loved it.

•10 hours on a bus (in all).

•strawberry pop-tarts from a vending machine.

•falling in LOVE with the beach all over again.

•the taste of salt water is still in my mouth.

•lots of riddles.

•ultimate frisbee.

•a 3THREE-course challenge.

•i got to watch xc in my jeans♥.

•making a pair of snazzy chopsticks to wear in my hair.

•STARBUCKS® (iced coffee, no milk please.)

•Safe-uh-way.

•a mud pit….well, more like a mud pond.

•tapioca.

•waltzing through downtown SeaSide.

•blackberry picking.

•and this lovely little piece dropping into my head as i ran through the waves.

………………………………………………………………………..

she’d never been. to the ocean that is. she was a small-town girl. the epitome of a small-town girl. she had blonde hair that she piled on top of her head carelessly. a few strands spilled out over her brow, brushing her blue eyes. salty air bit at her lips. her cheeks were a flushed pink. she bunched up her white dress and knotted it at her hip. her small hands shook with excitement as she cupped sand and ran it through her fingers. she was nervous.

he laughed at her and rolled his pants up past his ankles. he’d been to the beach hundreds of times. he practically lived there. his house was only three blocks from the pier. he’d grown up with sand in his toes and salt in his hair and oyester shells in his hands. he pushed his shirtsleeves up to his elbows and ran his hands through his curly, maple coloured hair. he laughed at her again. she seemed almost frightened as the waves crashed down again and again. her feet were planted firmly in the sand. 20 yards from the ocean. 20 yards from a 5 year old dream. 20 yards, and she was scared half to death.

he took her small hand in his big one. “do you want to go in?” she looked at him. “yes.” she said. but she said it hesitantly. he swept her up into his arms. she wrapped her arms around his neck. “you’re going to love it.” he whispered in her ear. and she knew she would. she closed her eyes up until the moment she could feel the water snapping at her toes. she looked down. he was in up past his knees. she held him tighter. “don’t put me down.” she said. he laughed for the third time. he was always laughing at her. but he didn’t put her down. he didn’t want to. he’d waited 5 years for this moment too. and then she couldn’t wait any longer. she wasn’t frightened anymore. she slipped out of his arms and into the sea. it was cold. she loved it. just the way he’d told her she would.

she was content just to stand there and hold his hand. but he was jealous. jealous of the way the waves got to kiss her feet. he wanted to kiss her lips. so he did. and she kissed him back. and he laughed at her. and she loved it.

……………………………………………………………

(it’s been a lovely weekend.)

love.

-Bella

xoxox

the man who gave Macbeth away.

i have been typing away and away and away. my fingers hurt. i like it. but my story made me mad today. i got a bit stuck. it’s fixed now though. i think. it’s hard to write when there are 3 children in the next room doing 3 different things and Miss Tandy is playing a harmonica right beside you. very difficult. sometimes you just need quiet. but i think what i really need is to give George and Josephine a break and work on my novel. for some reason, i can write in my novel when a hundred different things are going on. that’s what i love about it.

(what i really want to write right now is this amazing little piece stuck in my head. it’s been there for a long time. it involves the fair and kisses and tents and vintage dresses.)

Lala mia was recording this amazing song earlier today. i love it. especially this one part that is soooooo marvelous. so marvelous. i love it. i love it. i love it. i just can’t say that enough.

today i wanted to cry. and i didn’t know why. but then if figured it out. the other day when we were in that thrift shop, there was a stack of old books for sale. i wanted them. O so badly. but $5 dollars a book is NOT a steal. really, who wants to pay $5 dollars for one book? not me. and who wants to pay $50 dollars for 10 books? (there was 10 of them…) i just wanted the books.  but that’s not why i wanted to cry. i wanted to cry because someone actually gave those books away. what kind of person would do that? i wish i could meet them. i imagine this man whose father left him those books after he died, and that young man wanted nothing to do those old books. he had no hankering to read Shakespeare’s Macbeth. so he gave them away. and now he’s alone in his father’s house without those books. and one day, when he sits down with his morning cup of coffee and reaches for a book in his father’s book shelf, they won’t be there. it will be empty. kind of sad.

Mr.Dante told me today, “There’s something I like about a man sitting in an empty room in a tuxedo. Especially the part about the empty room…” i think i like that too. my little brother is the best. he’s walking inspiration for my men i write about. and he’s only 8 years old. i wish i had an older brother too. he would be more walking inspiration, but he would be 20 years old. for now, Mr.Dante is enough i suppose. if only ’cause he’s the best.

an odd collaboration of thoughts, i know, but it’s just what’s on my mind today.

in lieu of mentioning  Lala mia and vintage dresses, i’ll show you something i really like right now. 2 of the dresses in Lala’s ETSY shop: icarryourheart. they’re also in Lala’s closet in my house. snatch ‘em up before i plead and cry and make her give them to me. *wink*.

