Behold the last rose of summer. (There are actually two others close by.) It got quite cold last week. Brave roses! I had to bring all my plants in from the “Florida Room” (see below). They are piled in and on and around the dining room. The rubber plant has grown a LOT and will need to be re-potted. Yikes.
And the geraniums soldier on bravely.
‘Tis the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone…
“Stop trying to protect, to rescue, to judge, to manage the lives around you . . . remember that the lives of others are not your business. They are their business. They are God’s business . . . even your own life is not your business. It also is God’s business. Leave it to God. It is an astonishing thought. It can become a life-transforming thought . . . unclench the fists of your spirit and take it easy . . . What deadens us most to God’s presence within us, I think, is the inner dialogue that we are continuously engaged in with ourselves, the endless chatter of human thought. I suspect that there is nothing more crucial to true spiritual comfort . . . than being able from time to time to stop that chatter . . . ”
― Frederick Buechner, Telling Secrets
An illusionistic interior painting by Samuel van Hoogstraeten seen at the end of an enfilade at Dyrham. ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
Dyrham is a house I would love to explore and would probably enjoy getting lost in. Living in such a place does not attract me — far to big and cold — but give me a day or two to poke around and I would be in heaven.
Writing cabinet in a closet at Dyrham
And wouldn’t such a writing desk guarantee great romance or at least deathless prose?
If you want to find our more about this house, visit the National Trusts’ blog http://nttreasurehunt.wordpress.com/
This picture of Kermit and Vincent Price in Halloween mode appeared on daughter #1’s blog here a few days ago, and I was reminded that there was definitely a lighter side to Vincent Price, who, by the way, grew up in St. Louis and was one of the more illustrious graduates of the Saint Louis Country Day School.
This line of thought led me to this Friday’s film pick: His Kind of Woman (1951) produced by Howard Hughes and directed by John Farrow. This noir film is about “a deported gangster’s plan to re-enter the USA involv(ing) skulduggery at a Mexican resort.” Gambler Dan Milner, played by sexy Robert Mitchum (see below), is caught in the middle.
His kind of woman is played by Jane Russell and the villain, Nick Ferraro, is played by Raymond Burr. Quite a cast–but the whole show is stolen by Vincent Price, playing Mark Cardigan, a swashbuckling film star on vacation who believes he really is who he plays. He sets out to help our real hero, Mitchum.
Vincent Price is truly priceless in this part. You’ll have fun watching this one!
On the spiritual journey, there is usually someone in our family, business or community whom we cannot endure, someone who has a genius for bringing out the worst in us. No matter what we do, we cannot seem to improve the relationship. They have not done anything to cause it. God simply uses them to reflect back to us what our problem is. Thus the person who gives us the most trouble may be our greatest gift from God.
–Thomas Keating
53 today
Someone who is actually slightly older than I am! And very well preserved (as my mother would say) he is.
Mary and Fredbird c. 1990
Tonight our daughter #1 will be watching the first game of the World Series with East Coast baseball fans. They are decidedly NOT Cardinal fans. But she knows from whence she hails and who her friends are (see above).
(Please note her shoes. Patent leather flats–suitable for any occasion!)
From ghoulies and ghosties,
Long-leggety beasties,
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us.
Not to mention CLOWNS!
Yul Brynner in "The King and I"
He’s bald, sexy, and he can dance. He has a walk like a jungle cat.
as Ramses II
He can wear a pointy hat and remain dignified and mysterious,
the artiste
or pull off that European look with a cigarette and a hat angled just right. So very virile.
And he even wrote a cookbook!!! How’s that for versatility? And, thanks to my dual personality, I get to remember Yul every time I go in my family room.
dual personalities 