hi

hi!
a few things i am loving today~
david chang and his "lucky peach" magazine is on the top of my list. i SO crush on d.c.
cleaning up after having (dusty) work on the house done~ feeling a bit like normal around here again.
homemade mac and cheese baked with broccoli
sticking to my food budget for the week. not easy! you and i~ we SO need to talk about healthy, budget friendly meals. swap some ideas. ; )
a made bed

today is SO good enough~
xoxo

the appreciation of a monday afternoon~

the weekend was full. lots to do. too much planned. i met new people, sang happy birthday. i tried, i'm not the most social of butterflies, but i tried.  ; ) we survived on quick trips home (in between events) lemonade and homemade pimento cheese spread. yum! i am brewing an afternoon cup of tea, the house is a mess~ life is good. ; )

enjoy the day, my friends. 

devour~

rainy days here but i don't mind much...

miles davis on vinyl

simmering tea kettle

banana blueberry bread in the oven

*

signing off early this week

+

wishing you a most beautiful weekend

*

i can't really thank you enough for being here for me

palms clasped

*

one love`

; )

i believe~

"...i believe that 

love is synonymous 

with heaven

such a sensual bliss

the way you touch me

makes life so good

a reward at the

end of a long road..."

 india.arie~

*

may you enjoy every minute of this long first day of summer

xo

in thee my soul~

"in thee my soul shall owned combined the sister and the friend"~ catherine killigrew

one love, my friends~

everydayness

hey there. im slow going today, not expecting to get much done. it's okay though, it's a lazy type of day~ leftovers from the grill for today, homemade cards for hubby on fathers day. i love this man deeply, if i told you the tears he has dried for me this week, the tenderness of my heart, he has understood.  a good man he is.
the dryer is whirling and i have taken up with knitting, on this grey day. every so often, i'm am playing with my new lens. i have scraped and saved for this lens, and that makes having it, even sweeter` the everydayness seems to be finding me, and that's fine by me. slowly the colorfulness of things, are making their way back to me, i wanted to share these moments, with you.

palms clasped, i send you love~

my healing~

hi friends! just stopping in to thank you for all the love you showed, char. there is more info at beths blog today, if you would like to read it. im gonna take a few days off, to allow the healing to find me, as fast or as slow, as need be... shuffle around this weekend, bake a crumble, celebrate dad. i'm just going to go with it~ laugh, cry... just be.

that's all : )

you are SO loved~

for our dear friend char~

the blue ball jar and a single flower~ for me, that was the signature photo, i looked for when i went to visit chars blog. her passing, has left me a bit broken. last night i heard she was gone, it left me tossing and turning, unable to believe the words.

she was so kind to me, her last letter to me was addressed to "my dearest". her southern hospitality reached near and far. you felt it, right? ... never had a harsh word for anyone, always stood up for the underdog. her faith was unshakeable. i looked to her as family.

we often spoke of food, photos, books... she could cook and it would make you think, your mama was in the kitchen, whipping up some goodness. oh yes, she could cook.

i first commented on her blog, looking at a photo of her mom. i said her mama and my grand looked just alike- she agreed. i remember a post where she wrote, she had hands like her mama- i wrote her and said- please girl, you got her fried chicken recipe, so stop complaining. ; ) she laughed all the way across that keyboard. lol

i loved char to bits, she just made my life sweeter. i still love her and and damn if she could see me crying. she wouldn't want that. like i said, i am broken, but i will pick these pieces up, cause that's what she taught me to do.

Char my dearest, are you looking down at all the love, your blogging sisters and brothers are writing about you. yes mam it's a beautiful thing, my friend, so beautiful. thank you for being the best sister, friend a girl could wish for. no more tears, i know you wouldn't want me or any of us crying. ima see you again one day- til then, i will live out loud and embrace this journey tighter... and along the way, i will savor each chocolate chip cookie, that comes my way ; )

i bow my head in silence and in prayer today, i surrender my heart to be filled with acceptance understanding and good memories.

gods blessings to char and her family.

"to me there is just one kind of folks. folks."~harper lee.  from the book, "to kill a mockingbird".

one love~

on cherries and savor

"when perfectly ripe and deliciously juicy sweet cherries need no embellishment."

