Tagged by Elizabeth at "Pinecones and Acorns"

The wonderful Elizabeth at Pinecones and Acorns has "tagged" me!  This means that she has asked me eleven questions about myself which I will answer.  Then I am suposed to choose eleven bloggers and ask them a set of questions.  And so on and so forth...you get the idea.  The point of the exercise is for all of us to get to know some bloggers a little bit better.  This exercise has been a lot of fun.  So here goes...

1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?

Woodstock, Vermont

AUTUMN has always been my favorite season.  What's not to love about this season of sunny and crisp days, houses and shops decorated with pumpkins and chrysanthemums, maple leaves scattered on the ground and small New England towns all decked out for the holidays.  This love of autumn started when I was a little girl and anticipated the beginning of the school year which meant new clothes, crisp temperatures, seeing my friends again and meeting new teachers.  As I got older nothing really changed; I went away to college and the same excitement occurred: new clothes, crisp temperatures, seeing my friends and meeting new teachers.  Now I welcome autumn because it is the coziest season around my house with lots of cooking and baking, a time to nest and be home as I get ready for the holidays, my very favorite time of the  year!

2. DO YOU PREFER TO WATCH TV OR READ?  WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF TELEVISION OR BOOKS?

"Downton Abbey"
Photo via here

This is a close contest because when TELEVISION is this good (see above)  I love it.  One of the advantages to a television series such as "Downton Abbey" is its episodic quality.  With six or more episodes, we can really sink into the story much as we would into a good old-fashioned, sprawling novel.  Which brings me to the second part of the question, my favorite genre of books -- definitely NOVELS. I love becoming immersed in a good novel.  A good novel takes me places and puts me into other people's minds.  The best writers tell stories and invent characters that are always relevant and contain truths we can apply to our own lives. These books stand the test of time.  And so I often reread my favorites. These books take me to a cozy place, a place of recognition and connection, they make me smile and allow me to learn.  Here are three that I like to revisit:

So, the answer is I really love both!

3.  IF YOU COULD STEP INTO A TIME MACHINE AND GO ANYWHERE IN TIME, WHERE WOULD YOU VISIT?  WHY?

Photo via here

PARIS IN THE 1920'S as depicted in Woody Allen's film "Midnight in Paris."  It is his love letter to the city of lights.  It is also a wonderful reminder of a period of time and place when writers and artists were coming together and doing new and exciting work, creating art that would have a lasting impact on the world.  I would love to experience the excitement about art and life that was going on in Paris at that time.  Friendships were strong, literary salons were popular, and for the young and idealistic, life was intoxicating.  Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, the Murphys -- they were all there.  "Midnight in Paris" shows that era in a kind of a glow and a golden light, which is how it has always looked in my imagination.

4.  ARE YOU A CAT OR A DOG LOVER?

Elizabeth, I don't have a pet but if I had to choose it would be a dog.  My friends have dogs and I have a lot of fun playing with these furry friends.  Darla (my little Yorkie friend), you know I am talking about you here!

 5.  WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ASPECT OF BLOGGING?

There are three answers to this question:

The first is WRITING AND TAKING PICTURES.  Being a blogger is almost like being the editor of your own "magazine," the creative possibilities are endless.  For someone like me who loves magazines, this is a true joy.  And it is also an outlet for me to talk about the things I am most excited about.

The second are the OPPORTUNITIES that have occurred because of my blog:
For example I was happy when Stacey from Quintessence asked me to write a piece for the online magazine Women's Voices For Change.   I was thrilled when they accepted my essay about my daughter's wedding and my milestone birthday both occurring in the same month.
David from the excellent art blog A Husk of Meaning asked me to write a guest post on an artist I admired and I wrote about Duncan Grant and the Bloomsbury Group.  This was an opportunity to really delve into a topic that I love.

An old friend from grad school days at UCLA contacted me through my blog.  We haven't seen each other for ages. She lives in Connecticut and we've already planned a get-together for the next time she is in Los Angeles.

