Bittersweet

Yesterday, Mr. PML and I moved our "One-and-Only" into his college dorm room. He is beginning his second year at a college here on the East Coast. (I know...I know...his second year not his "first." I should be used to this by now, right?) 

So WHY have i been absolutely sobbing weeping since he let go of my embrace and opened the door to his new home...his new life....his new "family" (for now)?

Because THIS is what i see every time the door closes behind him.....

Tim

~*~*~"First Day of Kindergarten"~*~*~

...And my heart is ever so heavy this morning beacuse i woke up to an empty house....

and looked into a little boy's room whose bed was still made...

 and at walls of memories of the child he once was and is no more.

No wet towels on the bathroom floor and toothpaste in the sink...

No cereal bowls and juice cups on the kitchen counter...

No TV's left on when he is in his car and waving goodbye.

Only whispers of the energy that filled our home for 19 years with a whirlwind of tears and joy.

So...in the days and weeks ahead,

I will miss the boy he once was and

 the next time I see him...

I will embrace the man he has become.

Avec Amour,

~*~Michelle~*~*

  

Wonderful White Wednesday

It's raining like crazy here (for the last 3 days)...so i am sharing some pictures from inside my studio not "outside" as planned...

...can ANYONE ever get enough of shabby, coverless books?

...oh those "Mary Vases"...they are ALL OVER the place these days...

...some of my destash...

...my inspiration board...

...on my jewelry-making area...

..where i blog...

...my dad's number...dear to my heart...

...notes...ideas...reminders...

...more inspiration...

...c'est tous!

Happy White Wednesday Mes Amies! I am heading over to Faded Charm for more inspiration on this very dreary day!

Avec Amour,

~*~Michelle*~*~

I Love Old Things"

It's Vintage Summer Monday and , although i didn't get the chance to go "junkin".....i thought i'd share my love of all things "vintage" by sharing one of my favorite old books. It's called "I Love Old Things"written by Harold Darling. 

Enjoy.....

"Most people love newness. They glory in things new-made, primally clean, unmarked by use. They like chinaware gleaming in its fresh glaze, clocks that never need winding, books fresh from the press, the songs of the day, houses blank of other lives, the smell of a new car, chairs without troubled joints. They want new things around them because these make them feel fresh and clean, ready to step into life as one steps from a cool shower into a new day.

I understand these feelings, sometimes even share them, but mostly…I love old things.

I love old cities, those whose streets whisper the secrets of centuries, ones in which buildings lean against one another like family dogs asleep.

I love old houses, those with crooked windows, room of all sizes, tall ceilings, soundless walls, basements, attics, shady yards, and tipsy chimneys.

I love houses with porches that can be lived on, where the sound of a glider or the creak of a rocker is clear against the stillness, where fireflies float and a pitcher of iced tea slowly mists.

I love old rooms, those with time-polished floors, deep fireplalces, many-paned windows – rooms filled with memories.

I want in my rooms fire that has been tamed. I want candle light, yellow and gentle, moving as the air moves, soft as a flower, making everything lovely. I want fire in a fireplace, groaning and spitting like a living being, making a room a place where one is never alone, inviting us to daydream.

I love old gardens, ever changing, yet recalling something of their maker’s plan, places where one leaves time for a paradise of odors, colors, and forms.

I love old trees storm beaten whisperers, offering us in summer a world of shade, and in winter their bare beauty.

I love old shops, ones with crowded windows and overflowing shelves, places where the endless quest can be pursued, the unknown discovered, and rewards achieved.

I love old things; ones that were made to last, and have lasted. I love them because they bring me closer to the past from which I grew, and to those who made and used them. I love them because I admire their ingenuity, skill, and design, and because... I feel that it is right to cherish that which has been cherished by those that came before me.

Best of all old things are old books, fragrant, subtle in their faded jackets, a limitless universe of knowledge and passion, waiting patiently for a reader to open them and enter.

I love old songs, the ones that people sang together through all the dramas of their lives, the songs that were passed like heirlooms from one generation to another, and are still remembered.

I love old tales, one shaped over generations and proven good through the testing on listeners of all ages and minds. Such tales as these never grow old.

I love the old way of doing things, customs that sustain us by their constancy, and connect us with all those men and women who have gone before.

I love the old holidays, the ones which in my childhood were the high points of the year. My parents and their parents before them looked forward to these days as avidly as I. The celebration, the decoration, the family meal – these habits of the best kind.

I love old ruins for their melancholy splendor; they show me the persistence of beauty in the face of time."

Happy Vintage Summer Monday Mes Amies! 

This will be my last VSM post as I prepare to welcome in "L'Automne!"

Avec Amour,

~*~Michelle~*~

Wonderful White Wednesday

On this White Wednesday I'm sharing some photos from my "Inspirations Folders."

I'd like to sit at THIS table and ......

...reach for a coffee mug from THIS cupboard.....

...and look at THIS wall.

I'd like to sit on THIS chair in my garden....

...or THIS chair in my studio.

I'd like to sit here to read, write and blog.

I'd like to hang my family photos here....

....or here.

I'd like to sleep in THIS room.....

...or in THIS bed....

...with THIS above my sleepy head...

...while looking at THIS.

And thanks to all of THESE books....I can imagine doing JUST THAT!

Happy White Wednesday! I'm heading over to Faded Charm for more white inspiration!

Avec Amour,

~*~Michelle~*~

Vintage Summer Mondays

I'm back!! Have been away from the blog lately. Got a new computer and THIS rigid creature of habit is having some hissy fits challenges getting used to the new technology. SO sorry for my absence! 

Happy to be back and sharing some junkin' finds from a yard sale i went to this past week-end. Alas...haven't been to my favorite flea market in a while (long story). So..here are the goodies...

i know...i know...i need more Mary Vases like i need a "you know what" but how could i resist them??

...also....some vintage napkins with gorgeous tatted trim...

....lots and lots of crochet thread....

...and bobbins in my favorite creamy white...

..a bag full of these crocheted rosettes (someone was going to make a very lovely tablecloth)....

..this adorable picture of sweethearts feeding squirrels on a park bench. the flowering tree and flowers are made out of the tiniest most perfect sea shells you've ever seen...

..and an antique reverse glass-painted picture of a woman at her spindle (both of these pictures will be for sale in my vintage shop soon so if you're interested in them..just let me know!)

...i can never pass up old Christmas ornaments...

Did you find any "tresors" this week-end??

Happy Vintage Summer Monday!

Avec Amour,

~*~Michelle~*~