Rochambeau

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful mother!!

 Queen of the Spider Lilies!

Love,

Constance

A Shoe Re~du

Some shoes call for a touch of style, flair and drama! 

These brown shoes sat around for a year waiting to be kicked up a notch and then last Sunday that's just what happened!

First they were painted gold.

Then colorful detail was added! 

Now they are not boring atall!

~*~

Hope you will consider painting a pair for yourself and let's dance into a inspired week together!

xox

Constance

 

The Gift of Patience

 A new doll's in town and her name is Patience.  Her whimsically wonderful updo and super stylish ensemble make me very happy! This Art Doll is a handmade gift from artist Dena Wilton of Wilton Art, actually she was "a trade".    Dena said she called her doll Patience because it took Patience to finish her! 

Patience reminded me to be patience andthat was good because upon her arival:

 ~It Was Hot~

We waited for sixty- seven days to experience a day with temperatures under 100° and it finally happened!

~We Had Fire~

With a eerie type of fear we waited, as our tiny town became surrounded by fire for more than a week.  Smoke and ash filled the air and many had to evacuate their homes, with sixty -one burned in our small county alone. It started freaking me out and my husband said that worrying wasn't going to change a thing, that I needed to calm down and so I tried.  

The fire prompted me to think about how grateful I am for all that we have and ponder how different life would be to loose everything.  I used to think I could do it pretty easily, but after trying on the idea realistically, it would probably make me go into shock and need to mourn for a time.  It would mean the death of part of me.

 I examined what a "house" really means and "stuff" too.   How it brings comfort, safety, triggers memories, defines who we are, shields us from the world and so much more.  A house and things have energy in them too, from being loved.  Maybe you have worn a scarf for many years that just feels right, as if it's an extension of you.

 Thankfully all the fires in our area are out now and we feel super fortunate! 

~We Experienced Drought~

This year in Texas we have felt serious drought, the worst on record.   Each morning for months I've watered our gorgous old pecan trees trying to keep them alive and who knows maybe it has done nothing?  Then a miracle happened!!  Yesterday and last night we had some real rain and finally everything seems to be taking a turn for the better!

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The reward for waiting PATIENTLY is that life WILL change and become BEAUTIFUL again.  

This had me thinking about:

~TRANSFORMATION~

 

For "our trade" Dena wanted a pochette.   I'd been pondering the symbolism of Transformation , so that became the inspiration of her double sided Butterfly Bag.  It is presently flying North to meet the lovely lady Dena.  May she feel transformed as she carries her new bag!! 

~*~

Have a lovely week each of you, watching the seasons change!

xox

Constance

 

 

The Fantasia Puppet Theater!

Sit down for a spell and I'll tell you the tale about how the memory of a lost puppet theater was transmuted into the birth of a new theater called The Fantasia. 

~*~

 

 

 

Once upon a time there lived a woman who possessed a childhood memory of a fabulous puppet theater, one her parents had built.  Her minds eye held a perfect account of it's exquisite grandeur, remembering every detail as if it were yesterday.  She still imagined the facade, the way it spelled "Teatro di Constanza" and cherishing that it had been built specially for her.   It was sad to think that she no idea where her theater ended up.

 

~*~

 INSPIRATION WAS DISCOVERED

HERE:

~*~

Then one day the woman saw a photograph of a most beautiful Guignol puppet theater at Tara Bradford's  blog and fell instantly and madly in love.  It set her imagination on fire and all of a sudden without even realizing it, she was on a quest to find the base of inspiration for a new puppet theater, one her mother could help her build.   Awhile after, one autumn day it finally happened!  A clumsy old piece of furniture caught her eye at The Goodwill store and cried out; "buy me", "buy me", so she did.

The purchase rang up a mere $20.00 (plus tax) this was the good news, the bad news was the monster was too big to fit into her chariot.  She traveled back to her far away village and fetched her husbands larger carriage, never dreaming she'd have to return back empty handed again, but she did.   Now in desperation as it was 5:30 p.m. and she needed to pick up her "find" by 6:00,  the woman called upon her friends,  King Marshall and Queen Diana of Walla (knowing they owned a huge chariot and BIG hearts).  She explained her dilemma and the kindly Royals fetched her immediately and off they zoomed back to the Goodwill, arriving just in the nick of time.

~*~

Arriving back home with her prize,  she lumbered safely across the alligator ridden mote, then push her way through the porte-cochere and it was no easy feat navigating this chunky piece of furniture,  but she heaved and hoed it indoors and was met with with two pairs of rolling eyes and raised eyebrows.  "Well, now!....Look what the cat's drug in, will you?  ....." A puppet theater you say"?  her family mused.

