still catching my breath

I'm wondering where summer has gone but I have a feeling it's almost over and I've barely had a chance to notice it. We are enjoying tomatoes from our garden, so I know it's summer! I'm still just a tad in recovery mode from our travels. Thrown in the mix was a quick four-day road trip up to Chicago and back this long weekend. We went to a memorial service for a couple who are dear to me and I've known since my birth! The night the husband died, his beloved whispered to him something like, "Don't walk too quickly, dear, I'll catch up with you soon ... " and three weeks later, she joined him in heaven. What a beautiful thing death can be. For them, 70 years of married life and so quickly together again in heaven.

Photo: I took many photos of windows and winding lanes on our trip ... this one is a favorite.

a room to be viewed

We flew from Ethiopia to Zurich over night, but our lack of sleep did not stop us from spending a few hours exploring such a beautiful old city. I was quite taken by what appears to be a room addition to an already large building. I was so curious ... was it an after thought and what could it be for?

A Stranger's Gift

Stewed tomatoes, sausage and beans was the standard breakfast fare at the large Guesthouse we were staying at in London the day Prince William was born. Yes, we were in town for that historic occasion, though the news did not travel nearly as fast as it did for the birth of his son yesterday. In fact I don't remember how we heard the news, but I do believe we knew the very day it happened.

But more significant to my memory of that week in London (en route from Africa for a visit home) was a kind older gentleman who took an interest in our young family. Just how much touring around can a young couple do with two toddlers in tow? This man suggested the London Zoo. And with that suggestion he gave us a gift of money to buy a stroller ... we had none along with us. So this picture shows my brother, who joined us later in the week, with our boys (one in the shiny new stroller) gazing at some swans.

Do you ever look back on your life and wonder how you did what you did? I continued across the Atlantic with the boys, one still in diapers, while the Gardener and my brother went on to Scotland to do some study. How did I manage that journey? At least the stroller made the airport easier.

A gift from a thoughtful stranger.

along the way

Half way around the world is a long ways away. I put my head to a pillow in two countries and stepped into three more for a few hours. It seemed to take a long time to pack for the journey and now even longer to unpack, wash piles of laundry, regroup and get over jet lag. I've missed reading your blogs.

We spent a few days with good friends in SW Germany on our way home from Africa. It was refreshing to drive through wine country, wind through little villages, and walk on cobblestone streets. One day we spent just soaking up the ambiance of our friends' village. I passed by this shop once or twice before it came into focus and I realized what I was looking at. This proprietor had flowers tuned to a sweet pink like none others I saw. Shabby chic! I had to take pictures . . . of course.

Right now it seems like I will never feel normal again, but of course I will in a few days. Actually I hope I never am quite the same again, for when you enter other worlds, you usually come away just a bit changed, hopefully for the better.

Joining Mary's Little Red House for Monday Mosaics

Come for Breakfast

I love having company for breakfast, whether it's overnight guests, or those who stumble through the door,  

hair wet from a shower, looking for coffee and just a bit perplexed about an invite to breakfast!
It just seems a simple way to share a simple meal, enjoy conversation,
and then go on to the rest of the day!

the past is really never gone

"Deep are these roots, inescapable, restorative. I thought about how life had gone on,

generation after generation. Perhaps the past is really never gone,

but always a part of the present. Lingering there in the quietness, I [gather] up

the people, the places, the little fragments of another time."

Helen Thames Raley

My grandfather and his twin sister, and two brothers are in this photo of school children.

dish celebration

When we were visiting my sister we decided to get out our mom's good china and enjoy a meal on it.

I had forgotten how pretty her dishes were, now quite fashionable with gray and hints of turquoise.

The pattern is one of N*ritake's and I believe her mother-in-law gave the set to her after 

Mom and Dad been married for awhile. It looks a bit like the late 50s or early 60s.

So many questions we become curious about when it's too late for an answer!

Doesn't my sister's pretty salad complement the dishes?

interesting remembrances

"Her plants, her books ... her writing desk ... were all within reach ... she could scarcely see an object in that room which had not an interesting remembrance connected with it."

              (Jane Austen)

This is what I enjoy about my home.
             How about you?

the end of year one

  Our mentoring gatherings are taking a break for the summer.

 But we already are planning for next year ... thinking about bread baking, 

crocheting/knitting, wreath making and more ...

So we mentors gathered to celebrate the year past and talk over joys and

 lessons learned ... and the best part of it all--the young women we mentor.

 Our hostess loves to open her home and does it so graciously. 

She created a vintage theme and even ordered old-timey candy to decorate 

the table (and in this case, displayed in vintage tupperware!)

This is one of two beautifully scaped tables.

What I loved the most was the way she displayed beautifully tatted handkerchiefs.

As if hanging from a clothesline. What a work of art each one was!

We are looking forward to resuming in the Fall!