Helsingborg at Night 3

Down at the harbour this time with a long exposure shot across the water of the fun fair area.

Rooftop Gardens

"The farmyard, which was surrounded by trees, seemed to be asleep. The tall grass, among which the dandelions rose up like streaks of yellow light, was of a vivid green, a fresh spring green. The apple trees threw their shade all around them and the thatched houses, on which the blue and yellow iris flowers with their sabre like leaves grew, steamed as if the moisture of the stables and barns was coming through the straw"
~ Guy de Maupassant  1850 -1893

I am so glad that I looked upwards and not just ahead on our recent holiday in a small village in Normandy, France. I was totally smitten with the planted roof tops of these thatched cottages. From what I can gather the irises are planted on a bed of clay along the ridge of the roof. This helps to ensure that the ends of the thatch are secure. As well as serving a practical purpose this looks most attractive too. As you can see there were other plants sprouting from the thatches, including sempervivums or houseleeks. These are often found on roofs both thatched and tiled, as a charm to ward off thunder and lightening.

My French vocabulary came up with a blank when it came to the word for a roof but that information was most conveniently supplied by Rob in his recent post about green roofs over at 'Our French Garden In The Dordogne' Thanks Rob. Roof = toit.

Atlanta Quilters Show 2012

I just got home from the Atlanta Quilt Festival and I just had to share some pictures with you.   The event had demonstrations, items for sale and a handmade doll exhibit but I went to see the quilts.   I hope you enjoy the photos of these quilts as much as I enjoyed seeing the handwork and meeting the quilters.

 There was a hallway of red and white quilts and my favorite in this section was "Delta Menopause."  

 The next section had all sorts of quilts from traditional to contemporary. 

 And then there were the dolls, demonstrations and a few special displays.  A couple of these quilters said they had rushed into retirement so that they could have more time to quilt.  One of the young quilters was laughing saying she works to quilt.  It was especially interesting to see the quilting software which allows you to design your quilt and all its colors so that you can see what it looks like before you make it.  Quilting times have changed. 

Helsingborg at Night 2

Same as the shot below, but zoomed in a bit.

Wren's Nest, Everybody Wins! and Volunteering

Did you know that July 20 is the anniversary date marking the first Uncle Remus story ever published?

 I grew up loving Uncle Remus and Br’er Rabbit and in fact they are the only stories I remember my dad reading to me.  Back in the day before our well-developed highway system, our family would drive through Eatonton, Georgiato stop for breakfast on the way to our summer vacation spot.  I would always be so excited to see Br’er Rabbit waiting for me there. 

 We happen to live about ten minutes away from the Wren’s Nest and I’m embarrassed to admit that I’d never been over to take the tour until recently.   The house itself really stands out because of everything you see around it.

 The day we were there it was incredibly hot and I appreciated how dark and cool the house was once inside.  It’s interesting that most everything inside the house has been left as it was when the family lived there.  Even the sheet music on the piano is the same piece of sheet music that was played in the family home.

On the tour I learned a lot about Joel Chandler Harris and in some ways I felt so sad for him.  He was illegitimate, born in 1845 and I can only imagine at the time how difficult that might have been for someone living in a small town like Eatonton.    He dropped out of school and after quitting, Mr. Harris went to work/live on a plantation and it was during those years he heard so many African folk tales which he ultimately wove into the stories we know so well today.  It made me proud to learn how he wrote and advocated for civil rights and justice for all. 

My favorite part of the visit was the storytelling.  Most of you know that my work involves volunteering – a lot of it, and I was excited to invite the Wren’s Nest and a storyteller to come to our Everybody Wins! Power Lunch Kickoff event.  

 I’m hoping to be able to inspire a lot of new readers to volunteer and help inspire at-risk students in the coming school year.  

I believe in the power of a story and the power of volunteering.

[l]et us remember the large numbers of citizens who, day in and day out, through acts of volunteerism large and small, bring hope to so many of the world's disadvantaged. – Kofi Annan

Today I'm linking up with The Tablescaper for seasonal Sunday.

