In the arbor

The mountains are gorgeous in the fall, but the air is often chilly, especially if there’s a wind. When my Wild Women friends and I gathered for our annual retreat, the first thing I did was build a fire in the old stone fireplace. “I don’t think we’ll be skinny dippping this year,” Signing Woman said as she sat down with a bowl of hot soup.

She was wrong. Both QuiltArtist and FolkSinger managed to sneak off for a swim the next day, although that air certainly didn’t indicate swimming weather to me. “I wanted the cold,” QuiltArtist told me when she returned with wet hair and shining skin. “It’s therapeutic. Better than any medicine.” She was smiling and full of energy, so perhaps plunging into the icy water was just what she needed.

I was content to stay bundled in my thick fleece shirt, but I needed to take a naked photo. It’s been a couple of months since the last one I posted on my blog, and I knew my readers were getting impatient. I figured that every day, late afternoon, we had a window of about fifteen minutes when the air would be warm enough for me to convice a friend to strip naked. So that afternoon, when I went for a walk with QuiltArtist and GardenGirl, I brought my camera.

Our walk led us to a small stone chapel that overlooked the lake. “They’ve got a nice little garden,” said GardenGirl. She treats plants the way most people treat puppies; she can’t resist them.

It was a pretty little garden that reminded me of an English cottage garden: small and nestled against the side of the chapel. Many of the plants had been cut down for the winter, but the vine-covered arbor that runs along the side was still green. The sun warmed the stone walls and the stone walk beneath our feet, filling the space with green and yellow light. I knew we had to seize the moment.

“I think it’s warm enough for a naked photo,” I announced.

“We’re in a churchyard,” QuiltArtist protested. Then she looked down through the arbor, and she admitted, “It would be perfect.”

The garden was sort of private. Well, there was a road just ten feet away, where people where strolling about in the sunlight, taking photos of foliage and admiring the view of the lake, but at that moment, at least, we had the little garden to ourselves.

“Okay,” said GardenGirl. “I’ll do it.”

Without hesitation, she stripped off her clothes, tossing them onto the stone wall. QuiltArtist and I began calling out instructions. “Step forward just a little! Reach up and touch a leaf!”

We were quick. By the time a young family came tromping through, she had already pulled her clothes back on. I’m sure that all they saw were three grey-haired women, admiring the arbor on a sunny fall day.

Read more about the history of the naked blogging project and check out the gallery of photos.

Transitions

This morning, we woke to a snow-covered world. Winter has arrived. It seems the older you get, the faster the seasons change.

The last few months have been a time of transition. In September, I became a grandmother! Boy-in-Black and his wife BlondeChef have a little boy now. Well, actually, he’s not all that little. He was over ten pounds when he was born, and he’s been growing steadily since. TotoroBaby is a sweet, sleepy baby, much like his father was. The best part is that my husband and I get to see him as often as we’d like, since my son and daughter-in-law live fairly close by.

Within 24 hours of becoming grandparents, my husband and I became Empty Nesters. Yes, my youngest son, With-a-Why, bought a house. He and ShySmile moved in that weekend. I’d feel sad about the baby of the family being all grown up, except that I’m so pleased at what a nice young man he’s become. Besides, his house is less than two miles away. All four of my kids live within 15 miles of me.

Other changes are happening too. My parents, who still live on their own about six miles away, are in their late 80s now. In September after a mini-stroke, my father was admitted to a hospital for the first time in his life. There was no lasting damage, and he is back to his old self, but still, it was an incident that made everyone in the family realize that we need to treasure what time we have left with my parents.

The snow outside my window is making me look forward to the holiday season. In my family, the get-togethers, the cooking, and the celebrating begin the weekend before Thanksgiving and go all the way to January. Red-haired Niece is expecting a baby in December so by Christmas, we’ll have seven little ones in the family, which will make the holidays that much more fun.