winter through tinted glass

winter fell upon me suddenly as i drove to retrieve my love from another state. the snow fell and everything seemed quiet out there as if the volume of the outdoors had been shut off. inside the car

Bon Iver played taking turns with people struggles from foreign lands on npr and other times my own thoughts drowned out the noise from my mediocre speakers. my hands went from tight fists to relaxed lady like movements, my camera sat in the passenger seat  and she saw what i was seeing, winter through a tinted windshield.

Our home Featured on Stephmodo!

Dearest Friends, the lovely Stephanie from Stephmodo wrote about and featured my home on her blog. if you have never before visited Stephanie's blog you  are in for a real treat!.  Stephanie is the owner of the stunning  La Maisonnette  a five hundred year old stone cottage  her and her husband renovated. i was  lucky to have stayed in when i was in Dordogne, France last year and happy to say will be staying there again this fall! so please have a look! 

1.16.2012

REAL LIFE HOME NO.14 - A CONVERTED BARN IN VERMONT

What would you give to call this lane your driveway?  And how would your life change if you enjoyed this beautiful expanse each day of your life?  A view that some say is the best view in Vermont as it covers four mountain ranges in four different states.  I, for one, cannot imagine such a thing as I can see hundreds of homes from my living room window.  Perhaps that is what makes this "real life home" so precious to me.  That, and the lovely woman who calls this converted barn in Vermont, home sweet home. 

whenever it falls, it is marvelous

while driving into boston from vermont an unexpected snow storm took over roads,  my journey took three times longer at one point i should have stopped i know. Oh it was so beautiful, thick wet white snow fell upon branches and stretched out fences. i could not help but to snap a few pictures while i drove, i know a terrible habit that i justified with "well if anything  was to happen my camera would be left with pretty photographs. for most of the ones above i managed to roll down the window but please forgive the wet specks on each one.  i love  the snow when it falls like this, i did wish i was walking instead, for dear friends i could have showered you with what i saw that afternoon, pure winter wonderland. even though my hands were tightly gripping the steering wheel and i questioned my rational while driving passed many cars that found themselves in a ditch, i knew that what i was seeing was winter at it's best- pure.

* today is my sister nancy's birthday i don' remember how old she is except to say she is much, much younger, uurrr!:)  Happy birthday dear, crazy dedicated sister. may your dreams of cuba and foreign land, tiny waist line  be only the beginning of what is wonderful to come your way.

snow, maybe

this morning when i raised myself from my bed i looked out the window, after an incredibly windy night a thin layer of snow had fallen barely covering the grass. Living here on the hill, knowing that last year's 'snow broke many records, i was beginning to wonder if last years snow accidentally stole this years fall. once i knew all the animals were well fed, i grabbed my camera, knowing that the warm temperature would soon take the very little we have. i walked a short distance into the forest when it began to rain. i took a few shots here and there but then i got distracted by green moss on tree trunks and from there i started noticing all the different texture of every tree, everyone wearing it's own distinctive design.  i came in to post photographs and when i looked out a few minutes ago  a full blown snow storm was on it's way which makes me very happy ( tiny nervous when you live alone in place so secluded from anyone else) but mostly excited to know that there is chance that by this afternoon i could dust of my snow shoes, take my camera and just maybe capture some real winter photographs. 

so now i will leave you with my view as i sit here at the dining table; there is the tiniest of snowflakes falling by the millions, big thick clouds feel as is they can replace the ceiling of my house and yours, somewhere in between layers of white cotton like clouds there is the sun who seems to be promising a visit. wait has the snow stopped, no not exactly. the snow flakes  are bigger now and you feel as if you might be able to count them, you stare at the basket holding your snow shoes and say maybe another time. the sun makes it through the sky's cotton fields.  you pick up madame bovary and curl up on the chaise with your feet tucked under a folded blanket and open up where you left of determined to get lost in it's pages, determined to make it to the back cover today, at least that is what you promise yourself.

thanks to tj of humble origins for giving me this link i can make snow flakes all day! - you should try it!

* new header taken in my old studio with my red piano( i  miss it)

Save The Date: A Food Styling & Photography Workshop In France

   We had such a wonderful time and it was such a great success, that Aran, Stephanie and myself are so excited to announce that we will be doing another workshop in France! 

                         This is a hands-on workshop where we will learn about Aran Goyoaga of 

                         Cannelle & Vanille philosophy on food styling and composition, how to tell a story

                         through props, the basics of photography, and understanding and manipulating light, 

                         all in the beautiful  surroundings of the Perigord region of France. There will be visits to

                         local farmers’ markets, gardens, and the beautiful walnut groves the region is known for.

                         It will be 3 days of cooking, tasting, styling, photographing, and visual storytelling.

                       The workshop will take place from September 23-27, 2012, and be limited to just 8 people.

                            The workshop includes 4 days of cooking, styling and photographing food in a
                             beautiful manoir nestled up against a stone cliff overlooking a lazy river. The cost
                             is $2,240/person (for a shared room) and $2,740/person (private room) and
                             covers 4 nights accommodations in a luxurious bed and breakfast, 4 gourmet
                             breakfasts, 4 lunches, 1 dinner, transportation during workshop hours, 3 days of full
                             instruction, and 1 day of sightseeing in the area.