"if you can resist eating them straight from the bag 

give them a good rinse and savor them just as they are"

skye gyngell~

*

xoxo

in full bloom and street dreams

as you may have guessed our peonies are in full bloom. i hope your not sick of seeing them here. they really are such a friendly flower. i shuffled around the garden early this morning, clipping a few for inside. there was this moment where this amazing photography light came into play (you know what i mean~ wink) ...the street cleaner passed, leaving behind wet concrete and a path for new street dreams. coffee in my hand, scissors and peonies in the other. it was my time, and i am so glad i had taken that time for, myself. ; )

im visiting over at anyes's place today~ won't you stop over and say hello~ 

one love~

romeo y julieta

"but soft! what light through yonder window breaks? it is the east and juliet is the sun."

i had to have this dominican cigar box. 

{had to}

*

swoon

; )

in the form of a dance or a nap

it's a cold, rainy + dark morning here~ i kind of love that. i have my plans for the weekend, placed on an old table in our bedroom. our family is in need of slow` may slow arrive in the form of a dance or a nap, it will be welcomed.

"and i wanna walk with you on a cloudy day... in fields where the yellow grass grows knee high... so won't you try to... come away with me... and we'll kiss on a mountain top... come away with me... an i'll never stop loving you..." nora jones~


happy weekend, my friends~

on bluettes and such

i like gwyneth paltrow's new cookbook~ "my fathers daughter". i sure do! "blythe's blueberry muffins" are yummy. and i love that the recipe calls for, two and a half cups of blueberries. more bluettes i say !
i enjoy this cookbook for many reasons, but mostly i loved reading the tender words, ms. paltrow, wrote about her dad, bruce. besides cooking out of this book, that's the real reason, i love the book so much~ not the re- invention of the wheel, but the tenderness.
... to be honest with you, if i ever scribbled a cookbook, that you could hold in your hands + page through.  i would want people to buy it, because there were words that touched them so deeply, they couldn't imagine leaving it behind. that along with a few recipes, that reminded them of home. i felt this today while sharing these muffins, with my family. i wanted to place these photos here and share with you too. ; )

one love~

awaiting the rain with the roots

"somebody told me that this planet was small

we used to live in the same building on the same floor

and never met before

until i'm overseas on tour

and peep this ethiopian queen from philly

taking classes abroad

she studying film and photo flash focus record

said she workin on a flick and

could my click do the score

she said she loved my show in paris

at a elyse`e montmartre

and that i stepped off the stage 

and took a piece of her heart"

~ the roots

; ) 

notes + adoring`

just stopping in to let you know i have added a few notecards to my shop. it has been taking me longer to make them, but they are SO made with love. yes the "beloved" strawberry cards are back. email me if these are sold and/ or you want to put an order in for more.

on another note`thank you for all the blog love, my friends. i am going to take a bit of time to come visit you. thank you for your patience in my slow pace to visit you.  i really do adore you all.

" nursery rhyme of innocence and experience"

an amazing amount of life gifts were handed to me this weekend. of course there was bickering from the two teenagers, but in between time, the gifts... these gifts could only be described as handfuls of the shore and the sea. the best of both worlds. from my summer chair i wrote; and over my sink of dirty dishes, i thought. and from my lens, i conveyed tiny bits of children, growing into young- adults.

"i had a silver penny 

and an apricot tree 

and i said to the sailor 

on the white quay

sailor o sailor 

will you bring me 

if i give you my penny and my apricot tree

... a fez from algeria 

an arab drum to beat 

a little guild sword

and a parakeet...
well he smiled and kissed me
as strong as death
 i saw his red tongue 
and i felt his sweet breath
you may keep your penny
and your apricot tree
and i'll bring you presents back from the sea..."
natalie merchant song~

shuffling along to the beat of the day
wishing you love, my friends.
ps:  poetry by charles causley.

silently and souls

"this is the kind of friend you are- without making me realize my souls anguished history, you slip into my house at night, and while i am sleeping, you silently carry off all my sufferings and sordid past in your beautiful hands." hafiz~

one love~

farm fresh eggs and we

the story behind these eggs, is really something. aren't they just beautiful?! these eggs will now come to our home weekly, from a local farm, due to the smile my husband warms people with. way to go my love~ farm fresh food, over diamonds any day, you know me too well.

oh but of course it's not good enough for our home to have fresh eggs, now we need to figure out how we can bring them to the community where we live. yes we, sweet thang ; ) the urban farmers market maybe? why not, i say. it won't hurt to ask.
there's so much more to say in this post, but alas, i am working. ... organic chicken, fresh eggs, organic milk. those are the top three rules of my kitchen. but i never take for granted, that these rules are easy for all families to follow.  oh, we need a full post on cooking, don't we? we'll talk soon~

"a closed mouth don't get fed".
my grandma~

have a most beautiful day, my friends.

one love~