Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way

It’s been a glorious weekend, weather-wise, here in Maryland. I spent most of it at home but on Monday, I took a drive with my husband to get groceries and staples in Amish country.

The only groceries we seem to buy there are meat, though. We got enough chicken to stock the frig for over a month, but the store we’ve been going to since the early 80’s has expanded to a size that is almost ridiculous.

Nearly the entire store has been changed around, and I found myself not liking it one bit. Well, maybe just a teeny bit. Perhaps it comes with age, I don’t know. And when we were done with our shopping there, we went next door to get some clothing staples for my husband. He wears Carhart everything and if they made underwear, he’d probably wear that too.

Please don’t tell me they make Carhart underwear.

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I’m showing you the bucolic scenes that we drove past early this morning. Funny story: When we loaded the groceries into the car, my husband noticed that George was favoring his left paw. He tried to walk from one side of the back seat to the other and nearly fell over.

He was fine earlier, and after closer inspection of his dangling hoofer, we both determined that his foot had fallen asleep and he was experiencing pins and needles.

Actually, it’s not really that funny. He did look a little forlorn back there.

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And speaking of forlorn, I will tell you that today it was hard driving back into our past. That’s what I call it, anyway. We travel through all of these areas where we used to live (in Pennsylvania) and today I found myself wishing I hadn’t come along for the ride.

I tried to change how I was dealing with it but everywhere I looked, there lay my past. The high school where I used to work, the elementary school where my boys attended kindergarten, the gas station near our cottage on a horse farm where we lived for years, the roads where I traveled with my two young sons in tow while Tutu drove. I think that was the part that made me the most forlorn.

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I began to wonder if this is how the rest of the day was going to be for me.

And then I thought of Cher in Moonstruck with Nicolas Cage.

“SNAP OUT OF IT”, she yelled at him when he told her he was in love with her.


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My husband asked me what I was smiling about. “Oh, just a movie line,” I told him. And the closer we got to home, the better I began to feel.

I’m strange, I know.

These photos were processed using two actions from Set 1 of Pioneer Woman Actions.
I used Vintage, reducing the opacity to 50%. Then I ran fresh and colorful at about 90%. I just felt the need to share that with you.


Well, then. I guess it’s until tomorrow, my friends . . .


PS ~ The post title is a line from a song that was playing while we were driving home. It seemed appropriate to use the lyrics here.
Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.

~ Time, Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon

39 comments:

Ellen said...

I hear you about Shady. My parents go there about every two weeks and they aren't going as much since the latest expansion.

Love the pics - if only our lives could be so simple!! But then we wouldn't be able to see your beautiful photography.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

I loved that movie so....
Cosmo..the moon!....

Deb said...

love the photos...glad George is okay now...

myletterstoemily said...

i love that movie, but i'm sorry you felt
forlorn. i'm well acquainted with the
feeling. :)

dogs feet can go to sleep? learn some-
thing new everyday.

Hilary said...

I found myself in a funk today too.....for different reasons...and I love that line.
SNAP OUT OF IT.....couldn't have said it better.

mrs mediocrity said...

I love the look of these photos...they do look vintage.

Nostalgia, melancholy, it hits you sometimes, but you move through it, you go forward because it is the only direction that exists. And if you find a little smile on your face along the way, that is enough to keep you going.

Donna S. said...

Great way to "snap out of it".

Jen at Cabin Fever said...

I absolutely love visiting Amish country. When I was younger we used to go to an Amish market just outside of Dover that is held every Sunday and Tuesday. They sell everything there from homemade lemonade to the best baked goods, canned vegetables/jellies, and meats you'll ever eat. I highly recommend expanding your purchase from just meat if the market you visit is anything similar to the one I went to!

becky up the hill said...

I think that nostalgia and yes grief, are particularly difficult when a season has started. It has a way of getting under those protective layers we have to wear. By the way, I love Moon Struck. It's a great line. I know there are different sects of the Amish. It was nice to see these ladies out in their carriage. The only ones I've seen are men out in the closed black carriages.

Mary said...

Moonstruck is my favorite movie -- I had a lot of Italian-American relatives like that... :)

Your pictures are wonderful!

Anonymous said...

We all get those feelings at some point. A dear friend hugged me and said "grow where you're planted". Those four words have grounded me when i needed it most. Thanks for all you share with us.

Gail said...

Glad you snapped out of it.

It is sad to revisit places that touched your heart. Sadly, the clock doesn't turn back and we just have to hold our memories. On a slow day, we can pull those memories out and revisit them.

Beautiful post.

Hilary said...

I'm going to have to remember "snap out of it" for my next funk. Wonderful photos. Your Amish country is our Mennonite country. Both beautiful snippets of history frozen in time.

Dawn said...

I have always wanted to travel out to Amish country!

Glad you ended the day on a happy note:)

(I had to look on a map yesterday to see where Maryland was....you live in beautiful country!!!)

