The Old Tree

It's a blustery day.

The sun is out. The shadows are long.

The wind pushes the branches around.

The branches sigh.

The tall grass in the field bends to the ground.

The dandelions nod.

The clouds race across the sky.

The sun is behind the clouds.

The shadows disappear.

The old maple outside my studio window stands silently.

It's seen seventy-five years of blustery springs.

Sunny summers.

Warm falls and rainy wet Seattle winters.

It's old limbs are clad in thick Pacific Northwest moss.

When the sun is out, the moss glows with shannon green.

Now . . . a mysterious deep olive drab.

The old maple doesn't care.

Ramses doesn't care. This summer he will lie in the cool grass under the shade of the old tree.

All's right with the world . . .

Day 22 Everyday Grateful ~ Quiet day. Snoring dog.

Bunny hopping off to bunny-work. Thankful.

16 Years a Widow

Richard G. Zwiebel

Eagle Scout

Top Gun Naval Aviator

World Famous Red Ripper

April 28, 1943 - August 22, 1996

What shall I say about this man I loved?

Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art:

thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks:
thy hair is as a flock of goats,
that appear from mount Gil'e-ad.

What shall I say about this man I loved?

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth:

I sought him, but I found him not.

What shall I say about this man I loved?

He brought me to the banqueting house,

And his banner over me was love.

What shall I say about this man I loved?

his mouth is most sweet:

yea, he is altogether lovely.

What shall I say about this man I loved?

Thou art all fair, my love;

there is no spot in thee.

What shall I say about this man I loved?

This is my beloved, and this is my friend,

My beloved is mine and I am his:

Day 21 Everyday Grateful ~ and, every day thankful.

Happy Birthday, Rick

Web site of the World Famous Red Rippers http://www.vfa11.navy.mil/

Navy Fighter Weapons School ~ Top Gun http://a4skyhawk.org/3e/nfws/nfws.htm

Feng Shui and the Energy of Art in the Garden.

Last week, I promised to talk about art in the garden. Well, one thing lead to another. There was my Ghurka bag's brush with death and my brush with jail, the gully washer, a project I needed to work on yesterday STAT and Voila! It's Friday, already!

Let me tell you about how Feng Shui affects my work. Let there be no question. I am not an expert on Feng Shui. I do have my moments of brilliance as a designer. I've worked on projects where the client brought in a Feng Shui expert. Fascinating.

This is my distillation: Feng Shui is about placement; it is about order; it is about having the things around you in good repair; it is about banishing clutter; it is about having room to breathe and room to think; it is about movement of energy. Certainly, there are cures but, if you keep the first four in mind, you are probably 90% there. Is any space perfect? No. And, it doesn't have to be to be successful.

Let's chat about the fifth element ~ the movement of energy. Again, my distillation. Energy wants to flow. If it blows past you at 100 miles an hour? Not so good. If it gets trapped or blocked? It gets stale and keeps good energy from coming in. Really bad.

In the garden, having three dimensional art and large pots billowing with life allows the energy to flow and slows it down so energy bringing you good things can do so. It allows the stale energy to be moved on to be replaced by good energy. Imagine a Cecil B. DeMille movie (he who is big on mists and "Voice of God" clouds). Imagine energy is a mist you can see. Then, imagine it floating softly around your garden, around your three dimensional elements. Imagine it moving. That's how I think of Feng Shui in the garden. Coming upon a piece that causes you to pause and enjoy (as opposed to stop and be blocked) is likely to be good Feng Shui.

For elements that guard and protect, I like pansies. They look like little ferocious lions. I often have a pot of them by my front door. I have four guarding sculptures ~ one at the start of my driveway; one at my back door, one at my living room door and one at my garage entrance. At my front door, I have my marble angel. Will it stop a person with an AK47? No, but that is not the point. The point is positive energy.

Let me show you ~


                                  
                                  stone column from Music Hall Theater
                                  in Seattle below head of a young hero.
                                  The minute I saw it, I had to have it.
                                  It looks so like The Bear.
                                  Impossibly handsome. Clear-eyed.
                                  The beauty of youth.

Brass rubbing of Robert the Bruce from

the 1891 monumental brass in the floor

of Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland

I think my little drum major is supposed to be filled with moss and planted. Now, he just lounges at the top of my driveway near the lilac hedge. Not very intimidating. Probably as frightening as the pansies by my front door!

