Lazy Girl: The Summer of '21 in Orient

 Bambi Lives in My Backyard

I hear it's 100 degrees in the city. But I am in the Paradise Village of Orient, New York on the North Fork of Long Island. Here in this capsule community, like Garrison Keillor's Lake Woebegon, the air is fragrant, birds rule the air waves and children ride their bikes one-handed down the middle of the street.

I've rented a charming cottage which is well appointed in tasteful decor. The walls are white and devoid of seaside-themed art. Lavender flowers frame the front steps. From the kitchen window I have a view of a woodland which is messy in a woodland way, in that trees have been allowed to split and fall where they may and thick vines intertwine the underbrush. There is a clearing where a fawn sometimes sleeps.

Outside my cottage I am wearing my Bon Bon bucket hat

and a bead necklace of my own design. Bon Bon is a Swedish

candy store in my Lower East Side, Manhattan neighborhood.

It is pretty and the candy is yum-yum.

On the Fourth of July a neighbor hung this flag  

across the street from my cottage. My sister, Jeanne,

invited me for dinner. My niece, Sarah, and nephew, Jack, 

were also there. We had two dogs in the house, Polly and Bird.

This is Sarah's dog, Polly. She gets very excited

when I walk in the door, so we have to try and calm her down. 

Photo by Sarah Wedge

I found this plaque on a tree by the Main Road.

The clam wreath around it was probably made by Joe from

Orient who worked for Burt's Reliable Oil in Southold

and who serviced our 50-year-old oil burner when we

owned a house in Greenport.

 The name "Clamalot" was spelled out in clam shells on the side

 of his mailbox at the end of his driveway on Young's Road. 

Latham's Farm Stand is an Orient icon.

I peddled here on my trusty, vermillion Electra Townie with pink tire rims.

I ride on Narrow River Road every morning listening

to meditative bird song as I go. 

A Bientôt!

Hello from New York!

Mood Indigo

This week I had a message from a follower on Instagram, @rumygucci. Rumy, who lives in Japan, I believe, describes herself as a cool, funky, quirky old girl. That sounds like a description of me, especially the cool part. No wonder she follows my Instagram. She said that she checked my blog for a new post everyday because she missed it. 

Indeed, I have not been posting on my blog during this hibernation period. Time seems to have collapsed and a year seems like a day. But I am one of those annoying people who is using this time to be productive. I have been working on a large painting for the past 7 months. I am fully dosed with the Moderna vaccine, but now we have a worrisome variant here in New York City, and I fear it will be déja vu all over again. But not to worry, we will weather it.

By way of putting a blog toe back in the water, I want to show you and Rumy my new dress from a Japanese brand called 45R. For a shop hound like me it was a shock to learn that the 45R boutique has been at Mercer and Houston in Soho for 20 years. How the hell did I miss it? I may loose my shop-hound press credentials.

(Oh, did I tell you? I let my hair go au natural to silver!) I am wearing my new 45R indigo-dyed dress in cotton. It has a lovely, delicate trailing floral motif. Beads are from Madame Matovu vintage in the West Village. Blue tights by Fogal. 

45R makes comfortable, everyday clothes in natural materials and dyes. The yarn is hand dyed to achieve the deep color which will fade over time. 

This dress has pockets, the perfect sleeve length and a pretty neckline.

For a bit of je ne sais quoi, I have added my Parisian chapeau by Marie Mercie.

In this closeup you can see the subtle design in two colors of brown and light blue. The wooden bead necklace was purchased at an antique shop in Oakpark, Illinois.

Are you in the Mood Blue for a treat from MEL, an adorable and diminutive bakery poised on the point where Division and Ludlow Streets meet Canal Street in my secret Lower East Side.

All of these pastries were sold out when I got there, but the kind lady gave me a sample of their new vegan granola bar which was delicious.

Simply a spectacular Mood Blue Sky on a Mood Blue Day.

I thought the word "noir" on the building was mysterious. Perhaps someone working on a film noir.

Mood Blue graffiti with shadow of tree.

Thank you Rumy, for getting me back in the saddle!

À Bientôt!