Carl Sandburg's home in North Carolina

Some photos from the Carl Sandburg historic home in Flat Rock, NC. If you have a chance, don't miss it, it's lovely. We went there on a sad day for our family, my mother-in-law having passed away, and it was the perfect place to go to celebrate her life - she loved the outdoors fiercely, camping and hiking for years, canoeing and kayaking, never one to say no to an adventure, and she loved literature, evident in her career as a librarian. She loved the Sandburg place as well, one of the last times my husband spent with her was walking around the lake on the property.
Carl Sandburg's wife raised goats and there are still goats on the farm - these darling babies did not mind our honeying about them at all. The adult goats were all very calm, used to visitors, accepting a petting very graciously. Walking around the lake we spied all sorts of beautiful flowers - including a jack-in-the-pulpit plant, and turtles sunning on rocks, but my favorite sight was one my sister-in-law pointed out - the footprints on the wooden walkway of the wet dog who had been swimming in the lake.

Not so much honey

as molten lava. Is this really just June? I am becoming very emotionally attached to all forms of air-conditioning.

One brilliant night in Scotland...

my sister and I decided to eat in the room - fish and chips wheeled in on a lovely cart under silver domed trays, the view from our window this one, the Castle, spectacular day and night, and we turned on the telly and caught a BBC special that was so interesting - Dr. Alice Roberts talking about Wild Swimming. The show followed her swimming exploits across Great Britain while she refers back (a narrator's voice reads the work) of Roger Deakin, a writer and journalist, who wrote a lovely piece about wild swimming.
I wish we could get the whole of the special here, it was quite long, and we were fascinated watching her go from wild pool to stream to pond and bravely dip in the most freezing looking waters. In looking for more than just that first brief introductory post on Youtube, I have found some more amazing wild swimming. This one, with Kate Rew, another wild swimmer who swims through the fairy pools in the Isle of Skye is absolutely magical.
Here are some very fit ladies post swim with the most fun swim caps ever. I really do think I was born and am living on the wrong continent a good deal of the time, evidence in all this glorious silliness in the pursuit of the wild swim. I think my swimming father would have enjoyed the notion. Last but hardly least, I don't know who these people are but they are very brave, have no fear of the cold water, and share an apparent lack of melanin in their skin with me and my Scottish-Irish blooded children, and my lovely freckled man. Brrrr! Don't know if I'd actually go in, but I'd like to think I just might.

Sunday Quote

I've never quite figured out what I get from children's literature that I don't get from adult literature, but there's something. The diffence between novels for adults and novels for children isn't merely a matter of cover design, bookstore placement, and the age of the protagonist. It's a certain quality of atmosphere.

- Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

loving the lions in NYC

Took some photos of the buildings and such while everyone was wandering around the American Girl store... especially love the lions - do you think they know
Patience and Fortitude? I love the statue above the skating rink in Rockefeller Center (although not a skating rink in warm weather, that is how I think of it)...

Definition of Crazy in New York...

is to go into Times Square on the Memorial Day weekend. That's like going to F.A.O Schwartz at Christmas or trying to see the fireworks on the fourth of July. But we had out of town visitors, two of whom were scrumptiously adorable nieces jonesing for the American Girl store. The girls had their AG dolls (wish I had gotten a pic of their very patient Daddy with dolls tucked into his backpack), and my son ducked into the Nintendo store rather than be seen among the doll-loving set. Just as well, he would have been traumatized. Lots of pink. When my oldest had one of the early Samantha dolls, they never had all that cool stuff. (note - they do have excellent books and movies for the doll-scoffing set). I only lasted fifteen minutes myself and wandered over to Anthropologie, but there too - wall to wall people. You will never feel alone in New York City on a holiday weekend.

Oh, Blogger, difficult blogger...

why do you refuse to post a photo?

On Memorial Day

A thank you to all those men and women who serve our country and those who support them.

Sunday Quote

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

~ Lao Tzu

More of NY's capital city

The Albany photos have gotten away from me - and I have yet to post the ones of the remarkable interior staircase that the guard called the million dollar staircase (really breathtaking in a Harry Potter kind of way which I think means - this is a remarkably busy Spring for various reasons, some difficult, some quite good, and I feel I am playing catch-up and not doing very well at it. Ah, well. Summer just around the corner, those late nights make the days feel longer and time feel like it's on your side.

Sunday Quote

Se non ora, quando?

- Hillel the Elder

The Last Day so they say...

Watching scenes from people picketing and proselytizing and the ancient minister who claims that only he knows that the end of the world will be today at 6 pm (well, at least I will be home from work by then, nice to end it all with a glass of wine in hand) and I had two thoughts - one, that it is such a drag to be a person who believes in God and have to have this whole fringe element making your own faith sound foolish which is annoying beyond words.
The second thought was how I wish some documentary filmmaker was following these people around and not just filming their yelling and freaking out but seriously asking - so if you really do believe that you have one day left - what are you doing with it? Hanging with friends? Converting strangers to your brand of lunacy? Eating tunafish sandwiches because it is your fave and on the off chance they won't have tunafish in heaven, you better get some now. Seriously, we always hear people say you should live like today is the only day you have left - and we never do because real days are full of such mundane but necessary things like mending buttons and working and grocery shopping and teacher/parent conferences and bill paying. So it would be interesting to see what true believers really do on this last day of their lives (and what a cool documentary this would make). My daughter tells me there are people trying to form looting after the apocalypse groups - I am astonished that anyone would advertise their criminal activities or even plans thereof (Jerry Springer, your people are waiting for you out there somewhere) but also - that implies they believe this too - and believe they will not rise up in the Rapture. So - do you really need to loot that flatscreen for Hell? Just wondering.
Personally, if it is your last day, those of you who believe - may you hug your children, eat strawberries, make love to your beloved, and try to be kind all day, lay yourself down on the green grass and look up at the clouds and thank God for making this day, this beautiful beautiful day.

Happy Birthday, kittencat :)

How is it possible that this sweet child is now a young beautiful woman of 25? Where does the time go? Happy Birthday to my wonderful, warm, wise, witty daughter who has become a dear friend as well as my beloved child.

White Squirrels

In Hendersonville, NC. Two of them - white squirrels. Not albino but white with a streak of gray. We were amazed - turns out not entirely a miracle - but we saw them on a difficult day and it was miracle enough for us.

Sunday Quote

Regret is a natural part of living a fully engaged life. The more you take risks and relate to others, the more often you'll be called on to make complex choices that will lead you to regret - but also to intimacy, joy, and satisfaction. You'll never know what would have happened if you'd chosen differently over the years. Seen in that light, regret becomes its own badge of honor - evidence of a life well lived.

- Sharon Linnea

Admit it, he's a cutie

Cute dog pix for a too busy week. At least someone looks relaxed.

Sunday Quote

Our task is to say a holy yes to the real things of our life.

- Natalie Goldberg

Good song for the night...

Love this song by the Avett Brothers...

Showing off

Driving to work and all I can think is that the trees are so beautiful, the yards are so amazing, that it almost looks fake. These pictured, from a neighborhood walk, aren't even the most lavish ones - the plushest big pink hussy trees look like drunken fairies glued on hundreds of big fat pink tissue paper flowers everywhere and smacked them with fairy dust. The riots of yellow flowers dotting bright green lawns, or the tulips and daffodils and all the Easter bonnet topping types of finery sort of flowers, just everywhere. One expects elves and dancing rabbits. Just a world in bloom and a sky full of promise. And the sneezing. Don't forget the sneezing. Beauty comes at a price.

Sunday Quote

At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.

- Thich Nhat Hanh