The lesson here (if there is one) is to bring three dimensional art and containers filled with life into the grounds surrounding your home. Think of allowing an energy river of goodwill to flow all around your house. You want it to ebb and flow. You want to have islands of beauty; areas of peace and a clear passage to your front door ~ a way filled with cared-for, living things.

Just outside my front door, I have my little fragrant kitchen garden and gold fish in a low jardiniere of still water. Is it world peace? No, but it is peaceful.

Day 20 Everyday Grateful ~  A perfectly ordinary Seattle day
rain, sun, clouds, breeze. And, that's just this morning!

Wonderful new project. Excellent! And, very happy!

Holy Mackerel! It's a Gully Washer!

Today, I've been working on a project from early when I got up. When I took Ramses out to leave his card, the air was misty and warm. The birds were 'cha cha cheep, cha cha peeping' like crazy. My kitchen garden was happy with all its little herbs coming up. My Italian and curly parsley wintered over and are getting robust, green and happy. I did laugh when I noticed that every one of my pots had several kinds of mint in it. Talk about the life force! My pot of mints from last year have invaded the other pots. Little thugs. It's even crowded out my sages. These guys mean business! So far, my basil has escaped the invasion. But, I must be vigilant!

Then ~ about fifteen minutes ago, a giant thunderclap!  Followed immediately by a professional gully washer. How fantastic! In Seattle, we don't usually have hard rain, rarely thunder storms. We're famous for not using umbrellas much. Mostly we keep our "bumbershoots" in the closet for guests when they visit. Yes, around here rain is usual a gentle drizzle. But just now? Mais non!

Stunning! My street looked like a river. The water on the road actually had a current, forgodsake! And, the rain was pouring off the roof so hard and fast, it was running off the sides of the roof because the drain spouts were overwhelmed.

Kindah exciting.

Though I did walk around the house to see if there were any leaks in the ceiling. I have a mid-century house with a tongue and groove car decking pine ceiling. It's notorious for leaking. So far so good.



And, now it's over. Back to work . . .

Day 19 Everyday Grateful ~ What an amazing rain!

My little kitchen garden is looking damn fine!

Wonderful new project. Excellent! And, very  happy!

Excuse Me, Madame. Will You Come with Me, Please?

This is only funny because I didn't end up in jail.

So, in the late 80's, a friend of mine called me on a Sunday morning to say, "Round trip London from Seattle ~ $300. Let's go see the Phantom." It's wonderful when decisions are so easy. She, my sister and I bought tickets on Monday and traveled on Wednesday (Margaret Thatcher resigned on Thursday but, I don't think that had anything to do with our trip.)

We went without any lodging accommodations but, a friend said, "Don't worry. Tell the cabbie to take you to Russell Square and go from house to house until you find a B&B you like." And, so, we did. As we got into the cab, the driver said, "Russell Square, eh? You yanks really like it. It's cheap and cheery."

So, I have this romantic idea of travel. Pack light! I had my Ghurka Express No. 2 that I bought at Nordstrom for many, many hundreds less than it's selling for now. I packed a couple of black Danskin long sleeved scoop necked tops, a couple pair of black cotton cargo pants, black ballet flats, a pashmina shawl, some undies, mascara (hey, I grew up in the 60's. I believe it is impossible to wear too much mascara.) and, my Calvin Klein trenchcoat. Room to spare in my little Ghurka.

I'd never been to London before. My friend, Barb, said, "You must go to the silver vaults."

The first night we were there, we went immediately to buy tickets to the Phantom. Wow, should we go tonight? But, of course! That's why we're here, isn't it?

OK, OK, I admit it. I'm one of those people who is really affected by jetlag. I think I saw the Phantom. There was this little pole in exactly the center of my vision. Not very big, mind you, but, it did bisect the stage perfectly. What I do know is that my friend, Audrey, kept jabbing me in the ribs with her very bony elbow every time my head dipped an inch out of plumb.

A good time was had by all. We went to the theater nearly every night. We museumed, galleried, fished and chipped. And, silver vaulted.

Oh, The Silver Vaults! Be still my heart.

Three or four floors down in the basement of a building on Chancery Lane. It really is vaults. One right after the other of the most amazing antique shops filled with just about every kind of sterling silver, silverplate imaginable. Punch bowls large enough to bathe your six year old. Goblets. Plates. Chandeliers. Letter openers. Desk accessories. Service for 24 with every single possible implement. And, on and on. Wonderful. A feast for the eyes, but, oh, the prices. Too much for this cowgirl. So, I started thinking small. Very small. Butter knives. Certainly silverplate ~ sterling was out of the question. And, I did find the most darling butter knife with a pearl handle carved in a spiral. Sold. Then, I found a really well-priced fish knife and fork set. Oooh, not expensive and very pretty. Sold.

