Deck the Halls...

Well, actually no holly here though the holly trees round here are full of berries.
At the green market however...

there are wreaths galore

and garlands

and berries

bows offered if needed.

There is a strange pale sort of lavender

and  the hellebores - also called Lenten or Christmas roses...

 and skinny trees  - the kind I like better than fat ones.

Last of all a wreath made entirely of herbs.

So pretty

So practical.

A Day on Long Island

Celeste has brought back a little lusterware jug from France.

We need to catch up over tea

and a dip in a friend's pool. 

The fish is a new thing to do with chlorine.

The sun casts bright midday shadows.

Paint crunching off the table, matching the out of control petunia.

Paint crunching off the chair.

Back to Nature

It is good to escape from the hot city and go back to look at nature.
Here a friend's garden on Long Island.



She collects all sorts of things -- including garden furniture........



In due course of time, the said furniture blends in with its surroundings.......


..... as it lives in the woods.



This almost-vanished chair is actually one of a pair of ours.
We were thinking of having it stripped and painted and all sorts of complicated things .
At the moment we are letting it enjoy its ten year country vacation.

Zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) or SHOPPING

This is for Mrs.Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday.
This first picture is Macy's on 34th Street.
I went there yesterday to buy a swimsuit on sale.
Not a happy trip though the price was good. Blue and white polka dots.
When it's a lost cause, one might as well have fun.

File under zeitgeist "the spirit of the age" a German word.
The current obsessions seem to be celebrities and shopping - both of which I claim to despise and know about anyway.
Yes, I do buy things and yes, I do know the names of the Brangelina twins. Hmm.......



The second two pictures are of the interior of the Apple store on the corner of 14th Street and 9th Avenue.
Lots of people were lined up to buy iphones.
I'm sure these are a wonderful invention and perhaps, in due course of years, I'll get one.
At the moment I do not have a cell/mobile phone. Hooray!



The Apple building is beautifully renovated and the young staff uniformly energetic and engaging.
My laptop's keyboard's letters - particularly 'i' and 'e' have vanished from overuse.
Temptation abounds.........

A virtual Tea Party

Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist had a wonderful idea. A virtual mad tea party. See her blog for all the bloggers joining the fun.
Who wouldn't want to come?



The art of the tea party is not lost on the English. 4pm.
The Menu
Cucumber sandwiches cut rather thin, crusts removed
Scones with butter and clotted cream and strawberry jam
A Victoria sponge cake - more cream - a light dusting of icing sugar on top.
Earl Grey tea, of course, milk or lemon to suit.




The Table Setting
A "Brown Betty" teapot - silver is pretty but doesn't make the best tea.
A collection of bone china cups collected over the years including Wedgewood and Spode.
The roses in a lusterware jug my mother once loved.



The Guest List
You, of course, and all my other blogging chums but since it's in the virtual world, it might be fun to invite a group of women writers -
Jane Austen ( of course)
Mrs.Gaskell
Nancy Mitford
Katherine Mansfield
Kaye Gibbons
not too many people because they'd all have lots to say.......
What fun it would be.
Who would you ask?

Distractions

I'm sure all of you who work at home or are remotely creative know the drill.
There are so many things that prevent one from actually getting down to work.
There is the standard cup of tea..........



............the sofa to sit on............



..........the early morning light falling just so. Robert's drawings of people in Djemma elFna above........



His table waiting for him him to get to work. He is much more disciplined than me.



As a last resort one can look out of the window. I do that a lot.
At about 7 yesterday evening there was a rainbow behind the Empire State Building.




From the side window, I can look down at people on the little path that runs between 23rd and 24th Streets.
I can write blogs. I can do all sorts of things.
What do you do when trying to avoid writing - or whatever it is you think you ought to be doing?

Cold

A high school on 24th Street has very swanky doors.
It's cold walking up to Whole Foods.



A bistro on 8th Avenue has door whose color reminds me of Marrakech.



One flower to a vase.......very tasteful and, one hopes, not too pricey.




Between 8th and 7th Avenue on 18th Street, I come upon a strange hand and wonder if I should have my fortune told. But I don't.



The golden lion looks suitably mysterious and rather fierce.