Sublime Strawberries

Strawberry Fields

Photographs by: Karen Holmes

"Those strawberries are delicious"

- text from my son

These are traffic stopping strawberries - literally - but oh so worth waiting in line for. The flavor is entirely sublime - they are that one succulent, drip-down-your-chin taste - the one that all other strawberry samplings are compared to...

Wish I could share some with you today...



Shell Seeker

Shell Seeker

Photographs: Karen Holmes

"The smell was deeply nostalgic, of oil paint and turpentine

mingled up with the salty wind that poured through the window."

- Rosamunde Pilcher (The Shell Seekers)

Last night I finished reading "The Shell Seekers"... it was not my first reading, but I realize that the last time I read the book I was in another place entirely. Still, across the years - like generations connecting - I read the words and turned the pages and became cradled once again with love for the sea and European gardens; the inspirational interplay of light and subject to an artist; history that lived with the fallout of war; the gift of lost love that lingered in gratefulness instead of bitterness or grief; and the strength of a woman who created a life with goodness, wisdom, generosity and regard for a slightly bohemian spirit.  

I adore how though the reading, the author - who once bravely dared to meet the empty page - meets with me like an old friend sharing a cup of tea and conversation... my soul is fed ... and I feel the comfort of kind affiliation...and there I dwell in deep appreciation...

The Shell Seekers

My Grandmother's Jewels

My Grandmother's Jewels

Photograph by: Karen Holmes

"It was good, and nothing good is truly lost.

It stays a part of a person, becomes part of their character.

So part of you goes everywhere with me. And part of me is yours, forever."

- Rosamunde Pilcher (The Shell Seekers)

When I was little I loved to lift the lid of an antique jewel box that rested on the top of my grandmother's dresser. I needed to stand on tip-toes to reach the elegantly carved wooden box and then I could carefully raise the lid of handpainted flowers preserved under glass. When I opened the box there was a mirror which served to reflect the "jewels" my grandmother kept there (one of which is shown in the photo and was given to me by my grandmother). Although I never thought to ask her, I think my grandmother preferred her Wellington's and working in the garden or painting to wearing her jewels... but I do not know for sure. I remember - since she was most prone to wearing comfortable and haphazard attire to do her work - that when she did dress up and put on her "jewels" a transformation occurred... in my eyes, she was most certainly a Queen. 

I have been fortunate enough to take a tour of London's crown jewels, and, recently, I felt inspired by the tiara given to Catherine by Queen Elizabeth for her wedding day (the tiara had been an 18th birthday gift to the Queen). Within that gift was a connection to goodness of character that was being passed on. 

The adult in me is aware of the world-view value of my grandmother's jewels... but the child in me believes I have been given the jewels of a Queen... and they are my treasure... and so is she...

Happy Mother's Day to all the nurturing souls who care for us so lovingly... past, present and future...

Mail Arrivals

Sweetpeas and Mail

"Hope is the dream of a man awake."

-French Proverb

There is something very special about receiving a letter or card or package with someone's handwriting enclosed. Yesterday, I received a book from a new friend, and I loved seeing the enclosed simple handwritten note wishing me enjoyment in the reading. Another friend will slip handwritten cards through my office door mail slot... kind notes that grace my day. One of my all-time favorite gifts was from my dear long-time friend who sent me elegant notecards with my name impressed above two small birds (I gingerly use those for sending very special notes). I have packets of loving letters and cards from long-ago tied in pretty ribbons and tucked away in boxes - their messages live on in my heart, but also as sweet reminders and are there anytime I choose to revisit. (Of course, the handwritten cards from my family are entirely special to me.) I am simply grateful for all of those kind and considerate connections... and the gracious words formed at the end of a pen...

(thank you for the book, lee...)

Waiting for the mail...

Summer Slipped In

Surfboard Waiting

Coming or Going? Does it really matter?

It is good to be prepared...

Summer slipped in today... this early in the game, you can never be too sure how long it intends to stay...that's the thing about life - you just need to grab hold of it and hug it up every chance you get!

Hope your day has sweet elements of "summer slipping in"... and that it begs you to play a little...and you simply said "yes!"