Finally, our wonderful trip was over and we headed to Heathrow and home. As we were standing in line, a lovely man tapped me on the arm and said, "Excuse me, madame. Will you come with me, please? Here, I'll take your bag." How nice, I thought. It was sort of like when the checker at QFC pulls you out of the slow line and you breeze through while everyone else hangs out in the slow lane.

But, wait! I really don't like this line. I turned to see my sister and Audrey. They shrugged their shoulders. They didn't know either. As I got closer to my new line, one thing was perfectly clear. All the terrorists at Heathrow were in this line. It looked like a central casting call. Terrorists of all nationalities, races, colours and creeds. The only thing missing was one with an eye patch and maybe a parrot on his shoulder or perhaps a dueling scar. Merde! What the hell? I don't belong here, I thought, I'm wearing an eight hundred dollar Calvin Klein trenchcoat! The line began to move. As I approached the agent, I noticed the man in front of me was standing impassively as the agent took out a razor blade and slit the lining of his carry-on to shreds. Jesus! He's wearing a trenchcoat, too! He didn't move a muscle or clench a jaw. He just watched the customs agent reduce his once really beautiful satchel to ruin.

Oh God! Nightmare! Finally, the man with the formerly beautiful attaché gathered up all the pieces, tucked them under his arm and, not looking back, walked off to get on his plane.

Oh, dear! Oh, dear! My beautiful Ghurka bag!

The agent signaled me to come forward. I guess he could tell I swung between terrified and deeply puzzled. He reached down, picked up my bag and placed it on the table. "Is this your bag?" Yes, I said. "Would you mind opening it for me?" Of course, I said. I unzipped my bag and there on top of all my clothes? My 9" long fish knife! Oh, Christ! I thought. I'm going to throw up ~ and, then I'm going to jail! We locked eyes. And, he smiled. "I don't think you are going to hijack the plane with a fish knife, but, how about if I wrap it and the butter knife back up, give it to the steward and you can pick it up in Seattle?"

Oh, yes. Thank you. That would be lovely, I said. And, with a deep sigh of relief, I gathered up my beautiful Ghurka and went off to get on my plane.

There's a lesson here, but, you know what it is . . .

http://www.thesilvervaults.com/

http://www.ghurka.com/EXPRESS%7C%7CKhaki%20Twill

Day 18 Everyday Grateful ~ Sunny!

Walked around the newly planted pots. Heaven!
Planted basil from Trader Joe's in my little kitchen garden.
Happy!

Planting the Pots on the Deck

Gawd, what a day! Ron and Karen came over. Many flats of annuals, some perennials, many bags of potting soil, a box containing several plastic bags of Miracle Grow, a couple of tarps. All the pots on the back deck were emptied. The soil was replaced, fertilized and fluffed within an inch of its life. Decisions were made. What goes where? Which goes with what? Waddayah mean, there are six more pots? Many were roped into the process including my darling exchange student from Saudi Arabia.

Warm. Sunny. And, the satisfaction of a completed project. Everyone participated including Ramses. He's all about being part of the action.

Then dinner. Karen whipped up an amazing medley of pasta, Alfredo sauce, shrimp, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, some garlic and onion. Sourdough bread warming in the oven. And, voila! Dinner.

And, not quite best of all but nearly ~ the first dinner of the year on the back deck. Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but, one of the best things about Seattle? No mosquitoes. You can actually sit outside and feel the air and not get dragged off by biting, sucking, itching insects. Like I said ~ we live in paradise.

And, the outdoor furniture? In my continuing quest for vintage and salvage. I bought the galvanized basket when I. Magnin's was closing. I think it was probably display piece; bought the glass top at Pier One; the chairs are Martha from Target and, the hurricane lantern? A complete score! Bought at a yard sale in Lewiston, Idaho on a scorching hot day in the summer when I was over taking care of my father. $42.

OMG ~ I had to sit down when I found the label ~ Chapman! Still in the line for $1500! 

Another reason to keep your eyes open. Amazing things are out there.

And, as we were going from pot to pot, one of the pots of daffodils was definitely saying, "see you next year." So I braided the greens and in a couple of weeks, when all the energy has gone back into bulbs, this pot will sleep until next spring.

