Monday, November 18, 2013

Windows are rolled down

This posting once a week thing is getting a little ridiculous, isn’t it? But hey – I do what I can and this is what works for me right now. Last week was a good one and the weekend was even better with temps rising pleasantly. I hosted movie night at my house with a few co-workers on Friday night which was a first for me. My husband didn’t like a lot of company. I baked an apple pie and took it out of the oven right as my guests were arriving. It made the house smell incredible.

Saturday was spent working on window cleaning, a huge job that I do twice a year. Half the windows (the ones in the rooms we use) get cleaned in autumn and the other half gets cleaned in the spring. I have a thing about clean windows. It’s depressing having dirty ones, I tell you.

 

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On Sunday, I took a drive with George after finishing more windows. I took the camera with me and stopped along the road to get the photos in this post. I browsed in a little shop that I like up by the Pennsylvania border and marveled at the beauty of the day as I drove while I listened to a CD that I’d just burnt from music files on my computer.

 

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Here’s a list of the tracks I chose:

1. Norah Jones – Chasing Pirates

2. Patty Griffin – Heavenly Day

3. Keri Noble – About Me

4. Madeleine Peyroux – I’m All Right

5. Sarah Harmer – Almost

6. Brett Dennen – Ain’t No Reason

7. Essie Jain – My Darling

8. Joni Mitchell – A Case of You

9. Nick Drake – Place To Be

10. Bruce Springsteen – The Fever

11. Amos Lee – Windows Are Rolled Down

12. The Neighborhood – Sweater Weather

 

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Listening to Patty Griffin singing Heavenly Day while driving just felt so good. She says it’s the first love song she wrote (and that she wrote it for her dog). Sounds like my kinda girl.

 

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Remember the sunset I was talking about on my last post and that I was out tossing frisbee for George with that as the backdrop? Just so beautiful . . .

Anyway ~ George pulled up lame the following day and I had to leash walk him all week with no tossing of his toys in the house in the evenings. This made him sad but he seems all better now.

 

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I was driving along when I spotted this barn and pulled over real quick, shooting this right through the windshield. It was just so pretty against the blue of the sky.

Driving around with my dog, I remembered something I used to do when I was really young. I think I was about 20 years old or so and my boyfriend and I (my husband, Andrew) had just gotten this little border collie mix puppy and named him Alex. Alex would sing (howl) if you sung just the right songs. The two that worked best were Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Chantilly Lace. I had a little Fiat Sport Coupe, a 5-speed with a double overhead cam engine and I loved driving that little sucker. I would pretend that I was a DJ on WDOG radio and then announce our guest performer, Alex the border collie, with his doggie rendition of Chantilly Lace. And then I would start singing and the dog would start howling.

It was silly. And fun.

And it’s a nice memory.

 

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Coming home up the long driveway is always nice. I remember the first time I drove up this driveway. It was to bring our youngest son to an end-of-year party hosted by the granddaughter of the owners of the house I live in now. She was in the same class as my son at school and wanted to have a party at her grandparents house. This would have been in 2001 and I remember feeling this profound sense of Déjà vu.

I had no idea that seven years from then we would be living here.

Life is funny sometimes, isn’t it?

Hoping it doesn’t take me an entire week to write another post. Thanks for stopping by today, my friends ~

123 Signature[5]

41 comments:

beth said...

déjà vu is a funny, actually a very odd thing, but i love it.....

and OMG your photo of the corn stalks....i took one almost identical to it late last week that i'll post sometime this week....

great minds think (see) alike !!!!
xoox

ps...totally feel you on the weekly blog posts and wanting to write more often !!!!

xoxoox

JC said...

Sounds like you and George are doing fine.

XO,
JC

Low Tide High Style said...

Your driveway is dreamlike! I love the story about your Fiat and Alex, and I'm so glad you had a good weekend. Kylee used to come up lame every so often if she chased something too much, but she always got better if she rested her leg a bit. Glad George is feeling all better now. Love the shots and I hope you have a good week!

xo Kat

Debbie From Illinois said...

I have noticed the older I get the less deja vu moments I have. It kind of makes me sad.

Thanks for sharing your weekend with us.

jmac said...

beautiful images...

lovely words.....

hoping you are healing. remembering old memories is a sign that you are! Do it more often!!

