a weekend on a lake

“One June evening, when the orchards were pink-blossomed again, when the frogs were singing silverly sweet in the marshes about the head of the Lake of Shining Waters, and the air was full of the savor of clover fields and balsamic fir woods, Anne was sitting by her gable window.  - L.M. Montgomery

We spent the weekend with friends at their house on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. I do love this part of the country. Where pine trees line sprawling glass lakes and every town you pass by has such an english name that for a moment you pause just to remind yourself which side of the gigantic pond you are actually on. 


No alarm clocks. Delicious cinnamon rolls. Early morning kayaking. And lots of mid-afternoon naps. 


So thankful for our friends up here for making us feel more at home and for such a relaxing weekend on this dreamy northern lake. But we are back to our new reality and a full week ahead. 


Happy Monday!


[33 week post coming soon!]

"A Walk in the Woods"... or our small version of it...

"The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — 

to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — 

my country, the place where I ought to have been born. 

Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? 

For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back."
— C.S. Lewis

 Husband is from out west. So, he always laughs when I refer to the mountain behind my parents house, 

as well, a 'mountain' [and I guess technically Wildcat Mountain really is just a foothill of the Blue Ridge]

So on Saturday, we decided to drive 40 minutes toward the actual Blue Ridge Mountains. 

And they did not disappoint. 

The temperature up there dropped to the high 60's low 70's and it could not have been more beautiful.

We even stumbled upon a festival right in the middle of the Appalachian Trail!

---------------------

Did you know that the Appalachian Trail spans 14 states 

and that it takes approximately  5 -  7 months to hike the entire 2, 165 miles?

About 1,500 - 2,000 hikers attempt to hike it each year and only 12% succeed. 

It really made me want to go camping and hiking with Mr. D and Lucy girl...

you know, like a three - five day thing...not the whole trail! 

 Saturday was a pretty perfect day spent with some of my very favorite people...
and as we made our way back down the ridge,
I realized that my whole body felt more relaxed
than it had been in a long time.

inflatable lungs and the blue ridge

"I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—

air, mountains, trees, people. 

I thought, "This is what it is to be happy."
— Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar 

 And that is why they call them the Blue Ridge Mountains.

-------------

Just down the road from my parent's house in Virginia horse country, 

Barrel Oak Winery sits nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge.

Flooded with people and their dogs, horses grazing on the hill above, 

a live band and more fresh air than my lungs know what to do with, 

we took in the scenery as every part of my flesh and spirit 

felt incredibly content simply to be.

I am convinced that stress cannot touch you there.

And as the gray clouds broke open above, we rushed to 

help the painter load his artwork into his car.

And as the band grew louder, 

the sound of the rain hitting the stretched canvas and 

the grass below began a collaborative crescendo.

 And my chest felt so full that I could hardly 

breathe with that joy that comes from feeling so alive. Happy.

-----------

We are back in the city now, but a part of me

can still feel the raindrops moistening my skin 

in the foothills of the Blue Ridge.

 

very much alive.

"May you live every day of your life."
— Jonathan Swift

 I spent all weekend out in the country with the flu

and Mr. D has been out of commission, too.

So it was nice that we were home with my parents who took care of us, 

but now we are back to city life.

It was so beautiful here in the District on Friday, 

and Mr.D sent me the best email explaining how good he felt

about living where we live.

Who knows what the future might hold, but for now...

there is no where I would rather be than exploring the Nation's Capital with husband

(and maybe with our dog, too?!)

Photograph by Carin Davis

today's best fit

The Sartorialist is one of the blogs I read every day.

What a joy to be in the habit of searching out beauty in humanity.

Ordinarily and perfectly unique people.

I have his book and never cease to delight in its pages. 

Virginia horse country.

"He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like ground-foxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it."

— Cormac McCarthy (The Road) 

 

Just after dawn we walked next door to watch 

the Virginia Hunt take off.

Our neighbor's house was built in the 1830s 

and it was surreal to watch the horses wandering 

about the premises.

Many still wear red coats and a trumpet sounds the start.

My favorite, though, are the hounds. 

[many more pictures to come that are safely 

waiting to be downloaded from the 'good camera']

This coming week is FULL to the brim 

and I am loving and thankful for every minute.

Iceland, anyone?

As bright autumn leaves give way to muted scenes

I at first pause in dispair

the litered ground and ghostly air

frost not far from found

but the more I search, the more I find

that my heart is much happier here

in this brisk leaden atmosphere.

There is so much beauty in these gray undertones,

vibrant in their very essence.

The picture above was taken by Brooke of Brookelyn Photography

Be sure to check out her other pictures from mystical Iceland....

a place I am becoming more and more enchanted with and hope to one day visit.

the walk home.

and if i were a bird.

This is my very favorite time of year.

And even if I were to try to fill it with lament over the imminent loss of colorful leaves, 

I cannot dismiss the beauty carried in the crisp, cool Autumn air.

A thanksgiving filling my lungs that simply cannot be ignored.

In Autumn, God makes earthly beauty impossible to avoid.

And if I were a bird, 

I would certainly delay among the pumpkin patches and barrels of hay before flying away.

[photos from the country one year ago]

[no subject]

I love everything about this picture. 

"A human being is like a novel: until the last page you don't know how it will end. 

Or it wouldn't be worth reading"
— Yevgeny Zamyatin (We)

photo from The Sartorialist, of course.

here.

"May you live every day of your life."  — Jonathan Swift

Sometimes I feel like there are certain areas of the world that make living life - truly living it - much more attainable.

Its hard to be staring at a vast ocean or cobble-stoned streets lined with brightly colored buildings and not feel more alive. To hear a foreign dialect and learn from a different culture simply makes life more invigorating to me. The uniqueness opens my mind to a beauty that I cannot quite grasp in any other way.


