eternal sunshine

boy, what a difference - as they say - a day simply makes!  when aspen woke me up just a bit ago, this is what i saw outside my bedroom window - not the cottony greys and blacks and whites of so many past winter days, but this, truly this - deep, deep blue and sunlight washed all over this beautiful place.  when i walked outside into freezing temper- atures to take this shot, still in slippers and pajamas, hair out of kilter, aspen went wild with frisky excitement.  i love seeing a nearly 15 year old dog go nuts like this, jumping up and down, barking like there is no tomorrow.  oh, the joys of an old man turned young again, if only for a moment!  (as i write this, he's back to sleeping and snoring at my feet). 

yesterday had turned into an emotionally unpleasant day for me, kind of like watching conver- sational and circumstantial dominos falling down and knocking the next one in front as they go.  i hate days like that (who doesn't?), and when i walked around seeing how bright and chipper everything looked with a fresh wash of sunshine, i went nuts as well.  no barking here, but lots of photographs and appreciation for another fresh start.  i'm fairly sure aspen feels the same way.  see this rug?  every night, after the sun goes down, he frantically scratches and rumples that thing (a fine silk thing, at that) from one corner back to the other behind the sofa, for hours at a time. when this first began, i thought he was simply trying to make his nightly nest, but it isn't that.  the vet yesterday said it might be what is called "sundowner's syndrome" for elderly people with dementia, an anxiety that descends as soon as darkness comes.   i don't know why i'm writing about this today, except to say that it is an almost obnoxiously cheerful day here on firefly road and i'm not about to take any of that for granted.  here i am, fresh out of bed, puffy eyes and all, perched on the back of the sofa like i hadn't a care in the world.  it's all about that rectangular patch of sunlight that found its way in and stayed there for an hour.  the rug to my left?  a gift from my younger son roy, when he went to turkey summer before last with his brother and dad; and upon presenting it to me, he stated that it was not to be placed on the floor (i thank him, now, for that wise foresight).  the shawl to my right was a gift from my long time friend LK, and it, too, stays on the back of the red sofa for me to enjoy and relish every night and day.

the jewelry is still being created and transformed, but regretfully slipped into smallish plastic bags and placed within a drawer before it makes its way with me out west at the end of march.  i don't like putting the little fairy dolls away, really (can they breathe in there?!), and the piece that i finished last night in front of the hearth is one that is quietly calling my name.    i try to resist - i do have to make a living, with an unending string of bills to pay - but she looks so dear and so much like a part of my soul, draped here and there in the morning light and sun.  i'll have to ponder this one, i will.

ok.  time to go get dressed and make up the bed, and get on with the intoxicating day that is unfolding itself all around me.  i hope the sun is shining out there for you, and you, and you as well.

"Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;
Labour and rest, that equal periods keep;
Obedient slumbers that can wake and weep;
Desires compos'd, affections ever ev'n,
Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heav'n.
Grace shines around her with serenest beams,
And whisp'ring angels prompt her golden dreams.
For her th' unfading rose of Eden blooms,
And wings of seraphs shed divine perfumes..."

                          - Alexander Pope, "Eloisa to Abelard"
 

Comments

[kim]

sitting here drinking my honey latte and loving your post this bright & sunny A.M.....beautiful
xo

[Brian]

Oh, how I miss having a dog. Hopefully that will change by the end of the year. My boys are starting to ask for one. I'll be happy to oblige. (As long as my younger son gives up on his desire for a $3,000 French Bulldog.)

[Amy]

Sunshine really does have an amazing power, doesn't it? I know exactly how you feel, how waking up to a sunny day can make all the difference in the world. I love the photo of you on the red sofa--the vividness of the rug and shawl, how perfectly happy you look and how casually elegant everything is. That is my spot of sunshine in the cloudy skies of Spokane today.

[Shirley]

Sunshine flowing down like so much precious honey.

Aah....YES!

You look as happy as I feel on these bright days.
Good.

xo,
Sassi

[Ariane]

I totally understand what you are saying. The sun is shining here today, too, and I have been in such a good mood. That's interesting about Aspen and sundowner's syndrome. I would have never thought that dogs could have that too. But it makes perfect sense. Love the new necklace, too. And if it speaks to you then maybe you should keep it. Enjoy the sunshine! Ariane

[Vickie]

How I love when you post pics of your beloved dog. I love my own so much and am such an animal person so always enjoy those pics. So jealous of your sunshine but glad it is there for you to revel in. You look very lovely and cozy with your rug and shawl nearby. Drab and dreary here; oh my the winter blues have been extra bad this year; I could not have imagined how damaging to the psyche winter would be this year. Seasonal affective disorder totally took over this winter. But having you here to read does so take some of the edginess away. Thank you for that! xo

[jane nehring]

I hope when you have yucky days like yesterday, whatever the yuckiness may ever be, you will remember that you have a hugely loyal and growing coterie of friends and fans whom you may never even meet who are out there -- here -- somewhere cheering you on, enjoying these daily visits with you -- cheerful guests dropping by for a spirited visit, then clearing out quickly so you can get some work done!