JaneK said...

You and your music.... You are so way cooler than I can ever imagine to be.....

Lovely post, Kate.....

Thanks....

Cloudia said...

Worth waiting for, Kate!

Lovely, and so glad George seems OK.

Keep cruising along the road, seems to work for you, Dear



ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
=^..^= <3
> < } } ( ° >
> < 3 3 3 ( ' >

becky up the hill said...

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. Rebecca.
I've read this book so often, and now that I am older I think Maxim was a dim wit to keep that house keeper on. Ha, I digress. I love your long drive. I am happy you are doing well, with friends and apple pie.

Bluebird49 said...

And, as always, I'm glad I stopped by. I've been checking on you each day. I loved the covered bridge, but I think seeing the beautiful leaves along your driveway, I was left,(typically), wondering what lies beyond the bend.
I still have a mental image of you and, Alex and Andrew in that Fiat---one I'm sure I won't forget soon. It made me smile, something I've been forgetting to do lately.

DesertHen said...

As always, your photos are beautiful!

I have thing for covered bridges and believe it or not, I have never seen one in person!

I had a friend in high school that had a Fiat. It was orange! We had so much fun in that little car!

Have a lovely week and pats for George!

Caroline said...

I love the photo of the winding road...life is like that...never know where it might lead. And Amos Lee...oh he got me through a lot of hard time. Windows rolled down is one of my all time favorite songs. Hope you have a wonderful week! Xo

donna baker said...

Enjoyed the ride with you and that was some barn.

Anonymous said...

Such gorgeous, autumnal photos! Here in Australia it's late autumn and hot and dry, so it's lovely to see pictures of your different season.

Kerri Farley said...

Beautiful photos Kate!! That last one is breathtaking! All of our leaves have blown away.....
Hope George is feeling better!!

Rain said...

Kate love the barn with just the perfect blue sky- doesn't even look real !
Heal a little a day.......
Rain :)

Lee Owenby said...

Wish I had been with you and George on your Sunday drive. It sounded so cool - you and George rockin’ on down the road. Love your photos, as always, but especially # 2 and 3 - maybe it’s the clouds. I’m always a big fan of clouds. Nice driveway - that photo could have been taken right here in my neighborhood at Paris Landing. It just has that “country road” look.

Thanks for blogging Kate. I always look forward to your posts.

Lee

Daryl said...

cornfield ... i know, i am bad but it never gets old

Devon said...

Beautiful barn photo, but the driveway... always the best shot in any season.

I believe having friends over fills my home with joy even after they are gone!

The JR said...

Cute story about Alex. I bet that was fun.

Love the pictures.

A night with friends sounds perfect for you.

Carolynn Anctil said...

I'm learning to ride the waves of life and just relax and let the ocean take me where it will. Sometimes I bump up against jagged rocks and other times I'm deposited on a sandy shore. It's all part of the wonderous journey.

I don't know a lot of the songs you've posted here - or the artists. I'm so out of date. *sigh*

In another life, I was an apprentice dog trainer and I loved to ride around with one of the lead trainers and her dogs - a toy pomeranian and a cattle dog. When she sang, they'd howl along with her in the back seat. Good times! *grin*

These are some beautiful images. Your guests must have thought they'd just pulled up to heaven's door when they walked in your sweet pie smellin' house. *smile*

Blessings,
Carolynn

Hedy King said...

Kate, you seem to have had a wonderful weekend. I, too, had some friends over on Friday! Baked an apple pie, too. Must be the thing to do. I may take a long drive today, as I care for my mom on the weekend. After scary storms on Sunday, our week is bright and sunny with a bite to the air. Steve and I loved finding beautiful barns and have a bushel of snapshots like that one. We especially loved the stone barns in Pennsylvania. Enjoy your week. Hedy

Hedy King said...

Kate, you seem to have had a wonderful weekend. I, too, had some friends over on Friday! Baked an apple pie, too. Must be the thing to do. I may take a long drive today, as I care for my mom on the weekend. After scary storms on Sunday, our week is bright and sunny with a bite to the air. Steve and I loved finding beautiful barns and have a bushel of snapshots like that one. We especially loved the stone barns in Pennsylvania. Enjoy your week. Hedy

thotlady said...

