Edgar Allan Poe, A Black Cat and Thunderstorms

   For the past few days, we have been getting daily rains complete with thunder, lightning and wind.  The storms are soothing as I know the gardens are being well-watered.  It is during these storms that cat and I sit snuggled together enjoying each other's company.  As Prince of the Bayou, Mr. Bat demands that I hold him tightly on days like this.  He still has throwback anxiety from when some hateful person flung him from a car window during such a storm years ago.  The thunder and lightning do not bother him but the raindrops on the rooftop do.  So, my work day ends and I gladly cuddle the Prince.  What better way to spend a storm than with cat cuddles!

  Yesterday, the snuggles put me in a chair that gave me a direct view of the french doors and their colorful glass panes,  It was not long before the sun peeped out enough to give those panes a delightful glow!  To the left, Edgar Allan Poe watched over us as the lamp softly glowed beneath him.  This vision brought comfort as I thought just how much I like the way the room is decorated.  While not to many people's taste, it suits mine perfectly.  The room is filled with quaint objects such as antique lamps, furniture and clocks...lots and lots of clocks!  Then there are the quirky "finds" from thrift stores, roadsides and friends.  Nothing in this entire room meets the "expected" living room aesthetic...from the almost black walls to the red velvet loveseat and purple chairs.  It is just eccentric and eclectic enough to meet my standards...and Bat, the cat's.  He and I find comfort here among the oddities.

Mama Spider Knows Best

  Flanking the steps outside the French doors, a variety of plants can be found.  Several of these are ginger and turmeric plants.  The plants evidently love the spot under the arbor surrounding the door because they grow profusely and, once the leaves overhang the steps, the aroma is incredible when anyone uses the doors.  This also makes it handy to grab a few leaves or a root to use in the kitchen. The area is sort of like an herb garden with the added beauty of stained glass French doors.  I love it.

  Obviously, I am not the only one that loves the gingers and turmerics.  Deep down in the spirals where the new leaves come from the main stalk, a spider has made her web.  This is not the spider's main web but her retreat web where she hides during the daytime hours.  At night, the arbor is strung with an intricate web as the spider catches her supper but, as the sun rises, she crawls back in her hiding spot.  It is in that retreat web that she has her egg sacs.  There, she can protect the sacs from any marauding critters.  Centipedes and wasps are both known to eat the eggs so it is a full time job for the female to protect her egg sacs. 

  I noticed this morning that the spider had moved her egg sacs from the retreat web to a spot deeper in the plant's leaves.  Perhaps she feared for their safety or perhaps she, herself, is going to move to a less obvious spot.  Mama Spider knows what is best and I admire her determination to keep things safe.  At least, she does not have to fear me.  I would never intentionally shoo a spider from any of the gardens!

  

And Then It Was Gone...

   Since hurricane season, the windows of the Little Bayou House still wear their storm covers.  One thing or another has gotten in the way of removing and storing the panels.  For the past month, it felt sort of like living in a box or greenhouse.  It was hot and I could not see out through the panels.  Light filtered through but the view is blocked.  I shrugged it off and thought it really did not matter if they stayed up all winter. The panels would block a lot of the winter's chill that blows in off of the water.  It was all good.

  Then, today, I realized that I do care!  The old wood-burning cookstove has been chugging away with the cold front that moved in last night.  The fire feels good but keeping it stoked is just an added chore.  Late this afternoon, I made quick dash out for another armload of firewood.  It only takes a moment since the woodpile is nearby so I left the paneled door that covers the french doors open.  I dashed out and then back again.  I was just in time to see the lightshow taking place on the floor.  Throwing the wood in the bin, I grabbed the camera to snap a photo of this beautiful sight!  Then, as quickly as it appeared, the colors faded and were gone.  

  I miss seeing the rainbows filling the room.  With the windows and doors covered, it is blah in here.  Do I dare ask Son to remove and store the panels while he is in the midst of rebuilding the shelves in the dining room just so I can have rainbows dancing every afternoon?   Nah...better wait until he has a free day.   And...just my luck, once they are down we will have a winter storm with hurricane force winds.  Maybe I should just move the prisms and crystals to a new location.  Still, it was exciting to see them today after such a dreary few days.

The "Art of Fakery" or Dream Weavers!

   A few years ago, I did a faux stained glass look on the French doors for one of the Clue Hunts on the Bayou.  I merely used a spritz bottle of water to adhere pieces of cellophane to the glass.  It was all cheaply done since I figured it only had to last for a month.  I used cellophane from DollarTree thinking it would hold up for that month.  It did!  The door provided the perfect clue and looked mighty pretty at the same time!  Win!

  Well, sad to say, I became "attached" to my faux stained glass door and left the stuff in place.  Last year, I added a few more colors and then Darling Daughter brought over some actual window clings that had a prism look.  Wow!  That was amazing!  Now I had color but also had rainbows shooting around the room when the sun hit the glass!  I fell in love with the doors again. 

