08 Wednesday Feb 2017
Posted in cat, dormant season, old haunts, Past Loves, winter
Have you ever had a cat touch it’s nose to your pencil as you write?
To gently push and force the page adjoining
Rattle ever so gently
In order to push aside, then rub her head on a corner
Stepping around in a tactful way
To lie down just aside the binding
Jolting as if to pounce
From your page it flies
Only to walk up your leg and
Chew on your eraser.
November 1972
Miss Kitty ~ my muse for eleven years
Copyright © 2017 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
31 Wednesday Dec 2014
Posted in home, life, Past Loves, Virginia, wild birds
Tags
Today, we arrive on the cusp of a new year. As I reflect on 2014, these unpublished images remind me of the past, the classics, and the sometimes forgotten or abandoned.
rolled down a hillside, left to dissolve among the trees; a safe harbor for transient creatures
instrument panel forever fixed in time
if only a quick tune-up could bring this ruin to life
farewell old friend…
Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy, and celebration
The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning, and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.
Sweet Baby H on Valentine’s Day 2014
May 2015 bring clear paths
exhilarating moments
and snippets of sheer bliss
May we never forget the past, the decrepit, the lost and may these memories give us strength and hope for a better time, place, and eternity. Stand up for good and believe the best can come for us all.
Copyright © 2014 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
26 Tuesday Feb 2013
Posted in blessings, home keeping, Lifestyle, Past Loves, renewal, winter
Tags
"Best Key Lime Pie on the Planet", Annie Get Your Gun, Broadway Musicals, butcherblock, Camelot, Classical musical recordings, home projects, Julie Andrews, key lime pies, King and I, LP's, musical tunes, Oklahoma, richard burton, rogers and hammerstein
rainy day
Following two days of grueling garden projects, I am happy to report much-needed rain. I will soon see if the new berms, mulch, and rock placement deter further erosion on the property.
Key Lime pies are cooling in the fridge awaiting their restaurant delivery later today, yet, in the meantime, I must continue winter project momentum—as well I know, spring will be here too soon and my energies will be forced outdoors.
For reasons unknown recently, classic musical tunes from my mother’s LP collection surfaced to my consciousness, prompting me to find the reproduction turntable and her actual record collection.
As a captive indoors—with butcher block counter-top refurbishing looming—I clicked on the dial of the turntable and began a sing-along with the likes of Al Goodman, Irving Berlin, Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, and Rogers and Hammerstein. Blimey, what genius heralds from the days of High Fidelity!
Mother always took great care of her vinyl collections and these disks remain virtually pristine—the sound incredible—only superseded by the engaging lyrics! While growing, I often sang in the family room cedar closet in order to hear my voice. Hmm, a closet singer? Who knew! And what back up I had!
Furthermore, I dare any man to top Richard Burton’s rendition of How to Handle a Woman. This is romance personified folks!
fine lyrics from the past
LP’s are a fine way to visit former musical giants
Therefore, with a song in my heart and a tune on my lips— despite rain and chore—I flew through my assignment and filled the house with lively chorus.
sing and sand
tools for the task
gleaming restoration
I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night...and now I must get off my sing-song horse, fire up the van, and transport KL PIES to the hungry mortals who await yet another slice of The Best Key Lime Pie on the Planet.
Do you have favorite tunes from your childhood? How often do you sing them? I strongly recommend this. I cannot remember being so uplifted as I trudged through deep puddles and navigated busy afternoon traffic.
Post Script: Still singing when I arrived to town, I quickly found out that neither the chef nor bank teller knew what an LP was. Oh, what that generation is missing!
Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
14 Thursday Feb 2013
Posted in blessings, dreaming, home, Lifestyle, old haunts, Past Loves
Tags
blessings, childhood memories, happy valentine, lifestyle, memorable snacks, time of innocence, Valentine's Day, virginia countryside
Slightly dented, this little glass jar holds more than sugar and cinnamon.
It was part of my childhood, eagerly sought after school to add sweetness to buttery toast following the end of a long school day. This little jar waited in my mother’s kitchen cabinet for decades, quietly, still full of sweetness, until it became part of my household upon her death in 1995.
