Saturday, November 17, 2012

Not too jaded


1977

Our wedding! Bradford, UK, at dear pals Liz and Alan's house.

David and I just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.... Jade. Did I buy or receive a jade gift? No. But we DID treat ourselves to the most beautiful painting by Flora Bowley with several jade green tones in it called, rather appropriately for the occasion, Rise Together.



Her paintings are beautiful, layers and layers of colour and pattern, bold images, unfortunately my photographs don't do them justice!


2 more of Flora's paintings in our house in Reston 

It's a bit of a shock to find ourselves still around, so many years later. How did it happen?! But, considering the alternatives, very grateful. And, as I suggested to David..... we could potentially have another 35 years to go yet! (at this point we both groaned in perfect unison)

Here we are now, still surviving, all grown up. Inside we don't feel as changed as we look. but where did all that hair go?!







Thursday, November 8, 2012

Jolly Gourd Show

Hurricane Sandy swept through our area at the end of October and although we were spared any of the terrible effects NJ and NY suffered, it did put a swift end to Fall. A lot of trees went from beautiful to bald overnight and the temperatures suddenly dropped to wintery levels. I'd been procrastinating over posting the inevitable farm market, pumpkin pictures and now they have quite a tinge of nostalgia.




 In September I went to the Greenmarket at Union Square, NY, and took way too many pictures. Pumpkins look the same anywhere. It reminded me of my school trip to Paris, age 11 back in the '60s. The first place we visited was the zoo and I used up both the films for my Brownie 127 camera on pictures of animals! Came home with no record at all of the Eiffel Tower of the Arc de Triomphe.






 Farmers come from Long Island, upstate NY and New Jersey three times a week and set up as wonderful an organic farm market as you'd find anywhere.




 See the bees on the bear's nose, smeared with honey.... brilliant way to stop them from harassing the customers!










Found that picture a little confusing! But it's good to know you can buy duck if that's what you fancy.




Town and country. This was a wonderful organic bread stall, wished I wasn't living in a hotel!



It was really crowded and bustling with people shopping in the sunshine, lots of children, people on their lunch breaks from work, a few tourists like me.  New York is a very livable city.

After this wonderful trip it was back home to the N Virginia suburbs where the pumpkins lie in fields, even if they've just been placed there for effect....





This all feels a bit more authentic but I miss the cars, the skyscrapers and all that noise!








Wednesday, November 7, 2012

4 More Years!


After living here for 25 years, we finally took citizenship and could vote in this election. It was easy, a short walk from home and a 35 minute wait. There was an option to vote electronically or to fill in a paper ballot which you took to be scanned and and could see was counted immediately. We did that. I can't see why anyone thinks the electronic method is better? No paper record as back up if there's a dispute? I don't get it.
What I did get was this sticker. I've given many stickers out to children when I was an art teacher but I don't think I've been on the receiving end before. I felt really happy!




Then we went home and had a little patriotic red, white and blue celebration before David went back to work. Champagne would have been preferable but the Yorkshire tea sums it all up nicely!