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.
Thank you for reminding me to dream…sometimes I get far too rooted in everyday reality. Too much keeping my head down and plowing forward to get the work done becomes an unfortunate habit! The dreams you share with us, and the ways you share them, are so extraordinary and so lovely! Now to go find my roasted chicken, avocado and pomegranate seeds… Imaginatively and gratefully, Leslie in Portland, Oregon
What would our daily lives be like without a day dream or two. Keep on dreaming with your lovely Remi.
Loved your beautiful photos & and next time your emptying your fridge & eating avocado, chickpeas & roasted chicken can I come & join you ? those would be my three ingredients for my fab. meal.
I love you telling about your daydreaming and I am so happy for you he is dreamer, too. You are so lucky!
Heather… these photos are gorgeous… the light….
And thank you for the link to Lou Reed's tribute… I had goose bumps reading the last few paragraphs… Let's hope we can all have such deep and sustaining relationships with our loved ones… Have a happy weekend… xv
Okay, Judith & Heather?…..not to entirely hijack the thread, but?…..an even better story. Another friend of mine ordered The Big Box of ladybugs. They come in packs of 1,000 ladybugs (does anyone actually count them, I wonder?). They're basically frozen when they arrive (ladybugs pass the winter semi-hibernating in bark crevices, etcetera). My friend, who'd decided that year to GO ORGANIC (!), was terribly excited when her box arrived, so she opened it, set it on the dining room table to see her new, frozen friends, and then went out to dinner and the movies. She returned five or so hours later to find…..you guessed it…..1,000 newly-thawed, quite conscious, and very hungry ladybugs (these things are full-grown when they're shipped) crawling e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e in her house. These things are fast movers (and, apparently, fast thawers, also). She telephoned me in a panic, wanting to know WHAT TO DO. Genius-Me told her to open all the windows and doors. It hadn't occurred to her thatthe bugs would rather be outside, eating aphids, than inside, crawling all over the curtains and furniture. The idea worked, by the way.
—-david terry
I dream similar dreams too. I see old abandoned houses and I just want to right all their wrongs and make them beautiful again. Houses are a bit like people – they need memories to help them come alive.
A beautiful post, and, I totally agree with your food choice! Deb Perelman is the best. And the mantis is really gorgeous!
Yes, by all means do blame David!
Yes, well perhaps it shivered my timbers on a subconscious level. I'd gone back in to correct the many embarrassing typos in my comment only to leave the major spelling error: it's praying mantis, not preying mantis — I blame David.
Wasn't that amazing, Judith? How beautiful to have such faith as well.
And oh man, you are stronger than I that David's story made you laugh!!! I just shivers me timbers…
Have a lovely weekend…