Breathe

 

 

 

All original content found on my Instagram page:

Les Dames D'Abord

 

Surprise

 

 

All original content found on my Instagram page

Les Dames D'Abord

 

March On

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March on 

 

in 

 

good health and love.

 

All my original photos found on my Instagram page

Les Dames D'Abord

 

Please Remember This

 No music or photos today

but 

 

just the sound of my voice.

I have created, among other things

an account on 

 

Soundcloud.

I wrote a poem for the times -

 

you can read it on my Instagram page

and 

 

you can hear me recite it here.

Peace to all!

What Butterflies See

The Pink Lady Butterfly

lives up to 12 months

and 

in this third month of the new year

all she has seen 

are 

winks and blinks

specks and atoms

glistening in unison

searching for life. 

~~~~
 
An expert in survival 

the butterfly knows 

that the pulsation upon the earth

is partly in hope

partly in fright.

However,

She has winged through

drifted under 

and 

sailed above

ominous clouds

long enough to say, 

 

She will be looking for somewhere to land 

 

when the shadows pass. 

 

Will you be there

 

standing tall

 

when she comes?

I Know What The Walls Would Say If They Could Talk

They would say

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

Because from top to bottom

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

left to right

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

inside 

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

and out

anita pelayo rivera les dames s'abord

 

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

my husband has

painstakingly hammered

permanently inscribed

his affection


with every timber, measured detail 

and stroke of his brush 

that reads 

like 

Are you fluent in the language 

a friend
a parent
a partner
a spouse
a neighbor

uses to communicate their admiration?

Twelve Years Ago

I published my first blog post

and 

the content was based

on 

what I knew and loved best:

My home.

In the last 12 years

I opened my garden gate and explored 

various paths other than home décor

that led me to 

YOU.

Many of my readers inspired me, encouraged me

and they changed my life.

I took a year off from my teaching job

to open an Etsy shoppe.

I took writing classes that ignited a love for

poetry.

I have been gifted fine photography equipment

to launch off my idea to compose

a written and visual collection of memoirs

and 

my dreams continue to expand
as

I've shared my photos on

Instagram

for the past five years.

But on this first day of a new decade

I return home

for 

just a moment

to not only share a photo gallery of progress

but 

to celebrate the child-like happiness

my husband and I share

as we build our life together. 

Kitchen 1997

Same kitchen corner transformed in 2000

 

Kitchen hood redone beams installed 2019

Timbering installed 2019

Hallway/kitchen pantry 1997

Hallway/kitchen pantry with timbering 2019

Front room 1997

Opening the wall off of living room 2000

Creation of my studio space off of living room circa 2003

Studio space December 2019

Living room 2019

Studio space fall 2019

As I look at the things

we 

were able to achieve

I am in constant awe

to think that one day

It will be revealed just how much

my soul 

has been salvaged and transformed.

Happy 2020

 

Thank You

Kris from Junk Chic Cottage

for this 

~gentle swan Christmas ornament~

when I see it

I am reminded of your elegant style

and perseverance through 

the challenging currents of life.

A neighbor and good friend from Instagram

just got back from Paris

and 

gifted me this enchanting 

~Cinderella carriage ornament~

as I admire it sparkling in my studio

I am reminded 

of 

his playful nature

and all the fun summers we've spent 

gardening and beautifying our street.

Merci 

mille fois Vicki Archer

for this token of friendship

~all the way across the Atlantic~

when I hold this little child 

in

the palm of my hand

I am reminded of the journey

we've shared 

as 

maturing women

who remember the child

who

once held us and who we are now

so we can

become the fullness of our destiny.

Merry Christmas to all

and

a healthy, joyous 2020. 

When Seasons Meet

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

Juxtapositions

Please listen to the music as you read and view:

Think hard.

Think back to a time of your life

when someone bullied you

because you were 

too small

too big

too shy

too quiet

too different

All of the above and more

are characteristics often falsely perceived 

as

weakness.

But you know better, don't you...

 

anita pelayo rivera photography les dames d'abord

I however, did not know better.

So, for years I perceived myself 

as inferior to those in 

school, the workplace and even here

on social media
 

until 

I allowed myself to 

thrust forward 

in the trust

 

anita pelayo rivera photography les dames d'abord

that juxtapositions

are like a cord of three strands

not easily ruptured.

The muscle held in check 

by

the wisdom of gentleness

creates contrasts

misunderstood

by those who

see only with the eyes.

 

To get the full picture

anita pelayo rivera photography les dames d'abord

one must understand

that

when rescued and redeemed
 

a being's gentle power

and 

muscular serenity

are not bullying material

but rather a poem 

of

grateful compassion. 


Like the rescue horse here

in my photos

who was redeemed by her owner

and my friend


I will remember I 

am not weak

but

made stronger

by 

the gentle power

of 

kindness.