tale of the pumpkin plumber

it's a story that must be told.  i cannot stand in the way of such artistic expression any longer...

it all started in the fall of 2007, when we received a rather...unique...pumpkin.  grown out at my parents' farm and then transported here, it certainly had a rare beauty all its own.  unremarkable to some...but greatly admired by 3 little boys, who appreciated its...form. 

truth be told, i never took note of said pumpkin at first...it seemed like any other to me.  it was placed on our front porch area with all of the others. days passed as they always do. however, rather mysteriously, the pumpkin was moved indoors...where it became the object of great study and observation by my two young sons and their dear cohort who lives next door...

one day, i remember passing through the room where the hooligans, scoundrels, children, i mean scientists were at work, binoculars in hand and laughing hysterically.  i paid scant attention, but i dimly remember hearing the phrase ..."observations... of...butt crack..." as i continued about my business of the moment.  at one point over the course of the weeks-long "study" i was able to surreptitiously record one of the stinkers children conducting what appeared to be an olfactory study of the unfortunate gourd...

               

well - as all good things do - this came to a natural end.  the wonderful fall days turned colder and cozier.  halloween came and went.  still this pumpkin remained indoors, exempt from carving and the falling outdoor temperatures.  so it was.  the children returned to their previous interests and the pumpkin remained strangely mum.

then one day in november, i went out and about, running various errands - and leaving my husband and children at home.  my usually reserved husband seemed rather goofy and giddy when i checked in with him by phone once or twice...but who am i to question aberrant behavior?!?

well. you be the judge.

how might you feel on arriving home to a perfect stranger working in your kitchen?  under the sink.  with no advance notice or "how do you do".  just there.  hanging out.

            

so the next time your precious children come home from school, carrying the ubiquitous "world globe" pumpkin?  take a picture.  smile.  and be thankful.

                 

a peek inside

i was reading a new-to-me blog recently, and the writer mentioned that she felt irritated by blogs where the photos are always up close, and don't ever show the whole setting.  oops!  that is me, for sure... and the more i thought about it - the more i agreed.  i just love to look at photos that show a whole room!

so i went back through my photos from the last couple of years and i found a few i'd like to share.  here's the irony - these were taken last fall when we had moved everything out of our living/dining rooms to clean the carpets - so they are stark and bare!  but...i am very drawn to these photos...i believe i am a minimalist hidden in the guise of a gatherer, clutterer, thrifter, junker, with ADD!!! wow. how's that for a fine mess? 

so anyway, i'm going to post these photos and show you what you would see if you were to walk in my front door and look to the left!  ignore the blurring and the poor light and the fan that was drying the carpet that day, okay?

we bought this home about 2 years after it was built;  11 years ago this fall.  (we moved from an old white colonial home with wood floors and white woodwork.  it was darling.)  so as you enter you are on a tiled floor, and ahead and to the left you see this partial wall, and the kitchen is just beyond.  this chandelier hangs in our dining room...in the foreground you can see the one step down to the "formal" (not so much) living room. 

a little glimpse of the kitchen ceiling beyond

standing by the partial wall and looking toward the dining room windows, all while ignoring the huge ripples in the carpet that we later had stretched.

view of the living room

here's a peek of the beam that runs between the rooms - not in the original plan but added by the family that built this house - i like it as it adds further definition between the spaces.

(you can't see on these photos - but the beam connects to a column near the front entrance.)  this shot is perhaps my favorite scene in my home...i love the simplicity of it.  uncluttered. peaceful.  tone on tone.  it makes me happy:)

and a close-up of my cherished hydrangeas in a chippy sap bucket!  thanks for looking around. i love seeing pictures of your homes and projects and yards and gardens...and i thank you for sharing these things on your blogs. the inspiration is priceless:)                

as i continue to simplify my home and life, i'll make an effort to share more of our living spaces...have a wonderful september thursday!

thoughts on september

sweet melancholy.

what was.

what might have been.

fading beauty.

"The breezes taste

Of apple peel.

The air is full

Of smells to feel-

Ripe fruit, old footballs,

Burning brush,

New books, erasers,

Chalk, and such.

The bee, his hive,

Well-honeyed hum,

And Mother cuts

Chrysanthemums.

Like plates washed clean

With suds, the days

Are polished with

A morning haze."

- John Updike, September

 

"September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours, but in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn. The cricket chirps in the noontide, making the most of what remains of his brief life. The bumblebee is busy among the clover blossoms of the aftermath, and their shrill and dreamy hum hold the outdoor world above the voices of the song birds, now silent or departed."

                                  - September Days By Rowland E. Robinson, Vermont.

i love september...with all its contradictions!