good morning blogland.  paty's anniversary has come and gone and life takes on that quality of "today is the first day of the rest our lives".  i sorted through quite a few of my recent antique finds, the ones that will travel home with me.  the painting of the violets is an absolute treasure for keeps.  old old old with a chippy frame.  wild violets are my favorite flower together with peonies, but violets hold a special place in my heart because of their tinyness and how they love to show off after the rain.  and ofcourse their scent.  it was a blue-find day when i found the painting because later that day i found another

enamelware set that maria cecilia has taught me to appreciate.  this is a light blue bucket with lid and a wash basin.  enamelware was the porcelain of the poorer people.  in chile the country folk could not afford the expensive porcelain imported from germany, france and england so settled for the cheaper versions in enamel.  they are becoming quite rare so finding this piece was an allelujah.

please do not think for one moment that my world is merely centered on the material things.  i know, from experience, that life is not all peaches and roses. but under the surface we are all in this together, seeking, rescueing what beauty remains amidst the chaos and disappointment, the contradictions within our societies.  all i seek is to cling to beauty, make it a postive affirmation so we can, in togetherness, find solace in that utimate goal which is BEAUTY.  the ugliness of the world, the disappointments we must bury quick, see them as tests of endurance, yet understand that only with a positive approach and a clean, wholesome heart, good will always triumphs over evil, and we all know there's plenty of it.  Let's all turn our backs to it, deny it, exorcise it and let our postiveness, our energy previal.

AMEN (humbly asking for forgiveness for my sentimentality)

"Love is the passionate and abiding desire on the part of two people to produce TOGETHER the conditions under which each can be, and spontaneously express his real self; to produce TOGETHER an intellectual soil and an emotional climate in which each can flourish far superior to what either could achieve alone.

hoy, a pesar de una recurrente lluvia inesperada, es un dia muy muy especial, de luz . no solo sonrie todo chile por el encuentro con vida de los 33 mineros atrapados bajo tierra en copiapo, sino que es el aniversario de matrimonio numero 30 de mi mejor amiga paty con su marido jorge. cosa coincidente, se mudaron ayer a un gran departamento, solos como pareja nuevamente, dejando atras tres hijos hombres en la casa en que vivian. en otras palabras, en vez de irse los ninos, se fueron ellos.  paty siente temor, esta asustada de esta nueva etapa del nido vacio ya que dice que sus hijos le llenaban la vida con sus conversaciones al atardecer.  no en vano le salieron todos bohemios (musico, pintor y cineasta). yo le digo que no tenga temor, que es una etapa nueva que estara llena de nuevas sorpresas en que ella y jorge estaran mas unidos que  nunca y que la relacion se afiatara mas aun.

a la paty la conozco desde el colegio y, aunque hemos vivido vidas disimiles, nuestra amistad es a prueba de balas.  una mujer interesante, inteligente, de una filosofia de vida muy especial, con mas amigas que nadie a quien yo conozca.  tiene una sonrisa preciosa, y una risa mas que contagiosa, se sabe vestir de primera aunque mantiene un cierto desorden que la hace aun mas atractiva. cocina exquisito, se pone desafios y los logra y ademas es entrenida a cagarse con unas expresiones en su cara que son inolvidables.  siempre sale con palabras de sabiduria cuando uno mas las necesita, o llega de sorpresa a verte para apoyarte cuando mas la necesitas.  AMIGA con mayusculas.
paty & jorge, today is the first day of the rest of your lives together, still together.  y eso tiene tanto tanto valor.  son un ejemplo para todas nosotras que tiramos la esponja por una razon u otra en el camino.

Amigui, son un orgullo para mi y los amo.  Que sean muy muy felices en esta nueva y valiente etapa.

my great grandfather, tata alfredo,was an antiquarian in the style of the old curiosity shop. my other great-grandfather, tata enrique, was a philatelist. so you know where i get my genes from. i must have inherited their genes because antiques are my passion and i have actually begun to distinguish them, call them by name and every day learn more and more about their origins.  and although i have set up shop, i always tend to keep the things i set out to sell as a modern-day antiques peddler.  beauty is hard to part with.  so this enamelware will be very very hard to let go of when the time comes to list, especially since it so rare in this color and with the roses.  blessing or curse?  BLESSING by all means.  what do u think of my little antique dolly?  her body is all made of wood.

