Thursday 31 December 2009

happy new year



My husband, fishing, at sunset on the beach below my parents' summer home. February 2009. Happy New Year, everyone. The noughties were nice, but we've got a good feeling about 2010.

Monday 30 November 2009

OMM: self portrait




On the roof of the OMM hotel, Barcelona. June 2008

Sunday 29 November 2009

wish you were here



Postcard from Italy: the lago near Ronciglione, and Salvatore & Valeria's villa. Summer 2004, perhaps.

Saturday 28 November 2009

at the villa



Valeria & friends, at their villa in Ronciglione, a half hour north of Roma.

Friday 27 November 2009

also at the villa



Valeria, Marcella, and her little friend, at their villa in Ronciglione, a half hour north of Roma.

Wednesday 25 November 2009

refreshments



The law says that nothing man made can surround the lago, or lake, near Ronciglione, where our friends Salvatore & Valeria have half a lovely old villa. But the mayor dines at the one restaurant on the lake, so it can stay. This is the 'bar' that is run by the brother of the man who owns the restaurant, and supplies the bathers with drinks, espressos, and ice cream for the kids. So it's all in the family.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

uninhabited



On the grounds of Sal & Val's half a villa, Ronciglione, Italy. July 2005, perhaps, or 2004.

Monday 23 November 2009

where we all began



@ The Baths, BVI. February 2009

Thursday 12 November 2009

rock, sea, sky



@ The Baths, BVI. February 2009

Tuesday 10 November 2009

i see faces wherever i go



@ The Baths, BVI. February 2009

Monday 9 November 2009

tiger's eye



@ The Baths, BVI. February 2009

Sunday 8 November 2009

at the baths



On our sailing trip with lovely friends, old and new, in the British Virgin Islands. February 2009.

Saturday 7 November 2009

up on the roof




Of the OMM hotel. Barcelona, June, 2008

Friday 6 November 2009

OMM: my own feet



OMM. Barcelona. June 2008

Thursday 5 November 2009

life saver



I did not take this self portrait (but I did take the shot below). My sweet childhood friend, Sheila, did. On the roof at the OMM hotel, with Gaudi's La Predera across the street, on a perfect hot afternoon in June, 2008.

Wednesday 4 November 2009

little feet



On the roof of the OMM hotel, in Barcelona, June 2008. These are my childhood friend Sheila's little feet.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

mackerel



Caught and filleted by Les the fisherman, Bute Street Market. London. June 2008

Monday 2 November 2009

up on the roof



At our lovely hotel OMM, Barcelona. June 2008

Sunday 1 November 2009

OMM: penthouse pool



At our lovely hotel OMM, Barcelona. June 2008

Friday 30 October 2009

low tide



Also on the Lewellyn Peninsula, Wales. July 2009

Wednesday 28 October 2009

mosiac



On the roof, as before. June 2008.

Tuesday 27 October 2009

house on stilts in wales, at low tide



On the Lewellyn Peninsula. July 2009

Monday 26 October 2009

three water buffalo



At Santa Clara vineyard, the North Fork, Long Island. August 2009.

Sunday 25 October 2009

magic barcelona gaudi rooftop jazz night



My childhood friend & I were spending a long weekend in Barcelona, stayed @ the fabulous OMM hotel, while her husband had a conference on a cruise ship with 2000 law partners. We kept seeing this Gaudi roof from across the street at the rooftop pool, and discovered - purely by accident- they were having their first champagne jazz night that night. And really good jazz, too!

Magic, magic night.

Saturday 24 October 2009

in hyde park



Near the Serpentine, August 2009.

Friday 23 October 2009

what my father saw



The view from my parents' deck at their summer home, July 2009. My father died six years ago, and every time I look out from this spot, I think of how happy and peaceful he was that last summer, sitting in this same spot and looking out at the water and the sky and the peaceful world around him.

Thursday 22 October 2009

more queen anne's lace



As before: North Fork, July 2009

Tuesday 20 October 2009

clover



North Fork, Long Island. July 2009

Monday 19 October 2009

long island corn



From the BBQ at the Annual Riverhead Policeman Pool party in Baiting Hollow, August 2009. Nothing touches fresh Long Island corn for sweetness and yumminess.

Sunday 18 October 2009

annual riverhead police pool party



Once a year at my parents' summer place, the pool is opened up to the nearby Riverhead police force and their families, as the gated community's way of saying thank you. This year they brought a giant bouncy castle, provided by Doug's Rentals. We normally stay away but as we were at the pool and didn't realise it was that day, they asked us to stay and eat the most amazing BBQ spread with them. In fact they were surprised more people didn't go.

It was like the most perfect summer day. Pure joy.

Saturday 17 October 2009

queen anne's lace



At my family's summer home, Baiting Hollow, North Fork, Long Island. July or August, 2009

Friday 16 October 2009

safe passage



From the boat, Zannone, near Ponza. July 2007

Thursday 15 October 2009

la cava, secondo



Zannone, one of the two uninhabited islands near Ponza. July 2006

Wednesday 14 October 2009

zannone



Zannone is one of the two uninhabited islands near Ponza. Shot from the boat, July 2009

Tuesday 13 October 2009

boat people



Also from the boat, Zannone (near Ponza), July 2006

Monday 12 October 2009

la cava



At, I believe, Zannone, one of the two uninhabited islands near Ponza.

Sunday 11 October 2009

gelati stand



At Val's Magic Beach, on the island of Ponza. July 2006

Saturday 10 October 2009

beach crowd



At what I call 'Val's Magic Beach' because I can't remember the name: it took us a long time to get there on our last day, via bus, which isn't easy because the island of Ponza has so few actual roads, and never any cars that I saw. Everything happens on the water, via boat.

So it was a shock to arrive at this part of the island and see... Jones Beach. Still: it was pure magic. In every way.

Thursday 8 October 2009

why blue



A Carin family inside joke. In memory of Martha.

Welsh seaside, July 2009

Wednesday 7 October 2009

postcards from wales




Lewellyn Peninsula, July 2009. Wish you were here.

Actually, wish WE were still here! Two variations.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

raspberry sorbet



@ the Serpentine cafe, early September, 209

Monday 5 October 2009

sand castle



My mother taught me how to make these 'dribble castles' when I was a little girl. I made this one on my birthday this year, 13 September, on one glorious last summery Sunday, on a Bournemouth beach. To me, this is more of a birthday cake than a real cake, and all the more poignantly beautiful because it will only last til the next wave whisks it away.

Sunday 4 October 2009

branksome beach



Take the image of the previous post, and turn your back to it. This is what I saw, seconds later. A different world.

That's 'Old Harry', the rocky point in the distance.

Saturday 3 October 2009

branksome



Branksome Chimes is a small stretch of beach in Bournemouth, on the southern coast of England. It is one of the few places where you'll find a)soft sand and b)relatively warm water, relative being the operative term, this being the English Channel. It's due to a shallow water shelf for several miles out (the rest of the Channel is notoriously freezing, and deep). Still, this last day of summer - on my birthday, mid September - was quite a bracing day to swim in. And yet, swim, I did.

You'd really have to see this shot blown up large, to see how surreal it looks. It just feels very English seaside to me.

Friday 2 October 2009

room with a view



From our lovely cottage last September on my birthday, 2008

Thursday 1 October 2009

moo



On the grounds of the farmhouse we stayed in, with the Adams family for Dan's birthday. July 2009