a post before i go...

blissed out on uncluttered, simple, composition and blocks of color. it's where my camera eye travels to again and again.

after my morning outings i come home and do what i do best. laze about. being in this casita that smells of wood and roasting coffee beans is like living inside a storybook. my wing of the hacienda.

i've been reading the travel journal written by La Duena's great great grandmother, martha. Of a trip she took to spain with her 21 year old granddaughter on the cusp of WW1. it is beautifully written. reflections on the passage of time, continuity, aging, Spanish painters, the perils of train travel. simply fantastic!
sadly, i finished last night. sitting here in a big enveloping chair, my wool shawl over my lap, reading parts out loud.

we have been eating our breakfast inside the last few mornings because it has been cool. the dining room is all massive wood furniture, giant mantle draped with pine boughs, lit with hanging clay pots that have tiny cut-outs so the light fans out like stars on the ceiling, rich carpets over the stone floor, lovely embroidered and woven tablecloths and napkins. has a very spanish colonial hacienda feel to it. just la duena and i at the long wooden table. eating and chatting.

naturally, my imagination is powerless to resist the urge to run away with itself on such a dramatic stage.

found A SPANISH LOVER on a well-stocked bookcase in the casita this morning and started reading.

oh the luxury of putting down one story and walking into another!

it is nearly dusk and i'm setting off on another stroll.

but of course i'll have more to share later! i love your comments. thanks for each and every one. okay...girl reporter off on assignment. talk amongst yourselves.

Sent from my iPad

Comments

[donna, doni, lady d]

Your trip simply flew by. Thanks for the wonderful journey. Safe trip home. Donna

[Joan]

What? You're leaving? I thought you were staying for 2 weeks. More delightful, color filled photos of such a lovely place. This place seems to be enchanted, don't you think so? I got a very different feeling in that place than anywhere else I traveled in Mexico...from Mexico City to Oaxaca, to the west coast down south, Chiapas, Vera Cruz, home.

I know your journals from this special place will be a wonderment...can't wait to hear/read all about it.

Thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us.

[Linda]

I've been loving your posts and all of your photographs are delicious. Can't wait to peek into your travel journal to see them next to all that writing... that is if you share :)

[annie!]

I'm just loving these posts!

[Leslie Gardiner]

Mary Ann, I am so sorry you are leaving! The color, your reflections, and even talking with my favorite traveling companion about going there, all your lovely images. Sigh. It has been so lovely. Thank you so much for showing us a slice of life from this enchanting spot. May you have a peaceful trip home. Leslie

[Mary Ann Moss]

i meant one post before i head out the door. im not going anywhere!!!!

[SusanS]

Since I'm on bakashun too, I have the luxury of sitting down every night with a dog on either hip and a glass of wine. I open the computer and the first tab I go to is yours to see what you've been up to. You never disappoint, girlfriend.

[Roben-Marie Smith]

Loved seeing all your images...how lovely! Happy New Year! :)

[Leslie]

You're just a posting fool on this trip. It's great! Must be that iPad.

Now I know why Sherwin Williams makes so many bright paint colors - so the people in Mexico can knock themselves out painting their buildings. All that color is amazing. Wonder if the interiors are as colorful.

So glad you're having a wonderful time and letting us share.

[Susie LaFond]

Entranced yet again!!!!!

[photocatseyes]

What is the name of the book that Martha's great grandmother wrote? Has it been translated in English? I don't seem to find it and don't read spanish yet... If we move to New Mexico spanish classes are on the menu... ;o)))

[Mary Ann Moss]

Photocatseyes- its a travel diary that Martha kept of her trip to Spain with her granddaughter before WW1. Not a published book...Martha is the great great grandmother of the woman Im renting the casita from.

Diane - Im taking photos with the Nikon, uploading to iPad with camera connector, using PHOTOGENE app to edit photos, creating email message via VIDEOEMAIL app because it allows more than 5 photos. Its a rather simple, relatively quick process! I am posting via EMAIL using a special address that typepad provides.

[Jan]

Mary Ann, the blocks of color and simple composition seem to beg to be glued down on a page in a journal with lots of space for journaling. Thank you for once again taking us along on your journey. Be safe.

[Judy H.]

Loving the pix! Loving the colors! Loving your writing! Cracking up over the "Sorry, we are open"! Ha! :D

[j.long]

a quick note of thanks for showing what you eyes see. I keep having the thought, "I would have taken that shot". For all of us glued to a chair... thank you for you!
jacki long

[Domenico]

Going to go rummage about the ribbon drawer to make a bow for the front door.

[Maria]

Thank you, Mz Moss! Lovin' it all!