Mo'a Romig-Boyles

No More Snow

No more snow!!! Not surprising it is July.  It is embarrassing to admit that I have not posted here for over three months. 

Since I talked with you last the Mountain Laurel has bloomed and passed.

The Rhododendron has done the same.

The Peonies in my Mother's garden have added their beauty to our lives.

I went to a Friends of Gladys Taber reunion and heard Susan Branch give a talk about her early years on Martha's Vineyard and how reading Gladys Taber's books influenced her life.

I had a lovely tour of Gladys Taber's home...now I can imagine myself there when I re-read her books.  I started reading Gladys Taber's book shortly after I arrived here to the US from Iceland.  I read about how she made stew by hanging a pot over the fire in the fireplace pictured below.

It was a lovely reunion and you can read more about it on Susan Branche's blog.  I encourage you to go there and read more about Gladys Taber and her life at Stillmeadow.

When we talked last, our plants were here in our Winter Garden....

 

 ...now they are outside enjoying the sun and summer.

 Have a Happy Fourth of July...we will be going to the shore (we say that in NJ) to celebrate with good friends. 

 

Ice,Cake and Swan

There are times when we have no snow here in Southern New Jersey all winter. I cannot remember when the last time the lakes on the way to my mother's house were frozen solid.

I imagine the lone Swan on the lake thinking of times past when his favorite space on the lake was not frozen and he could get at the delectable morsels below. 

I feel sorry for him. I remember when he had a companion at his side...it has been four years since we saw his mate swimming beside him.

He is a proud and beautiful sitting there alone on the ice.  Perhaps he is remembering the visit he had from a Swan family four years ago...will they visit again this year? I hope so. 

I took a series of photos of the Swan and as I was photographing the light kept changing...hence the different colors of the photos.

Icicles on one of the bushes at my mother's house.  And then, at a local shopping center, I noticed this frozen fountain that looks like a wedding cake. 

 Speaking of cake, I made and decorated this cake yesterday for a dinner party.  The cake is called Orange Lavender Polenta Cake. Recipe here. try it I think you will find it very good delicious. The recipe for the cake is from Susan Branch.  The decorations are made from marzipan, using cookie cutters from Susan's on line shop, with a little embellishment by me :) Susan's blog is wonderful and very popular...give her a visit and tell her that Mo'a sent you.

 I hope you are staying warm. If you are down under I hope this post made you feel a little cooler.

 

 

Heart and Flowers

My road is paved with good intentions.  Back in October of 2011 I was the lucky winner of this quilted heart, made by Els of Fiberrainbow.  I am sorry that I have not shown it to you before this.

I see this lovely heart everyday and think of Els...who lives in the Netherlands.  It hangs on an antique towel rack from Denmark. The first hook on the left says Haandklaede (Hand Towel), middle Glasklud (Glass Towel) and the third says Kniveklud (Knife Towel)...on each hook hangs an antique towel from my American husband's family . 

My mother had 89th birthday on the 6th of March. Here is a photo of her and Ken when we surprised her with a birthday cake.

The cabinet behind them is a  Swedish Rosemaling.

When Ken and I got married forty one years ago we went to our first auction and saw this cabinet.  We both fell in love with it and agreed how much we would bid.  Well our pocketbook was smaller than what the cabinet went for, so we did not get it then.  

On our seventeenth anniversary, we walked into an antique store in Essex, MA, and there was the cabinet.  We were so excited that we bought it on the spot...for a lot more than it went for seventeen years earlier, then again, our pocketbook had also expanded considerably.

One of our gifts for my mother's birthday was lunch at Terrain Cafe. It is in a beautiful greenhouse which is part of a garden center Terrain at Styer's

I got a major case of spring fever looking at all the beautiful plants.  I am passionate about hellebores and was happy to see them in several colors.

My new banner was made from this image.  It is a green bottle with a bit of water in it and a reflection of the plants behind it. Green is not a color I often choose...I love it in nature and it makes me think of spring.

I planted pansies today. They always remind me of Iceland where they bloom from early spring to late autumn.

I hope you are having a nice weekend. 

 

Bringing Nature In

I came accross these beautiful table scapes, at The Lake Conference Center in the Catskills a few weekends ago.

Simplicity at it's very best.

Then again if you would like to paint like the masters, perhaps you would design a table scape like this.

 

Grow Where You Are Planted

Mother nature has a good sense of design.

I would love to have a planter like this in my back yard.

In The Rain

I find that the rain can make some very interesting patterns on water.  I was in the Catskill Mountains a few weeks ago in the rain.  I did not mind as there was so much to enjoy.

Here is a closeup of raindrops dancing on and around the reeds and water lilies.

And of the same spot in the sun shine a week before.

 

Life Is A Banquet

Have you ever been at a banquet or a smörgåsbord, where there are so many choices that you become rendered with indecision?  I have. For example a few weeks ago my Father asked me to buy Minestrone soup in a can for him. I stood in front of the soup display and froze...there were about eight variations of Minestrone soup. With salt, without salt, with chicken etc., etc.  I stood there and thought to myself how difficult we have made our lives with choices.  Take the Oreo cookie...my Father also asked me to buy them for him...well I froze there also, I shall not bore you with the details.

Why am I telling you this, you might ask?  The truth is that I am feeling this way about what to write and tell about here. 
In the last few weeks there have been so many things I would like to share that I don't know where to begin.  I often ask myself..."If you have so much you would like to share, why don't you write a blog post more often?" 

