like Marie Antoinette dressing up like a shepherdess.

Frugality

Today, I am going to start saving money on groceries.

Motivation and I have an on-again-off-again relationship.

Inquiring minds want to know

From The Affected Provincial's Almanack

I like your style, Lord Whimsy.

{ blue }

Meme

20 years ago. I was ten. I think this was the summer my family moved from Aurora, IL (infamous home of Wayne & Garth of Wayne's World) to Wheaton, IL.

10 years ago. My family moved from Wheaton, IL to Roanoke, VA the summer between my Sophomore & Junior years of college. I moved out of the dorms & into a small living unit on campus.

5 years ago. I had moved to NYC in January. August 14, 2003 was the date of the Great Blackout. I was fortunately away on vacation visiting my parents & watched the whole event on TV. Once again, the people of the City of New York proved to be amazing adapters.

3 years ago. I managed to fulfill the dreams of the sixth-grade me and went to Paris.

1 year ago. I got married in May to the dearest man. I love him more than anything in the whole wide world. More than bed, more than the color red.

So far this year. I quit my job. Had a spring fling with NYC. Moved to St. Louis, MO.

Yesterday. I explored Ladue, MO. Talked flowers and fabric. Dreamed of all that is to come.

Today. It's a rainy day. I think I may curl up and snuggle with the cat.

Tomorrow.

The rest of this year.

In peace

Visual poetry by Maize.
Thanks for the introduction Periwinklebloom!

About Time

After 5 1/2 years, NYC finally felt like home. I knew my way around. I made the city my own. I could tell you were to get the freshest loaf of French bread and best tiramisu. I could tell you where the oldest, free-standing farmhouse was. I could tell you where to go to catch an outdoor jazz concert. I was even up on celebrity gossip. I survived the transportation strike and walked four miles home across the Queensboro Bridge in the middle of December. My husband was finally there. I finally made friends there. Life was good.

Life is still good. We've been here nearly a month now and I'm starting to get a little more settled. Hubby's job is starting up and his future there is bright. I've got friends here and room to breath. My dining table is on its way. Now I sit in the driver's seat, not the backseat of a yellow cab. Now I drive to Target instead of taking the subway deep into Queens and I've been there more times than I can count.

Yet, I feel uprooted. An aimless wanderer in a foreign town.

Admittedly, I'm a little impatient - a little scared. I'm stifled by "What if's". What if I don't like it here? (Driving is stressful and there are crazy people walking out into the middle of the street.) What if I can't find a job I like? What if the world falls apart because I didn't do enough to make it perfect?

At least in NYC I could be quietly anonymous - perfect for the shy me. I didn't even know my neighbors' names. Here, anonymity isn't quite as simple. Everyone has been so welcoming. People talk with you everywhere you go. I've made nice with store owners and restaurant managers all over town. I've even chatted up my neighbors! Why is the universe conspiring against me, drawing me out when all I want to do is hibernate and wait for spring?

I need to relax. I need to let go. I need to stop being afraid. I need to stop taking this all so seriously and just be.

Cafe Osage - Bowood Farms

I was going to write about the most terrible Chinese food in St. Louis (Yen Ching) & how I paid a fortune for it by having it slowly delivered by 569 Dine. I don't expect much from Chinese food but, come on, even the man whose motto is "eat it up" wouldn't eat it. (Ok, I wrote about it anyway.)

Fortunately, I found Cafe Osage at Bowood Farms Nursery on Olive. Tucked inside a lovely garden shop & nursery is a charming cafe open about two weeks. Although the place was bustling, I was attentively served at the bar by both waitresses & had a pleasant chat with the chef & manager. My farm-fresh, open-faced egg salad sandwich was divine. I can't wait to try their breakfast menu! Hmmm, french toast....

Ripples

Noblility

Sharon, of Tiny Buildings, creates small paper sculptures of her favorite restaurants and (love this) has even made little chapels as invitations/gifts for her children's wedding ceremonies.

Sharon's buildings call to mind William Christenberry's iconic southern structures.

Sprott Church, Alabama
Copyright William Christenberry

"For this work manifests and reinforces all that we mean when we occupy a place and possess it nobly, small and mortal as we may be."*

*From "Of Time and Form", by A.G. Harmon, Image: A Journal of the Arts, Number 35, p. 62.

One pose per second

http://www.thedirectorsbureau.com/bureau1/mills/BlondeRedhead-TopRanking.mov

Feeling a little cooped up, perhaps?

Ceramic picnic sets (by Heath Ceramics) are impractical purchases for klutzes. (Who's a klutz?)

I want it anyway. Nevermind that it is $548 and I have two wonderful sets already.

Fine living

A taste of Summer at Daylesford Organic.

Porpoise?

To identify the objects I have in my home & contemplate their significance.

"Give us this day our daily bread"

Which bears more spiritual weight?

A:

B:The religious significance of bread is obvious, but what is the significance of the basket?

How has the basket been historically represented in art? "The Last Supper", 1620-1621, by Peter Paul Rubens is a good starting point. The basket can also be seen as an illusion to the wooden bin filled with hay where baby Jesus lay. In 2007, the Vatican made a radical change to the typical Nativity scene. Referring to two passages in St. Matthew's gospel, Jesus now lies in Joseph's shop, complete with "the typical work tools of a carpenter". He lies in Joseph's home.

Aside: In 2004, the Fondation Cartier held an exhibition titled "Pain Couture", by Jean Paul Gautier. The French sure do love their bread!

Graceful Abode

* Can household objects have spiritual significance?
~ No.
~ Yes, only if the owner assigns significance to them.
~ Yes, only if the maker assigns significance to them.
~ Yes, of course, God is in all things!
~ Why is this difficult to see?
* Is this significance purely nostalgia?

* Can material "worldly" goods help us connect with God? Or, should we follow in St. Francis' footsteps and place our wealth at the altar of God?

* Define "household objects".
* What about natural or machine-made objects used/placed in the home?
* We are wasteful. Why do we buy objects we do not like? Why do we buy objects we do not need? Why do we buy objects that do not work? Why do we buy objects that have no meaning to us?
* Why are some objects easier to throw away than others?
* If an object is functional (i.e. kitchen sponge) but not beautiful, is it less significant than an object that is functional and beautiful?

* What is "kitsch"? What purpose does it serve?

* What do the objects you surround yourself with say about you?
* How do these objects affect how we feel about ourselves?
* How do these objects affect visitors?
* How do they affect our quality of life?
* How can these objects help us think about / meditate on our relationship with God?

* Are contemporary American artists & artisans concerned with spirituality?
* Are any of these artists in the mainstream?
* Where are these artists?
* What are they making?

* What is the history of craftsmanship and the church?
* What does the contemporary church have to say about art and its purpose in the home?

Tinkerbell

I heart my new earrings from Dean Harris for Target

~ tink ~

little pearl drops
dangle
from golden bells

~ tink ~