Lulu does Christmas....

Through the years

our sassy and celebrated

dressmaker model has donned

some Christmas bling.

Lulu began by wearing her jewels and some lights and a santa hat

 The next year she ramped it up a tad

donning a pine bough mini skirt

Kicking up her heels. all three of them.

The next year it was a bit longer

maybe more demure

Lulu is growing up.

And today....

she is even more seasoned...possibly mellowed.

time worn. wait. That's me

But....still bringing the cheer.

Hors d'oeuvre ?

I dunno...is it me or does she seem like she is catering a party?

Merry Merry!

From Persimmon to Cuban Cigar. The story of a chesterfield...

She was glorius

and flirtatious

in her day

The bright orange chesterfield that I brought home for a song

 ..But after a few years

her color was

well

a bit limiting....

and she needed to move to the family room. 

And Orange wasn't gonna cut it.

After a bit of searching

and calling around to local upholstery and leather refinishing places

I recieved a quote of over $1000 clams to change Orange to brown.

nope.

 Then... I came across a product that 

promised it could

 restore....and re-color leather.

Enter: Rub N Restore

Created by a mother daughter team in California...

the site is full of hopeful testimonials and pictures...even videos.

after a phone call with the owner

I decided to plunk down the 39 bucks and try it out...

The hardest part was picking the dye color...

Even got MY  87 year old Mamacita in on the game

yes her shirt says OBVI. as in ...ously

yes. Grandma B is cool.

It was unbelievably easy...we sponged it on

and it took less than an hour.

I kid you not

I wanted to allow some of the orange to show through...as wear

or a bit of distress. I didn't want a single color

but the look of time and age...

I got out a thin paintbrush to finish around cording and other hard to reach places

It was stunningly easy.

Easy Peasey easy.

 From Persimmon Orange

to Cuban Cigar Brown

Just. Like. That.

That was fun.

It has been jumped on, pawed at, slept on, played on

...and is holding up beautifully

And it has the Finnegan and Pearl

seal of Great Dane approval.

'cuz if they ain't happy....

.

 well, you know.

Re-do thee some leather.
stat.

A moment to reflect....

I return from Greece and the refugee camps...different. And while I know I helped individual babies...individual mothers. The big picture is soo bleak for these resilient souls. With spotty internet, I did journal along the way on my facebook page. This is simply one of those entries.

Thank those of you that supported my efforts...Ongoing support is still needed and there is a link at the end of my post.

September 16th, Kahlachori Greece

I've been to and worked at three of the refugee camps surrounding Thessaloniki Greece. Each is Different from the other. Some are predominantly Kurdish. Others more Arab and Iraqi. Yet...each camp, inside, has the acrid smell of rotting garbage and raw sewage. 

I worry that I may be getting used to this mishandled crush of humans and poor poor infrastructure. Something seen and done regularly ( and we do work every day. Dawn till dusk) can quietly become "normal". 

The smell, however, slaps me, and wakes me each time.

 Here these beautiful bright eyed children, these often college educated women create moments of normalcy in the makeshift shelters they call home. Through grit, resilience and often, the help of each other... They wait for the day their country stitches itself back together. I desperately want to change this for them. It hurts how much I want to.

I had to stop by a young mothers tent to deliver a package of food this afternoon. On the way, I was met with the beaming face of Amina... (I had sat down with this pregnant mom earlier in our clinic tent, assessing her situation). It was no different from meeting a neighbor on the street at home. Arms reaching out, she brought me to her with a kiss on each cheek, beckoned me to sit. There was one dingy broken chair outside the row of tents. She hurriedly brought it over gesturing me to sit. I sat. I so happily sat. A spoon of Nutella she had been licking, was offered to me. It was a decadent treat and she wanted to share. I tried to suggest she eat it, gesturing to her growing belly.... But her eyes and her beaming smile and her spoon of chocolate insisted. And so we shared a spoonful of Nutella. Three other mothers came over and joined us. The spoon was passed and Sweet black Syrian coffee was offered in thimble sized plastic cups. And there we sat, us five, on a damp and muddy floor, with laundry hanging to dry on the tent roping. We giggled We joked. We shared.

Perhaps...the best sharing I have done in a long long while.

They ARE us. We ARE them.

You can donate to this valiant and small non profit that is doing important work  Here

You can spread awareness....ask your politicians and the UN to allow these refugees a home. In Europe...In our country.

Heavenly New Hampshire. Invisible friends....and muddy dogs.

I was lucky enough to take a little respite from

our tropical temps read hellishly hot and head to cool and crisp (ish) 

New Hampshire

I met my daughter

who had just culminated a three month environmental conservation internship

in the beautiful Lake District

at Squam Lake Association

remember the movie

On Golden Pond?

THIS is the golden pond where it was filmed.

yep.

maybe my most treasured part of the trip

was meeting my long time 

invisible friend's

Joan, Dan and the girls

from For The Love of A House Blog

Such a beautiful, warm and authentic

family. I loved them!

They generously introduced me, not only to their beautiful home and property

which is no less than true art

But to their beloved community and state...

That kitchen....Even better than any image I have seen

and while I always joked I would be happy to live in their 

glass refrigerator as they were rebuilding....

My wish came true!

these glimmering dog bowls made me smile.

The light in their house was stunning to wake up to

and I'm pretty sure I used that word 1.998.567 times.

the ceilings unusually tall for an antique new England home

made it so happy and light and full of welcome.

the barn room with the original untouched barn door

Their true love and respect for their antique beauty

more than once Joan mentioned just being the caretaker

is so evident. It was impossible for my camera to do it justice

original barn beams....with milagro love.

the next day, they introduced me to some well loved

and curated and historical towns

that dot  New Hampshire . I loved the tour!

But....

Their girls.

oh those black shiny happy beautiful girls

Ella, Louise and Magnolia...

Be still my heart.

I fell in love. Hook Line and Sinker.

::thunk::

They followed me everywhere

so...maybe....I had a few treats...

pointing out their favorite

places...

we walked down the road 

on a cool canopied walk

to a nearby  lake and some falls

 

this reminded me of Joan and her house full of "shells" or "ears"...or there is some other word for these interesting little tree growths.

Their property...and the entire area is pastoral. Bucolic.

And I could not think of a better introduction

and ambassador to New Hampshire.

 Our travels took us throughout New Hampshire

we enjoyed hiking in the White mountains

and whale watching on the choppy  seas of Portsmouth

 and as we drove we listened to the sound track of Hamilton

which seemed oddly appropriate

 we had a blast meeting and leading a team of rescued/retired iditarod race dogs through the

gorgeous White Mountains...Muddy Paws

 The name was appropriate!

 I adored the granite state....and am ready to call it home

I just need to talk a few others around here into it :)

Shout out to a few AirBnB's that we loved . It was my first experience using them

and it was fabulous!

this one in Laconia

And this fabulous carriage house in Portsmouth

Back to the tropics

::sigh::