Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

one last look

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the bride got it right- tradition along with a sleeve.
reminiscent of the gowns of the 1950's- the dress maketh not the bride.
a traditional dress does not make for a traditional wife.

simplicity can be stunning.
less than - makes it more than.

& a beautiful woman never wants less for a beloved sister-

Pippa Middleton

as much can be said of a bouquet- the yard by yard sort should be an anathema.
size is not everything-in everything.

Tradition-
& a sleeve.

details count.

guests-though never meant to out shine the bride-must do their part to make things beautiful.

at l. Cecil Beaton & Francis Doble (Lady Lindsey Hogg) at the wedding of Lord Herbert Equerry & Lady Mary Hope Circa 1936

at r. Norman Parkinson Wedding outfits b Victor Stiebel from the top of a taxi in Eaton Terrace, Belgravia, London, 1938.

at l. Princess Michael of Kent ,at r. Sophie Winkelman, Lady Frederick Windsor,

Lady Helen Taylor & Timothy Taylor

at l. Charlene Whitstock, at r. Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece

the flowers-inspired by nature,
trees do nicely.
scale is everything.

Constance Spry & Cecil Beaton

Westminster Abbey held twenty foot trees reaching toward the vault of the Abbey

one can only Hope a return to elegance & tradition-
at least during the wedding is trending.

TRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge & Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, leave The Abbey as husband and wife.

Kate Middleton and Prince William Wedding Pictures - Photos of Royal Wedding - Harper's BAZAAR

Had enough of It's a Wonderful Life? Here's tonight’s movie lineup on Turner Classic Movies. I’m not kidding.

8:00pm THE LION IN WINTER (1968)
Christmas 1183--an aging and conniving King Henry II plans a reunion where he hopes to name his successor. He summons the following people for the holiday: his scheming but imprisoned wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine; his mistress, Princess Alais, whom he wishes to marry; his three sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and John), all of whom desire the throne; and the young but crafty King Philip of France (who is also Alais' brother). With the fate of Henry's empire at stake, everybody engages in their own brand of deception and treachery to stake their claim.

10:30pm WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)

A bitter aging couple with the help of alcohol, use a young couple to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other.

1:00am CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958)

Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

3:00am ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980)

The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father, and the guilt-ridden younger son.

a christmas eve wedding

I wonder if my GranMa's early girlhood dreams included a young man from Virginia? Maybe.

He came to her hometown with the Norfolk & Western-and whether she initially had eyes for him-He did for her. The story goes that one day Bessie was walking along uptown and George-upon seeing her-pronounced to his friend- "See that girl in the red coat? I am going to marry her."

It was love at first sight for him & I am sure when Bess was properly introduced to George Joseph-she was impressed with this handsome, quick witted, intelligent man. From a fine Maryland family and though last in line for its wealth, she had to think he would make good-as they say- and he would.

A courtship, with bouquets & the passing of letters ensued. Some of the letters have been kept and they show a darling and clever George at his witty best.

A proposal was made.

Accepted.

The pair was married in her small family home with pine boughs and candles & a neat fire in the hearth.

The bride wore a simple blue suit-no doubt made by her mother's skillful hand and held a bouquet of parma violets the color of her eyes.

Bessie & George were married December 24,1916.

photographs from their Virginia honeymoon

The two had five children-four girls and one son. My mother- the youngest-was born in 1930. George died when my mother was 13. A young man. My GranMa would live to be 107. She never considered a second marriage and her GJ provided for her until the day she breathed her last and closed her truly violet eyes. She saw much with those eyes-always seeing him- and I hope at last- after sixty years of missing him- saw him that day.

Last weekend, I laid a double wreath of magnolia at their grave. The wreaths were linked together as George and Bess were December 24 1916, ninety four years ago today.

