Red and Purple?

   Back eons ago when I was a kid, I was often told not to wear red and purple clothing together.  Wearing a red skirt with a purple blouse was a huge no-no.  For a while, I assumed that Mom just did not like the pairing but then had several aunts and my grandmother tell me the same.  "Do not wear those two colors together!  Go change!" It saddened me as I thought the colors were magnificent together!  Others, however, were not as enthusiastic as I was so, I changed my attire and wore something bland...colorless.  I actually felt as if I blended with the surroundings and was not seen at all.  Then, again, perhaps that was the idea.  Maybe I was not to be seen. I am not sure.  In my middle years, I sort  of kept "blending in", not only with my attire but with my decorating of the Little Bayou House.  I tried to please everyone else...but me.  Now?  Now I have reached old age and I just do not care what others think.  I wear what I want and  decorate how I please.  I have finally come to the conclusion that it is really no one else's concern.

 

  That said, I sit on my red velvet, Victorian settee staring at the west facing window.  Son had installed shelves across both the east and west windows so I could display a collection of colored glass.  Usually, there is a virtual rainbow of colors in each window but...since Fall is coming...I decided to redecorate.  My choice of colors for fall in the living room?  Well, red and purple, of course!  One really cannot always go with oranges, yellows and browns, now can you?  Besides the colorful window, there is a huge urn of purple and black roses interspersed with the most lifelike spiders and a purple crescent moon complete with a golden spider web and two bejeweled spiders!  The room is also dotted with black pumpkins, purple candles in antique candelabras and a brass birdcage with a crow that actually talks to you!  This is a weird take on Fall decorating but it suits me fine!  Other parts of the house are bedecked with the typical fall colors that can easily move into Halloween with just a few added touches.

  So...do red and purple go well together?  Perhaps only if you are a bit eccentric and have been tied down for far too long by the naysayers of this world.  In other words, if you like it...go for it.  Whatever that "it" is, if it makes you happy, then do it!  Don't wait like I did.  Don't let others make you have second thoughts.  Just do it and enjoy it!  Life is far too short.  And...I smile as I watch the sunbeams glow through the glass pieces with a radiance like none other.  

  

Alone...

   Early this morning as I sat on the pier, the only feeling I had was peace.  The sunrise, the patches of fog, the quietness...all created a feeling of tranquility that only the Bayou can bring.  I felt that sense of belonging. The work day started and ended with much the same feeling...I belonged. Then, this evening, an entirely different feeling engulfed me.  It was weird.  It was not something that I usually entertain but I felt alone...entirely alone.  This is not to even be confused with loneliness...I was not lonely...I was simply alone.  The sensation that I was the only person within miles engulfed me and lingered throughout the evening.  Trust me, folks, it is a strange feeling...very strange.  Other than the ticking of the clocks and the purring of the cat, nary a sound could be heard.  No traffic on the highway to the north...no boat traffic on the Bay.  Looking out the door...nothing could be seen.  A thick blanket of fog blocked any lights from across the Bayou and even the distant shore.  Nothing. 

  This all came after a day of feeling quite accomplished since I completed every chore that I had set before myself last evening.  Laundry was done, pizza sauce had been made and home-canned, "swamp shack" (aka...greenhouse) was painted, cabbage plants were set into the rows and even an art project was started.  I should have felt on top of the world but, instead, I felt alone.  It is hard to describe.  Perhaps...it is better described as being content in solitude and not wishing to return to the frenzy of the outside world.  Alone but definitely not lonely.  I pulled Bat, the Bayou Prince Cat, a bit closer and relished the solitude...the tranquility...the aloneness.

Do What Makes You Happy

    It is that time of year when normally the Little Bayou House is bedecked with all things spooky whether it is for the actual holiday or for the Clue Hunt on the Bayou.  This year...neither.  Nothing is adorned with pumpkins, owls, bats, skeletons, spiders....none of...well, except for those that are deemed as everyday decor.  There is nary a clue hunt prop in existence, either.  The whole month of October has been a bust as far as I am concerned.  Both the holiday and clue hunt did not happen purely because I did not feel the "whim".

  That does not mean the Little Bayou House has slid into the "cookie cutter" mold of what everybody else's house looks like.  Nope!  There are no clean, white walls, tidy shelves and clear tabletops.  That....will never happen.  That...is not me.  Sorry...not sorry.  I have to be me and "me" is a bit cluttered with wild and whimsical things.  That is what makes me happy and drives others mad.  (Perhaps I am already there!)  A few years back, one sweet niece made the comment that I am the most "bohemian" person she ever met.  Good!  Another person labeled me "The Keeper of Weird and Wonderful Things".  Again...good!  I am happy with both.

  That said...do what you feel is you and never give in to the whole "norm" thing.  While the clutter-free, stark and barren look is grand for some, the quaint and quirky works for others.  To each his own.  Me?  I shall keep my antique jewelry hanging on the light fixture, burnt umber walls and high Victorian furniture along with about two dozen pendulum clocks adding their cacophony of chimes to the mix.  Stay weird, folks....you do not have to conform to others' expectations.  Happy Halloween!