in all truth.
i didn't want to get into the garden today.
life's had me stretched thread-bare.
and i didn't feel like tending anything.

but my thoughts drifted.
to little roots growing bound in sprouting containers.
and seedlings.
yellowing.
drooping.
out-growing their space.

and then i thought of salads.
fresh.
lush.
garden salads.
and salsa.
and steamed collards.
and the smell of fresh onion.

and out i went.
rolled sleeves.
and worn gloves.
to the sleeping garden.

and as things usually go.
once i was out there.
i was alive.

falling familiar.
into the groove of soil tilling.
and row plotting.

i settled all my seedlings.
and started fast.
on the dandelion harvest.
collecting just enough blooms.
to start infusing dandelion oil.

i found.
long fallen and forgotten.
an old knot.
from my uncles cherry tree.

and inspiration struck hard.

i saw that knot.
sanded smooth.
beeswaxed.
and laden with figs and cheeses.

a new woodworking project.
developing.
in the seconds.
as they passed.

and then the southern wind.
brought wafts of lilac bliss.
from the bush in the corner yard.

i ran.
barefoot.
to its branches.
and snipped an armful of blooms.
for the kitchen.


***

from my reluctance.
birthed forth.
and afternoon.
saturated.
with deep.
cleansing.
fresh air breaths.
and wild doses.
of percolating.
inspiration.

... the story behind the picture...

i've always had this thing for old photos.
as a child--
i can remember pouring over tattered boxes.
stuffed to the top with yellowed pictures.
ones of my grandmother.
and my great-grand mother.
and people no one could remember anymore.

i especially loved those really really thick ones.
mounted on dark cardboard.
they made me imagine a world.
where even simple photos were a novelty.
were precious.
were art.

i'm still drawn to old pictures.
and love when i happen upon big boxes of them.
at antique shops.
or garage sales.

today i found a couple of stacks at a towering used book store.
and these few jumped out at me.
each had so much character.
so many layers.
such a story.
(that one of the eiffel tower-
had my imagination running wild!)


i felt compelled to buy them.
and then equally as compelled to share them here.

enjoy.

- ernest hemingway
"a moveable feast"

::: hermes rocket

i came to possess a hermes typewriter.

the click click clacking.

is the methodical sound of a time gone-by.




i am pretty much obsessed with the little thing.

::: random/weekend shots + musings.

...

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?

- Robert Browning

...

Bee - fondness - perfume - cord
crumb- fool's gold - jumping voyeur
soldier ease - solstice strip.
purple quadrant - open gown.
microned matter
martyrdom quince
grapeshot micron.

- from the diary of frida kahlo

...

love this.
how i wish i could have been there in harlem that day.

...

love this, too.
i'll take one of everything, please.

...

i stand like a fool,
seeking a past that vanished ...
but night is wise and mighty
wiser than I, wiser then day.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

...



ps:
that shop in the last photo is my absolute favorite.
please. if you're ever in detroit.
find this gem.
enter.
and fall in love.

:: kinfolk...finally

it's been everywhere.
on blogs the world over.
and now it's my turn to gush.

kinfolk.
insert my deep sigh of satisfaction here.

i resisted all urges to sneak a peek at the virtual edition.
i wanted to experience the magazine between two covers.
between two hands.

and heavens--was it ever worth it.

kinfolk is bloody brilliant.
a masterpiece of talent. inspiration. and detail.

whether you gather with one.
or with many.
this publication has something to offer you.

i was fortunate enough to snag a hard copy.
but the gorgeous pages are available to all.

right here.


go.
immediately.

:: gold dust woman

{all images via google}




been loving stevie nicks.

circa 1970's.

anybody with me?

::: louder than words.

{via}

just some images inspiring me this week.

p.s. more on why the runner inspires me soon.

up to the mountain...

{image via weheartit}

I went up to the mountain
Because you asked me to
Up over the clouds
To where the sky was blue
I could see all around me
Everywhere
I could see all around me
Everywhere

Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be walking
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to

Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so

The peaceful valley
Just over the mountain
The peaceful valley
Few come to know
I may never get there
Ever in this lifetime
But sooner or later
It's there I will go
Sooner or later
It's there I will go

--patty griffin


________________________________________________


go on.
download the song.

it might change your life.

:: heading into the august break...

{images via weheartit}

it's still summer.
of that i am most assuredly sure.
and most blessedly thrilled.

but fall is in sight.
winter is some-what tangible.
and that urges me to pause.
to stop.
to listen & look.
instead of speak.
to drink deep of the warmth and beauty--
of the season.

so i've decided to join susannah's
august break.
a month of posting one photo per weekday.
with no words.
just the image.
letting the reader take from it what they will.

my favorite rule of it all is that there are no rules.
so i'll be stopping by with things to say--
a time or two.

but mostly--
enjoy the quiet of the photos.
which- as they say-
are worth thousands of words in themselves.


happy summer!
happy august!

:: the seven day stretch...and a TOMS cameo

after seven physically and emotionally draining nights at work--

i can breathe.
i can sit.
i can do nothing.

& i love it.

and while i haven't had time for much activity
beyond the walls of the hospital--
i have enjoyed:

breakfast at my favorite cafe.
delicious summery teas from starbucks.
eggplant from my garden.
yoga & hooping.
and of course, my TOMS wedges.
they've trotted me to work.
and like every good shoe--

they've finally trotted me home, as well.


here's to gearing up for a fabulous weekend!

:: i live in a place where i can ride my bike...

{images via weheartit}

i've decided it doesn't matter that
i don't live in the heart of downtown.
or on the gorgeous countryside.
or in a quaint small community.

i'm going to start riding my bike.

i've been desiring to.
been dreaming of a place where things were close enough to bike to.
then i realized...

there's a starbucks 1/2 mile from my door.
a target 1 1/2 miles past that.
a yummy middle eastern restaurant in the same parking lot.
a bookstore across the street.
a bagel shop in eye-sight.

and it wasn't until i read the quote above that i realized.
wait.
i can ride my bike.
i just don't.

here's to rectifying that.

& to two-wheeled, earth-happy travel :)

:: the hippie ride...

{images via weheartit}

is it bad that i kind of really want one?


ahhh. volkswagen take me away.

:: thank goodness it's friday...

[images via weheartit]

here's to a weekend full of

garden dwelling

sun-shining

iced-tea drinking

beach trotting

good food eating

yoga practicing

bliss.