Pink Swing

this one is The Pink Swing. and you can find it here.

DUTCH GIRL

this one is The DUTCH GIRL. and you can find it here.

i like ‘em. and so will you.

a thought for today….don’t give vintage Macbeths away. PLEASE.

love.

-Bella.dear

()()()sweet things in my head()()()

my hair is piled on top of my head and i have lipstick on. {i’m in Miss Tandy’s fuschia/magenta coloured pencil skirt.} i ♥ dressing up for life. just for life. gives me a reason to live. and laugh.

Miss Tandy put Smallville on. yay. yay. yay. i like Smallville. but you already knew that…

here’s a little something sweet.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

she often left her hand in the most obvious places hoping he would touch it. on a table. dangling by her side. fingering something he would be looking at. but he never seemed to get it. he would always laugh and smile and come so close. his hand would almost brush hers. so close. but it never did. he never seemed to get it. and she thought it was unbearably cute. because when he did hold her hand for the first time, he just wouldn’t let go.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

i have something even sweeter in my head, but there’s a few kinks right now. though i’ll tell you that it has to do with the county fair and adorable dresses and shy people and nervous people and kisses and an amusing trick. i cannot wait to write it.

off to Smallville. again. maybe with some tea this time.

love.

-Bella

picking no-one’s cherries…

there is a little cherry tree planted on the sidewalk in our town in front of a musuem. i think it’s there on accident. *oops* but i ♥ it ever since the day Mr.Sam pointed it out to me. who knew there was a cherry tree on the sidewalk? such a grand surprise. {it reminded me of Miss Kirstie Rae and her cherry-stained fingers.}

so today, i went for a walk with Franny and Miss Tandy.  and that cherry tree didn’t stand a chance. even though we had (1) teapot, (2) books, and (3) cans of Arizona Tea®. we came home with a whole bag of cherries. we sort of “borrowed” them. (if you really wanted to, you could maybe say we half-way stole them. but they didn’t really belong to anyone…) picking no-one’s cherries is a lovely thing to do. especially in a skirt.

{i wore a little brown skirt again today.}

i made some cookies. in the shape of doggies. quite cute if you ask me. but i forgot to put my apron on. *blush* i am such a forgetful person at times. i love-hate-like-detest it when i forget things. certain things. i love forgetting my age and standing there thinking about how old i am. and i hate forgetting my dress on the way to a wedding and figuring out i forgot when we’re already 4 hours into the trip. i like forgetting the tea i made in the morning and finding it later on. and i detest forgetting to brush my teeth before i go to bed. i forget. a lot.

we went and picked flowers in the cul-de-sac a few hours ago. there’s now a smashing bouquet on our table. i took pictures of it. you’ll see them tomorrow. maybe. (i might forget. *wink*) i wanted to be a flower-arranger of wedding bouquets tonight. i want to be a lot of things. so i just write. and my characters get to be a lot of things. while i get to be my favourite thing. a writer.

i got a book today. Romeo and Juliet-West Side Story. 2 of my favourite stories. put together.

——————————————-

“Today, all day I had the feeling

A miracle would happen—

I know now I was right.

For here you are

And what was just a world is a star

Tonight!”

-Tony.West Side Story, Act I, Scene V.

———————————————

“…Thus with a kiss I die.”

-Romeo.Romeo and Juliet, Act V, Scene III.

——————————————————-

adore it. absolutely.

i need to water Clyde tomorrow. Mumsie usually remembers for me. but Clyde is too special to forget.

(Vivian is a flower-arranger of wedding bouquets. wouldn’t it be bad if she fell in love with the groom? whose name is….George.)

i found some darling bottle caps on our walk today. i cannot wait to make something out of them.

(the cherries are very red. i like it.)

-Bella♥

blue flowers in milk. (i hope they’re cornflower blue…)

{i’m wearing a little black dress with a floral ribbon tied around it.}

today was lovely. but a tad bit too warm. my feet got hot. and O do i hate that.

i made more little surprises for Miss Stephanie and Miss Kirstie Rae today. they’re adorable. i do so hope they’ll like them. (we’ll ship the little package out soon dears). i can’t wait to send it off.

we worked the soup kitchen almost all day. i like the soup kitchen. i don’t know why, but i do.

i wrote in one of my little short stories today. and i read a bit. i read this.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

“his eyes….like blue flowers in milk.”

-Madame Bovary: by Gustave Flaubert – chapter VII part 2

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

i adored that book. it was very sad though. left such a melancholy taste in my mouth. the way she didn’t love the right man when she had him. she couldn’t. i adored it. all of it. completely adored it. i cried in the end. when Charles died. i adored it though.

i need to bake tomorrow. probably a few loaves of bread. maybe cookies. or muffins. or pie. i also need to send out some letters. and maybe a little package. *wink.*

i really want to make some apple cozies too. i’ll have to work on that. maybe i’ll try my hand in it. but first i need an apple…

i’ll close with one more quote.