 

The next day the woman heard that  'voice' again, insisting; "call me the Fantasia Theater" and so she did.  It actually worked out well, as she was quite fond of the word Fantasia.  She recalled her favorite childhood bakery in San Francisco,  The Fantasia Bakery where she sampled her first petit fours and Florentine cookies.  So,  she went to work immediately designing a sign for the theater to be.

The woman deconstructed the rickety old piece of furniture in her 8X10' studio, then went to work priming and painting it.  She wasn't so sure about the detail on the columns, wondering if she should remove them altogether, so she asked;  "Mother, should I take off these wooden details from the sides"?  Her mother responded with certainty! "NO WAY, that is what gives the piece interest"!   The daughter listened and knew her mother was right.  She experimented with different color combinations until one day "the voice" told her; "Now you have it right".

Next, the daughter asked her mother for help.  "Do you remember the Enchanted Forest and Castle you painted for the backdrop of my childhood puppet theater"? "Do you think you could paint me another"?  Her mother, being a very nice and talented soul said; "Yes, of course"! and took on the challenge immediately.

 

When the wondrous painting was complete, the woman held it up to the theater and smiled with joy in her heart and heard "the voice" say "perfect"!

About the curtains.  She was positive they needed to be deep red velvet and for certain they should have real brass rings (which isn't so easy to come by these days), so she made her own rings from a chain used for hanging a chandelier.  She sewed the curtains on her sewing machine first, but when she finished, they did not hang right.  She heard "the voice" say; "No, these will never do".  Many hours were spent deconstructing and painstakingly resewing the curtains entirely by hand, until they really did look just right.  

Now, the woman really had a problem.  She tossed and turned night after night trying to imagine how she could rig up the a base to elevate the Fantasia. It needed to be sturdy, and everything she tried thus far had not worked at all.  It frustrated her, until one Spring evening she attended a ball in the Kingdom and bumped into a friend called Sir Milton of Jonestown and the talented man expressed  that it would be his great plesure to build a base for the theater.  Then like magic only days later, the craftsman delivered a new puppet box and the overjoyed woman couldn't even believe her eyes!

She cried a river of joy!!  At long last she knew her dream was becoming reality and she must have known she was right because at the exact same moment she heard "the voice" say "Oh my......YES, yes indeed, that box is perfection"!!

The woman could tell you how many times she painted the base of the theater and then repainted it, but she wont because that would boar you and embarrass her.

Instead, she should mention the kindly Marquis de Lowe's Hardware Store, Pat Rey, the super patient man who helped the woman brainstorm about the right doors for the Fantasia.  He walked around for one hour assessing her theater door dilemma and listen he did,  finding the perfect pair of damaged doors, (which he cut down to size for her too), for a grand total of ten dollars apiece! 

She fixed the base of the doors to match the base of the theater then finally, the doors were screwed into place.  Next, she painted the backstage completely black, added clip-on lights and homemade finials were added as the final touch. 

This is the finished theater with the doors folded out like box, but when the doors  are pulled out, the theater measures 6' x 6'.  It is portable and can be moved in five pieces.

Here is the very happy woman in her Fantasia, the theater that so many helped bring to life.  The motto backstage is:

Create Magic and Wonder!

It was 

A Labour of LOVE!

 

~*~

 

Epilogue:

At long last, you would think the woman would hear the words "Fini"!!  But instead,  she hears 'the voice' persisting in her imagination telling her; "Now my dear, it's  time to make some puppets, write a tale with meaning and give a show"!

 So she's listening.

The End, but just for now!

 

 

The Gift of a Delicious Meal

There is no greater gift than to be beautifully entertained in a home by a friend, to sit round a table and enjoy a delicious meal!  I was fortunate to taste the most scrumptious food I've had a very long time at my friend Jan's house.  It was delectable in every way, both in presentation (which was a profusion of color) and the taste, oh my!!  It was actually difficult to focus on our conversation, because I was awe struck by the experience.... taking it all in, trying to create a lasting detailed memory.

 I asked Jan about her menu choice and she explained that she had chosen to recreate a crab cake recipe that she had recently tried at a restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The dessert was raspberry gelato in a chocolate cookie crust, wow!  YES! Jan is an artist!!

One more thing:  When I explained to her what a gift she had given us,  she told me how much she had enjoyed making the meal, that while preparing it,  she was thinking of each one of us.  I have a theory that when a person puts love into whatever they do, it gets transfused.  What do you think?

 

Have a great week!

 

xox

Constance