Then.........and Now!

I'm not saying life has returned to normal. After all is there really a 'normal' when everything can change so suddenly?  Days come and go and every one is different. My virtual visit of the last 12 days to the UK is over. It was completely different from my real in-person visit back in June. Arriving home the week after the Platinum Jubilee was somewhat sad as we missed the celebration - but of course much quieter. I think now what if we had planned to visit during the recent two weeks, how would that have impacted our time. . . . . . I doubt it would have been a vacation.

Growing up in a family who loved and respected Queen Elizabeth II and the monarchy, losing her, no matter when, was always going to be a day of grief for me despite being so far away from home. You may think it audacious of me to still call England 'home' having been gone almost 60 years, but it is and always will be. I can't ever change that.

So now I'm moving on and planning Autumn days and some travel come October. Decorating the cottage is low key, no over the top pumpkin displays outside but perhaps a large pot of bright chrysanthemums to take the place of the fading canna lily. Indoors I've a vignette on the dining room table, small white pumpkins on the mantel. A few more wait in the wings to go on the front porch once the 90F days leave - please let that be soon!

Butternut squash, often said to be the 'favorite squash' of many, is always a pleasure to cook with. Sometimes though, when the local growing season is long over and the squash are not so good in the grocery stores, I think back to these, just harvested from the field, tender to cut, quick to cook, and so very flavorsome as a bowl of soup or a savory roast. I was thrilled when I found these at the pumpkin farm on Saturday. Yesterday I stocked up with fresh carrots, parsnips and ginger -

so I'm heading to the kitchen now where I'll get cracking on something tasty for supper. Also bought two roasting pumpkins. . . . . . more on preparing them another time as they will stay fresh for quite a while.

Recalling the colors, sounds and views -

 Here it is another weekend and I'm still chasing my tail! The heat of July is upon us, and yes it's unbearable for me. Late afternoon storms have brought some relief to the shrubs and flowers struggling as they always do at this time of year.

But my deeper thoughts are about home. 

The one across an ocean. 

The one where I recently visited

The one by the sea where the gulls fly overhead as the fishing boats bring

back the daily catch. 

Where the clouds temper the heat of the sun. 

Where friends of many years hug me as always and say they miss me.

Where family of an entire lifetime show their enduring love in many ways.

My roots are there in that corner of an island. 

Overlooking the bay and the English Channel beyond.

Until I can return again I have the photos, recollections, memories.

I'll do a few more posts about the trip to England so as to share more photos. 

I didn't take a camera other than my phone this time. 

Less to lug about with a painful shoulder issue, but not as good

 quality photos perhaps!

Have a super weekend wherever you chose to spend it.

I miss the longer Summer days enjoyed in Devon. 

Waking to bright sunshine at 5 am, strolling around the harbour

 on those long, beautiful evenings when the sun didn't set until

 almost 10 pm. . . . . .and no mosquitoes. Heavenly!!!

Fragrance of Christmas!

With Christmas preparations in full steam ahead mode, one really needs 

to stop and smell the pine and fir trees now and then.  My dining room

 table vignette was casually gathered together yesterday. It includes fresh

 fir branches. I also recycled a few of my autumn pumpkins stored in 

the potting shed after Halloween . . . . . my favorite grey green one, 

and two golden beauties which I've spray painted nickel silver for the

 holiday season.

Yesterday my special friend Jeannette and I managed to meet for a pot of

 calming hot tea at a favorite coffee shop - and shared a delicious Asiago

 cheese scone while catching up on news.  We exchanged Christmas

 gifts and one of my pretties is a candle with the fragrance named

 'Tree Farm'.  

Awaking to a heavy fog early this morning, I stumbled into a still dark

 kitchen and lit the candle (Jeannette thoughtfully added a cute box of

 old fashioned matches) on the island. In minutes I was transported

 to the the winter woods of my childhood.  It was lovely.

Do special scents at Christmastime bring back childhood memories for you?

A Memory Like No Other -

I recall it so vividly.  

We had flown in from Florida late the previous night after

taking granddaughter Jasmin, almost five, to Disney World. 

I was dressing her that morning when the phone rang and we

 were told to turn on the television but not to let Jasmin watch.

I will never forget. I will never understand how there can be

 such cruelty in the world.

Today, 20 years later, watching the horror of that day again

 is very hard.

We must never forget that day.

God Bless America.

SuzAnna's Antiques - still the best!

 

Lovely things for sale at SuzAnna's this week.

A much beloved place moved from the quirky Vintage Village last year.  

SuzAnna's Antiques, still owned by mother and daughter Susie and Jenny, 

is now a huge bricks and mortar store located in the small town of

 Rolesville. . . . . . a pleasant 30 minute country ride from north Raleigh.

On Monday, granddaughter Jasmin and I headed that way in still hot

 sunshine, passing green fields and front yards decorated with pumpkins

 galore - a lovely day to be out and about. . . . . . . and going somewhere

other than a grocery store!!!!!!