[misty]

i am sorry for your feelings yesterday, days like that are so long and heavy, (i know) but look how they pass and the bright light shines in... i guess sometimes we just need a little more light to see things differently...

aspen is the best role model, isn't he! ;-) such a sweetie!

to know you is to love you! xo

[Barbara Hagerty]

What lovely post! The bitter with the sweet makes some wonderfully tasty things! Experiencing them together is better than dwelling on one or the other.
My favorite days are the ones that begin with your blog! That's starting with the sweet!
And on another note. . .those drawers of yours. . .I just picked up 5 of the skinny ones, metal sides at a second-hand store. Do you know how they were originally meant to be used? I thought maybe they were for slides?
Have a beautiful day, and thank you for the beauty you add to my life!

[Natalya]

thank you...

[Bonnie]

So happy today is a better day for our Nina. The sunshine makes me positively giddy and so happy to be alive. :o)

I suffer from the seemingly neverending Minnesota grey days. If I don't look out of the window, I am o.k. but once I actually see the greyness......all kinds of things begin to haunt me...and I lose my energy.

I simply MUST have light and inside my studio is the best place to be!
Full spectrum lamps are great for the down days but they wreck havoc with Rosacea.....sigh! By nightfall, my face is berry red, but I am happy so I can't have everything , right? Or can I?:o)

[rachelle]

Dear Sunshiney Nina
I WANT A DOG. Well first kids and then maybe one day a dog. We don't have one because we rent and it's a hassle finding a house, let alone one that takes Maori's with a dog. But Aspen looks simply adorable, what a fantastic companion. I could trade in my companion somedays for one so sweet and uncomplicated, but then, not. Hey, I go nuts during the daytime too, my best hours are when the sun goes down. Truth.

[rachelle]

PS. So maybe Aspen is a Maori artist too.
PPS. I just love your home, it is filled with lots of delectable things and views. Quilts, Misty's artworks, your artworks, nests, stones, it looks like heaven to me.

[Jen Crossley]

Today is a new day Nina Face it with a fresh begininng leaving yesterdays sorrows behind.
Dear Aspen that last photo with him laying so peacefully on the bed broke my heart.
Jen

[Erin Gergen Halls]

No sun here in MN, just snow snow and more snow. The sky is a dark pewter and it would be ferocious rain, were it warm enough. I could feel taste hear smell and see from your pictures the days weather there. The sun, the depth of blue in that sky. It wont be long, now, I keep telling myself. It wont be long now...

[Jennifer Blevins]

OK Nina, am I the only one who does not own a piece of your jewelry? I am so covetous of the beautiful necklaces with the German dolls. But I must be pokey because whenever I go to Etsy you are always, always sold out. My life is so busy I cannot possible sit there and wait for you...although I am tempted! What does a busy girl have to do to acquire one of these art adornments? P.S. Aspen is one of my favorite characters on your blog. I read it like I would a never-ending novel filled with fine people and a rich setting. Thank you! JB

[susan greene]

"Labor and rest, that equal periods keep"... I am always doing one way more than the other but always am striving for consistency. What gorgeous pictures and will this cold weather never end. I just tagged you for a meme because the entire premise of this meme is based on Hemingway and I loved your stories from Key West.

[suzanne^r]

Oh yes. those of us in the NW appreciate the power of the sun. We had an amazingly gorgeous day here in the Portland area today, too.
Aspen is adorable. I have a senior terrier...12 this year, and worry about him getting older. He's my constant companion.

[pam q]

What???  Does no one out there have a cat??  Kitty would have certainly enjoyed that sunshine today....especially if she had such a comfy spot on such a beautiful bed as Aspen did. She is also a senior citizen---roars thru the house each night like a wild woman for a few minutes & then goes back to sleep---kinda like me when I think about it... 

[nita from red tin heart]

I truly love the pictures of your sweet old man dog turned pup.
Great expression.. A sunny day can turn a dismal mood around like nothing else can. How well I know about that. Hope you have a great weekend. xoxo nita

[T2]

It generally takes very little to make us old men happy and bark with excitement.

And it takes little to put us to rest, snoring at your feet afterwards.

This is the key to understanding old men and dogs.