21 Comments

What an optimistic piece Julie - I enjoyed it very much. I had a similar moment yesterday walking under grey skies through the suburbs of Stockport. I looked up to behold a magnificent weeping willow and felt gratitude for the beauty of creation and the good fortune to be able to enjoy it.

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That’s lovely that you noticed that. The times we notice, often it snowballs, we end up noticing so much more.

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I'm also a house watcher. Lived in the same neighborhood for 33 years, walking around most days. I know most of the houses and watch them improve or decline. Most US cities grew in modules, adding one neighborhood of similar houses in each boom time. Spokane expanded all at once in 1910 then stopped, resulting in a much wider mix as people gradually filled in the blanks. In this neighborhood, each block has one big two-story 1910, some 1920 bungalows, some 1930 Cape Cods, some weird little unstyled houses (including mine), lots of 1950 drab tract houses, some larger 1970 tract houses, and one beautiful architected brick house.

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I hear you. Yes the architecture and history of houses interests me somewhat as well as what i imagine happens within. My own house hails from the 1840s, built on the edge of a farm as accommodation for the workers. It always amazes me I haven’t (yet) seen a ghost. I’m always hopeful!

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My house has a bit of a ghost or spirit that must have wanted me to be here. When I looked up the history of the first owner (who bought it in 1948) it turns out that he moved to Spokane in 1910 from Missouri, from the same small town where my grandfather grew up. They were nearly neighbors. Nobody else in my family ever moved to this part of the world, so there's no sort of parallel motion.

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Coincidences are fascinating aren’t they? :)

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Great descriptions, Julie. And there is so much beauty tucked away beneath our drab northern skies!

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Indeed. You’re not far from me, you know!x

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I know! We are lucky to live surrounded by such beauty. When it is dry enough to get out and see it, that is!

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I too like you used to dislike Hydrangeas, always seemed full of spiders and their webs and other creepy crawlies- older people always had them in their garden but like many things fashion changes and my 30 something children buy hydrangeas for themselves and friends - it’s seems their popularity has come full circle and I appreciate them as never before seeing them with fresh eyes, I suppose.

The architecture is lovely in your photos and more cosy as a result of the greyness of the day. But I can also imagine it reflecting heat on hot days in my mind. It’s St Swithen’s day tomorrow so I’m hoping for no rain tomorrow but I feel I may be disappointed.

Thanks for cheering us up and focusing us on the surprises the current moment can bring, if we decide to see it and be curious about what it holds for us. There is little architecture around me, it’s all agricultural land which can be equally depressing in the wet and grey days unless im conscious enough to change my perspective. I will definitely need to if it rains tomorrow and aligned with folklore we are in for 40 more days of it!

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Thank you. Yes, I think the brooding mood of a downcast day, adds more than sunshine to the architecture. Gives it a dark elegance.

We have what we have, eh?

And any ounce of what we have - actually have - is worth a thousand ‘one day’s.

X

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I got a Lennon and McCartney vibe from this. The sentiment it started with was like Lennon’s admonishment to pay attention to stop and smell the flowers - “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans”. And then your jaunty journey was like a Hebden version of Penny Lane.

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Thanks I was trying to make the best of the shit weather….as you do eh? So had my poet’s head on.

Everything was worthy of a photo or a second look 😂😂

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I cannot love this enough Julie. You pour such beauty into a gloomy July. I will tell you (and fantastic images btw) that my favourite weather, when I used to cover events and weddings was "diffused." The color and detail would pop like magic and I loved the mood. We didn't have to deal with shooting on the fly and crazy sun blasting skin and white hair making one person look like a lit q-tip in a group shot, or I'd have people shuffling about to get decent even light when time was limited, working like a maniac with lighting. So annoying! Yet I understand in the sense of being still under a sunny sky and never ending gloom! I'm glad July lied this time and showed you its beauty. Hydrangeas are my happy place because of my mum's love of them and their time on the Oregon coast. They were everywhere and she'd scream at the deer for eating them 😅

Btw, Bob Hoboke had an incredible guest on today that you might love! Martin Brodsky He's a young builder and speaks of timelessness. Here's the interview:

https://open.substack.com/pub/bobhoebeke/p/cycles?r=kn8dx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Once again this was delightful 🙌🏻

ox

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Bless you. Funnily enough the very next day was absolutely picture perfect. English weather is like a (modern, mass produced) box of chocolates (mostly shit with an occasional decent one to savour 😂😂)

Thank you, I shall have a look my friend x

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Ha ha! That's telling you 👊🏻 ☀️

I'm happy you got some sunshine happiness! I think you will love Martin! ox

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I enjoyed this piece very much. I also really liked the photographs, they added a warm touch to the post.

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Thank you, I took them all myself that morning.

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Gorgeous prose, poetic imagery, stunning in every way! I love how you illustrate the idea of seeing the familiar through new eyes.❤️

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Thank you. It’s nice when you see the beauty around you and feel able to share it. Was in that kind of mood :)

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Thanks for this intuitive adventure ❤️

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