And the third and most important aspect of blogging is becoming acquainted with FELLOW BLOGGERS and MY READERS.  I have learned so much from you!  Book suggestions, gardening stories, travel advice, ideas for home decorating, inspiring thoughts and beautiful images, friendship and cheer.  It has been such a rewarding experience!  

6.  WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY?  A STAY-CATION, VISIT WITH FAMILY, A CRUISE OR A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD?

Well, this is so hard to give just one answer.  (Are you noticing a pattern here?)  Bear with me, as I narrow it down to three.  And I would love my whole family to be with me on any of these dream trips!

THE SOUTH OF FRANCE --

My trip to the Luberon region of Provence was one of my favorite trips and left me wanting more.  Peter Mayle's books whetted my appetite, and when I finally got to go several years ago, it was worth the wait.  I would love to return and explore different parts of this region.  You probably recognize this photo from my header.  I love that path leading us to more discoveries...

ITALY --

Discovering beautiful and magical Venice when I went to Italy was a highlight of my life.  We also visited Florence and Rome on that same trip.  It was my only trip to Italy and I would love to go back and trace the footsteps of my ancestors. They lived in Naples and Rome.  One day...

ENGLAND --

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I have a love affair with England.  It started when I was in college and read English poetry and English novels for six years.   All those locations from the books were present in my imagination before I even visited England.  When I went for the first time, it was almost like going home.  I walked the streets of London that Dickens had described in his books, I saw Shakespeare's plays in the city where they were originally staged, I visited the English countryside where Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell lived.   The photo above which is from the Cotswolds takes me to the region where the delicious "Mapp and Lucia" books by E.F. Benson were set.  And there are so many parts of England that I still haven't seen:  the lake district of Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter, Yorkshire where the Brontes lived. The list is endless...

7.  SWEET OR SALTY?  WHAT IS YOUR GO TO FOOD SNACK?

Definitely SWEET and if I could, I would eat this every day.  But since I try to be good, I usually have a cup of tea and some ginger snap cookies in the afternoon.

8.  WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?

 I used to write book reviews for several publications and I often dream of getting back into it:

Ralphe Fiennes in "The Tempest" at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
Photo via here

But right now my dream job in journalism would be as a THEATER CRITIC.  I adore Ben Brantley's reviews in the New York Times and when he flies off to London to review the new season I always wish I could be him.  Can you imagine seeing all the fabulous plays he sees and then writing about them?  What a treat to see "The Tempest" (which I got to to see on my September trip to London) as a theater critic and then write up a glorious review the next day.  Obviously it's not all a bed of roses, but still I can imagine the gems would outweigh the disappointments.  And (since we are still in my fantasy world here)  I would love to write like him.  His review of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" (the longest running play in modern history) was excellent (you can read it here).  I loved his thoughts on this old classic and why it still has meaning and value.

There is also part of me that would love to be an interior decorator.  I read home decor magazines incessantly and love looking at people's houses.  There is such an appeal to the idea of helping someone create a "home" and encouraging them to let it be a reflection of who they are.  When I walk into a friend's house and see their books, art, travel souvenirs and family heirlooms, I really feel at home.    

And then there is always the delicious idea of being a food writer or food stylist for a magazine.  Okay, I cheated here and gave way too many answers, but I got carried away when I imagined my dream job!

9.  WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST?

"Bar at the Folies-Bergere" by Edouard Manet, 1882

I love MANET and his "Bar at the Folies Bergere" is one of my favorite paintings.  The face of the barmaid is so compelling, we wonder what is she really thinking as she goes about her job.   

10.  WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CITY IN THE WORLD, EITHER ONE YOU HAVE VISITED OR HOPE TO SEE ONE DAY?

LONDON --
   In the words of Samuel Johnson, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life."

11.  DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SAYING, OR MOTTO?

"BE HAPPY.  IT'S ONE WAY OF BEING WISE." -- Colette

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I am sending the following bloggers my questions:

Lauren from The Past on a Plate
Penny from LIFE ON THE CUTOFF
Rachel from Book Snob
Keri from Ivy Clad
Sarah from Snippets of Thyme
Carole from Mademoiselle Poirot
Claire from The Captive Reader
Bonnie from Living Life
Monique from Bringing Travel Home
Megan from Poem Sweet Poem
Janet from Janet's House

THE QUESTIONS:

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE WRITER AND IF SO WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK BY THAT WRITER?

