The wind changed; the storm roared in, from the deep, antarctic South and, undeterred, like Mary Poppins, she, the Grand Emissary of Sophia Stuart, came; sans umbrella, but rosy-cheeked and just what we were expecting
Only she didn’t land quite as tidily as Mary Poppins, because you can’t without an umbrella, and if you are being delivered by a postman, into a bucket that is posing as a mailbox.
Will this start a new trend?
Very undignified, especially when the bucket, inverted or not, is being true to form, by behaving as all buckets should during a once in a century deluge.
Luckily my neighbour saw Sophia’s Emissary floundering; her brown coat, courtesy of Mr Amazon, slowly dragging her down as it soaked up the icy water collected in the depths of the bucket, and he brought her to my door. She was a pitiful sight; utterly bedraggled. But I helped her out of her coat, gave her a warm hug, a fluffy towel, a cup of tea, and a change of clothes, (and pearls), and she soon revived. Emissaries and world travellers have to be resilient, like that 🙂
A quick chat, and a note dashed off to teamgloria (*tg*) to let her know that the Envoy of Who-She-is-In-Real-Life had reached her destination, and it was time for the voyager to take to her bed, to recover from jet lag and the general ordeal of arriving on the crest of a storm.
“It’s time to rest” How to Stay Sane in a Crazy World”
Isn’t she lovely? Nestled next to my welcome sprig of bay leaves, for sweet dreams and good health.
Sweet dreams and good health and victory in all things
Ssshh; softly, softly, we won’t disturb her now, but, maybe, I will come back later when she is fully recovered and we can discuss the dispatches, the laureate letters, she has brought to me, from Sophia.
What’s that? Someone is not being quiet. You heard a stifled giggle. Oh dear; it can’t be helped. It’s *tg*’s fault; for reminding me that being dunked in a bucket has boarding school overtones. We know a lot about boarding school, *tg* and Sophia and I. Sophia has even written a book about it, called Emerald. There was no Emerald at my school, (or was there?), but I seem to recall buckets, full of muck, that were used to terrorize the naughty third formers on initiation day, at the end of year. ( Yes, at end of the year, came the dreaded day of Rangi Tangi! ) We all got horribly wet, bucket-dunked or otherwise, and, after the seniors had done their worst, ( which sometimes wasn’t very bad), they got to feast and we got naught. It sounds more ghastly than it was..but I am still very glad we have all grown up to offer the world a kinder experience of life.
How to Stay Sane in a Crazy World
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A very creatively written post and a lovely introduction for the book!
I do love a beautiful book. 🙂
Love ,love ,love this post,Gallivanta! Beautiful as always❤️
Thank you for sharing❤️❤️❤️
Thank you 🙂 🙂
Love, love, love your writing . Thanks for a beautiful post.
From Alexa in Sydney Australia
Blogging at http://www.Alexa-asimplelife.com
Glad you are enjoying my take on the world 🙂 .
Your posts are always wonderful reminders to celebrate the beautiful daily rituals of life. From the quirkiness of the postbox, to the celebration of a lovely new book, to a new recipe, to a flower in bloom….
Thank you Letizia. I am fortunate to have the time to do these little but beautiful things. We seem to have lost a lot of ritual from our daily lives; it’s nice to try and reclaim some.
So true. By taking a moment to find a thing or thought of beauty makes an ordinary happening day so much better.
Alexa
🙂
I loved the title of the book. It sounds like something that I’d enjoy.
It’s a book full of charm, calm and good sense.
You have treated this beautiful book as beautifully as it deserves! I understand it came undamaged? Leaves and pearls…so beautiful. When I buy books I like them to be beautiful on the outside as well. I treasure them and hold them – but never have I seen a book so well taken care of as this one!
Miraculously, it was undamaged! Yes, I do love a book that looks and feels beautiful. I have a few like that and I treasure them, too. I am wondering now if this love of a beautiful book to hold comes from the times when I was very young and I was allowed to hold a very beautiful book that belonged to my mother…A Child’s Grace by Constance Bannister.
Lovely post Gallivanta. I must put your mail box on my bucket list 😉 xox
Please do!
