I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day...

Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this incredible song on Christmas morning in 1863. He'd had a rough couple of years leading up to it. The Civil War was in full swing, and he'd just gotten word that his son was wounded in it. His wife had recently died in a fire. There wasn't any Christmas cheer for him that day he'd given up all hope. That is, until he heard church bells. What he wrote is not one of the more well-known Christmas songs. It wasn't even turned into a song until at least 10 years after it was written, by an English organist named John Baptiste Calker. But it may just be the best Christmas song ever written. This is Sarah McLachlan's version.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn_1-z0d7iQ&feature=share

early morning...

a perfect day for soup making with the fire in the fireplace and sunday morning classical music...

sunday lunch outside ...

love setting up the big table outside on these sunny days, especially as the firepit warms things up...soup, cider and grilled bread are all we need for a casual fall lunch!           photograph by marili forastieri

poetry in porcelain

White porcelain vessels arranged in rows, in groups and on their own, are the work of my favorite potter, Edmund de Waal.  I discovered his work at a shop called Egg in London many years ago, when I walked up the stairs and found a small collection of cylinders in white porcelain and celadon in an empty room on a single shelf  and a fireplace mantel.  In this spare and serene setting, I fell in love with de Waal's pottery and have followed his work and his writing ever since. And now his newest collection is on exhibition in New York at the Gagosian Gallery on Madison Avenue where I spent this past Saturday morning  surrounded by assemblages of hundreds of his vessels...his new book is on his journey and life with the color white. I can't wait.

vergennes laundry

a long awaited visit to vergennes laundry in vermont did not disappoint... a wonderful lunch with friends in this beautiful white setting, with the best bakery and cafe....
all photos by tricia foley, portrait of owners by corey hendrickson via remodelista

a white porch

on these lazy august days, i spend as much time as i can on my porch, my summer living room.  photograph by jeff mcnamara