Showing posts with label Robert Louis stevenson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Louis stevenson. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

MY HOUSE, I SAY...COTTAGE BY THE SEA ~ FORGET-ME-NOT COTTAGE ( WIP/2 )

Yes, this could be my house and mine, said my husband when he looked at my painting this morning. It's still a WIP. I need to finish painting the grass along the path, maybe a couple of doves on the roof and a cat, just like Robert Louis Stevenson wrote about in the poem "My House, I Say."

The Forget- Me- Nots and Tansy are flowers we collected on our trip down east. THE INN AT WHALE COVE COTTAGES, GRAND MANAN ISLAND, NEW BRUNSWICK is a place that will always be dear to me and M. We had such a great time there and, Laura, the Inn Keeper at Whale Cove Cottages, made it extra special for us. This painting, inspired by that special place we stayed at one cold October month in 2017. One day, we shall go back!


MY HOUSE, I SAY 
~ ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON 1850-1894


"My house, I say. But hark to the sunny doves  

That make my roof the arena of their loves,  

That gyre about the gable all day long  

And fill the chimneys with their murmurous song:  

Our house, they say; and mine, the cat declares  

And spreads his golden fleece upon the chairs;  

And mine the dog, and rises stiff with wrath  

If any alien foot profane the path.  

So, too, the buck that trimmed my terraces,  

Our whilom gardener, called the garden his;

Who now, deposed, surveys my plain abode  

And his late kingdom, only from the road."

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Heart and Soul

Grace, a soul with heart and spirit






In his book "Dog Stories", James Herriot writes of an old woman whose only fear is that she may never be reunited with her animals after death.
Here is an excerpt from the short story "The Card Over The Bed" A very touching and beautiful story.


I went back and sat down by the bed. Miss Stubbs looked out of the window" for a few moments, then turned to me. "You know, Mr. Herriot," she said casually, "it will be my turn next.""What do you mean?""Well, tonight Ben has gone and I'm going to be the next one. I just know it.""Oh, nonsense! You're feeling a bit low, that's all. We all do when something like this happens." But I was disturbed. I had never heard her even hint at such a thing before."I'm not afraid," she said. "I know there's something better waiting for me. I've never had any doubts." There was silence between us as she lay calmly looking up at the card on the gas bracket. Then the head on the pillow turned to me again. "I have only one fear." Her expression changed with startling suddenness as if a mask had dropped. The brave face was almost unrecognizable. A kind of terror flickered in her eyes and she quickly grasped my hand."It's the dogs and cats, Mr. Herriot. I'm afraid I might never see them when I'm gone which worries me so. You see, I know I'll be reunited with my parents and brothers, but ... but ..." She gazed at the two cats curled up at the end of her bed."Well, why not with your animals?""That's just it." She rocked her head on the pillow and for the first time I saw tears on her cheeks. "They say animals have no souls.""Who says?""Oh, I've read it and I know a lot of religious people believe it.""Well, I don't believe it." I patted the hand which still grasped mine. "If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. You've nothing to worry about there."
"Oh, I hope you're right.



“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.” Robert Louis Stevenson ☺️

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Happy Valentine’s Day, Sweetie ♥️

Happy Valentine’s Day, Sweetie ♥️


♥️ I will make you brooches and toys for your delight
Of birdsong at morning and starshine at night
I will make a palace fit for you and me
Of green days in forests and blue days at sea


Robert Louis Stevenson



Blog Archive

Blog Archive