…………………………………..

“”And he gently bent down to kiss her.”

-Madame Bovary: by Gustave Flaubert – chapter II part 3

…………………………………..

did i mention how much i adored that book? {the small little lines were my favourite♥.}

-Bella

blooming tea….like flowers….

today was filled with words for me. it was a good writing day. thinking up new things. and remembering old things. i liked it.

i remembered this:

…………………………………………..

they passed each other on the sidewalk while walking in the rain. both of them held red umbrellas. both of them turned to second glance at one another. she wore a little black dress and a creamy coloured coat and had cherry red lips. he had shiny shoes and curly hair and wore a pale green necktie. they kept walking. then he stopped. and he smiled. and he turned around and ran. he ran after her.

……………………………………………

i loved writing that little piece.♥

and i made up this:

……………………………………………

he held her chin in his hands. softly touching her cheek with two fingers. “you know what i love best about you?” he whispered. she playfully kissed one of those fingers. “no, what?” he playfully kissed her lips. “the way you laugh when i hold your hand as if it tickles…” she blushed. “…the way you tilt your head when i touch your hair….and the way you smile in the middle of my kisses…” she blushed even redder. “you know what i love best about you?” she asked. he smiled. “the way you love me.” she whispered.

……………………………………………

i loved writing this too.♥

Miss Tandy and Franny and i headed out to the park today. we took a stroll in the creek. or at least tried to. Franny fell in. and i laughed about it. and so did Miss Tandy. but Franny didn’t. we told her she would when she was 27.

i went to goodwill today. i found another new little black dress. happyness indeed. and i also got a little flowered coin purse. (red poppies). and a swing dancing cd. i adore goodwill.

i had a cup of Blooming Rooibos Tea today.

now i have to go practice some sweet little swing dancing moves with Miss Tandy. (my Mumsie is running a blow-dryer in the kitchen. why? i have not the slightest idea….)

-Bella

i am percy the fish. (and if i were a boy, i would lean down to kiss a girl…)

tomorrow we put on a puppet show for the library. i’ve been sitting in the kitchen making a bright orange puffer fish with my Mumsie and cutting out little white teeth. i love theatricals. and musicals. and dramas. and puppet shows. they are lovely beyond everything.

i once was a princess with a sparkly wand.

another time i was James Henry Trotter.

tomorrow i get to be Percy the fish.

i adore being other people (or things and what-not).

tomorrow is my birthday. {my golden birthday}. i got a very special present from a very wonderful teacher tonight. it made me very happy of course.

i think i might wear a dress tomorrow.

but tonight i’ll wear my pajamas. and smile. because The Warden, by Anthony Trollope is sitting on my bed. right next to Tristan and Iseult. what more could i ask for? (maybe a pair of rain boots….and a typewriter…..p.l.e.a.s.e.)

i’ve had something Miss Tandy said a bit ago stuck in my head for a while now. i thought it was sweet. if you know the answer.

**************

“Why would you want to lean down to kiss a girl for the rest of your life?”

**************

i know the answer.

-Bella

:hands:that:smell:like:earth:

this day, was good. it was sweet like pie. {i love pie.}

i gardened. and my hands smelled like earth. i love it when they smell that way.

i went to the cul-de-sac on my {dennis christopher} bicycle with Franny and Miss Tandy. we picked bouquets of poppies and daisies and bachelor buttons.

i could only wish for sunflowers…but Miss Tandy in overalls was a good consolation for the lack of such.

today’s dress was the little blue one my Lala gave to me. i adore that dress.  i could probably live in it f.o.r.e.v.e.r. that’s the truth.

the little bouquets we picked gave me some lovely thoughts. here’s what i came up with:

**************************************

the airport was white. very white, and very busy. the people were rushing. in and out and to and from. she wore a yellow dress and bright red heels. she wanted to stand out. so he could see her the moment he walked in. and he did. he saw her ginger curls and cherry lips and tapping feet and nervous fingers. and then she saw him. with his tired smile and pale blue shirt and tousled hair and bouquet of red roses. and suddenly it didn’t matter. and they ran. and he dropped his luggage. and threw the roses down. and caught her as she jumped up into his arms. she held his face with her small hands. then he kissed her. and she kissed him back. and they were on their knees, trading kisses with one another. then they laughed with one another. and then she wiped a smudge of red lipstick from his nose. and he held her. and the people kept walking through the airport. and they sat there on their knees, in the middle of red roses scattered about the white airport floor.

****************************************

sometimes, the things i make up cause me to chuckle and smile and blush. (i love blushing). i like it when that happens. this one did that to me. and it made me terribly happy. terribly happy indeed.

-Bella