For instance, the Great White Heron/Egret have migrated and come to a place only fifteen minutes from my home...see first photo of this post. We went to Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia one Saturday and marveled at the foods they had there, (such as the wild shrimp seen above), saw an Amish Festival and listened to a Blue Grass band.  

I could tell you about The American Swedish Museum in Philadelphia.
Which lead us to go to a Scandinavian Festival in Budd Lake, NJ.
Where we had some delicious Danish food and felt very lonesome for our family in Denmark.
Where we saw some dancers in beautiful costumes. 
And beautiful costumes that were worn by members of the audience.
Which  reminded us of the costumes we had seen at the American Swedish Museum.

I also have to show you some things that pertain to this photo, of the top of my piano.

Think Eat, Pray, Love.  There are so many more things that I could talk about. However, as I explained above...I have become quite paralyzed with indecision.
See you again as soon as I make some decisions :) 

Question:  Do you ever feel like me having so much to say...but don't know where to begin?

 

Swans, Looking Up, A Tree, Llamas, Alpacas and Dogs

On the way to my Parents house, I pass a lake that last year had one swan on it...this fall and winter there much to my delight, there are two Mute Swans on the lake, that are always together.
I had a wonderful time taking their photo.  Since they were on the opposite side of the lake...I cropped the photos.  I had a hard time deciding which photo to show you so I made a collage.

I have always loved looking up to the sky...I think it must be because I grew up with big skies in Iceland. As I drive around in my area I keep an eye out for lovely clouds and sunsets.  I was rewarded a few days ago when I saw this color prism in the sky.

It made up for the most amazing sunset I have ever seen. I did not have either one of my cameras with me.  I always carry at least one...but this day I had left both of them at home.

I think it was the way it should be...sometimes it is better to photograph something so spectacular in your mind...I shall never forget the gift of that winter sunset.

I was waiting for my Father, outside his bank, the other day. There on the facade of the building I saw a tree growing in a window box.
I was drawn to the reflection in the window...I took to pictures and coped one and came up with this image.

 

I enjoy taking pictures and have always wanted to learn to use Photoshop.  I can do the basics but that is where it begins and ends.

I am taking a Photoshop Elements class that DJ  Pettitt offered and that started this week.  I am so excited and every moment I have, I am reading about and trying various applications.

I got several e-mails asking me if I took the photo of the Llama in the last post...I did...there is a Llama and Alpaca farm about 8 miles away from my home.
I went on a tour of the farm, that was part of a House Tour, that  I took just before Christmas.
This Llama fell in love with me and could not get close enough...perhaps it was my camera that interested him ;) In any case I love the photo.

Here is an image of an Alpaca from the same farm...to me it looks like a child's drawing. Perhaps I will do something with it in Photoshop...we will see.

The photo below is one I took, at a horse farm, that was on the House Tour. I think I met each one of the dogs referred to on this sign...

...and yes I did Drive Slowly, past the dogs, the geese and numerous people who were also on the House Tour.

For The Senses

In my town there is a magical place called "For The Senses".  It is a dreamy kind of place...

.....where you can dream of dancing all night in your glittery pink shoes...

.....where the world outside is as beautiful as inside...

 

.....and you can stop and smell the roses...

 

...and sit down in a little pink chair...

 

....to have a little cat with an old friend...

 

...you can talk with him of your dream to go to Paris again...

...and other far away places...

 

....here you can find lovely things for your dressing table....

 

...and listen to the music...

 

...of the little birds in their nest...

 

.....then as you are about to leave...

 

...you see that "Today is a gift...that's why the call it the present" and that you should "Laugh out Loud" and "Live with Passion" and .....

 

....that "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going"   

Grounds For Sculpture

Do you have a place that always pleases you and you feel like it is a part of you?  I have such a place, it is called Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ.

I visit this place often. Two weekends ago, Ken and I went there with the express purpose of taking one of Susanna's of Susanna's Sketchbook, Winged Messengers to place on one of our favorite sculpture by the late Isaac Witkin.  Go to see Susanna's post on this event...I will wait...but do come back I have so much to show you :}

We go there to say hello to some of our favorite ladies.  I know where each one of them lives...at least I though so...then much to my surprise, the two ladies talking over the fence, had been moved.  There are always surprises, new sculpture and some that have been moved or 'gasp' removed.

The landscaping is amazing.  Here one could imagine being in Monet's garden in Giverny. I squint my eyes and imagine seeing the waterlilies the way he saw them when he was painting his famous Waterlily series.

If your taste is modern sculpture, they have that.

Would you like to step into a painting?  How about Renoir's famous Luncheon of the Boating Party?

Or, would you rather join this party?  Or select your own friends and have a simple repast of wine and bread with cheese?

Or......oops...Sorry!!! That is the employee shower.

Whether you prefer modern or traditional or would just like to see how the two go together...you can see it here.

If you are still hungry they have a restaurant called Rat's...as in Wind in the Willows. It is rather expensive so you might want to dress up.

I am just assuming as I saw this lady standing not to far from Rat's...they also have very delicious food at their other, and informal restaurant... I can vouch for that as I have eaten in both places.  Rat's has the better decor...beautiful decor.  Someday I will show you just how beautiful.

I know this was a very long post...there is so much to see at Grounds for Sculpture.  How about just coming with me when next I go there?...When will that be?  When you come :}

I forgot to tell you about the babies that were born there....aaaaaaaw!!!!  In the spring there is much calling and fanning of feathers...I have seen that several times...but this is the first time I have seen Peacock babies.

If you are still with me...thank you. Now go over to Susanna's Sketchbook and see where the Winged Messenger landed.  I will give you just give you an other little hint.