IF THERE WERE FOUR PEOPLE FROM ANY TIME PERIOD YOU COULD INVITE TO DINNER WHO WOULD THEY BE?

DO YOU LIKE TO COOK?  DO YOU LIKE TO ENTERTAIN AT HOME?  IF THE ANSWER IS YES, WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE ENTERTAINMENT AND COOKBOOK AUTHORS?

ARE YOU IN A BOOK CLUB?  WHAT IS THE BEST BOOK YOU HAVE READ RECENTLY?

WHAT ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE DO YOU GO TO WHEN YOU WANT TO RELAX?  DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE NOOK FOR READING OR DAYDREAMING?

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PART OF THE WORLD.   WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR HOME TOWN?

WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED FORM OF EXERCISE -- WALKING, YOGA, THE GYM, OR OTHER?

HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO WRITE A SHORT STORY, MEMOIR OR A NOVEL?

ARE YOU A GARDENER, OR ARE YOU A GARDEN ADMIRER?  YOU CAN BE BOTH!

WHEN YOU TRAVEL, DO YOU LIKE TO GO TO A CITY OR THE COUNTRYSIDE?

WHAT WOULD YOUR DREAM CELEBRATION BE FOR A BIG BIRTHDAY?

I hope you will read all these wonderful blogs; each of them is inspiring, informative and will take you on a little journey.  These writers are sharing their passions and interests and reading their blogs will bring a smile to your face and give you something new to think about.

All photos are by Sunday Taylor unless otherwise noted.

Down The Garden Path

The Cotswolds, England

June, 2010

Right now I am reading books about gardens.  More specifically, I am reading books about gardeners and garden dreamers.  These are books about the intrepid souls who dream about having a garden and their dreams become a passion.  In these books the garden lovers go on to create the garden of their dreams.  I have written before (you can read it here) that these kind of books seem so hopeful to me because the garden is often a metaphor for discovering meaning and hope in one's own life.  Somehow the garden helps the garden dreamer get there.  And in the case of English writer Beverley Nichols, there is a healthy dose of humor thrown in to the mix that makes the reading experience so delightful.

I have read several gardening books by Beverley Nichols, but not his very first one "Down the Garden Path," which is considered a true garden classic.  I opened this gorgeous book recently (the illustrations are by Rex Whistler) and read the introduction and the foreword.  I began to get a sense of what a delicious reading experience this is going to be.

 The Cotswolds, England

June, 2010

From the foreword I learned that Beverley Nichols was a prolific writer on subjects ranging from religion to politics and travel. He wrote six novels, five detective mysteries, four children's stories and six plays.  He lived in London and was a successful writer and a dapper man about town.  In the 1920's he appeared  to be the epitome of the Jazz Age playboy, an image he was eager to change.  In 1928 he bought a beautiful Tudor cottage built in 1520 in the village of Glatton, England with a garden that had been badly neglected.  Working in London on a musical show and other writing projects at the time, he could only get away on the weekends to work on the restoration of the cottage and garden.  But his weekend hobby became his passion.

He decided to write a book about his experience and thought his readers would enjoy this tale of a "playboy-turned gardener." He took less than three weeks to finish it.  As he said, "It was hardly like writing a book at all, it was more like arranging a bunch of mixed flowers."  This book "Down the Garden Path" came out in 1932 and was a huge success.   

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The book opens with these words:

"I believe in doing things too soon.  In striking before the iron is hot, in leaping before one has looked, in loving before one has been introduced.  Nearly all the great and exciting things in life have been done by men who did them too soon.  It was far, far too soon for Columbus to set out on his crazy trip to the New World.  The ether was not ready for Beethoven when he began a symphony on a dominant seventh.  Shelley, long before the appointed time, unloosed, with trembling fingers, the starched ribbons which bound the dress of Poetry.  'Too soon...too soon...' it is the snarling sleepy cry which greets all new-born beauty, all flights of the spirit.