What a delightful post…loved the bay leaves and I hope that you are saved from too strong winds!
We are nice and safe and dry. Perhaps the bay tree and sprigs kept us safe 😉 ….who knows?
I think you should be a still life stylist – i love the bay leaves next to the book and also that mailbox is just too charming!!!
Ah, you are lovely to say so. As for my mailbox; it’s one of a kind. Does it have street appeal?….as they like to ask on real estate programmes. 😀 😀
Very enjoyable. A delight to read and to feast one’s eyes on the photos.
Thank you Mary. The book itself is a visual feast. 🙂
I love the mail box and hope it somehow remains usable for a long time. You have such a lovely way with words–and pictures, too–and I’m still smiling at your reference to the brown coat courtesy of Mr. Amazon. This was a joy to read, Gallivanta.
Thank you Marylin. Mr Amazon’s coats are remarkably sturdy under normal circumstances. And they are very good for compost too. 🙂
Hope you enjoy your lovely looking book. Glad to see the mailbox is holding up ( for regular mail anyway).
The mailbox is holding up reasonably well. And, amazingly, it didn’t blow over in the storm. I have been looking at new mailboxes. I was quite shocked to see how expensive some of them are.
I’m sure they are. Do you know any local joiners who can build one for you?
Not really. Anybody who has tradesman skills seems to be taken up with rebuild work. I will probably have to settle for a ready made one.
Hope you find something suitable and reasonably priced. Have you looked on ebay?
That’s a good idea. We have a NZ version called Trade Me which is excellent for bargains.
Good Luck 🙂
Thanks 🙂
What a nice welcome you gave the weary traveler! I’m sure she’s completely recovered by now 🙂 Mine arrived in full health, just popped up in my Kindle and calmly said “you can read me now”, with a very pleasant voice, mind you 🙂
Excellent. I was going to put your book on Kindle but I chickened out in the end. My son suggested I use a Kindle app for my laptop but, by the time I had looked at everything (all the instructions), I was too tired to go any further with the Kindle idea. But it is something I must work on. Do tell Sophia, about your purchase. She will be delighted. And, as you have probably seen on her website, she loves dogs and makes cute videos of them.
oh how delicious! you bought an e-book-version of the book! you are so very very kind.
*humble_curtsey*
teamgloria (aka: sophia stuart)
Beautiful photos.x
Thank you. It’s a book full of beautiful photos, so I thought I needed to live up to its content 😉 .
I think you should paint your post box bucket red … it will look nicer….. then you might set a trent! 🙂
Yourpicture wiht the book is beautiuflly done, and I am sure htis book is great. I willl be waiting for a review too! Enjoy reading it!
Bucket red! Now that would be fun. If you want to see a lovely review now you can link here http://lostinarles.blogspot.co.nz/2014/03/how-to-stay-sane-in-crazy-world-by.html The photos are lovely as well; very calming.
Thanks I shall have a look! 🙂
Never heard of the book before.. But I love Mary Poppins!
The book is only just out; published early February. I love Mary Poppins too.
OH!! She is beautiful!! Love the bucket BTW.. *chuckles*’
I wonder.. has there been a sighting yet of her in Australia? *ponders*,,,, What a beautifully designed cover… and your pictures do everything for presenting it in the most wonderful way Gallivanta!
I think I want one… *clicks some links*
ML
♥
Seems like you may have the first sighting in Australia 😉 !!
From Mary Poppins to bucket stories to a lovely new book, you have once again woven a delightful post. I just finished Mary Poppins, She Wrote and know much more about PL Travers. I’m trying to decide if she would like your post or whether she would think it a sentimental folly. Probably a little of both I’m afraid.
Love the weaving imagery. Makes me feel that I have been clever enough to make one of your lovely baskets :). I am sure you are right about Miss Travers’ opinions. I haven’t read any books about her; just a few articles in relation to Saving Mr Banks but she sounds intriguing. I have also been reading news articles about the death of Maria Von Trapp http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/9756995/Maria-von-Trapp-dies-aged-99 and of how the family was not entirely happy with some aspects of the Sound of Music, just as Travers didn’t agree with Disney’s interpretation of Mary Poppins.