And this is my affair with traveling. 


I am still learning to master the art of seeking out that beauty no matter where I am. 

Today it is hidden in the serene gray mist of the affluent District. The familiar tall monument piercing the clouds and a wealth of history being made and remembered.

always thinking.

When was the last time you saw 

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

Watch it again.

the art of meditating on the moment; or beauty in windowless walls

How nice that its Friday. There are a lot of reasons that I am especially pleased that it is this particular Friday. This morning I followed my regular routine getting myself to work and as I rounded the corner, walking down the blue carpeted hall toward my office, I was acquitly aware that I was breathing more deeply than days past. Once inside my box-whose-walls-are-slowly-becoming-more-cozy-and-comforting-despite-its-lack-of-the-window-I-dream-of,  I sat in my chair and well, just sat there for a moment.

Yesterday, Mr. D commented on my secret other blog that happy people enjoy where they are - not just where they are going, and it really resonated with me. The art of not just being satisfied with where I am, but really enjoying being there. To really take it in. So, instead of focusing on where I'm going or what I would like to change about my current surroundings, I am trying to just simply live in it - breathing deeply and finding beauty even in windowless walls.

Happy week's-end and weekend-beginning!

photo one and two.

summer heat.

its hot today. so incredibly hot.
and while I would like nothing more than
to go jump in the pool
today's ice cream social at work will have to suffice.

it also should be said that last night's outing
was quite possibly the most refreshing thing I have had all week.
no small thanks to Annie.

photo from here.

event.full

The other night I met my parents and a smattering of family friends at the Iwo Jima Memorial. Every Tuesday this summer the marine corp band performs a free concert at sunset. It has been a record breaking hot and humid June - and with that comes fantastic summer thunderstorms. It wasnt long before the winds picked up and our hair began blowing wildly around us. Dark gray clouds literally seemed to unfold themselves upon us, billowing until it seemed that the edges of the clouds themselves were rustling the leaves on top of the trees. We quickly covered our food and picnic blankets and sought shelter under a nearby tree (yes, I realize that this was maybe not the smartest move, but it was surely the driest).

The marines marched on.

It was a true downpour. But the breathtaking view after the storm made us forget all about our now soaked clothes and blankets. The most terrific light show took place safely in the distance with the proud Washington Monument standing unmoved below. The view of the sky was more magnificent than any painting, photograph or words could ever attempt to imitate.

Another wonderful night in the district.

(ps a lot of things went wrong that night too: we missed the first half of the concert, my car that had been in the shop and was supposed to be ready wasn't and the 1984 mercedes that I was driving in its stead ran out of battery, a huge storm literally swept us away, there were several spills and misplaced friends and while we waited for jumper cables to arrive, a pick-up truck with metal spears and PVC pipes came to a stop at the bottom of a hill directly in front of us when every single pipe and metal bar came flying off the top of his car and onto the street. We helped pick up the once flying trajectories ALL over the intersection.)

This moment in the city.

This weekend flew by
and I am left feeling a bit like I was robbed of a day. 

And then I realize that its June and I am left questioning the disappearance of Spring.
As of late, I have been fairly successful at living in the moment.

But all the moments have added up and I feel a little out of place in this 90 degree Summer weather.

And so today I feel a bit displaced.
The difference between standing on the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight with the beautiful city sprawled out wide-eyed before me - close to the touch but not actually close enough to touch
and
laying on a blanket in central park as badminton rackets swing and the beat of drums fill the meadow air.
Where an old man in a speedo and a young body builder meet to further their cause and a young couple slowly and absentmindedly fall in love.
Humanity and nature colliding in such a unique and trans-formative way - I sat on a blanket in the throbbing heart of the city. Too close to fully take it all in.
One view is far removed allowing for a full landscape of the beauty before me but subsequently making it less personal and real.
And the other is so immersed that I feel like there is no way to take it all in. This mix of people and nature's abounding beauty both equally rare and unique in their own way.
And so which do you choose?
This balance between minutes and years and all the time packed in between.

I am truly thankful for this weekend.
Every minute.
Every angle.
I'll remember it for years.

today from inside my box...

 I wish I was back at Bryce Canyon in Utah

hiking and feeling the force of the strong cool wind 

literally carry my breath away with it

I grew up in Virginia where the foothills of the Blue Ridge

seem huge, but they cannot compare to the beauty

of the mountains and the canyons out West.

So thankful I was able to go there last November...

the name says it all...

Man oh man do I wish I lived in Brooklyn

so that I could go to her trunk show...

vacation in the district; or no where but here.

This weekend was pretty perfect.

Instead of traveling to NYC like I had originally thought

we explored the district and

while I can hardly walk because my legs are so sore, 

I loved every minute of biking up and down the city streets.

E Street Cinema. An amazing concert.

The most delicious garden burger at Tryst in Adams Morgan. 

Police Week 2010. Abandoned markets. Some Diana love.

Duke Ellington's stomping grounds. The Building Museum

and the most beautiful weather.
I was really wanting to take a road trip, but this weekend
proved to be far better than I could have hoped for
and I never wished I was anywhere else...
not even for a second.

what you can hear and feel is sometimes more powerful than what you can see

 

some music is like wind to me

the same way a breeze combs through my hair

lifting it as it dances floating around me

as if weaving your hands in and out up above your head

music ceremoniously frees me

the melodious rhythm combing through my soul

the lyrics weaving in and out of my chest 

Today I am hearing and feeling: 

Radiohead Nude 

Deer Tick Ashamed 

Bon Iver Re: Stacks 

Andrew Bird Anonanimal

Deer Tick Diamond Rings 

Sigur Ros Hoppipolla

photo by Lotte Scott