  With all of the rain keeping me indoors, home projects are a must just to keep me from going stir crazy.  As I was doing touchup painting on windows and doors, something had to be done with those window panes.  Yep, I "refreshed" the French doors.  The faded cellophane was removed and new was added.  The old came down so easily since the glue was nothing but water!  Now, my doors are back to their faux glory!  I am getting good at this "Art of Fakery"!  

  Actually, I have always been fascinated by stained glass windows of any sort.  Three of my great aunts (actually some sort of cousins but we called them "aunts") lived in a large old house several towns over.  I remember going there only three times as a child but those three times were enough for me to be enthralled by the place.  Just off of the kitchen, the huge old manor had a narrow, winding staircase leading up to the a tiny bedroom that supposedly was for the maid when the house was built.  These old ladies did not have a maid so the room sat empty other than being used as sort of an attic space. Aunt Pansy, Aunt Verbena (Verby) and Aunt Glad (Gladiola) did pretty much everything themselves even when they were in their 80s.  (Yes, they were all named after flowers which added to my fascination.) The room at the top of the stairs had one small stained glass window and THAT started my love for the style.  I could have easily stayed forever in the tiny room and been happy.  To this day, I dream of having a place like theirs.  The Little Bayou House could never compare to the grandeur of that Victorian manor so I have to slip in tiny bits and pieces so I can dream.  My faux stained glass windows are dream weavers and take me to far away places and long ago times.  

Cold and Colorful!

   Yesterday was gray.  The sun never made even an attempt to show its face.  We had a winter storm pass through with all the trimmings.  The day started cold, ended cold and had cold in between.  Sleet was the precipitation that came with the storm so a nice coating of ice ruled.  The day was gray...just gray.

  Today, however, started cold with the temperatures in the teens but it did not matter.  Mr. Sun was in all his glory!  The bright sunrays chased away thoughts of cold even though the thermometer said it did not want to participate.  So, what did I do with this abundance of sunshine?  I uncovered the garden. The cabbages that I did not cover fared well so I figured that the entire garden needed sunshine as much as I did.  Everything is now out in the open even though we are expected to have a few more days of cold.  

  While I was toting an armload of kindling for the old woodstoves, I noticed the sun making pretty with the window panes in the french doors.  The floor was covered with rainbows from the prisms.  What a happy, colorful sight after the gray of yesterday.  Today was colorful!  In fact, it was every color splashed all over the floor!  Oh, Mr. Sun!  Thank you ever so much.  It is too bad you have to disappear again tomorrow.  

  Yep, we are in for yet more storms complete with high winds, possible hail and tornadoes.  Then...more cold.  The Bayou just cannot catch a break from storms!  At least, these are winter storms and not hurricanes!  Oh, please....NOT YET!

The Tranquility Door

   On a whim, I bought some simple, colored cellophane and "stained" the window panes in the front doors.  The large, old french doors each have 15 panes of glass and each of those is slightly different size.  (This is often the case with antique doors as they were usually handmade.)  The "staining" first came into play with one of the Clue Hunts on the Bayou.  The french doors and similar greenhouse doors all received a pattern of colors.  Well, I liked the look so much that I kept it and as the cellophane faded with the sunlight, I simply added more colors until Darling Daughter bought me some actual glass clings. What a difference!  

  Well, the other day, someone mentioned that I should take the stuff down.  "It takes away the view."  No, the view is still there, I just added a bit more interest to the room.  If you wish to see the pier, go outside.  I live here, my fake, stained glass windows make me happy so they stay.  It is simple as that.

  I mentioned this encounter on social media and immediately got responses that echoed my feelings.  It was the consensus that stained glass windows bring calm and tranquility.  To be honest, I did a bit of research and it seems that we are not alone in this feeling.  Several noted resources state that this is one of the reasons that the windows were so popular in ancient churches.  The windows illuminated the inside of the building with ever changing patterns of  color.  The eyes could wander with the colors and patterns and become relaxed so that spirituality was profound.  A feeling of serenity enveloped those who entered.  They immediately "felt" peace which must have meant that God was within the building. 

  I have often thought that I should probably remove the colored cellophane and window clings simply to move on to something else.  Now, I am not so sure.  Perhaps more folks need to be doing this to their homes and businesses.  The world could sure use some tranquility about now.  Peace could go a long ways with our worried minds.  

The Shadowy Door

  Ever since I was a child, I had an interest in shadows.  For some reason, I was drawn toward what others found unsettling.  Whether it be the shadowy path in the woods or hand shadows cast on a blank wall, they appealed to me.  I wanted to know more about these fleeting bits of beauty.  What caused them?  How did the shapes change so rapidly?  Why were others so frightened of being in a shadowy area?  The allure did not fade as I aged.  In fact, I became more obsessed with the idea of shadows being cast for my enjoyment and for no other reason.  I will often stop whatever I am doing to watch shadows as they constantly weave a story as the sun moves across the sky.

  This afternoon, I flung open the french doors to let the warmth fill the living room.  Son has "winterized" our window screens and that included the two screen doors on the south side of the house.  A mirage of shadows astounded me.  Hundreds of leaf shadows were cast on the back side of the screen door panels.  This was odd because there are no trees nearby except for one on the far side of the doors.  These shadows were being cast from trees far from the house!  With a stiff northerly breeze shaking the treetops, the shadows danced across the screen doors with wild abandon.  What a beautiful sight to behold!