 

I know that unless I write a gardening book now...swiftly, and finish it it before the last bud outside my window has spread its tiny fan...it will be too late to write it at all.  For shortly I shall know too much...shall dilate, with tedious prolixity, on the root formation of the winter aconite, instead of trying to catch on paper the glint of its gold through the snow, as I remember it last winter, like a fistful of largesse thrown over a satin quilt.  Just as the best school stories are written by boys who have only just left school, so, I feel, the best gardening books should be written by those who still have to search their brains for the honeysuckle's languid Latin name, who still feel awe at the miracle which follows the setting of a geranium cutting in its appointed loam.

That is why I have written this book.  You must not look to it for guidance.  It will not tell you how to prune a rose-bush...No...I fear that this book holds little practical wisdom.  But if any gardeners should honour me by turning its pages, idly, after their day's work is done, I hope that from time to time they may be tempted to smile, not unkindly, at the recollections of their own early follies.  And I hope that there may come to them, once more, a faint tremor of that first ecstasy which shook them when they learnt that a garden is the only mistress who never fails, who never fades..."

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Have you ever dreamed of starting a garden from scratch?  Or redoing your garden?  Maybe reading about someone who did it would be enough.  Beverley Nichols book "Down the Garden Path" is considered a garden classic.  It is a magical place to start your journey.  

The Promise of Spring

Spring is almost here and flower arrangements like these from Botany Flowers bring it a little closer.  Friends came over for dinner last weekend and the flowers above were a beautiful centerpiece for the table.  A few days later I hosted a meeting for the "...into the garden" Benefit Garden Tour put on by the Friends of Robinson Gardens.  I wanted to add a dose of spring freshness to both occasions and so called on the wonderful florist Botany for two flower arrangements.

About 25 dedicated women attended the fundraiser meeting at my house and it was very successful.  Have you ever noticed how creative women are when they are motivated and passionate about their cause?   A friend of mine said something so true, "I have always believed in the power of women gathering to work on good things in this world."  I agree with her, there is nothing like a group of women for getting a job done.  I am so inspired by all the talented women I know and the contributions they make to their community.

The Benefit Committee's task is to put on a garden tour (guests see five private gardens in West Los Angeles) which is followed by a garden party at the Robinson Gardens Estate.  This takes place on May 18.  It is our biggest fundraiser of the year and an event that every garden lover in Los Angeles looks forward to.  This year I am working on the boutique and we have gotten some very exciting vendors to participate.  They will be selling garden hats, jewelry, purses, art, home decor, garden ornaments, plants, clothing, and other lovely items.  I have been going on this tour for many years and it has always been a highlight of the spring season for me.  Now I get to work on it with the talented women in this group and it is an inspiring experience.  Spring is traditionally a time for garden tours and other fundraisers.  It is a season of people working together as volunteers on projects they care about.  If you are involved in something like this in your community, I would love to hear about it.

Spring is the season of renewal and rebirth, and there is nothing like getting involved in your community to make you feel energized and alive.  

By the way, today is the birthday of English writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West who was born in 1892.  Happy Birthday, Vita!  Her garden at Sissinghurst Castle has been a source of inspiration for so many gardeners.  You can read more about her on the Writer's Almanac.

Happy Spring!

Beautiful Maps

Are you the kind of adventurous traveller who dreams of going on an African safari or a trek through India? Or are you a quieter sort of traveller who delights in a garden tour of the English countryside?  No matter which kind of travel experience you enjoy, if you love to travel you probably love maps.  Do you gaze at them and see myriad opportunities for traveling to distant parts of the world?  Do you also find beauty in the older, vintage ones?  Chances are good that you would probably love to have a beautiful hand-painted map made for you that documents your very special journey. This is exactly what my talented friend Connie Brown creates at Redstone Studios in the town of Durham, Connecticut.

The map featured above was done for a client to document a memorable trip to East Africa.  The client is an accomplished nature photographer and supplied Connie with photos of wild animals and other details of the trip, including a quote about Africa from the writer Ernest Hemingway.  This is a map to be treasured, not only as a representation of the location of a magnificent trip, but also as a beautiful work of art to display in one's home. The photos below show some of the exquisite details that were included on this map.

