a girl can dream

   welcome to my fantasy home, take your shoes off and come in!

                               
   this would be my front entrance. cobbled and overgrown with vegetation.

             
   my living room. look at the carving on the bookshelves! and is fuchsia not the perfect colour?

                       
   my solarium. wouldn't this be a lovely place to read the afternoon away?

                       
   my breakfast nook. i don't eat breakfast but if i had this nook i just might.

                                             
  my bedroom! it fulfills all tactile and visual needs.

                                     
  with this kitchen people would actually think that i can cook!

never mind the impracticality of plants in your bath tub. i think i would just stand at the door and sigh everytime i went by it.

i would have to move somewhere where it is warm year round so that i could eat al fresco all the time.

                                                   
  wine underneath the moon and stars!

                                                                         
 my library!

                                             
   the guest room for when you come to visit!

                             
  and because the other bathroom is just for sighing, this one will do nicely.

 and of course, a treehouse for the grandchildren and anyone else who wants to play.

a girl can dream!                                                                                                                                                                                                  

istanbul here we come!

pinch me!!!!!!!! we are going to istanbul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i am so excited i can barely stand it.7 weeks from today we shall be jetting off to the land of sultans and
the most amazing history imaginable.
whilst we are there we will also be visiting the cities of bursa and ephesus and perhaps troy. though rumour has it that troy is a disappointment. i am torn between going and being disappointed and not going and being disappointed because i was so close to seeing it and didn't. will have to ponder that one for a while.
this has been in the works for several months now and i have driven my brother and husband quite mad with my questions and my hurry up and do this and that. are we going? are we not going? do i book my end? do i wait? why is it taking so long? what's up with the turks, why can't they make a decision? etc. etc. etc. i can be a pain but my steamroller tendencies kicked into overdrive with this one.
i have been told that i simply cannot bring my usual 5 or 6 pieces of luggage. i must show restraint and if possible pack everything into a carry-on! this is going to be a challenge! when we went to the island a couple of weeks ago i decided to give it a dry run and see if indeed it was possible for me to travel with less than my entire wardrobe. i din't fail miserably but then we were at the ocean so i didn't need to bring a variety of outfits either. we were gone for 6 days and i managed but just barely. now i have to pack an extra 4 days worth of stuff into the same suitcase, plus i will need at least one dinner dress and some sort of a jacket as well. will carry the jacket on the plane and have decided that i will leave my computer at home and and bring my e-book instead of several paperbacks so that will help. but................ there is always the shoe problem.
and my camera equipment. am trying to decide if i need all my lenses or if i can get away with just one or two. but the photo opportunities! what if i don't have the right lens? worry worry, stress stress!no wonder i'm the pharamaceutical queen!

and just to make it just a little more perfect, we have to change planes in amsterdam so we are going to spend a day and a night there on the way home. the art museums the canals, again the history!
altogether, a whirlwind tour!

there will be no rest for the wicked and that's fine by me.

when the ocean calls my name.....................

.................... i answer.
we are off to the island tomorrow. a friend of a friend has kindly rented us their beach house. it sits approximately 20 yards from the shore. we shall go to sleep to the rhythm of the waves and wake to the crashing of the surf.
i have always been drawn to the ocean or any body of water for that matter. perhaps i was a mermaid in a past life or maybe it's just the majesty and omnipotence of it all that keeps me going back time and time again.
just taking the husband with me this time. no kids, no grandkids, no animals, just us. time to unwind, reflect, look for seashells and maybe catch sight of a whale or two. we will drink wine by the fire at night and explore the seaside by day.i will have (as always) my sketch book, camera and several novels. he will have his fishing rod. we will be zen.
at least in my fantasies this is how it plays out, reality will probably be a bit different. he is a restless soul and must be doing something, anything, so he will haul me off to the town and marinas and find goat trails to wander and i will be okay with that as long as at least part of each day i am able to gaze upon the sea and just be.
where is your zen place?