Lazy, hazy days of Summer...

"Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Those days of soda and pretzels and beer

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

You'll wish that summer could always be here..."

Dear everyone, just wanted to give a brief update on my latest adventures. I've been spending a few days at The Purple Caravan. The renovations have been put on hold for a while, since my husband (the contractor) is too busy at the moment. In the meantime, I have tried to add a few touches. Nothing fancy or complicated, just enough to make the place feel cozier...

and hopefully, very romantic...

As much as I want to start the renovation, I am grateful to be able to have a chance and enjoy our surroundings before we embark in the project. Going for long walks, coming back to have a glass of chilled white wine and enjoy the company of good friends are more than enough reasons to want Summer to last forever.

There is incredible beauty in every corner...

 Sometimes I come face to face with this handsome fellow

He walks right past me... two wandering travelers on a lonely road...

There is a pond nearby, it's surface covered by thick algae is a perfect place for a tired dragonfly to stop and rest it's wings. I spend long hours watching, amazed by the life that lurks right below the surface...

Around a bend I find this table covered with soft green moss...

The weeping willow stands quietly by the lake...poetry comes to mind...

I walk around unhurried, and find that every road I take leads me home...

Before I go back, here's a wish that your Summer may also be full of magic, peace, and light. Thank you SO much for your lovely comments. They brighten up my world! 

What do you tell?

(Image Source: Gypsy Moon)

You tell on yourself by the friends you seek,

By the very manner in which you speak,

By the way you employ your leisure time,

By the use you make of dollar and dime.

You tell what you are by the things you wear,

By the spirit in which you burdens bear,

By the kind of things at which you laugh,

By the records you play on the phonograph.

You tell what you are by the way you walk,

By the things of which you delight to talk,

By the manner in which you bear defeat,

By so simple a thing as how you eat.

By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf:

In these ways and more, you tell on yourself.

 (Author Unknown)

Under a woodland spell

Memories of the weekend wrap like a shawl  around my shoulders...

The feel of warm soft pebbles under my feet...

Fingers still moist from the morning dew...

In my ears there's lingering birdsong, a glorious celebration of a brand new day...

I can still see the golden sunlight, precious amber gems laid about...

for all to share...

The peace, the silence, the view from a window...

I connect with everything around me...

Joy fills my heart and suddenly, I have wings...

(Image Sources: Bing, Weheartit.com, World of Stock, Martin Amm, Phoenix and Pixdaus)

The melting of days

 (Image Source: Bing)

July is ending. The days, hot and steamy are melting away. Between trips to the country we've managed to also go to the beach. Sitting one day by the lake, the next by the ocean has rekindled and strengthened my connection with Nature and this Earth I love so much. I've been quiet. Sometimes feelings are such that just "breathing" is enough.

It's so easy to get lost in the rush of getting things done, to fill the calendars with social events, to tackle the "must do"  but this Summer I have changed. Perhaps the incredible heat has helped to slow me down, to adjust my pace to a lower speed. Just like in the dead of Winter, we have been forced indoors and I've had time to stand by my window to just "look and feel." Sometimes we need a greater force to keep us in check, to exert a breaking power, to stop us in our tracks. Nature can certainly do that. I believe it's all part of Her plan.

And so, this morning for a while, I am listening to absolute silence. I am letting my soul tell me things I've long forgotten. My soul and I are getting re-acquainted...

A Cotton Candy Break

(Image Source: Weheartit.com)

Deep within my childhood memories, and as if held by magic, invisible threads, summer and cotton candy are woven tightly together. I used to watch mesmerized as the colored sugar spun around and around and became a fluffly cloud. I truly thought the candy man was a magician. I also believed cotton candy was fairy food.

Walking along the boardwalk, holding my father's hand, the warm breeze playing with my hair, the sand between my toes, the tingling in my sun kissed shoulders,  carefully guarding the tin red bucket full of the pretty shells I had collected to later display on my window sill. Those distinctive smells and sounds of a typical summer day,  free of worries,  free from school. Times when the only major decision was to choose between cotton candy or candy apple (another favorite!)

Just like I can't think of hot apple cider during the summer, I can't think of cotton candy during the winter, but the minute July comes around I can't wait to get lost in that wonderful pink cloud and be transported to those wonderful days...

Speaking of wonderful days and special things, my dear friend Katy, who shines in her very own Sunny Spot has given me the "This Blog is Charming" Award:

Thank you Katy!  Your friendship truly is a blessing and I really mean it when I say you are like a breath of fresh air :0)

This Award requires that I share some things about myself. So, here it goes:

1- I always get out of bed stepping on my right foot (no comments...:0)

2- I love  dragonflies but am afraid to touch them.

3- I LOVE to dance.

4- I hate to exercise (hence the "pouch")

5- I love train rides.

6- I rode the Maid of the Mist (the steamship that goes "under" Niagara Falls) but now the mere thought of that makes me cringe with horror (do you get the impression I did this when I was VERY young and fearless?)

7- I am obsessed with fairy lights and they are EVERYWHERE in my house and garden.

Lastly, and here's the worst part... I must choose and pass it on! It is quite agonizing but rules are rules, so here I go. I pass this Award to:

Karen, the lovely creator of Sitting Oh So Pretty. This little lady never fails to make smile with her stories about the world she shares with her beloved Mister Darcy and Master Darcy :0) 

and to:

Abril, another lovely lady who lives in beautiful, sunny Spain and has a wonderful blog called "El Apartamento en Paris" (don't be fooled by the name... she does live in Spain :0) Abril is an avid fan of Hollywood as well as a very talented artist.

Wishing you all a beautiful "Cotton Candy Day"

XOXO

Out in the country

I have great news to share with you. As many already know, I am a lover of quiet places and I don't really like living so close to the city. Well, it so happened that this weekend we visited some friends who own a vacation home located at a campsite in New Jersey's beautiful Kittatiny Mountains. This is near the very point where one could turn one way and be in the State of New York, or turn the other and be in Pennsylvania. Needless to say the view is magnificent!

We were sitting there enjoying a glass of wine when we were told there was a place for sale. My husband and I looked at each other and before the day was through the "place" was ours!  The following images will give you an idea of where my TRUE Purple Caravan will be:

The previous owners had a well tended garden which I hope to bring back from under the many weeds

I hope to have a screened porch built quite soon!

The living room has two bay windows looking out to a wonderful forest. I can't wait to transform it from this outdated 80's look into my beloved Bohemian Garden style :0)

This home has been gently used and the kitchen cabinets are in perfect condition. There was a "purple" candle left behind... an omen perhaps? :0)

Dining area... I envision a hanging chandelier with colored crystals, a beautiful tablecloth, and definitely another mirror or painting... what do  you think?

This nook will also be transformed. A perfect spot for daydreaming!

I'm afraid I will be very busy the next coming months. The camp opens from April to November so we will have time to start some of the transformations we plan to make. I will, of course, be showing photos of that and of the lovely sites, such as the lake and hopefully the many critters that abound :0)

We got back home last night and already I have filled pages with ideas and shopping lists. A favorite Three Dog's Night song keeps coming back to me:

"Whenever I need to leave it all behind

Or feel the need to get away

I find a quiet place, far from the human race

Out in the country.

Before the breathin' air is gone

Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime

Out where the rivers like to run

I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Whenever I feel them closing in on me

Or need a bit of room to move

When life becomes too fast, I find relief at last

Out in the country..."

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I apologize for not having been around to say hello as often as before, however, I do read and hold dear every single comment. Thank you!

Wishing everyone a lovely, magical day XO