No, there was a lot of artistic license (really? in HOLLYWOOD???) taken with their story. However, like MP, The SoM really hits a nerve with a vast majority of people. I loved seeing the video of Maria, she was so sweet!
Oh, and Saving Mr. Banks is also quite a bit of Hollywood, if you read Mary Poppins, she wrote, not everything is portrayed accurately in the film. (again, duh…)
I think I would rather have the artistic licence in MP and SoM than the type of artistic licence that masquerades as reality TV. Just having a sudden nightmare flash of a reality tv series based on SoM or Mary Poppins. Help!
Maria did seem very lovely.
🙂
Delightful tale of the book’s arriving. I was interesting to see her tripartite division of the day, too. It reminded me of an old, old book – Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s “Gift From the Sea”. As I recall, she found the morning the time for thought, afternoon for more physical activities, and evening for rest and reflection. There are rhythms in life. I suppose the trick is finding the one that works best for us as individuals.
That old,old book is one of my favourites EVER. So glad you know it too. I haven’t read it in a while but I have read it many times. I have a copy that has travelled the world with me. I have read many of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s other books too. The concept of a Book of Hours is one that I have loved since my first introduction to them through Rumer Godden, when I was very young. Thank you for bringing a Gift from the Sea to the conversation.
I look forward to read the review of the book. Congratulation!…. 🙂
I hope I will get to do that, some time.
oh yes whenever you’ve finish reading it. I can wait. 🙂
Thanks for your patience 🙂
😉
Oh, I love your play on words…I’ll bet that is the most attention a book has ever received in arriving at one’s doorstep!
Such awful pranks they had at your school. Thankfully, my school did not have such initiations. The worst that ever happened was a boy sitting behind me in class told me I had a spider in my hair. I was deathly afraid of spiders and immediately stood up, screamed repeatedly and holding my head upside down, shook it vigorously trying to get the creature out. Needless to say, the rest of the class thought that was hysterically funny. Oh and one boy (I’m wondering now if it was the same one) pulled my chair away as I was going to sit down…and I fell to the floor. Not so funny.
Yes, awful pranks! I am sure they still go on. However, I hope silly initiation rituals have not survived or, at least, have been replaced by pleasant ones.
Mmmm….yes How to Stay Sane in a Crazy World certainly received 5 star treatment once she got in the door. Most of my books get treated very well. I wouldn’t mind putting ribbons on all them, actually; just for fun. 😀
By the way, I hope there is no damage to the book.
Thankfully the book was undamaged. It was rescued just in time.
You are hilarious- “brown coat courtesy of Mr. Amazon!” Love it!
I’m sure you’ll write us a book review, yes?
I will try to write a review. But I read ever so slowly, so it may take me awhile.
That’s ok. The more to savor it!
I don’t buy many books, so, when I do, I like to make them last..
Are you still doing your book reviews? Or has life become too busy in other directions?
I do a book review about every two months. I am reading a book right now called Power Words. I’d love to review some books that are not exactly educational. Maybe I’ll look for something to read that is purely entertainment!
I am sure there will be lots of ‘fun’ books to choose from. We are fortunate to have so many lovely books available to us.
That was such a very lovely welcome! I am sure that will compensate for her rough and wet landing 🙂 She looks like a good person to meet. That is one good reason for seeing a person in real than the digital version (which is teleported to you) 🙂
It’s always fun to offer hospitality :). Even when I can only offer it on my blog 😉
It’s amazing the book survived that water torture! It must be a very special book . . .
It is amazing. Usually the postman brings parcels to my doorstep but either he was in a hurry to get home, or it was a new postie on duty who was also in a hurry to get out of the rain.
Your posts never fail to hold my attention and love the arrangement on the pillow.
Thank you GP. I thought I should do something luxurious to compensate for the undignified delivery into the wet post bucket. I was so glad the book survived the dunking.
This is just gorgeous and so very perfect for Sophia’s beautiful book! I hope the emissary rests well.
And I am afraid I am one of those naughty people who read the book all at one go! I couldn’t help it! It was just. so. good. But now, I go back and think on certain pages, giving them the loving attention they deserve.
