Eastering!

We've only been back a week or so, but it's been busy. So, an interruption in some of the travel posts to catch up on some seasonal fun!

We started our Easter weekend with the annual egg-dyeing-Life-of-Brian tradition with our friends Mark and Jan. This year I did half hard boiled, half raw and I only got one mixed up when I started opening them!



The next day was a paint-your-pet workshop. This was great fun and I learned a lot of new tips!

                   

Here's my girl. I have a long way to go to fully capture her technique-wise, but I learned a lot and for a first time portrait, I was happy. Michelle, the instructor, was terrific and we have a good group to work with.

Of course there was a trip to the market for flowers and veggies. Everything was springy and joyful!

I knew I'd add a few more things to the decorations! Last year's Southern Exposure wreath was moved about till it found a new home!

And, I brought out the Pendelfin bunnies I collected decades ago. Their beautifully painted faces still charm me.

One of last year's Make-and-Take wreaths got an Easter update!

A new bunny, tulips, definitely ready for spring!

And visit Emily at The French Hutch! Her post on using a grapevine wreath to make a wonderful centerpiece filled with spring plants inspired me to make one of my own.

 

They are set on a tray, over which is a grapevine wreath. A little moss and Easter bits finish it off. Thanks again for the inspiration, Emily!

A fully set table, friends and family for dinner.

Dogs outside, please!

And a showstopper dessert. I'll share more on this one in a future post! But think Nigella Lawson, Lemon Meringue Cake. Not hard and wonderful!

Here's hoping everyone's Easter was beautiful.

This post is linked to Talk of the Town and Thoughts of Home on Thursday, where you'll find all sorts of fun decorating, home, travel posts and more creative ideas than you can imagine!

Roadtrip East: Friendship, Family, Birds and More!

There is a yin and yang to traveling together. Chinese philosophy explains how opposite forces are actually complementary and interdependent in the natural world and how they give rise to each other as they interrealte to one another (thank you, wikipedia!)

In no where is that more evident in traveling with a partner! For Rick, it was a bike ride as soon as we landed in Geneva, to be followed by work at the trade show. For me, it was to connect with people I enjoy in a part of the country I love. While I am content in my world and eagerly anticipate venturing out to see sights and then return home, Rick just wants to move! (He was ready to move to Oberlin last fall, Massachusetts or upstate New York last week and Canada any time!)



But our opposite forces clearly interrelated, as wiki would say, on this trip! After driving through torrential rain, we landed in the best spot imaginable -- the cozy home of Randy and Elaine, Rick's brother and wife.

We were warmly welcomed not only by the humans but by Pickles and Daisy, two of the friendliest cats ever!



The following morning it was off to the trade show where Rick and I hawked his wares.

Then a special event -- the reunion of Rick and his high school friend Eugene after at least 20 plus years (and more likely, more than that!). Gene and his wife met us for dinner and both were so terrific I wished they lived next door! Somehow I felt we would be doing lots of fun things together if we lived closer. While I expected Rick and Gene to pick up quickly, I often have a hard time meeting with new people and yet within minutes I felt like I'd known both of them a long time. It was such a treat and I was sorry when the evening ended.

After another day of trade show we returned to Pittsfield, riding through some glorious countryside as we abandoned the turnpike for one of the quieter routes.

 

We passed through the small town of Lee where I was finally able to capture this church in a drive-by shooting. I've been trying for years but the sky was right and so was the camera!

                           

Randy and Elaine invited their good friends Tim and Nancy for dinner and it was another delightful evening with much laughter and camaraderie.

 

I would be remiss about talking about our visit without mentioning the birds!

Randy and Elaine have a wonderful deck and many bird feeders. They attract a wide array of birds and I couldn't stop photographing them!

One disturbing thing was the prevalence of a disease affecting many finches, notably in the northeast. It's a mycoplasmal conjunctivitis and is caused by a parasitic bacterium. The eyes become red and swollen. Apparently the disease is contagious, at least among finches. (For more on this visit HERE.)

Apparently after pet stores stopped illegal sales of finches, the birds were released, bred and the disease spread. There are concerns as to how far west it may have spread since it crossed the Rockies in 2006.

 

Nevertheless, the birds are still lovely to watch, though this is a bit disturbing.

And it's clear that Daisy is watching, too!

Road Trip East: The Mount

Last summer I read Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome" (not exactly a great beach book!). The sparse landscape of the western Massachusetts countryside, cold and bleak, reminded me a bit of the Shaker Village in Hancock that I visited two years ago.

Unfortunately when we visit Massachusetts, it's in the winter and Wharton's home, "The Mount," doesn't open for visitors until May. But this time, although the home itself wasn't open, the grounds were greenish and walkable, so Rick and I made a stop, just to look outside and walk through the garden area.

Located in Lenox, Massachusetts in the Berkshires, the Whartons lived at the Mount for nine years in the early 1900s. The grounds are extensive and the house is on a high hill, imposing and overlooking a grand view.


There is much stone work in the grand steps leading up to the terrace, the columns on the terrace's cement railing and in the Italian walled garden.

             

I also was very fond of the cupola with its weathervane.

                   

In season (or out, for that matter!), one can walk through the Italian walled garden, a rock garden and flower garden. Judging from the trees flanking the walkway, it is quite formal.



The Mount's informative website explains that Wharton herself designed the Mount based on principles in the book she co-wrote with Ogden Codman Jr. called "The Decoration of Houses." She also designed the three acres of formal gardens around the house.

The back of the building, which is what one sees when driving up, is three stories. It is built into a hill so the front (or terrace side) has two stories. With the grand, wide terrace it is tremendously imposing!



From the terrace one can peek into some of the rooms. While we couldn't venture inside, it was clear that they were simply beautiful, elegant and gracefully laid out and appointed.

I was fond of the shell pink and white in this room. And, if you look above through the doorway, you'll see the intricate iron railing leading up the steps.

                           

And of course, books were artfully placed throughout the rooms we could see. This must be the library!

Although there were no blooms, it was a beautiful setting in which to wander -- The Mount keeps the grounds open off season. One can only imagine how lovely it is when the flowers and trees are in full bloom.

Thanks for joining me on this off-season tour of a spot I know is probably amazing once spring hits! For more on The Mount, check out their website HERE.

You can also learn more about Edith Wharton (and her sometimes twisted tales!) HERE. (And might I recommend that you don't select "Ethan Frome" as your "starter book." It may be a classic but it's dark, dark, dark!)

This post is linked to Thoughts of Home on Thursday, this week at "White Spray Paint." (Well, it was Edith's home!) Visit them for other fun links!

And on a completely unrelated note, I am currently contributing to a wonderful new online magazine, Modern Creative Life. Check out my article "What's Next" HERE.