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spirits

oddly the holiday that brings pine and holly

brings a stillness no rustling of green can shutter.

as with Loss, December races to catch us-coming in red and green.

children never wonder at the slight trace of sadness in a beautiful mother's smiling face-

a granmother's happy forbearance of mistletoe.

women who have lost father, sister, little siblings, parents, husbands-

the faces that shown brightly in their midst-

how they must have shown just a bit brighter in holiday's waning candle.

memory that glows to crackling when a December day closes-

memory that comes cautiously close-peering through the tinsel and lights.

caressing Us down that old wooded path to Love.

it is right to remember.

it is good to find these loving spirits stirring you.

remembering a day when nothing else mattered but Love.

in loving memory and celebration of my father-February 4,1930-December 19, 2004, my parents wedding anniversary of December 23, 1951, & my grandparents anniversary of December 24, 1918.

painting -Vilhelm Hammershøi. Interior with Young Woman seen from the Back..

tolerance, patience &

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when blogger doesn't update, creative measures have to be taken-

So, go here to read my current post on the extraordinary story of a man's love for his children.
that it happens to be an Earl with seven children, politician, owner of Madresfield Court- of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead fame, exiled peer, bisexual, aesthete- and so on- only makes it the more intriguing.

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inheritance

Is there a difference- Setting yourself apart ? - Setting yourself above?
What did you learn from your grandfather? One of my grandfathers- I did not know, however-from Him- I learned the lesson of A Lifetime-Mine.

I learned IT from My Mother. She- from her beloved father, G.J., died when my Mother was just 13. What lesson stayed with my lovely gifted Mother after she lost her father. I know at that moment she must have been devastated and bewildered -still a child-holding fast to those cut short moments. What was My Inheritance, what did they give me?

When my Mother was growing up in a Southern town in the 1930's, her Father was a cotton mill executive, working with cotton mill employees daily. He rolled up his shirt sleeves- & they loved Him, and He loved them. They came to Him for Help- Advice-a Loan. Always, always He met them with Respect. Never were they less than because He had More than. He was engaged as a Father and spoke with respect of those people he worked with. His lesson- to that willing, loving child daughter: Pigtail, Set yourself apart- with your smile, your talent, your good nature, your honesty and your sense of fairness-of what is right.-but, Never above. There will be times when You will be standing alone, unpopular even- maybe, and that's when it is hardest.

The lesson was instilled, distilled really. When I was 9 years old, I had my first experience with-standing alone. A crying child in the cloak room, our classmates had driven there, into her coat for solace. She was sobbing. She had been told her clothes smelled. Yes, it was the smell of warmth-of her family's wood stove and their love. At school- at the age of 9- that warmth- family and love- were being rejected. She refused to go outside to play that day. I comforted Her-I don't know what I said-but I remember what I did, I put my coat on and took her hand and we went out together- and we played.

I think among the many happy moments of my Mother's mothering Me, this was one of her very proudest.
That Lesson, That Gift, That Inheritance. She had given it and I had reached out and held her had to take it.

I make no bones that Beauty, Art, Culture are my Loves- but there are many others.
Would that I were Rich?
Oh, but I Am. I have an inheritance and made a promise to that inheritance:

Set yourself apart, Never above.

a house with a Swing iii

I always equate summers with childhood -as a child I never remember being hot. For me the SWING is synonymous with Summer, Family and Memory.

My mother wrote & recited this poem to me growing up, &; we would swing:

“By grasping twin ropes in eager small hands & standing tall on my toes,
I came down with a flop on the old wooden board, & directed my efforts, to Slow to & Froes.
The leaves overhead rustled, as I pulled at the helm of my ship.
I gave them the eye as I took to the sky, promising half turns and dips!
Up Up & Away, touching the sky, feet high above the stone wall.
The swing in the tree was a space ship to me as I traveled to Rome & Bombay.
No time can erase my excursions in space and my childhood’s glorious days.”

I will always live in a house with a swing.

photographs by 1st image Holly Biggs, others by Andrew Ciscel do not use without permission.

read about the Minister's Treehouse here

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a house with a swing ii

It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)
It don't mean a thing all you got to do is sing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)
It makes no difference
If it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you've got
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)
It don't mean a thing all you got to do is sing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)
It makes no difference
If it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you've got
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing
(doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah)

It makes no difference
If it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you've got
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing
It don't mean a thing all you got to do is sing
(doo-ah)
It makes no difference
If it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you've got
Don't mean a thing all you've gotta do is swing
It don't mean a thing all you've gotta do is sing
It makes no difference
If it's sweet or hot
Give that rhythm
Everything you've got
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing
(doo-ah, dooooo-aaaaah)
Don't mean a thing