a visit to a view

Yesterday my friend catherine and i took a trip to my new home in vermont, the last and only time i had seen the house in person k and i had to snow shoe in to get to the house since the quarter mile drive way was covered in feet deep snow. as we made our way up the drive i could not believe how beautiful every thing was. when i entered the house i was so happy that i twirled around like a child but then i was stopped in my tracks for the views outside the window was so grand it took my breath away.

Our goal was to start building the horse fence, but shipment delayed we decided to walk around the property since i had not seen the pond yet. Catherine kept looking at me and saying "it is like looking at the grand canyon in away, so vast" the mountain tops covered in snow, clouds below the mountains. we were high, high in delight of what we saw and felt.  then we went into town, it is so perfect with it's little shops, sustainable restaurants, coffee house that reflect the universities around.

Back  at the house late afternoon it was a summer day, we built a very temporary chicken fence, and every few minutes one of us would comment on how quiet  and peaceful it was.

truth is i am still pinching myself,  two weeks feels so far away!

*catherine showed up with red wellies. love them!

she found things not as she left them

thank you all for your kind comments! it is great being in the studio. I used the flood to my advantage in this shoot. broken glass, things turned on their side. How is everyone, tell me the one thing you want to fix, change..

when rain turns to sun

yesterday the clouds moved away, the rain stopped and we decided to stroll. walking around where i had walked many times before, my eyes wide open realizing that i had not been here in new england in the spring for many years now but in the desert of santa fe. Suddenly i was excited about discovering things i had missed in the past. mixed in with bright sun and a never ending loveliness was memories shared of our youth and far away lands.

edible color

what i am about to say may shock some of you I FOUND THESE AT WHOLEFOODS- i must confess to not having had a taste. the last macarons i had were delivered to me by post, from the super talented pastry chef aran of canelle and vanille. So i will have to let you know how these fare, but for now they are going to a friend who's birthday was yesterday. we were going to celebrate it today by the river, with pretty clothes, props and cameras but the rain got in the way. sheila is kind, she is smart,she is strong, her heart beats loudly and softly, she does magic with her pen, she does wonders for my soul! Happy Birthday!

a photograph ( i mean a painting)

*i have removed the full image, but hpoe you can enjoy these.






last week i came back to providence for a few days to shoot for a friend. she was to create an oil self portrait for her studies. Of course the initial how was this going to work, what will she look like? was discussed. she was worried of her body and i was worried that my lens would fail what i believed to be a beautiful body of any women especially one of sixty two years of age.

we took many, it is not as easy as you might think? if a body is tense, nervous it shows, supple limbs become hard, but after two or three session( yes a few) she relaxed, champagne helped. the fact that she knew she had something to be proud of we were able to take the some good ones for her to use. then in the middle of the last session it happened, a gift to me from her and my camera. "the picture" the one that made it all worth it. although it was not her favorite by far, it was without a doubt mine. did my camera understand what i was after? did it know one day someone was to make an oil painting of it? when i look at this photograph that is all i see, a painting. I have broken up the photograph because i have studied it. i am a bit proud of this one something about it reminds me of so much; the books i have read, the richness in life, perhaps i am reminded of my childhood as i observed my mother paint..

p.s.. blogger please do not censor me it is a photograph i mean a painting:)

sunset and a friend

the other night i went for a walk with a friend. a friend from the wireless world, the blog world. I thought if the blog world was a country or a state the state sign would read "friendliest place one earth" or at least that is how i feel about sheila and you the wonderful women i have met here or is there?:)

We went for a walk by the water, sat on rocks and chatted about our past, or present and our futures. we took turns and in between there were moments of silence, except for the water hitting the rocks and a few birds that crossed the sky. It did not seem very long but hours had passed and the sunset performed it's waltz so gently that we could swear it was waiting for us to return safely to our cars. thank you sheila for allowing me to call you a friend and sharing in nature gifts.

Banana bread and a friend

I have met someone in the blogger world that I would like to call a friend..but can we call someone we never met in person a friend? When I was young I had a pen pal I referred to her as such " my pen pal madeleine"...so is this different now? would I say my " blogger friend Aran" because to me it is more than that.......

This morning I made banana bread, last night i had mentioned to aran via e-mail that I wanted to make something simple with whole wheat flower, she returned the e-mail saying that she had just made banana bread with whole wheat. this morning with a house full of family -niece and nephews, sister in law, and mum- such a treat because it is very rare to have company here since they live far away, and I long for these moments. anyways, the children laughing in the living room and the rest sitting in the garden, i pulled out the recipe, the bowl, ingredients and baked. I do not do it often anymore but there is something about having children in the house that makes me a better person. As i took the bread out of the oven everyone gathered (it's not like I never, ever bake or cook) but something about this morning was different- we took it to the garden where I was able to share some with my neighbors....as the loaf disappeared I knew what that difference was- for a moment it was if aran was here, sharing her recipe with us- maybe just the way she would have done it at home in spain.

Thank you aran- we all agreed it was the best we ever had!

A special gift

Miss Lola form the beautiful and creative blog
Blogue Encore Has given me an award, this is extra special and unexpected, it has put a smile on my face.
if you visit her blog you too will realize how special she is, her photographs of flowers, food and travels are
beautiful and if you could read french, you would understand that she has a very kind spirit.
*She has a beet recipe-that makes my mouth water!!!

merci miss lola

when it has too be perfect

These cookies are so good that I had to wash my floors,
clean my counters, put every dish away, get rid of clutter
in my kitchen, polish the wood of my table, pick out the perfect cup
wash the espresso machine, measure the perfect amount of espresso,
make the perfect espresso, wash my face, put my stool in the right spot,
play the perfect music..........just to eat one!

Aran you have created something so wonderful!

Juniper dreams

I have had this daily dream. I would pack
a bag full of my favorite clothes, jewelry,shoes and camera
and head to Juniper Florida. Upon my arrival i would take a
cab to the house of my favorite blog Cannelle & Vanille Aran's door. she would opened it, recognizing my shoes or perhaps
eyelet blouse she would say "nadia" and I would say 'Aran" we would jump up down like kids until her little boy would tug at her skirt (somehow in my dream she would not be freaked out). We would immediately start chatting as she pulled things out of her pantry effortlessly preparing something magical- I would watch and feel like it was deja-vu. I would pull my camera out and she would too, because she is fantastic at it......and we would snap, eat and laugh.....my daily dreams are much more detailed- we would go to the museum and sit at the cafe
talking about europe, books, dreams and shoes.

Well

Today my door bell rang, I opened my door and my mail man (who usually is woman?) handed me a package -it was Juniper coming to me. I have dreamt of photographing Aran's art for a while and today i got too. The prettiest prepared box with the loveliest note, housed the most delightful matcha sables, triple chocolate fudge cookies, raspberry financiers and my favorite of all friendship- Merci Aran from the bottom of my heart -thank you, you do much more than just feed the belly you feed my soul.

*photographs were taken with my computer -camera failure can you believe my luck ? will try again tomorrow
ps. that is if I can stop eating these masterpieces!