must run now 'cause "Dolly" is tired from all the posing and needs to take a siesta.  i'll tell you all about the dreams she whispered.

they've got me hooked those gals at Teacup Tuesday.  i'm adding a new twist to the gathering by choosing a person i'd most like to have tea with today.  hope this amuses you. TCT has me looking everywhere now for old english & german teacups.  this beauty was found at a flea market contact last saturday.  won't you come and sip some tea  and orange filled chocolate cookies with me and sharon small?

person i'd most like to have tea with today: sharon small of the inspector lynley series, i simply adore her!

Tea Mind

Humilitea, Possibilitea, Qualitea, Solidaritea, Abilitea, Equalitea,

Individualitea, Serenitea, Confidentialitea, Vitalitea,

Creativitea, Sportea, Claritea, Realitea

Activitea, Longevitea, Familiaritea, Humanitea, Puritea,

Levitea,  Immunitea, Digestabilitea, Electricitea, Sensualitea,

Femininitea,

Festivitea

Adapted from: Letters to a Young Zentrepenur - The Republic of Tea

days wanting to take photos and post a little happiness for you all but it's been one of those whirlwind weeks, filled to the brim with responsibility more than play.  finally, this morning, almost a week later, i am able to take a little quiet response.  still with little time and few materials to create but luckily with great flea markets to visit on fridays and saturdays (the really cheap one vs. the relatively cheap one) and many gorgeous finds to take home with me to put up for sale in my etsy shop. and most of them with roses, an obsession with the oncoming spring colors and scents.

and there was cake and candles too since my friend Patty celebrated her birthday yesterday with a apread of arab food

Patty, Rosario, Pauli & Sole who is 81/2 months pregnant, one of the most venerable families i have ever met.

FOR MARIA CECILIA

WHO LOVES FLOWERS

THESE WE BOUGHT TOGETHER ON ONE OF OUR MANY FLEA MARKET ADVENTURES, TWO PEAS IN A POD WE ARE, OR SHOULD I DARE SAY ROSEBUDS.

tatiana & jon feliz dia del nino

rAfAeLa aLoNsO my best friends's niece

“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”

Elizabeth Lawrence

“Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.”

John Betjeman

“We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood, and we find that life alters our plans. And yet, at the end, from a rare height, we also see that our dream was our fate. It's just that providence had other ideas as to how we would get there. Destiny plans a different route, or turns the dream around, as if it were a riddle, and fulfills the dream in ways we couldn't have expected.”


Ben Okri

God Bless the Little Child in each and every one of us.

photo courtesy of paperdolly1 on flickr

it's all revolved around the bedroom me being a little under the weather in more ways than one.  so i have put all my love into making the bedroom as comfortable and inviting as possible as i spend quite a bit of time bedridden this week.  it still continues to be bitter cold outside but luckily nice & toasty inside.  the

greatest gift of the day Dr. Zhxivago on the telly.paty & pathty & cecilia & anita & tanya have all come to visit over tea and biscuits talking alot about the things that are troubling us, the things that turn us on, giving each other the moral support to overcome. it seems like we are all going through something or other.  tanya has taught me some breathing techniques to take the edge over the anxiety that still bewilders me over the endless paperwork over mom's estate and my having to practice patience above all, praying that all will come to a fair conclusion SOON.

other hopes and faiths revolve around our common love of antiques

FAREWELL

HOY me he convertido en un caracolito, calypso por supuesto, mi color favorito y el que me produce calma.  al fin y al cabo en la vida uno busca calma mas que nada o no? y he decidido descansar un poco del mundanal ruido, conversar conmigo misma y arreglar algunas inquietudes,

invernar dentro de mi caparazon solo sacando mis cachitos al sol.  me rodean muchos mas caracolitos, cada uno con sus cuentos, y vivo bajo un hongo multicolor en un bosque de ensuenos.  me visitan animalitos, algunos con alas otros con cien pies y tomamos tecito en hojitas de parra. hemos empezado un proyecto de construir una casa en un arbol con una escalera larga que llegue al cielo y tomarnos vacaciones en las nubes.  esta es mi manera de tomarme unas vacaciones IMAGINARIAS.