A Family History in Linen

Way before I had my first son, a friend of mine was traveling in London. Walking the stalls on Portobello Road, she found this darling vintage christening gown and brought it home to me. I decided to make this creamy linen gown a family tradition. I put our family name in the center with the name of one of my sons on either side.

The grand plan was to have their children flow from their father's name. Both my sons were christened wearing this lovely piece of history. When my oldest son and my daughter-in-law had their first child, the wonderful gown was pulled into action. And, the name of my first grandchild was embroidered beside his father's. Since then, two girls have arrived in our family.

The grands are coming from Milan to visit this summer. Between now and then, I will be embroidering the youngest girl and her date of birth along the hem line beside her father, her brother and her sister.

I love tender personal sentiments like this. They make me profoundly happy.

If you are going to London, I recommend two markets. More about my other favourite tomorrow.

http://www.portobelloroad.co.uk/

Day 17 Everyday Grateful ~ Sunny!

We're planting the pots on the back deck.

And, it may be warm enough to eat outside!

Yee haw!

Ramses' First Book ~ I Wish I Were a Wolf

Day 16 Everyday Grateful ~ Sunny!
Cleaning off the conference
table in my studio;
French doors open;
music from the speakers in the courtyard.

Not Quite 1 Corinthians 13

Ah, the island life!

This morning, three of us took the ferry to Whidbey Island for lunch with a friend.

Susan, our island-dwelling friend, is an exuberant powerhouse.

Every gesture is lavish. She has an infectious laugh and a bright, ready smile. She is bold. She is passionate. She is generous. She is confident. And, her house is a complete reflection of everything about her. Did I mention she's funny?

Just to give you an idea of what we are dealing with:

So, hanging from a hook on the ceiling in her living room is an actual ruby slipper. A deeply red, high heeled, covered with dazzling red sequins, ruby slipper. Only Susan could put it so perfectly ~ "sometimes, the other shoe doesn't drop."

Art is everywhere. Sculpture. Paintings. Collage. On the walls. Inlaid in the floor. All on a backdrop of rich jewel-toned walls, large light-filled windows, acid-etched concrete floors, and comfy, overstuffed furniture. There really is something hilarious in stating the obvious. The large cream pillow on the purple sofa ~ "Sit Here." The small marble plaque under the light switch to the back yard ~ "omnia vincit Amor." The plastic joke cup of spilled coffee on the immaculate kitchen counter.

This is a home that says happiness and a free spirit abides here.

As we got ready to go, I asked to use her powder room.

S*M*A*L*L and completely darling. Oh, rats and double rats. Why did I leave my camera at home? So, using the camera on Susan's phone. Let me tell you about this space. Deep intense colour with amazing tangerine accent pieces. And, behind the matching blind? The shower. A perfect solution to disguise a difficult element.

And, on the back of the powder room door. A very updated 1Corinthians13. I'm sure God doesn't mind, because, He knows the truth of "and, a time to pee and poop!!!!" and, would really appreciate that it's handwritten under the artful Biblical reminder.















Driving up the Susan's house, you'd just know a fascinating person lives there.

The exterior is just as remarkable and personal as the interior. From the rich, dusty French Blue picket fence to the crystal balls on the corner posts of the fence. A clematis to die for. Lush. Covering the gate from the side yard.

The front porch sports two round blue rugs plus a red-centered bull's-eye rug at the front door with an arrow ~ "you are here." Cheeky.

Guarding the front door is a sculpture of her beloved, late Dalmatian, "Spot," with his food bowl full of primroses.

For me, this is a capital "T" truth about design: the best design is personal.

It really does reflect the  hopes, vision, dreams, aspirations, and character of the person who lives there. It is never achieved by buying a suite of furniture (no matter how expensive) at the store, having it delivered, propping your feet up on the coffee table, and thinking, "there, I'm done." Boring! Not to mention, slightly depressing.

Great design is risky. Exciting. Thrilling. It takes courage and most of all ~ vitality. When you go into a room and think "a real person lives here," it is nearly always because it is original. That "one-of-a-kind"ness is exactly why it is special!

Our field trip to Susan's Whidbey Island home was the cherry on the top of our excursion sundae. A ferry crossing on a beautiful clear sunny day with a destination full of whimsy!  

  

Day 15 Everyday Grateful ~ a rainy Seattle morning,

a ferry ride on completely calm water

and a sunny afternoon coming home.