D.K. Wall said...

The hu-dad thinks Carhart is great - what is the problem? Grins.

Brynwood Needleworks said...

Thanks for sharing your little trip, Kate. I really enjoyed the photos.
Be back soon.
xoxo
Donna

JacksDad said...

Sometimes a little melancholy is good for the soul!

Caroline said...

Beautiful photos Kate. Oh gosh, I love Moonstruck!!! Such a wonderful movie.

Low Tide High Style said...

I visited a dear friend of mine in my old neighborhood last week and had the weirdest flashback about when we lived there and my children were little. I actually felt like I was driving my old minivan with my kids in the back seat!

When I got to her house she said something that reminded me of the moment driving in and remembering the 11 years we lived there and I told her about my strange feeling. She said there is something about this time of year, whether it's nearing the holidays or whatever, it makes her nostalgic for the past too and when she rounds a corner on the drive in she can almost picture her children trick or treating...so maybe there is something in the air?!

I love Pink Floyd...a little nostalgia there too!

Kat :)

Skeletalmess said...

The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.

the ending to your title, a song from Pink Floyd.

BTW ...Carhart sells underwear, thermal, but it's underwear. LOL!

Lovely captures amidst the Amish community, here in Indiana we have a lot of Amish communities also.

deborah said...

Remembering can be melacholy at times...but I am glad you 'snapped' out of it! Sounds as if the store had an explosion instead of an expansion..but I'm not one for a lot of big changes either.
As always, lovely pictures-

Sweetpea said...

Let's start with: I don't mind *your* title, CG, but I gotta say I despise Pink Floyd - always have. Ok, that's over with.
Let's do the in-betweeners with: your honesty always blows me away. I mean really, how can you say this gut wrenching truthfulness to a bunch of us you've never even met...and maybe some you've met but gads, don't know all that well?! Kudos for that bravery. I ain't ever gonna have it.
Let's finish with: You are perfectly wonderfully strange.
Nighty night.

Kerri Farley said...

Lovely images Kate!!

Anonymous said...

We all experience nostalgia from time to time. I know I'm terrible for it, being a sentimental old goat! It's good to look back though isn't it.

CJ xx

Jamie said...

Perhaps not the underwear you were thinking of but...
http://www.carhartt.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10051&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&categoryId=10941

beth said...

what a day filled with visual beauty and memories and emotions....
whew....you were probably exhausted once you got home.

but with a few laughs....you did snap out of it and since they say "you can never go home" or is it back ?

well, you are exactly where you're meant to be....

Char said...

ahh, the past and regrets and all that ball of wax of woulda, coulda, shoulda. but....breathe in and out. look at the beautiful spot that you are today and it is ok. perfectly imperfect.

Jayne said...

The images are so lovely, but sorry they dug up sadness for you. I love too how you can own putting yourself in a funk and can just as easily make yourself stop going there Kate. :c) A lesson for us all. After all, as I always say to myself... only WE can put ourselves into and out of any frame of mind. It's all in our power.

Country Gal said...

Wonderful post and photos ! For a minuet there the title I thought you were British lol . Both of my parents were British I was raised on a farm with alot of British tradition, not the stuffy kind the nutty happy farmer way ! Have a great day !

Mental P Mama said...

I feel it, too, my friend. I feel it, too. xoxo

Kathie Truitt said...

Funny, my book tour last week took me back to where I used to live and just as I was waxing nostalgic, I noticed that the house, even the street where I used to live had gone completely downhill. It did me a strange sense of satisfaction, and huge amount of relief.

Anonymous said...

My feet fall asleep too! I feel your pain, George.

Lovely photos, Kate.

Di

Andi said...

I *heart* Lancaster...and when it comes to melancholy and nostalgia are brought on by memories. Usually wonderful warm happy memories and that is a good thing. Helps me work through those feelings. No sense fighting it, we are human. Just can't dwell in the past. so glad the weather cooperated for you and your trip!

Laura ~Peach~ said...

love you,
love the pics and memories
love pink floyd :)

GailO said...

Every year is getting shorter and shorter isn't it?!

I find that just riding in a car can be difficult as far as nostalgia and sadness goes...for some reason my mind can get sadder and sadder as I drive around...is it the scenes, the music I'm listening to, the quiet time to think? Don't know but I do have to consciously make a decision to "Snap Out of It!"

Daryl said...

So I love love love the two 'gals' out for a drive!

The Weaver of Grass said...

I know that feeling, Kate, and it is hard - but I am sure you know that you can't go back - if you do things will not be the same. We have to move on and I think you gave yourself the best possible advice when you said to snap out of it. What beautiful countryside though.

The JR said...

Glad you started feeling better!

Beautiful pictures.

Lili said...

You really know how to express yourself so well Kate. I like how your story evolved, especially the
"Snap out of it" moment! That was so cute that you thought of that. ~Lili