summer break

heading home

to my dismay

this just wasn't the time

for an extended stay

'cause I was here for work

so return I must

to DC while proclaiming

"back to the Berkshires or bust!"

what a place, more to come so…

keep your peepers open!®

summer finds

I love a good find and for me more often than not it’s a piece of jewelry discovered when I’m not looking for anything and/or in an unexpected place. As I dashed along a downtown corridor, I tucked into a clothing store when the first big wet sloppy droplets hit my forehead. I had no idea that this specialty shop was in DC, don’t necessarily associate the name with jewelry and never buy from the catalog because many of the items contain wool which I’m allergic to. So I was immediately curious when my eyes caught the glint of what appeared to be an interesting something hidden between the folds of a scarf resting on the bottom shelf in the glass case. Is that…I’d like to see that please!

The textures present such a contrast. I’m used to and have several smooth, somewhat shiny horn bracelets which is how the inside of this piece feels and looks though it is much more polished. The difference with my find is the surface facing out. Filled with what I thought would be rough grooves and bumps, once touched the piece in my hand revealed an unexpected velvety yet firm finish. OMG, it’s seriously a tactile lover’s delight!

Turning it on its side, I traced the flat thick edges that ran evenly around the top and bottom with my finger and got another rush it was so lush!

This raw horn bracelet has just the right amount of heft to let me know it is on my arm while at the same time appearing delicate and feminine. With every turn, I notice that each bend of the circle has its own distinct character. A rich mixture of chocolate browns, taupes, and bone, the surprise element are the hints of turquoise that thread into the darker sections. SOLD!

And what made it the perfect find of the summer to date besides the price and being totally different from any other horn bracelet I’ve ever seen? Well ...this little ole' treasure happens to be just the right compliment to some gorgeous earrings found in Nantucket this past May. I love it when that happens. Which means, no matter when, where or what the occasion, always…

keep your peepers open!®

summer chillers

After seeing the excellent and deeply moving film Beasts of the Southern Wild with one of my close friends, two “little beasts in a big world” wiped the tears from their eyes and left the theater in search of a libation. Not sure where we wanted to bend our elbows, we walked for a few blocks right into McCormick and Schmick’s. Now serving is a tasty sangria made with what I think starts with muddled cucumbers and strawberries mixed with Bacardi Limón and finished off with Prosecco over lots of ice.

Very refreshing, I drank three! I will be back but plan to attempt making it myself along with another recipe…

Watermelon Cooler

1C watermelon cut in chunks
1/2 banana (if you want cold w/o adding ice, freeze)
3 ice cubes
1/2 C coconut water
Juice of 1/2 small lemon or lime (2 tbsp)
3 mint OR basil leaves
Combine all in blender adding little more coconut water if needed. **

That’s the version I read in a magazine, but here’s my twist on it….lose the banana and add a splash or two or whatever you feel of iced vodka, blend then serve over crushed ice. Now that’s a Watermelon Chiller! (I did a search and found several recipes for watermelon coolers with various ingredients with and without alcohol so have some fun experimenting).

Iced tea, not of the bar kind, never fails to chill me down when I'm in summer heat. I prefer home made however cracking open an iced cold bottle will do me just fine and on that note…

keep your peepers open!®

ps - go see the movie...

**pps - I actually made the watermelon cooler later today according to the original recipe...coconut water is quite dominent, so I added more melon, couple more chunks of frozen banana and yes, a hefty splash of Kettle One, yum :)

summer breeze

The heat spell has broken! Long live the breeze!

As the returning breeze of summer passes over my cheeks, I close my eyes to welcome the soothing kiss of a friend I so missed. Open them to watch several leaves waving at one another in celebration -- the choreographer who orchestrates the dance is back!

Sit myself down in the dirt, white linen top forgotten, to be close to their largeness wishing I could crawl into their world and join in.

They whisper around my face until I understand their invitation, accepted by closing my eyes once again. And then I’m there, reclining in the soft green cradle of a hammock, gently rocked by the lazy summer breeze...

keep your peepers open!®

summer flicks

This oppressive humid heat is holding some hostage in their home. For me, staying inside under the air is THE sensible option; the minute I open the door of the furnace my body temperature begins to climb and the longer I’m out, the longer it takes for me to cool back down! I will say that this hostage makes the most of being captive getting things accomplished and catching great movies, some old favorites, others that I’ve never seen before. The latter was the case last evening as I turned to one called Summertime based on Arthur Laurents's play The Time of the Cuckoo. Filmed on location in Venice during the 50’s, I was intrigued at the opening -- Katherine Hepburn hanging out the window of a train, a 16MM camera in hand, rambling on in excited chatter as she arrived in Venice. A woman traveling abroad with a camera certainly resonated with this shutter chick so I settled down to lavishly gorgeous Technicolor scenes of the city, the glamour that was travel in a time where women wore smart dresses and white lacy gloves, and a story about the sexual revolution. Swept up in a swirl of lushness was I and when I landed the travel bug had me in a serious itch.