When I was a kid, my dad would say everyone pile into the car and let's go for a drive. Our inexpensive form of entertainment. Some great memories, those drives. My dad would sing to us some old songs that he loved. And now we love them. I miss him very much.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I love that red barn photograph. Some years ago we toured the East Coast area, including Baltimore, Pennsylvania etc. and we went to look at just such a barn - can't help wondering whether it was the same one.
Glad you had a good week end - keep it up.

Jeanne Walker said...

Your photos remind me of
time we spent in Madison County, Ohio several years ago...so welcoming and peaceful! Glad you are filling the pages in your book of life with good times with friends and good memories. Get well wishes to George! xo

thecatalanway said...

the beauty of your photos almost made me cry today....not because I am sad as actually I feel good this moment....but because they are so full of feeling and of joy in the world and how amazingly lucky we are to live in this beauty. Autumn is so poignant it always fills me with this sweet melancholy mixed with awe. Those colours! Your driveway is magnificent....wow wow wow!
And wow wow to George too and I hope he is back to full frisbee catching very soon.

Apple pie just out of the oven sounds delicious and what a pleasure it is to have people round, no need to drive anywhere else. I need to do that more often as well.

K xx

Nellie said...

Loved this post, Kate. I enjoyed your stories of past times, especially singing with Alex!:-) I'm glad George has recovered from his lame foot. My daughter's dog possibly has an injured ACL! Frodo is not happy that he is having to spend so much time in the kennel.:(

Your photos are amazing, as usual!

Sending hugs.

Country Gal said...

A lovely post and photos Kate ! So glad you had a good movie night with your coworkers and oh the smell of fresh baked apple pie as they walked in that's wonderful ! I hope George takes it easy when fetching the frisbee glad to hear he is fine now . So enjoyed your stories of past . Thanks for sharing . Have a wonderful week !

Sabrina Steyling said...

Your post...and your photos...make me happy. And give me a bit of peace after a busy day. I do hope George is doing better now. Any idea why he was having trouble with his leg?

Hugs to you!

Candace said...

That red covered bridge is gorgeous! we don't have covered bridges like that in AZ, they're so idyllic or something. I used to love Chantilly Lace and sang it many times while driving around, no WDOG radio, though.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

That Deja Vu thing is a weird experience, isn't it? I've wondered about the origin... amazing that it became your home.

Glad you are out and about, enjoy life, even the little things. Life is good.

Susan said...

If I lived in your house I would leave several times a day just so I could come home!

NiCocoBell said...

Great pics, I love that you stop and take pictures of what you like, I need to do that more often. I would also like a piece of apple pie right about now :)

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Great pictures.

I love that you had friends over.

And that Amos Lee song is one of my favorites. I first heard it on summer vacation in a beach cottage, at night, with the windows open listening to the waves crash against the sand.

Great memories and a great song.

GailO said...

I think I am going to try and download your entire playlist because I love your taste in music so much:) Your drive sounds...and looks...heavenly!

I washed one window this week...does that count?

Stickhorsecowgirls said...

You live in such a beautiful place and I have a thing for winding roads with autumn trees! I was just wondering if you are far from town.

sharon said...

Love your fall pictures. Esp the barn. it's a dreary day here today. Suppose to be cold and icy. hmmm hot chocolate weather.

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

Now that's a driveway. Love it, and the view.

BB said...

I love the feel of this post... sweet, free, poignant. I wanna go riding in that coupe with you!
:-)
BB

Anonymous said...

I've been away from your blog forever but caught your post in another blog and flew here ASAP . your creative juices are flowing and, reading though the past and present posts here, I am weepy with emotion... a little sad but mostly joyous . Such beautiful words and stunning photos I have been missing! Recovering from foot surgery ( still!) , keeping track of mom at the nursing home and caring for my S . 0. who had a heart attack ... I just want to hibernate . You have inspired me to keep calm and carry on! Thank you ! PS Love Norah Jones!

Lili said...

I am so out of it...only recognized 2 of the songs in your list! Love your Chantilly Lace memory with Alex the howling dog star! That is very cool about the artist that wrote her first love song about her dog. I am gonna take a listen to it. Beautiful pastoral scenes you captured on your drive with George. xo