  Shadows are often used in reference to an ominous presence.  Some feel that shadows are the harbingers of something evil due to the fact that they are the absence of light.  To me, the shadow pictures bring peace.  There is nothing more calming than watching the ever-changing ballet of darkness and light.  It can be mesemerizing! Yeah...probably just me.

Pirate Magic

  The months of September and October find the Little Bayou House in a great disarray.  This is all due to the annual clue hunt.  Whatever the theme is for the year dictates what the house looks like.  This year being a pirate and nautical theme, the house has anchors, compasses, telescopes, sails and a actual sized ship's helm.  It is that helm and wheel that is the centerpiece of the hunt.  When Son built it, he created a huge internal combination lock that has to be "cracked" for the teams to proceed to the next step.  It is, also, that helm and wheel that held my attention for a good while this afternoon.

  For the past several days, the weather has been quite stormy.  The clouds blocked out the sun and made the Little Bayou House dark and dreary.  Late this afternoon, the clouds broke and the setting sun peeped through just enough to brighten the windows.  The helm sits in front of the french doors.  The sunshine gleamed through the stained glass on the doors and made the wheel into the perfect silhouette! What a dreamy sight to behold.  So many of my favorite things were all smashed together in one picturesque setting.  So...I dreamt.  Daydreaming is good, right?  I dreamt and it threw me into a faraway place, if only for a few moments.  I was a magical pirate sailing the seas!  Pirates of the Bayou all have stained glass windows on their ships!  Yes! Mystical, magical pirates!

My Patchwork Pup

  Back in late September,  I had the brilliant idea to "stain" several of the panes of the french doors.  This was all for the Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou.  The "stained" panes were a code that had to be cracked to get a combination for a lock.  Not wanting the process to be labor intensive, I merely used colored cellophane that was cut to size and a spritz bottle full of water.  Spritzing the window and applying the cellophane worked wonders!  It stayed put for the entire month of October.  (In fact, they are still affixed quite well!)  Afterward, I had good intentions of removing the cellophane and letting the french doors simply be french doors.  Nothing doing.  Folks talked me into leaving the stuff.  This made me happy as I really liked the look.  It was sort of quirky...like me.

  Now that the sun has shifted around to come through those south-facing windows, a regular patchwork design decorates the rug and hardwood floors each day.  It is pretty.  The sun also decorates the old dog, Mr. PJ, each day as this is his favorite place to snooze.  The sunshine warms the old dog and the cellophane causes bright blotches to appear on his fur.  My patchwork pup is oblivious to his brilliantly decorated fur, however, and happily naps through it all.

  The patchwork effect has made me more determined to keep the cellophane on the windows.  I bought the stuff at the local dollar store but to my dismay, they only carried two colors...red and blue.  Since I am wishing to embrace the "faux stained glass" look, it seems necessary to order a bundle pack of different colors.  Why not?  Why not do something that brings a smile?  It matches the rest of the weird and wonderful decor of the Little Bayou House...so why not?  Besides, think of how nice Mr. PJ will look when napping!

A Bit of Fakery

  Basically, the only contact I have with the Grandlittles currently is on social media.  It is there that I can see photographs of them and keep up with their current doings.  That is the major down side of having them live halfway around the world.  This is also where I post photographs of happenings on the Bayou for them to at least see how their dog, Mr. PJ is doing.  The old dog has settled in to bayou life rather well except he misses his family terribly.  They were his whole life and now that is gone so adjustments had to be made.  Poor old pup.  It breaks my heart at times.

  Anyway, who knew that one of those photographs would garner such interest.  Not because of the old dog (even though he was the star) but because of the background.  Mr. PJ had decided to take a nap in front of the french doors on one particularly dreary day.  In the photo, the doors take the stage and received a lot of nice comments.  I am supposing most folks think the window panes are true stained glass even though I tried to explain that they were merely a prop for the recent clue hunt.  For the Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou, Son and I come up with all sorts of weird ideas and clues.  We build some props...we alter some props.  The doors were an altered piece.  These are ordinary french doors on which glass panes have been "stained" in a certain order.  This order combined with another prop led the participating teams to a combination.   

  While the doors look pretty, there was very little work involved in achieving the effect.  A $1 roll of colored cellophane, a pair of scissors and a spritz bottle of water was all that was involved.  The cellophane was cut to fit a pane, the pane was spritzed with water and the cellophane was stuck in place.  Amazingly, the pieces stayed.  In fact, the first few were applied way back in July.  They are still in place.  No glue.  No special tools.  No perfected technique. Cellophane, scissors and water...that's it.  

  Folks were in agreement that I should leave the panels in place and I have to admit that I hated to part with my "stained glass" doors.  So...the panels will stay until the colors fade and perhaps, then, I shall spend another dollar to renew the look.  The doors do fit right in with the quirkiness of Bayou life!  (Plus, old Mr. PJ seems to like them!)