I drifted from this childhood ritual, yet recently found this little jar, still waiting quietly in the cupboard, ready to deliver me back to my mother’s cedar paneled kitchen and our seventeen-acre horse farm. Merely a glimpse transports me to a simple, fine time of innocence.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
27 Wednesday Jun 2012
Posted in farmer's market, Lifestyle, Past Loves, photography, season, summer, sustainable lifestyle
Tags
chutney, discerning shoppers, food, jam, LaSauce, loose ends, photography, rich spices, sauce
Some days I feel rough at the edges, somehow not put together. I captured an image at market this past weekend that seems to say it all.
As taste trends shift, so must I. In an effort to even my ballast, I dug out all my old chutney, jam, and sauce recipes. After a big shop for supplies Monday, I began the tedious tasks associated with canning.
For the past 48 hours my home has smelled of rich spices and bubbling fruit.
By noon today there were fifty jars sealed and labeled—ready for discerning shoppers come Saturday.
This girl is tuckered out—where is that pool when I need it?
Remember to glide your mouse over images for further captions.
Tomorrow I am tasked to make granola and olive oil crackers with New Mexico red chile. 😉
Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
12 Tuesday Jun 2012
Posted in blessings, cat, Lifestyle, Past Loves, photography, renewal, sustainable lifestyle
This day began as any other Tuesday—except rain fell in sheets.
No matter, Tuesday is my day for town and errands. Only too soon would I discover that this day would be like no other…
On May 5, 2011 my muse and love, Miss Kitty left this life. We were inseparable for eleven years. The following photograph hung in my kitchen until yesterday when I moved it into the bay window where Miss Kitty’s ashes, favorite toy, and fancy ribbon reside.
During the last year of her life, Miss Kitty’s favorite napping/supervising spot was the top of my printer—unless she was watching the butterfly larva crawl around their containers.
A few days following her departure, I photographed a black swallowtail butterfly as it emerged in my office near the printer. I raise butterflies as a hobby…
Miss Kitty and I love butterflies.
I liked her photo next to her memorial, as she seemed right at home.
When I returned from town this morning, the rain continued to fall heavily. Once dry, I mixed a special order batter and poked it into the oven. Deciding to take a break, I headed to the living room where I began to peruse photographs. Suddenly I noticed something black in the bay window next to Miss Kitty’s memorial.
Nestled into the corner was a very-much-alive black swallowtail butterfly.
Can you imagine what went through my mind?
I thought that I was hallucinating!
A few moments later a knock came at the door, and a Fed-Ex person held a delivery—my new printer!
I clearly stepped through the looking-glass today and found myself experiencing childhood magic. I have no rational explanation for what occurred.
Do you?
Even the first draft of this blog disappeared when I clicked the publish button!
Another first.
I cannot explain how the butterfly managed to be in my home.
Butterflies do not fly in rain.
And why was this butterfly in Miss Kitty’s Memorial?
I am filled with gratitude and hopeful that my Miss Kitty resides with me still.
Yet I dearly miss the pitter-patter of her little feet on the wooden floors.
Remember to glide your mouse over images for further captions.
PS: Read more about Miss Kitty in my my blogs entitled the thing about profound loss and the thing about whiskers; both essays found in the left hand column.
And the pound cake turned out pretty too. 😉
Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
09 Sunday Oct 2011
Posted in blessings, life, Past Loves, renewal
This week found me back on a horse following a twenty-six year hiatus.
Recollections of my first Virginia home always include horses, dogs, cats, goats, ducks, chickens and the tasks associated with their care. This was not a farm, per se, as slaughter rarely occurred. These critters found their way to Saddle Pond Farm through my mother’s passion and her riding school on Long Island. Although I rarely saw my mother ride, she imprinted this love onto two of her children.
While an adolescent, I endured the horse shows, the fox-hunting, the equitation competitions, to arrive at my truest love—riding alone in the Southwest hills of Albemarle County. There endless beauty prevailed.
As young adult, horse ownership melted into the life of college student, then into the life of an artist, far removed from her roots. Only twice over the decades did I ride—once in Central Park, NYC and then again in the Grand Tetons, Wyoming.
At long last, those distant memories manifested into reality. This week at the invitation of a new friend, I was once again on the back of a pleasant quarter horse in the fields of northwest Albemarle.
One of the last things my mother said to me before she died was, “you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.”
Full circles are just that—they welcome, comfort, reaffirm, and empower.
Have you rediscovered a past love recently?
