In a haze of jet-lag, I grabbed my camera and headed outside with a determined gait in order to try and stay awake. And to remember where I was and why. My little village. It looked so scruffy and simple.
But we all know that sometimes simple is best.
I mentioned that recently and sans doute due to a stray-dog memory, I will most likely say it again.
I tumbled around with a propped-up eye…
…to rediscover all of the details and feelings that made me fall in love with this odd corner of Provence for the first time.
My gaze was radically hungry – down, across and certainly, uppity up.
For as soon as Remi picked me up at the airport – with les chiens in tow – I started exclaiming about the light. That autumn shift that brings a brighter blue, a softer gold.
And it scratches the sides of surfaces to make them sing.
Architectural traces of better times…
…still give proof to something good.
Colors blend…
…lines sway…
…and I feel plenty of calm just looking out my window.
I feel a hidden promise of doors yet to open…
…and yes, friends (Why does that word now have a corny context? Says who? Banish that! It is a good word!) are still to be made.
Cheers to you. Thank you for all of your kindness and for being here…
PS. Apparently, “sometimes cloudy days are best” too. Woof woof! 😉
My third visit and this time with right time and/or mind set to absorb. Wonderful. Also a last look before I buy THE shade of blue paint for a pantry door, inside of new front door w its magical half door window, and for shadow box sides if tall, narrow window next to the front door. All informed by the Maghreb and the Hand of Fatima already hanging in the window shadow box. The choice is up for a non binding vote on FB. I'm happy w both front runners, one of which I feared I loved for its name "Turkish Tile." Voters can say names….so to Lowe's in the morning. with your blues in my mind as well.
I love your eye for the details of the villages you visit including the one where you now live. Are you settled enough and do you have time to meet up with Shirley and me while we are in Sablet? Happy to go to where you are? Email me at chcmichel@aol.com.
Oh "In its juices" I do understand. (: And I definitely will come! I would have come this autumn but the second half of this year seems to be all about physical/sanitary renovation for me. At times a bit annoying but I see it as a preparation to start for the next 45 years o:
the return and the promise
when light comes
first to the eyes
the many lines start to arrange
colors mingle
then to memories of familiar
and something new
you arrive again
where you started
and promises
to begin again.
What is odd about it? Come and see for yourself! heehee It isn't terribly odd just surprisingly rough around the edges – not in a bad way but "still in its juices" – for Provence…
Grazie mille Emilia! Yes, there is something quite special here. I love the term "soul place"!
Up, down? They are everywhere! 😮
Merci, Jeanne. It has been a gift to come back to the beautiful light and such warm weather!
Good to know you are back safely and welcomed by the light!
Odd Corner? What is odd about it? Sounds interersting!
And I am sure, friends will be made! (:
Dear Heather,
I deeply love your words and photos about Autumn. The place where you live is really fantastic! It is so warm and quiet and yes… simple but great at the same time. It is a "soul place" like the ones I adore. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy…
Welcome home my dear.
Maybe I should look up more often. There seems to be some nice cats up there.
Welcome home, friend. I'm sure Remi and the doggies were beside themselves. So glad your strange limbo came to an end and that you are back where you belong. I'm so glad you beat the jet lag and got out with your camera in tow. Love seeing what you see, and can feel the light on my face.
Enjoy the lovely simple things and all the beauty of your world! XOXO
I felt like the sky was throwing me a really nice "Welcome Back" party!
Of the really quiet kind. 🙂
What a beautiful thing to say! Thank you for that and again for your amazing post, Tamera…I am still thinking about it…
Thank you Gretel…
Thank you Sister. Missing you all something fierce and doing my best to focus on the positives here. The pictures that you sent are amazing!!!!!
Really? I wonder how so, Superstar?
Mahalo, Bill. How funny to think that our paths might have crossed way up in the air. I hope that you had a wonderful time in France…and that you are recovering from what must be one massive jet-lag…take good care of yourself please!
Yes, we are right there with you, weather-wise Loree. It is another kind of in-between. 🙂
Your photos glow with that wonderful light and with the joy you feel in Provence. Such a heavenly blue in those shutters.
Bliss. 🙂
Your captures are absolutely transporting … your artist soul captures the essence of your locale with such soulful integrity! Thank you my dear!
You have a real gift for colour…your photos are beautiful! So glad you made it back home again!
Oooo – I swear I can see your fresh eye! Weeks of Ypsilanti have left you starved for patina and doorways and colors! I love all of the doorways in this post, but that wavy drainage thing, winding through your photo = LOVE! I also love the hopeful feel. The light here has been crazy beautiful (along with some of the foliage here on our farm) – I'm going to send a picture! Thank you for more Provence a la Heather – ahhhh!!!
Something about that sixth image is actually nourishing.
Aloha Heather … another beautiful post, and one that brings poignancy to its peak within my reality. As you were returning, I was leaving .. now back on Kauai. Am sending you my experience, which seems to correspond chronologically to your own. C'est la vie .. one exuberant et one sad .. La France touches so deeply ….
http://kauai-to-paris.com/blog.html
Merci, Heather, et Bienvenue à la maison …
Bill Facker
Kauai-to-Paris.com
I love the light at this time of year – the gold and the shadows. The sun is still blazingly hot but the nights are nice and cool and the air is soft. I love your new corner of Provence.