COTSWOLD MEMORIES

Revisiting some old photos I came across these from our blissful summer in England. We paid a visit to the Painswick Rococo Garden during a ramble through the Cotswolds with Kate. At the top of the hill stood a tiny church, with these phrases from the Song of Songs inscribed on the window panes:

"My beloved is mine and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies"

&

"The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing of birds is come and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."

Also at the suggestion of Lexi we had lunch at Daylesford Organic market. Words cannot describe how happy the produce looked. The day ended in the rooftop pool of the Thermae Spa in Bath, overlooking the Roman ruins. What I wouldn't give for more days like this.

NYC

Long, inspiring, exhausting day in New York. Really hope to share the details of this project soon. Until then: pillow, terrace, rug, sunset. Soon: home.

LRB Personals

A while back, A + W gifted us with a giant stack of old TLS, LRB, and NYRB. It was one of the best presents we've ever received and we've spent many evenings encamped in the living room with the bottomless stack.  I got sucked in to the personal ads in the London Review of Books. Are you familiar with them? I've wheezed with laughter over some. Perhaps it isn't the best use of my time at the height of wedding season, but I've clipped out a few of my favorites which you can find here. There are also two collections of the ads: They Call me Naughty Lola and Sexually, I'm More of a Switzerland. I don't find reading the ads in a book nearly as funny. I think it is something about the unexpected words gracing those pretentious oversized pages.

MLK

Did you know that since the 1980s the Atlanta Airport has had an exhibit up honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? I happened by it recently and appreciated seeing his transistor radio, glasses and watch. It was startling to find these objects in the otherwise ahistorical universe of an airport.

Lam Tsueng Wishing Tree

I am spending the day working at UPenn's Fine Arts Library, the glorious Frank Furness building in which I get nothing done because I am too busy gaping at the surrounding beauty. In the lobby there are slips of yellow paper, called bao die, tied to two cardboard trees in celebration of Hong Kong's Lam Tsueng Wishing Tree tradition. On each is written a wish. Pictured above are some of my favorite. The last reads "I want to be an honest man and a good writer," which is about all many of us could wish for.

22:1.22

 

And the cinematography:And the contrast-- the softness of the curtain and pink dress and robin's egg blue room with the black leather of her shoes.Have you seen the movie Bright Star? I can't remember the last time a movie made such an aesthetic impression on me.  Amy, may I entice you to please do a "Living In" about this movie? Although the beautiful details are beyond acquisition. When Fanny embroiders the pillowcase with the tree, when she snips her the yellow ribbon on her sister's dress to tie up a care package, when she decides to start keeping butterflies in her bedroom. So, this letter goes to costume and production designer Janet Patterson -- thank you for your boundless talent.

(You can find such envelopes at legal stationery stores. They are intended to keep wills, trusts, etc.)