A Growth Industry

It's hard to know what to say when tattoo-removal is featured on a shopping site as one of their daily deals. It's sort of a full circle kind of thing.

Summer Vacation week 1

We are in a new groove. The first official week of vacation and my children are enjoying the search for flow. Yes, a lot of earnest relaxation is on the calender whenever possible. They do get hungry pretty regularly and show up in the kitchen all day. Sarah especially likes the Swagat buffet lunch ((very tasty and affordable) in Tarrytown. So we went there for lunch and to run errands. They were their usual delightful company, especially when I took out my camera to take some photos.

Garden Love

As part of the Open Days program of the Garden Conservancy, we founds ourselves strolling Robert Welsch's garden nearby in Tarrytown. He is the owner of Westover Landscape Design and has a great sense of plant placement, meandering paths and a garden that features bucolic moments everywhere you turn.  His backyard is a terraced gem of horticultural treasures and inspired spots to enjoy Mother Nature at her best.

6/21/2012

The solstice at the Beach Club and what could compare to the river, a little breeze, scampering feet, wine, nibbles and good company. Sometimes life in Sleepy Hollow is beyond delectable for the little things that bring so much pleasure. I wish you all the same.

An Afternoon of Music and Sunshine along the Hudson

My eldest is working this summer at an ice cream shop in town and she spent most of the weekend scooping their delicious gelato at their stand at the Clearwater Festival in Croton on Harmon. Clearwater was started over 40 years ago as a benefit to support the work of Pete Seeger and fellow environmentalists in cleaning up the Hudson River. Over the years it has evolved into a huge event with numerous musical acts, vendors, educational displays, boat rides and merriment. When it was time to drive north to get her to work, we decided to go ourselves. It was an idyllic afternoon. The festival was well organized and the entertainment was awesome. As we drifted around the park exploring the huge gathering we chanced upon Loudon Wainwright III's lively performance. The songs were wonderfully written with a very sarcastic flair. (You can hear one of my favorite's here.) It was nice to be someplace where we could relax, people watch, enjoy the festival and bask in the sunshine. I feel very lucky that we live in such a beautiful place among caring people committed to preserving its beauty.

H.F.D.J.

Okay, I like all sorts of commemorations. Birthday's. Holiday's. First Day of School. Last Day of School. Anniversaries. Mother's Day. Father's Day. So in the spirit of appreciation for the Dad who makes so many large and small things possible and tries to make it look easy (not without the sweat off his handsome brow) I want to say, with all my heart,  from your two-legged, four-legged and no-legged fans in Sleepy Hollow, "Happy Father's Day, James. We love you."

Yard Sale Chez Nous

I can spend a fair amount of quality time experiencing agita over the quantity of clutter in our suburban home and I finally pulled the trigger (so to speak) last week (5 minutes before the closing deadline for ads) and placed a classified in our local Pennysaver. So it's all good as I manage my pre-event jitters of "Will it rain?" "Will anyone come?" "Will all this crap stuff leave?"(including the vintage typewriter above) and "Will I find everything that needs to go so that I can have the simplicity this wife and mother craves?" There are piles in the back of the living room waiting to be artfully arranged in the driveway at 6 a.m.  I have become immune to anyone's plaintiff cries of "You're selling that?" So, wish me luck, cloudless skies and a good turn-out here in Sleepy Hollow.  A little fun in the process would be an added bonus for sure.

Countdown in Sleepy Hollow

There's a kind of early summer laziness around here. Dinner has been reduced to something sliced, something pickled, something chopped, something crusty, something iced. It's not so hard to gather up to go out- everyone can find their own everything's. Each has their phone if they scatter off only to wander back. You can count the remaining whole days of school on one hand. No one will be up all night writing papers or packaging a project. Now it's exams, studying with friends, and bringing treats to share at class parties. Their tanned faces say it all. Vacation is in the offing and life is getting sweeter day by day.

Floral Reveries

Flowers have a certain gravity all their own for me. As a child, I loved the flowers in my mother's garden and their ephemeral beauty resonated even then. Something so amazing could have such a fleeting beauty that in a matter of days, these wonders would evolve in condition from bud, to bloom, to fading elements of a life passing. Once I had the means and opportunity, I explored my romance with blooming creatures. But the columbine, whose architecture fascinated me when I was small, fascinates me still.

So, living in Sleepy Hollow and developing our little plot of highly-taxed heaven has allowed us to plant, water, weed and enjoy all the diversity of mother nature. Flowers, unlike children, express their gratitude when they flourish and never need to go shopping, have voluminous friends over, leave the kitchen a mess or forget to do their homework.
Amen to all that.

Women are Beautiful

Recently I had the unique experience of being in the cast of a local production of the Vagina Monologues.  Something I couldn't have ever imagined suddenly became something I did. Last night we had a reunion of our cast at a gracious home situated above the river. Stepping back, with my camera, I had the chance to witness how valiant we all were- each in her own way. I appreciated the willingness of this talented group who volunteered in the telling of Eve Ensler's poignant narratives about women's bodies and women's lives while raising money for a very worthy cause.

Venus Transits

I wish I could report that the image above was taken by me instead of some very sophisticated device at a NASA type setting, but as it is going to be 100+ years before this happens again I thought it was an event  worth commemorating.  I have, on occasion, been enamoured of astrology and wonder what all the pundits ascribe to this celestial moment.  Let's hope this inspires better times all over the globe.

The Fashionista's Flip Flop Italian Style

For only $70.00 you too can acquire these exclusive Missoni for Havaianas available for pre-order now at Nordstrom's. So quick, stop what you are doing and order them immediately before they sell out. Heck, order two pairs for that matter. (They also come in a mostly red, white and blue design.) If this is not an example of appropriating one of summer's most basic and disposable necessities, please tell me what is.

Strawberry Fields Forever

Last year I bought a few strawberry plants at Lowe's on clearance. I didn't see much activity last summer, but suddenly we have a profusion of strawberry plants- so much so that along the stairway from the driveway to the side door a plot seeded itself that's now full of ripe berries. For all their visual charm, they don't have much taste but hopefully the critters will enjoy them. Meanwhile we have their burst of fruited display offset by the fading swath of forget-me-nots. Our own little William Morris tableaux unfolding before our eyes.

On a another red note, earlier today my daughter Nora spray-painted a very beat up leather-topped coffee table a bright red. A neighbor's castoff, we let Nora take it to college. The table survived her freshman year and returned home with her, albeit a little worse for wear. I like the table painted this bold color. It's definitely a lot more dramatic than before.