After Too Long a Hiatus

Blame it on summer gardening, blame it on Vermont, blame it on Tumblr.  Whatever the reason - I know this post is long overdue.  Today ends my Walda Pairon series - with images of her office/storage room and her spheres, which I love and have even tried to emulate somewhat.  I begin with Walda, add a few images of my own home, and end with a visit to Vermont.

Glass and stone spheres on Walda's office table.  (I have to thank Greet Lefevre for many of these photos.  I have saved all her photos taken at Walda's Open Days in the spring and winter and Greet graciously allowed me to use them.  Thank you, my friend.)

The sphere right below the window appears to be one she made with her collection of beautiful buttons.

Even her storage room is beautiful, even if sphere-less.

And her divine fabrics just casually lying atop a table near a wooden bowl.

Stone spheres below - small and very large.

Serenity in this view of her office with great windows and glass doors.

Here, color replaces serenity.  Walda does either flawlessly.

Sphere on the right appears to be one of her creations.

Outside spheres.

Moss and silver spheres.

Several of her books have examples of spheres she has made with beautiful buttons.  Wish I could show them here, but fear the copyright "rules and regs".

I stumbled upon the photos below from Wim Pauwels Country Homes.  This is a home Walda designed for a client. The kitchen includes a Moleni stove and a sweet sphere all alone on small table to the left.

In another room, the simplicity reminds me of Axel Vervoordt's work (to be the subject of future posts).

Now to my own spheres.  I am no Walda Pairon only inspired by her.  So think kind thoughts.  Below are a group of concrete spheres I collected to quietly accent the pool.  When we open the pool in the spring, and I place the spheres back in their summer home, my son always quips, "Can't forget the sphere family."

The ones on the front steps were purchased from Lunform - a shop doing great things with concrete in Ellsworth, Maine.

My Christmas sphere.  Actually, I never finished the bottom because I always place it in a bowl.  Took forever to do and I store it in a cooler till Christmas.  I know all this effort may seem a little strange, but spheres speak to me somehow.

My "concrete family" on the kitchen's eating area window seat.

A shell sphere which only comes out in summer.  I purchased this one at a favorite garden store and the stone bowl it rests in was purchased from Simon Pearce one visit.

Have made dozens of grapevine spheres.  We have lots of wild grapevine in our woods unfortunately, but it works great for spheres.

A most recent rope sphere inspired by this year's visit to Simon Pearce.  More about that visit below.

And my painting room - looks nothing like Walda's workrooms, but it's where I work.  Wish I had some beautiful fabrics lying about.

The following are all photos from my Vermont excursion last week.  Couldn't resist these families of geese out for an early morning swim.

Rapidly moving river in Middlebury.

Quintessential New England church in Middlebury.

A visit to Robert Frost's cabin in Ripton where he spent many summer days.

Frost bought the Noble farm, and two of his good friends, husband and wife, lived in the Noble farmhouse.   After his own wife died, Frost spent summers in his nearby cabin.  He would often return to the farmhouse for meals and the wife organized his papers.

Frost's cabin.

When not writing, exploring the flora and fauna, or working on his cabin's foundation, Frost could look at the beauty of the Green Mountains from his cabin's porch.

Close by in Ripton is the home of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, an extension of Middlebury College's English department.  Frost taught here many summers.  All the buildings and Adirondack chairs are painted this yellow color.  Below is just one of the dorms.

The next day we were less literary and visited Simon Pearce's mill in Quechee Falls, one of my favorite places.  His glassware, china, flatware, woodenware and linens are all so beautiful and the tablescapes and the mill itself enhance each other.  We always have lunch here where the tables are set with Simon Pearce crystal and china, and guests eat and drink from them - a very good idea that inspires purchases. I save many of my Simon Pearce catalogs from different seasons because they are so lovely.  Below are images from the 2010 spring catalog.

And the dining tables and displays really look like this.

Then finally on my last day, I bid adieu to friends and Vermont and the geese families.  Goslings look bigger already, don't they?

In reading over and editing this post, the disparity between images of Walda's design and my own is huge.  I know that and am showing images of my home only to note the inspiration Walda has given me and for which I am very grateful.  I remain her very humble admirer.

Now to end on a more literary note, I think one of Robert Frost's poems might be appropriate.  It's always been one of my favorites and reminds me of his Vermont. 

Till next time, stay cool.

b