                             We are happy to announce that registration will be open on Thursday, January
                             26th at 1 p.m. EST (10am PST). This is how registration will take place:

                            1. Right at 1:00 p.m. EST a post will go live indicating an email address where you'll
                            need to send your intent to register. Please make sure you are online at this time if
                            you are interested in attending this workshop as we are operating on a first-come-
                            first-serve basis.

                            2. Once you hear back from us via email, you will be required to sign a liability form
                            and return it to us via fax, email, etc.

                            3. Once payment is made and requested forms are signed, your spot will be secure.
                            At this time you'll receive an email from us confirming the good news. If you are not
                            able to secure your spot at this time, we will be sure to add your contact information
                            to a waiting list.

                            4. A detailed itinerary will be issued to the 8 participants via email within 48 hours
                            of registration.

                            Please know that our last workshop sold out in the first 10 minutes of opening
                            registration, so if you are interested, please make sure to send us an email as quickly
                            as possible. 

                            You are welcome to view images from last year's workshop here, here and here. 

                         * the food photographs are by Aran Goyoaga

thin layer of envy

 

a  light dusting of snow fell yesterday. as i sat sipping tea and staring out at gentle flakes

i started to think about my last post, more precisely your comments- thank you for them of course

but there was something that worried me, you see if i was going to be totally honest i would tell you that the last few month while visiting certain blogs a seed of envy or jealousy or comparison started forming, never did these things happen to me before. I would not want anyone to feel that way visiting my blog. i feel as if i do a good job and balancing the good and bad here on the blog. my last post made it seem as i got out of the gate of 2012 with a bang and that is not true, in fact i think for the first time ever in my life i wore my pjs for a whole day ( it is true k. the whole day) a slow start you see. yes of course some good things are coming and some good things i will work had in making happen but my life is far from total bliss but full of bliss just the same. yesterday after spending most of the day on the computer talking about the upcoming announcement( that is not all mine) i went outside to feed the horses, as i poured grain into their buckets, my feet in muck boots that for three years i could not afford but needed and finally gifted to me by my mother,  i stood on a thin layer of snow under the starry night sky singing to splash while he gave me big kisses, i felt like the luckiest girl in the world- it is these tiny moments that make everything sound like bliss here on la porte rouge. you see it is the accumulation of small moments but pure ones that make my life what it is.

these are the things that i need to hold unto while being a spectator to all the big things that are happening to others.

the horse outside my window and other things

Dearest, dearest friends we made it through another year! I want to begin to wish you all a happy new year may it be filled with  rediculous amounts of happiness!

although christmas day was not my best day what followed was great. my parents, elle and dylan arrived on the twenty seventh and spent time with us through new years day. we watched movies, my dad made pita bread  and bagels from scratch,  something i had always wanted to do. we danced in our living room till we were exhausted and we did  that often, we ate a big amount of sweets( my mums date and wlanut stuffed shortbread cookies are to die for), went to the movies and took a nice long walk. we celebrated christmas on new years day with afeast and cheered in  new years with comedy and presents! vermont had no snow, and none still but we sure have had some serious cold days and some fall like weather- strange!

i have made a list of what i expect of 2012 and the list is big. i will share it with you as i go along crossing them off my list. i just found out that a special blogger and friend will be visiting the hill with her family for the first time excited. my home will be featured over at anothers.  things are happening that is for sure, even an announcement next week might get you packing your bags!

so i will leave you now with pictures of what the last few days have looked like,  i have been quieting my mind to see clearly my  path ahead, al thought today  has been full of tiny loud disasters not excluding my computer making a crazy siren noise_ perhaps it is begging me to give her a break:)

thank you for being here- 2012  BIG!!

* if you hit the last picture to enlarge of bullet and gentillese they were playing cat an mouse- too funny

reset

repeat the sound of joy

this morning a light snow fell and a thick fog settled peaceful on top of it.   later it began to rain and the tempature rose and by early afternoon the sun was brightly pushing away clouds and a rainbow hopped the hill tops.   i thought about this as i desperately searched for a christmas tree,  it seems that vermont did not cut enough but perhaps it is because i was breaking k and my tradition of picking up our tree on christmas eve as we have done for some many years now. so one can hope that tomorrow we will have a tree  and that the melted snow might come again.

so here i am on the hill with a roaring fire and a beautifully stacked pile of wood that i stacked last night under the stars, i love doing it i think i mentioned that before.  i thought about the morning and the changes from snow and fog to rain and sun- that has been my life too, a mixture of all kinds of things sometimes sad but most of the time beautiful.

Dear readers i wish you a happy holiday, every one has a different measurement for what that might be if it is big or small all i wish for you is too hold unto to it for as long as you can.

at the end of one of my favourite holiday movies( i might have watched it every night this week) well at the end of it one of the characters hums and repeats softly repeat the sound of joy, repeat the sound of joy... and for some reason yesterday those words fell deeply into my soul

let's  all repeat the sound of joy

with kindness & warmth

nadia

winter fireflies

this morning at around one am i woke to a crescent moon. the temperature outside was close to zero, very cold. i threw hay to the horses and looked out upon the fields, the moon reflected unto the frosted ground and it looked like hundreds of fireflies hand landed, unexpected magic. when i finally went to bed again i tucked myself warmly underneath the blankets then through the skylight the crescent moon came in, before i could stop the words from " i love you moon" slipped through my lips.

*pictures of scattered things in my home, hay on the floor too. i promised dear readers i will get back on track and post regularly soon.