Not naughty at all! We all have our different ways ..I read/glance through magazines from back to front before I read them the right way round! I think Sophia’s book is ideal for a slow read but that doesn’t preclude a fast read first 😉 I couldn’t do that, though, because I am a very s l o w reader ! 😀
What a lovely picture of SS’s book, I love the way you propped it with pearls which reflect her style. My copy arrived recently from Amazon Towers but I haven’t had time to delve in but I flicked through and admired the delicious pictures. 😉
It is a book to be taken slowly; so far I have read a few pages and meditated on its beauty. I am glad you haven’t rushed through it 😉
hello lovely friend from the emerald isle! do post a picture – you would be our 1st Sighting in Ireland and that would mean ever such a lot (as you know).
*wavingfromlosangeles*
(Gallivanta – you have the most DELICIOUS guests – we are overwhelmed with happy thoughts reading all these comments and have gone to visit Many of them at their Own houses as a result)
_teamgloria xx
I do indeed. Everyone is lovely. I am sure they will be delighted to have you drop by.
Hello TG and so sorry for the delayed reply – I have just posted a picture on Instagram, I would liked to have taken an image against the backdrop of Howth but sadly I am not likely to be out there in the near future.
*wavingfromdublin* and most especially hoping all is well with you.
B xxx
Oh this is exciting. Can’t wait to see it.
your picture was lovely.
truly.
very grateful
*shy_downcast_gaze*
Very lovely.
Gallivanta – The pictures you paint within the words of your blog are enduring. You have a beautiful way of expression with your photos as well. It’s always a pleasure to read with you.
Thank you Sheri. It’s a joy to know that you appreciate my words and photos.
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Divine 🙂
EVERYONE! “1st Sighting In NEW ZEALAND”!
so very happy.
and doesn’t the book look Thrilled with its fluffy towel-dried boarding school tresses and a simple (and extremely beautiful) row of pearls (nay, two!) and bay leaves (lovely touch)
we are so very, very moved by your generous spirit and your lovely heart.
*humble_deep_curtsey* (as if at the Queen Charlotte’s Ball and you would know what we meant by that).
thank you.
*swoons*
_tg xx
more here! thanks to you! http://teamgloria.com/2014/03/08/hello-frankfurt-hello-new-zealand-hello-cross-continental-flight-and-shhh-om-to-the-sighting-on-a-meditation-cushion-in-berlin/
Absolutely lovely. She has an extraordinary life 🙂
Delighted to be able to record the first sighting in New Zealand 🙂 , and delighted with the reference to Queen Charlotte, Sophie Charlotte, no less, and her special ball http://thelondonseason.org/queen-charlottes-ball-london-26th-october-2013/, the first one held in 1780.
We have a lovely part of the country named after her; Queen Charlotte Sound. A fascinating woman who deserves a post of her own from me; oh wait! no need, Coulda Should Woulda has done one already http://naomipicks.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/tidbit-about-british-royal-family.html
goodness gracious! we went to school whose mothers had done Such Things. can you imagine?…
I can indeed!
PS- I didn’t clarify that….. Mary Poppin’s advice I mean. Seriously, think of what she said, was there anything that wasn’t completely accurate? She still informs much of my decision making. Laughing….but it’s true.
Your posts are so creative and delightful!
I rather thought you meant Mary Poppins! I often take a spoonful of sugar myself 😉 .
i still consider her advice the sagest i have heard~
Quite so!
Thank you for this delightful post. The pearls, the ribbon and the leaves suit Sophia’s book beautifully. I’m glad Sophia’s Emissary survived the floods. And that you survived those boarding school days. When I look back, I sometimes wonder how we survived the teasing of the big ones, and then a few years on, how we in turn were able to be so heartless to the little ones. Ain’t life strange sometimes?
Did you have an initiation day at the end of third form too? We lived in dread of that day. If I remember correctly, I (and maybe some other seniors) refused to participate in the initiation when it was our turn to rule the roost. But as a prefect I certainly did my share of bossing about!!!
By the way, have I mentioned that my mother was inspired to buy those pearls because your mother had some the same? I think that was the story.
What a delightful introduction to her book. Thank you.
It’s a very beautiful, and beautifully crafted book. Such a pleasure to have.