Helsingborg at Night 1

One of the first shots of the evening, still a fair bit of natural light, but the artificial light is coming in nicely. With the Helsingborg Music Festival on I wanted to get this unusual photo with a fun fair down at the harbour and a large tent in the main road leading up to the Helsingborg Castle. Which is where I took this photograph from actually.

More coming soon!

Dog Days of Summer…..

In the true heat of a tropical summer

we spend a lot of the

evenings

here

Under the fan

by the pool.

So does he.

King of the dog days…

Stay cool my friends….

::Grapefruit grove painting by very talented local artist Lou Mullen::

The entrance to Mölle Harbour, Skåne Län, Sweden.

The dough bowl returns…

Holding hands of bananas

…natch.

get yourselves one here

They’ll deliver.

Entering Mölle Harbour

A beautiful summers day in Mölle Sweden. The white blobs in the water are jelly fish.

Lomma, Sweden (6)

Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens at 18mm, Velbon Sherpa tripod, f/11.0, 30.0s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Introducing 'Socrates'

Not the philosopher but the cucumber. I have never had much joy when it comes to growing cucumbers, usually managing a paltry few cues each year late on in the season. This year though looks as if it going to be different.

I sowed three varieties in  April - 'Crystal Apple', the usual 'Burpless Green' and the new to me 'Socrates'. I have ended up with one plant of each. 'Crystal Apple' is growing outdoors - somewhere along the way its label got lost. Initially there was an id problem - I thought it was some sort of squash but it has turned out to be a cucumber. Planted out in June it has not really flourished but finally there is a small lemon golf ball sized cucumber forming.

The other two plants have been planted into containers, which are living in the community greenhouse at the allotment. Normally I grow my tomatoes and cucumbers in lean to at the allotment, which is accessed via the shed. However a blackbird took up residence in the spring and decided that she liked the feel of the place enough to nest there. I did not have the heart to disturb her and her young, so ended up taking my plants into the community greenhouse, where they seem to have flourished so far, especially 'Socrates', which you can see in the above photo.

I was tempted to try this variety after reading this post in Graham Rice's excellent 'Transatlantic Gardener' blog. Not only is it high yielding but it produces mini cues, which as this household's only cucumber fan is the ideal scenario. I picked the first one at the end of June but then quite a gap until the last few days. They must have responded to the increased temperatures and have swollen overnight. I picked one at the weekend and another one came home with me yesterday.There are at least half a dozen waiting in the wings which will need picking in the next few days. I detect a surplus coming on and am off to investigate recipes other than chilled cucumber soup and cucumber raita. Do please share if you know of any.

Update - 26/07/11 - another two picked yesterday. Meanwhile one of my allotment neighbours has told me that pickled cucumbers are delicious in the middle of winter.

There is something…

About the outside of a horse

that is good

for the inside of a (wo)man.

~ Sir Winston Churchill

Fun weekend! Looking forward to the Olympics.

Carry on….

Lomma, Sweden (5)

It was so dark at this point that I had to focus on the triangular wood thingamabob just below the tungsten light, the boat in the water was proving impossible to lock on to. But thirty seconds of exposure managed to reveal details that my naked eye could not see. If you look too close there is some noise in the shadow areas, but in a normal size print (maybe up to 10" across) it will not be visible at all.

I like the contrast between the yellow under the lights and the blue sky, with the purple container on the left adding a little interest too.

Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens at 80mm, Velbon Sherpa tripod, f/11.0, 30.0s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Lomma, Sweden (4)

The interesting building on the right with the mottled lighting on it is the Lomma Biblioteket (Library).

Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens at 18mm, Velbon Sherpa tripod, f/11.0, 30.0s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Lomma, Sweden (3)

Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens at 18mm, Velbon Sherpa tripod, f/11.0, 30.0s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

A Very Special Gift

A few weeks ago I was listening to the radio and heard the Fifth Dimension (one of my favorite bands) singing “Aquarius” and suddenly I was transported back to 1969 remembering someone in my past who was such an incredible mentor to me.

