Saturday, March 2, 2024

Family and the Secretary ~

A Saturday morning memoir ~

Those days are gone. My life is different now. I miss much and managed to do much more in times gone by. I'm not a fan of aging. I wish I had more energy, that my legs and arms were stronger, my feet more sure and comfy where planted. My memory though still good doesn't always give me a word immediately. Names are sometimes forgotten. I look things up but I don't ask Siri. 

I sleep upstairs in my 'room with a view' and let my better half enjoy the master bedroom downstairs. I have to have the light on and read for a while in bed or I can't fall asleep. He falls asleep when his head hits the pillow, snores and changes position a lot. I never seem to move once I'm sleeping soundly. I wake up with hair flattened on the same side every morning. I like my bed and always say "goodnight" to my long gone, much missed Mum. I recall in her later years, long after my Dad died, when she told me snuggling into her bed was the best part of her day. She lived to be 91. She looks down on me from the photos on the wall, a child with her siblings in one, age 21 in another, and as a bridesmaid - and the dressmaker of all four gowns - at a sister's wedding in another. Sepia photos of children in lace up boots. Girls with hair bows, a boy in short trousers, grandmother holding her second set of twins. Five children in four years! The historic part of my maternal English family. I remember them all and feel their absence every day.




The antique secretary once belonged to a North Carolina country doctor. The piece is sturdy, weighs a ton, probably mahogany, the paint was done prior to my purchase from SuzAnna's Antiques. I love it and will never part with it. It's the first thing I see when I wake each morning. It holds my collection of favorite books and a mishmash of items. I change or move around things on the shelves and padded bulletin boards I made. I store paper goods, pieces of my life. . . .and secrets inside.

In earlier days, which really weren't that long ago, I so enjoyed what friends and I called 'treasure hunting' - mostly shopping and collecting vintage and some true antiques. Come Spring I was anxious to get going with gathering new pieces for my booth at SuzAnna's Antiques. I shared a fun space with my dear friend Vanessa. We loved those special days, buying, displaying and selling, and the camaraderie of the other dealers.  


~ SuzAnna's Booth 2011 ~
I still have several items shown here in my home 


Today I came across an old blog post about those days. It included this list I made in March 2011 -

SuzAnna's Antiques is really warming up now that Spring is here................soon I'll share more pics of the treasures available........meanwhile I'm off to a huge neighborhood yard sale this morning. 
My shopping hunting list for my booth includes ~
  • Chandeliers for glitter and glamour - French would be best
  • Small furniture items in need of love and new homes
  • Ironstone Platters, must be crazed, cracks add character
  • Antique silver flatware/trays - unpolished of course
  • Old beautiful linens for tables and beds 
  • Shells, coral, barnacles - for seaside decor
  • Old bound books - fun to read and play with
..............and whatever else catches my eye. 



This Saturday morning is dull. It rained in the night and there's no sun yet to dry things up. But no snow as in the northeast. That said, the sun has just popped out which always helps when life seems somewhat downhearted. Bob's eye surgery Tuesday went well however he does not have restored clear vision yet!  We are hoping this will improve with time. . . . . . .we are great believers in healing takes time.


~ Pieces of the past ~


Saturday, February 24, 2024

Seventeen Years of Blogging. . . . . . almost!


 SPECIAL DAY arriving soon!

On Tuesday, February 27th - 17 years ago (2007) - I wrote

 my first ever blog post. 


~ Saturday - early morning sun and shadow ~

Blogging changed my life! It made me see more clearly the corners and colors of the world close-up, often through a lens, and it gave me the wonderful chance to write down my thoughts . . . . . . . . and to become acquainted with you

Thank you for the many times you have stopped by to encourage me to keep writing and taking photos. I love to read your generous comments and, when possible, have truly enjoyed meeting several of you in the real world. Knowing each one of you, and being gifted with your friendship, whether in person or online, has been a part of my life which I will always treasure. This year I may not be traveling as much or to such exotic places. Our home needs a lot of TLC as, like us, it's aging and has issues, and we need to address them. I still hope to bring you stories and images, some perhaps from special places, others leaning more toward memories from everyday life over the years.  

I just want to thank every one of you, my friends who are my 'blog family', who visit here from around the world, share your lives, ideas and tips, support me when I'm feeling up, down, mediocre, or indifferent, and have stuck with me for so long. All I can say is thank you so much, I hope I can continue to take photos, post them, and add words and stories you will enjoy.




Postscript:  My reason for posting this a few days early is due to Bob
 having eye surgery on Tuesday ~ our day will be very busy!

~ With love and thanks ~


Sunday, February 11, 2024

When snow falls ~~~~~


In winter I like to sleep a little later but a couple of weeks back I actually set my alarm for 5:30am. Other than doing that to catch an early morning flight, it's probably something I've not done since getting up for the day's first game drive in Africa, or an early morning docking of the ship in some country in the world, the latter two happenings one doesn't want to miss.

How I miss those exciting days.

Knowing that the snow, if it had come that particular day, would be here around sunrise, then within an hour or so would turn into freezing rain and sleet for the remainder of the day, I wanted to be ready to get a few photos. I stepped out to get the newspaper, crunching through frosty grass. . . . . it was bitterly cold. The birds, mostly wrens, sparrows, cardinals and finches, were already hunting for breakfast. I spread extra seeds and nuts along the porch rail.  Over the years, many of my special bird photos have been shot from the window, the porch being a favorite place for visiting garden birds. 

The weather forecast was wrong. Not a snowflake arrived that morning........or any other time this winter so far.  





Last night, while trying to fall asleep, I found myself counting the places where I've lived in my now rather long life. Not so many compared to other ex-pats I talk with. While growing up in England I lived at three addresses in the same town from birth until moving to the USA just prior to my nineteenth birthday. That move was to be for just one year - a working visit with no plans to actually emigrate. That's what happens when a special someone comes into your life and changes your plans, your outlook, your entire future.  No regrets though. In sixty one years here I've only lived in four places. Washington D.C., New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. This last address has been my home for over forty seven years.  

My first American winter in Washington was a very cold one, especially when temperatures plummeted around Christmas. Not only did I see snow, I learned to ice skate - well stand up and take a few gliding steps - on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.  Frozen solid and not exactly smooth ice for a beginner, I fell down a lot!  

On moving to the New England states, winter was all about snowfalls. Mostly deep and never-ending for several months. Nor'easter storms often caused crippling blizzards. Plowed snow piled up in dirty grey heaps until the next fall made it look lovely again. I skated a little on outdoor ponds and a couple of indoor rinks, never becoming proficient, but loved to go to holiday ice shows, such as the Ice Capades in Boston. I also viewed a couple of Bruins ice hockey games, shivering and miserable in the cold of the now demolished Boston Garden, and anxious for all to be over.  

Raleigh is in the southeast and has a great climate...........most of the time!  Rather too hot, and definitely far too humid for this Brit in the height of summertime. Spring is beautiful, Autumn even better. Winter can be fickle. Yesterday when writing this, the afternoon was almost hot at 72F and the sun brilliant. Dog walkers passed wearing shorts, Bob was sunburned a little on his head after spending time in the garden without a hat!  I changed from a cozy sweater into a thin one while making vegetable soup over the hot stove! This morning it's cool again. Rain is pouring down This current season brought sufficient rain in January but apparently we'll get plenty more over the next few days.

We still haven't seen a single snowflake! I doubt we will.