WHO KILLED JOIE DE VIVRE?

"Knowing who you are and dressing the part-with an air of amused recklessness-is life affirming for you and life enhancing for other people. When the eccentrically glamorous you walks down the street, whether you are a wiry greyhound or a loveable lumbering labradoodle, you will feel gorgeously empowered and you will fill your neighborhood and workplace with positive vibrations. Think of it as a civic duty of sorts."-Simon Doonan

THE WITCHES' SPELL

"Hoity-toity! Hop-o'-my thumb!
Tweedledee and Tweedledum!
All hobgoblins come to me,
Over the mountains, over the sea:
Come in a hurry, come in a crowd,
Flying, chatting, shrieking loud;
I and my broomstick fidget and call---
Come, hobgoblins, we want you all!!
I have a pot of mischievous brew..."
Ruth Bedford

I love everything about Fall: warm fuzzy sweaters, crisp, sweet fallen leaves, carved pumpkins, fantastical Halloween outfits, and tart apple pies. I adore the rich autumn colors: bittersweet, warm forest green, and deep burgundy. I spent a glorious day yesterday putting away all my summer decor, and turning my home into an autumn wonderland. Garlands of glittered leaves, pumpkins of all sizes,  gourds and lovely indian corn. And...WITCHES everywhere! A universal creature of which fairy tales are written, and spells are spun, the witches might be my favorite part of fall. I feel a special kinship with these magical wise women and have been collecting them for years. I have wooden, resin, clay, cloth and paper mache witches. They gather in the nooks and crannies of my home, where I allow them to work their magic. You can almost hear them cackle in warm spirited salutation, "Come at my summons-come to me".

GOOD-BYE SWEET SUMMER

For the past five days I have done very little but soak up the sun and float in the water along with my husband and son (and Hunter, of course!) as we celebrated the end of summer at our cabin on the lake.
I feel energized and renewed and ready to get back to work.

1969 FLASHBACK

Ever since our 'Gannonstock' Family Reunion, I have been thinking a lot about WOODSTOCK. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that Woodstock happened 40 years ago! Where has the time gone? Am I really that old?!!

Woodstock took place the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, and the free-spirited boy I was dating begged me to go. At the time, I was not brave enough to pack up and head to upstate New York for a three day camp-out with him, so I stayed home. A decision I sorely regret. Who knew it would turn out to be THE party of the decade, history's biggest happening?!

The Woodstock Documentary came out early the next year and I was one of the first in line. For me the 'good vibrations' was just a small part of the mystique of it all. What I felt when I watched the Woodstock Phenomenon was the spirit of thousands of young people discovering the euphoric realization that THEY were what was happening in the world. "Make Love Not War" WAS a revolution.

Yes. I know it was meant to be primarily a music festival. But, Woodstock was so much more then that. It was a sumptuous feast for both eyes and ears. I watched the film and literally absorbed the heady music, the rich tattered fashions, the peace-seeking vibes. All of it had a profound affect on my life and my art. For me it was the beginning of my flower-child, free-spirit, anti-establishment period....although, if truth be told, part of me has never quite gotten over the rich, juicy, colorful spirit of Woodstock .

Maybe I don't really want to.

GANNONSTOCK

I have just returned from the long July 4th Weekend at our family cottage on the lake, where along with 49 other members from my husband's side of the family (plus two dogs), I gathered for the first ever Gannon Family Reunion: 'GANNONSTOCK 2009'-so named in honor of this summer's 40th anniversary celebration of Woodstock (:

We are an eclectic group-the youngest 7 months old, the oldest 64 years young- with interests as varied and different as can be. But, for three days we came together as one. We shared stories around the campfire. We played in the water. We had a very disorganized, but, oh so dazzling, boat parade around the bay (which included ski boats, hobies, paddle boats, and rafts). We sang Michael Jackson songs in an off-beat harmony to honor the recently fallen King of Pop. We ate too many roasted hot dogs and we drank too many brandy slushes! We 'ooohed and aaahed' over Tom and Rick's spectacular fireworks display as we huddled together around a roaring pit fire.

We celebrated our many freedoms, we counted our rich blessings.

How lucky I feel to be part of such a large and loving family.

A PASSION FOR PURPLE

A couple weeks ago, just about sunset, I was driving my mom home from a day in the ER (she is fine, just a scare) when I drove past this adorable purple house. I pointed it out to my mom, and exclaimed how much I would love to live in a purple house! I imagine that the people who live there are quite spectacular-creative, artsy, wild, kooky, and as Simon Doonan would surely say, 'glamorously eccentric'-after all, certainly no boring person would dare to paint his or her house such a succulent color. I'm absolutely certain this is a person or people I want to know.

I just couldn't get that gorgeous house out of my mind....so, today I went back across town and took some photos.

I'm going to make a point to take this road whenever I can just to drive by the very cool, very whimsical house.

In the meantime, I have the photos tacked to my inspiration board where I can look at them daily. (:

MAY DAY FAERIES

HAPPY MAY DAY!

I love this magical season of our earth's rebirth. I love the explosion of colors and scents. I love the lore and legend associated with flowers-especially those of faeries.

Did you know that May Day is an excellent time for sighting faeries?

"According to legend, the best times to see faeries are on the winter and summer solstices, the spring and autumn equinoxes, May Day, and Halloween. And, of course, any blue moon summer night is also a favorable time for a sighting.
Lewis Carroll said that there are rules for sighting fairies: 'First is that there must be a very hot day-that we may consider settled: and you must be just a little sleepy-but not too sleepy to keep your eyes open, mind.
'Well, and you ought to feel a little-what one may call 'fairyish'- the Scotch call it 'eerie', and perhaps that's a prettier word; if you don't know what it means, I'm afraid I can hardly explain it; you must wait till you meet a Fairy, and then you'll know.
'And, the last rule is, that the crickets should not be chirping. I can't explain that: you must take it on trust for the present.
'So, if all these things happen together, you have a good chance of seeing a Fairy-or at least much better chance then if they didn't."
***
This excerpt and fairy illustration is from my book, 'Creating Fairy Garden Fragrances', Storey Publications, 1998.