 Over the next few days I couldn’t get her off my mind as I would remember so many conversations about things like her favorite books, new discoveries she’d made or her favorite classes in school.  She had a boyfriend and her own sports car.  She was a beautiful, kind, teenager with a great spirit and tremendous sparkle.  I was four years younger and I admired everything about her and would listen to everything she shared, always making mental notes, taking every word to heart.  We drove together to a neighboring city twice a week to take dance classes.  During this time we spent a lot of time together and I’m still amazed that she never seemed to have gotten annoyed with me.  Instead she encouraged me.

 Over the next few days more thoughts and memories from that period of time would come to mind so I finally decided to try to find an address or contact information so that I could write to her.  It really felt good to sit down and write a note of thanks to her for the years friendship and mentoring that she’d given me at that time in my life.  Even as I think about her now I’m still amazed that a junior in high school would speak about books she’d read by John Steinbeck with such excitement or cry as she talked about the love of the boy when discussing The Velveteen Rabbit.  I’d never known someone with such passion and knew these were remarkable memories.  At the time it was astonishing that a teenager would discuss a children’s book.

Yesterday you cannot imagine how surprised I was to find a package from her in my mailbox.  Inside the package was a book, a card and a note from this enchanting friend and mentor.

 Of course it is one of John Steinbeck’s and one page in the book was flagged for me to note a section of text.  She still shares her enthusiasm.  One very special book has just moved to the top of my summer reading list and I can promise you that this book will always be treasured. 

 The best part of the package was her sweet message back to me.  So here we are more than forty years later and even now I still look up to her.

Lomma, Sweden (2)

Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens at 18mm, Velbon Sherpa tripod, f/11.0, 30.0s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Meanwhile At The Allotment .....

Just getting to my plot is in danger of becoming an extreme sport as you can see from the above photo - maybe slippery, squelchy mud sliding could feature in the imminent Olympiads. Last Saturday though a few of us plot holders ventured out away from our plots. I have mentioned in an earlier post that our allotment association has been successful securing funding towards the purchase and instalment of a composting toilet on site. Between submitting our bid and hearing the outcome, prices rose so we were left with a shortfall. Various fund raising ideas were discussed and inevitably selling plants and produce came up. We were not keen to organise our own plant sale but were quite happy to attend local events. We have been quite fortunate and three such opportunities came our way, the third being last weekend.

After a day of non stop rain on the Friday I must admit that I was not looking forward to braving the elements and being outdoors for a good part of Saturday. However although rather breezy (the gazebo protecting the stall next but one to us blew away mid afternoon) the rain miraculously held off. We had a busy but enjoyable afternoon and were delighted to sell as much as we did. The fresh produce - punnets of strawberries, rhubarb, broad beans, spring onions and new potatoes flew off the table. Made up bunches of flowers - crocosmias, cornflowers, marigolds and little white daisies which we sold for a pound a bunch were popular. Plants were in demand too especially pots of rhubarb, clumps of day lilies, lilies as well as our collection of fifty pence pocket money plants. We tucked in little slips with suggestions of allotment growing reading matter and relevant websites into our customer's bags.

As well as raising money for our funds we were also able to make a contribution to the charitable trust that invited us to have a stall at their annual fun day. This is held in a local green space that was going to be sold for building in the late '90s until a group of residents got together to make sure that this did not happen. The land was bought and has been managed since by volunteers who maintain the green, cut the grass, have installed paths, picnic benches, dog bins etc. as well as developing a wildflower meadow. A free fun day is held each year. They have recently achieved Fields In Trust status but maybe that and the story of our composting toilet are both posts for the future. What was most enjoyable about the afternoon was spending it in the most pleasant company of fellow plot holders - we usually chat on the hoof as it were, so it was great to be able to spend some time together away from homeground. Meanwhile back at the allotment the toilet has been installed and awaits a few finishing touches before it is officially opened.

