Those of you that have been reading along here for any length of time know that my companion, Remi and I are both inveterate dreamers. We can’t help it. It is a glowing ribbon in the bind that links us together. Perhaps because we are both nomads who grew up with a foggy sense of home for varying reasons, one of our favorite dreams is of the “We Could Live Here” variety. We do it all the time. The games people play (kind of like my favorite “What would you choose to eat if you could only have three ingredients?” Avocado, chickpeas and roasted chicken is today’s answer)…
And so I didn’t bat an eye when Remi got that far-away look after finishing off a recent picnic in a vineyard on the outskirts of Uzes.
I followed his gaze to the ruin in front of us and knew what he was thinking before he said a word.
I watched him dreaming with all of the internal fervor as our puppers do when they run in their sleep.
Yes, we could open up that doorway. What is it? Renaissance period? Possibly.
And then that rather large window too, big enough to make a doorway, perhaps a little balcony could be added, a beacon over a sea of vines.
Of course, the roof would need to be redone…always a pricy affair…
Tick, tock, tick until his imaginings pulled him up from our comfortable perch in the shade and drew him like a magnet to make a closer inspection.
The dogs followed. Nosing the ground as they padded along behind.
I stayed where I was for the longest time. Watching Remi stroll with a glass of wine in hand.
King of his imaginary domain.
Until I too was bewitched enough to wander.
Delight swelled, blurred my vision, then stilled it.
The surprise of happiness.
It might never be where you expect it but a little dreaming is fine fire to the flame.
Isn’t it?
Wishing that your weekend ahead is filled with good.
And speaking of, to read Laurie Anderson’s moving and very beautiful tribute to her late Husband, Lou Reed, please click here.
And I know that you have the moxi to make them come true!!!
Balcony………YES!A Juliet window!
Fix the roof………..a good idea.First things first!
That front door……………..ahh,yes……….keep DREAMING!You know I believe in DREAMS!
XOXO
Um, let me think about that for a second David…You know, I think it is safe to say that you ARE the only person whose websmistress knitted you a giant praying mantis for Christmas.
And I can't even begin to respond to the rest of your finely tuned comment because it gave me the heebie jeebies!! *shudder*
Ben was being SO silly that day. He came trotting over with a big cluster of grapes hanging out the side of his mouth at one point and I laughed so hard that I couldn't take the photo! He got a kick out of that. I took this one after he had a big roll in the dust. 🙂
Me too… 🙁 Or me visiting my Sister. I keep seeing articles about Thanksgiving and *sniff sniff*…And I love what you say about being happy and so having what you need. Yay Sister!!
Maybe if you tried "my" (actually Smitten Kitchen's) cumin roasted chickpeas it could change your mind?
Well, someone's about to lay an enormous mass of eggs. Praying mantises are the only insects that genuinely make me nervous; they're like owls in that, when you encounter one, it seems to be intently WATCHING YOU. I've always assumed that both species are (ahd this goes for a large number of cats) simply assessing your size and eatability.
A friend of mine brought over a large, dried (looks mummified) mantis egg casing one day last fall. She'd found it in her garden and, wanting to know what this THING was, broke off the twig to which it was glued. I told her what it was, assured that mantises (sp?) were good for the garden…and off she went, back home….where she apparently set it on a kitchen shelf….and forgot about it.
I got the hysterical, screamy/weepy telephone call a few days later when she came home from work to find about a thousand, beady-eyed baby mantises crawling all over her kitchen. Nature-Boy that I am, I advised her to merely leave them alone…..they're rather famous for eating each other when there's nothing else around. Everntually, there'd be only one large, well-fed one left in her house.
I think she opted for another, more immediate solution.
—-david terry (am I the only person whose webmistress knitted a 14"-long, startlingly lifelike praying mantis for his Christmas present last year?)
http://www.davidterryart.com
Lovely photos and post
I feel that's a balcony doorway.
Funny, I look at real estate listings to relax.
Ben looks boyish, like he's just had a hair cut, and has been working out.
His smile is precious.
Oooh – I like the grapes and the katydid and the mystery! In the past I haven't let myself dream too much – I think I had no idea where my life was going so I just stayed put (not always too happily). Still not a big dreamer but so happy now there's not as much of a need! But how can you and Remi not play that game all the time?? I would do it, too, with soooo many tantalizing subjects to ponder! I do dream of a visit from my sister…
I disagree re chickpeas but adore your Arles version of dream catching!