Quote from Ernest Hemingway and beautiful paintings of the animals

Photo of giraffes that the client gave to Connie and Connie's artistic rendering below

In the photo above notice the map's border which is based on a beaded Maasai bracelet design and the compass rose which is inspired by a Maasai necklace.  These details contribute to the beauty and personal meaning of this project. The colors Connie has used throughout are so appealing -- the yellows, greens, blues and browns all work together well and create such a pleasing result.

More images of animals in the borders and gorgeous close-up of the regions in Africa that are featured

Connie is a cartographer and enjoys the marriage of art and science that exists in map making.  Her maps are accurate and also beautiful.  She has an interest in the elaborate elements found in Renaissance maps, such as borders, cartouches, elaborate lettering and illustrations.  These are features that add a beauty and vintage quality to her work. 

The list of maps that Redstone Studios has made over the years reads like a travel book of short stories:

A journey that a couple took to China to adopt their infant daughter and bring her home

The annual vacation that a family takes to their favorite lake in the Oregon Cascades

A trip that a family took to Africa to visit their son when he was in the Peace Corps

The travels of a couple who circled the globe at the equator, looking at animal species

The routes of a retired submarine captain

Civil War experiences depicted for the great-grandchildren of soldiers

A tiger reserve in India done for a documentary filmmaker

A wedding week in Tuscany

A private pilot's trip from Nantucket to Cape Town 

An antique car-rally in British Columbia

A bird watcher's trip to Antarctica 

You can imagine how many personal narratives and family history would be contained in the stories of these trips. These are tales of geography and the human spirit.

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If I were to commission a map from Redstone Studios, I can think of three ideas:

  

1) My garden tour of the Cotswolds in England

2) A literary landscape of England featuring the locations of my favorite writers 

3) A trip to Italy to trace the footsteps of my ancestors, born in Rome and Naples  (I haven't made this trip yet, but want to)

What trip would you like documented if you were to commission one of these maps?  Are you an adventuresome traveller or a traveller who likes to return to favorite places? 

"The past lives on, in art and memory, but it is not static:  it shifts and changes as the present throws its shadows backwards.  The landscape also changes, but far more slowly; it is a living link between what we were and what we have become."

--  Margaret Drabble,  "A Writer's Britain" 

Wouldn't it be amazing to have the landscapes of our lives, the ones that really made a difference, memorialized in maps such as those made by Redstone Studios?

Garden Memories

Now that March is almost here, I am getting excited for the arrival of Spring and spending some inspiring and peaceful time in the garden.  Many garden tours will be happening all over the country in the months to come and one of the most anticipated is the Robinson Gardens Tour here in Los Angeles. But right now I am obsessed with the gardens of England that I saw on a recent Garden Tour of the English countryside.  I was enchanted by the gorgeous English gardens that I visited, especially the one at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent and looking at these images takes me there again and fills me with the promise of Spring.  Come with me as I visit one of the most amazing gardens in England created by the legendary writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West.

In the distance, the Tower at Sissinghurst Castle where Vita wrote every morning and evening after gardening all day

How romantic --  the idea of discovering an abandoned castle that dates from the mid-sixteenth century, falling in love with it and spending years restoring it.  This is what English writer Vita Sackville-West decided to do when she found Sissisnghurst Castle in the county of Kent on April 3, 1930.  She lost her heart to this romantic ruin and purchased it.

Sissinghurst Castle

Vita had never recovered from that fact that due to being a woman she had been unable to inherit her ancestral home Knole, where she had spent her childhood.  Vita had grown up at Knole, a huge fifteenth-century palace spread over seven and a half acres and located in beautiful Kent.   It was called the "calendar house" because it included 4 square towers, 100 fireplaces, 52 staircases, and 365 rooms.  It was in the Knole chapel that she married her husband Harold Nicolson in 1913. This ancient estate had been in the family for hundreds of years.   Knole was Vita's passion and she was devastated when she lost it.  Instead of going to Vita, the only child of Lord Sackville, Knole went to Vita's male cousin -- sound familiar?  This ancestral home that she lost was Vita's "Downton Abbey."

