A Few Of My Favorite...

PEOPLE

A favorite childhood photograph

My brother and I in North Carolina - picking cotton in front of the old cabin in which my great-grandfather was born.  I just love this photo - I know it wasn't posed (we wouldn't stay still long enough for that), and it just always seemed so magical.  I guess I was around 6 or 7, and my brother would have been 5 or so.

My beautiful niece, Mary

My biological clock barely ticked, and thus I never wanted or had children.  My brother and lovely sister-in-law were kind enough to have the most glorious daughter, thus giving me all the fun and none of the hassle of having a little girl.  She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's in social work, and she's engaged to a very fine young man

PLACES

The winter view from the deck of my former home

In my "previous life", I had quite a home.  It was on a private lake in NW NJ on 7 acres.  While it was gorgeous and the views were breathtaking, it has a lot of sadness associated it with it.  Perhaps I'll write about it some day.

THINGS

Lefton china frame.  

The pattern is #1919; my mother kept my baby picture in this frame, and over the years I've collected about 2 dozen of them in varying sizes.  I just think they are charming.

Very, very pale pink roses

The paintings of Giovanni Boldini -
most particularly this one of his muse
Marthe de Florian

Read the incredible story behind the discovery of this painting - locked away for 70 years

...AND MISS MAGGIE

My Maggie

We "found" each other at the animal shelter in Fort Lauderdale around 1994.  She was of indeterminate age and breed, and she was the shyest dog in the facility.  She moved with me to NJ in 1995, and ran away the 2nd day I was there (happy ending - we found her safe, 2 days later).  She was my sweetest friend and I had to say good-bye to her in September of 2008.  I miss her every day, and I know she would have loved my new little house.