Lomma, Sweden (1)

Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens at 18mm, Velbon Sherpa tripod, f/11.0, 20.0s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

I think I am like a crazy cat lady….

Only it isn’t cats I collect

But paintings

They keep finding me. I keep adopting them.

This one however, comes with a history. well a story anyway.

It was just sitting there minding it’s business behind a stack of prints and faded fake water colors

at a local thrift shop

The big blue guy…with the splash. Not it’s real home…just found a useful nail.

Big. Blue oil…Kinda nice gold wood frame. 20 bucks…

Hmmm….I think….Don’t need it.

Turn it over… and find this taped with aging scotch tape to the back

A memo from a Mr Weisse of Park avenue NYC

 

Inquiring about the artist…typed by his secretary m

He DID get an answer to his inquiry…alright

BAM.

Betty says it is an amateur….with an exclamation point.

Poor Blue.

C’mon home with me…we’ll take care of ya.

Island of the misfit art….

 

…though someone looks peeved…

She came from the same thrift store…5 whole bucks.

She has a bit of a ‘tude.

fits right in.

Inside St Petri Church - Malmö

With the predominance of white inside this church the exposure was a little trickier than I anticipated, but I think I got it about right in the end. The photo was taken from a low vantage point at the rear of the church, and so it was probably fitting that I was in fact on my knees in a church! :-)

Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens, on a tripod, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

St Petri Church - Malmö

Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens, on a tripod, edited and distortion corrected in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - July 2012

Despite the copious rains June's pastels are giving way to warmer, richer shades of purple, violet and deep pink. This month I have especially been enjoying old and familiar friends in the shape of various hardy geraniums. The double pratenses (middle row right and bottom row left) have been appreciating the cooler weather. At the moment there does not seem any danger of them being bleached or scorched by warm sunshine. Newer acquaintances are the day lilies which are all gifts from my friend D. I am sure that they came with labels but they have seem to have gone walkabout so sadly at the moment are all nameless. If you read this D. perhaps you might kindly come to the rescue. I have been waiting until late in the day for my favourite to open another flower but it has not obliged. No doubt it will unfurl tomorrow. I am really quite taken with day lilies and will be looking to add more to the garden in the future.

More July flowers can be lingered over via May Dreams Gardens.

Bastille Day in Atlanta

 So the celebrations are just getting underway in Atlanta.  Tonight I had the opportunity to celebrate at the French Consul General’s Bastille Day reception.  The event was a glorious mix of young and old, French and non-French speakers, French nationals, representatives of many French-speaking countries along with individuals who simply love the French culture.

The event was great for meeting new people and for learning a bit about relationships between the U.S. and France.   As the short program kicked off I have to admit that I was a bit teary-eyed listening to a vocalist sing the U.S. national anthem to a silent crowd.  

 There was a slight pause before the Star Spangled Banner was followed by the French National Anthem.  

The crowd burst into song filling the lobby of the building with music and pride.  A very beautiful moment.

Following this presentation the Consul General Spoke to an attentive audience detailing some of the many relationships between the U.S. and France.

Our Consul General will soon be leaving Atlanta for a new assignment and he will be missed but tonight I was proud to be a part of a celebration that brought together such a diverse crowd to celebrate.

 Next weekend the Alliance Française d'Atlanta will be holding their Bastille Day celebration - a roof-top bash - I can't wait!   Party on . . . Vive la France!

Today I’m joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday and I hope you will stop by to see what other bloggers are up to.

Dom Kyrka Cathedral Lund - Inside The Crypt

Dom Kyrka Cathedral in Lund

900 years old and still standing! Now that is good workmanship.

Map pins…

We have a large map in our family room.

Near the TV we have always had a map…or several…near the telly.

Helps you figure out the where of the now…capiche?

ignore messy room

anyway…

This map also documents our travels…with map pins get ‘em at an office supply store

Where we have lived, vacationed….and where we want to visit.

red is where we have been. Blue where we have lived

…and yellow where we want to visit

Family fun.

Hey…cheaper than a movie.