And so she filled the void with the purchase and restoration of Sissinghurst Castle.  When the project was complete, she and her husband Harold Nicolson set about creating the magnificent gardens on the grounds of this estate. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of Sissinghurst are the "Garden Rooms," enclosures of different themed plantings that allow an intimacy and formality as you wander from one garden room to another.  If you are ever in this part of England, especially in the month of June, do not miss this very special place, one of the most gorgeous you will ever see.  

A view of the gardens from the Tower

The "garden rooms" can be clearly seen from this aerial view

And from another angle

 The White Garden

 More garden beauty at Sissinghurst...

Vita was a well-respected writer and wrote many excellent books, including "All Passion Spent" which I wrote about here.  Her book "The Edwardians" was a celebration of her nostalgia for Knole and a bestseller.  The money she made from it allowed her to buy Sissinghurst.   But she is probably most famous for the gardens she created at Sissinghurst. She was considered a renowned authority on gardens and wrote gardening articles for the London "Observer" for fifteen years.  It seems that nothing brought her greater joy than the paradise she created at Sissinghurst.   Perhaps it is her greatest legacy.

Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst in 1960
Photo via here

If  you visit be sure to allow enough time to walk all around this glorious property.  You may even be able to imagine Vita striding about the grounds in her riding pants tucked into high boots, often with a long string of pearls dangling from her neck.  She would be surveying the gardens and evaluating what needed to be done next.  Her ancestral love of land found its full expression at Sissinghurst Castle and she was determined to protect it from "any builder-aggressor" and save it for future generations.   

Beautiful Books

"I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them -- with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself."

-- Eudora Welty

I have always been in love with books, with their actual physical presence.  I know that this is why I have not been able to read them on any of the electronic devices.  I need to hold a book when I read it.  I also love to look at books and display them around my house because many of them are just so beautiful.  In fact, looking at the stack of books by Colette and E.M Forster in the photo above, I could easily get inspired to decorate an entire room based on these book jackets.  I would love to recreate these raspberry and blue colors on a wall somewhere in my house.

Here are some beautiful books that have been inspiring me lately.  These books have pattern, color and texture.  Their patina takes me to different time periods and places in my imagination.  Isn't there a sense of excitement and inspiration when you see them, for not only do they promise to take us on a journey, but their physical beauty has endless possibilities for decorating all the nooks and crannies of our houses. 

These favorite classics have just been reissued by Penguin Threads.  The covers actually feel embroidered.

The cover of this book about Charleston is decorated in a typical Bloomsbury fashion with its cross hatching in the margins and a drawing of the house set within a decorative circle.  It makes me smile.

Here is a golden yellow invitation from Vita Sackville-West to join her in the garden at Sissinghurst Castle and receive her expert gardening advice.  These four volumes contain the articles she wrote in her weekly gardening column for the "Observer" over the course of 15 years. 

These stately volumes of Shakespeare's plays and poems add literary cachet to a library

I love this stack of old cookbooks and the way they beckon us to faraway places and cuisines 

This equally inviting stack of more modern cookbooks is an invitation to get cooking, now!

I marvel at the beauty of this cover of "Madame Bovary," with a new translation that came out last year

This slim volume of autobiographical essays by Elizabeth Bowen is one of my treasures.  I love its femininity.

And for a dose of glamour, the cover of this book about Deborah Mitford has a stunning design.  She was the least known of the famous Mitford sisters and has a fascinating story to tell.

These two larger than life personalities and dear friends -- Virginia Woolf and Lytton Strachey --  write each other gossipy letters in this attractive book with its green and red dust jacket.  It's hard to believe these two were engaged to be married, an engagement that was wisely and quickly called off. 

The colors and pattern of this vivid book make it stand out on my book shelf.  This is the American edition of "Seducers in Ecuador" by Vita Sackville-West.

Some happiness in the kitchen

And just a little more