Yes, I purchased a few things, of course! Jasmin did too.

My favorite find was this hand painted on wood white pumpkin - looking 

perfect on my mantel.

These small velvet pumpkins caught my eye being royal blue and grey - and

 are now sitting on the perfect plate from Anthropologie.

Old books, who doesn't love them, and how useful they can be when wanting

a splash of your chosen color when styling a table, shelf or corner. This one is 

volume 25 of the 30 volumes of The Works of William Makepeace Thackeray,

printed in 1907.

A stunning set of framed stems from Nature - Jasmin and I both

loved these but decided as we couldn't really afford the whole set

so would leave it for another customer who could!

***************

I use to write a lot about this much-loved local place, the best place to

 shop for antiques and vintage. I enjoyed it so much I had a booth there

 myself, at first shared with my dear friend Vanessa ("Hi Vanessa" - in

 California now!), then we each had a space of our own. 

My granddaughter Jasmin enjoyed a part time job there from

 age 14 to 20 and 'learned the ropes' about decorating with beautiful things. 

  Life changes, Vanessa moved away, I started traveling more frequently

 and for longer times. I was not selling anymore but stopped by weekly on

 treasure hunting trips, and of course to visit with dear friends.

Life must go on and hopefully get back to normal.

The 'treasure hunting' trip on Monday was certainly a 

huge pick me up. Despite masks and distancing where 

possible, seeing old friends, catching up on news and

just being away from the house was awesome.

Off now to prepare for the aeration and seeding of the back 

garden area where a new lawn will hopefully grow!

Enjoy your day - get some fresh air - and welcome what is 

my favorite month, OCTOBER!

Cape Verde Dancers -

October 17, 2019
CAPE VERDE ISLANDS:  Tarrafal, Sao Nicolau Island
Arrive:  7:00 AM
Sunrise: 6:30 AM
Temp. 86F

By 8:30 am we were 'all aboard" the fleet of small buses for the panoramic tour

 of the island of Sao Nicolau, situated to the north of the Archipelago.

 The very active volcanic past of the island is majestically visible around

 Monte Gordo, the highest peak. The valleys are generally narrow and deep 

except for the Vale de Faja which is wide and fertile enough for agriculture

 to flourish - mostly sugar cane.

Dancing is an integral part of all events in Sao Nicolau, from waltz and square dance with instructions in French, to the typical Portuguese dances. What for me was the highlight of the Cape Verde Islands visit, occurred here in a village in Faja.

The beautiful recorded music for the dances was in itself perfect and, sitting on steps in the small church courtyard, when the dancers appeared, I was amazed. These dancers, dressed simply, were quite exquisite in their calm and gentle movements, facial expressions - and barefoot on cobbles you will notice - with the caller (man in red shirt) giving short, quiet instructions.

I didn't want them to ever stop and was sad when the lovely performance ended!

Cape Verde’s central location brings together musical currents from West Africa, Europe and Latin America. On each island, visitors encounter not only a unique natural environment but unique musical traditions. In the music of the leeward islands of Cape Verde, the significant West African influence can be found in genres such as batuque and tabanka (Santiago), bandera (Fogo) and lundu/lundum (Boa Vista). The windward islands have strong European influences such as the mazurka, waltz and contredance (Santo Antão, São Nicolau). Moreover there are strong connections between the leeward and windward genres; for example, the cola sanjon (Santo Antão) is related to the batuque, which has also been called the soul of the Cape Verdean people.

The living conditions on Cape Verde forced the islanders to be pragmatic. Survival requires creativity, perseverance and a zest for life, and one of the musical styles that expresses this zest for life is the coladeira. This style, which arose on São Vicente, is popular all over Cape Verde, while another style danced all over Cape Verde is the funana, which originated on the island Santiago. At the time of Portuguese rule, this distinctly African-tinted style was forbidden, because its lyrics, accompanied by diatonic accordion and ferrinho (an iron rod played with a knife) challenged social inequalities. The morna, a melancholy musical style the lyrics of which are poems of departure, love and saudade (longing for home), is considered by all Cape Verdeans to be their national music.

Mazurka

In Cape Verde, the Mazurka is revered as an important cultural phenomenon played with acoustic bands led by a violinist and accompanied by guitarists. The Mazurka, popular on the islands of Santo Antão and São Nicolau, came originally from the Mazovia area around Warsaw, Poland. The inhabitants of this region were known as Mazurs, and their dances, which probably date back to the 16th century, were called mazurkas. At the beginning of the 19th century, the mazurka took England by storm, being adopted from the German nobility and the French elite. From there, this dance in three-four time made its way into the musical traditions of many parts of the world. The mazurka is still played and danced at weddings and other celebrations, both on Cape Verde and at Cape Verdean festivities in places like Rotterdam. On Santo Antão and São Nicolau, the mazurka is often alternated with the contredance. The contredance is inspired in English country dancing and was introduced to the French court around 1685. In France, it became the most popular dance of the 18th century. The mazurka and the contredance were probably brought to Cabo Verde by seafarers, as were genres such as the polka, waltz and galop which were popular in the ballrooms of the 19th century.