Another great movie set in the good old summertime is Picnic with William Holden and Kim Novac set against the backdrop of a small Midwestern town in a time when people gathered together to celebrate the end of the season. Bad boy literally drops into town as he jumps off the box car of a train he jumped onto as it road by long before we first see him. Bad boy is also buff, full of sexual testosterone and hasn’t had such an easy life. He meets the town beauty, she along with all the other females swoon but she is pledged to the rich boy in town. They along with other colorful characters end up at the Labor Day picnic and wow, there are more fireworks than the Fourth of July!

I don’t love feeling confined to the house, I do love a good flick especially ones from the past. The fact that some of them take place during the summer makes for a perfectly delectable escape from the summer outside my door. Wonder where I’ll go today…

keep your peepers open!®

summer sounds

The searing heat combined with a malfunctioning air system in my vintage vehicle has unleashed my inner road rage on the regular! A desire, make that temporary madness, to reach whatever the destination before my face begins to flush in shades of fuchsia, my neck becomes adorned with a choker of perspiration beads, and I’m arrested for indecent exposure while operating a dangerous object, takes over with the first breath of barely breathable air. (Whew! Gettin’ a tad bit worked up here just thinking about it!) So what’s a hot little savage beastess to do?

I’ll try to spare you the cliché however music might be the answer. I’ve gotten so used to savoring the quiet of my car, that the radio/CD player has a permanent resting place in its case in the house until I know I’m taking a long trip. I picked up some new sounds for the summer while grocery shopping c/o Whole Foods who places tempting inedible treats at the check out! Both CD’s are light, rather easy breezy, soothing to the ear yet just funky enough to keep you distracted but alert with finger taps on the steering wheel and gentle head bopping.

As I started to compose my thoughts this morning, some good old favorite summery grooves began to float into consciousness c/o Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes, a group that can take you to a whole other place without leaving the car. Get lost in the tinkle of ivory over background chants and low purring flutes or soft cha-cha congas on Sunset and Summer Nights...

…Expansions rhythmic percussions and electric keyboard interludes rock me at any age and I swoon to the tune My Love...piano solo then a delicious voice folds in...“your eyes are like the stars at night, your voice is so sublime, my dreams are of you…my love, my love, my love…your love is so divine.” As is this last cut on…

That naked scar beneath my dashboard is just begging me to patch it up by plugging in the sound system before someone has to patch me up! And so I will…

Happy listening, happy fireworks! Stay sane and cool and cosmic and…

keep your peepers open!®

peace…

summertime

Summertime and the living is…mercy, it’s hot! As much as I’d like to chill in the coolness that is home, one must venture out into the heat that is beastly as life goes on. I marvel at the fact that I survived Egypt two years ago as I jump up in order to get outside as early as possible to move about in the least offensive air. Now if only the stores would cooperate with my schedule! Since they do not, I found myself shade hopping a little before 10:00AM yesterday as I ran a couple of errands that couldn’t wait for the temperature to drop. Of course, I had my camera and quickly discovered -- taking a picture trumps the unbearable uncomfortableness that accompanies 100 degrees of high humidity insanity!

A very shiny bike bell blinded me as I rounded a corner. It reminded me of my first bicycle, a pink Schwinn, and how much I loved riding, how me and my friends would climb a steep hill so we could turn around, take hands and feet off the handle bars and pedals and fly down at exorbitant speeds, screaming all the way! How exhilarating it was and nobody cared about the summer temperatures, we were just glad school was out for a couple of months.

I also noticed this rusted bell. For many, it might signal neglect; to me it is a rich patina, a finish that I find most appealing. Looking at the photo later made me wonder once again if inanimate objects have feelings, that bell seriously seems to be snuggling up to the brown handle in a most adoring way!

Seeing the bicycles sitting in that front yard got me to reminiscing about a bike ride I took early in the morning while visiting a bed & breakfast along the shore. How nice it was tooling around in the quiet that was dawn well before the world was awake. I love the stillness found just before sunrise particularly when I’m near the water. Be it a ride around the town lake or a walk on the beach, it is a meditation that thankfully for me rests just behind my closed eyes.

Headed there now, so…

keep your peepers open!®