A day and place to remember always for me.

Living it up in the Golden Years!

Allen and 'motorcycle Mary' ready to ride.

I didn't always do as I was told when I was sixteen or so! 

Did you? 

Come on, confess, you know you sometimes broke the rules

 when you were a teenager.

My parents always said, "no riding on motorbikes, far too dangerous."

In the 1950's English boys couldn't afford cars, even my parents never owned a car.

But motorbikes were affordable and a good way to get about town, to work, to play!

Girls queued up for a boyfriend with a motorbike, the bigger and snazzier-looking

 the better the bike. . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . . not necessarily the boy!

My downfall happened on a summer Saturday night when in town with my girlfriends.

 We would walk along the seafront and stop at a coffee bar to listen to the 
jukebox before heading for the last bus home at 11 o'clock.

Motorbikes would line up outside, engines revving, leathers gleaming, extra helmet

 at the ready for a willing pillion rider. Boys with bikes were show offs - I wonder what

 they drive today, or even if they are able to drive today!

With a little cajoling I hopped aboard Mike's bike - he was nice and I'd known 

him a while. His bike was a powerful, brand new, silver Triumph. Before I

 could change my mind, I was holding on tight and we roared off into the night.

Less than a 10 minute exciting ride home. I told him not to stop in front of my
 house but to drop me in front of another house up the road and I would walk down.

All went perfectly. . . . . . . .until the following Monday when my mother heard from

my French teacher, Miss Taylor, a rather dour spinster who shared the house up

the road with her sister. Her serious comment went something like this.

"Mrs. M. . . . . . .I saw Mary get off the back of a very loud motorbike right outside

my house on Saturday night and just thought you should know."

French class was never the same after that. I was grounded for several weekends.

Later, when I did have a serious boyfriend, I made sure he had a car!

I'm a big girl now, an old girl, and things are different.

Bob and I stopped in at his American Legion Post when in Manchester, NH
 last week. I usually give those places a wide berth, however as it was a dreary
 Saturday afternoon and a local American Legion motorcycle club of mostly 
veterans were cooling off after a run, I went in and we chatted with them for a while. 
A special run coming up in September is to raise money for medical expenses
 for the disabled grandson of a rider named Allen. As we wouldn't be there I gave
 him a donation. . . . .then he offered to take me for a ride!  

I had noticed the bright yellow Gold Wing 'trike' when we arrived and when
he said it was his I thought what the heck, it's now or never - perhaps one last 
chance to ride, and this was safer than a two-wheeled motorbike! 
Bob almost dropped his beer, but didn't try to stop me, and there were
no tattle tale French teachers around!!!

What can I say except that it was interesting and great fun! 

Many people waved to us, including local Police officers!  
Allen must be well known. 
Seeing the city this way was certainly a treat, much
 different than from the inside of a car. 
We even headed out on the highway, south toward Boston for a few
 miles, and Allen opened it up to 65mph, music playing, wind whistling,
 and that 
was
really
exhilarating! 

Would I do it again, you bet I would!  I can add this to my list of what we
older women do for fun, such as zip lining, crossing churning oceans on
 tiny ships, walking with penguins on Antarctica, African safaris etc. etc.

Have you done something exciting recently which took you out of your
 usual comfort zone?
Do tell us about it please.

P.S.  I really wasn't going to share all this nonsense with you, however I see

 my daughter has already posted about her "crazy motorcycle mother" on FaceBook,

and I needed to clarify a few points!

New Hampshire Seacoast -

You can never cross the ocean until you
have the courage to lose sight of the shore.
--- Christopher Columbus, Explorer

Small boats sail or chug their way not far from shore. Beyond, before the open

 ocean, lie the Isles of Shoals. On the seaweed crusted rocks, large black cormorants

 dry their wings in the hot breeze as gentle waves roll in to shore.

Some day I will take the ferry to the Isles of Shoals straddling the border of New Hampshire and Maine. 

That journey has been on my list for some time, the only thing causing me to hesitate

 is the abundance of mosquitoes out there apparently enjoying island life!

The history of these islands, including their tie to the art world, is an interesting read.

Late summer brings fading, falling petals from the wild roses clambering

along the sea walls and rocky ledges of the shoreline.
The hips are gigantic, the size of small tomatoes, and such beautiful colors!

I love this part of the United States and have such fond memories of the years

 when I lived here in the sixties and seventies. 

 It was all so new to me, fresh from my home in England. That too was on the 

coast in South Devon on the English Channel, so I was thankful to still be

 close to the ocean. . . . . . just on the opposite side!

Enjoy your weekend.
We have some cooler weather at long last, hooray!