Monday, November 15, 2010

Before I Wake


An article in the Sunday NYT about a date orchard reminded me of a time, far away and long ago, when I spent the night in a date grove. I don't believe I understood how magical a place it was till I awoke. Quite a sight to behold first thing in the morning.

Another time I slept in a tree house built around an apple tree in an orchard. There were bushel baskets of apples everywhere and the smell was intoxicating. I thought, I'll never forget this. I have a bowl of apples by me as I blog and they smell like that night.

I've slept in a tepee on an Indian reservation, another night or two in a geodesic dome built by my good friend Julia, and spent a night at Arcosanti , staying with a friend who was working on the project for the summer.

And now I sleep in a small bedroom in an old brass bed with a snoring dog on the floor below me. She sleeps on a pile of sheepskins. The wall behind me is freshly painted a purple blue called mystery. The other walls are painted a white with a touch of red called pink slip. The room is on the east side of the house and the sun wakes me up each morning.

These are the best nights sleep I've ever had. There is no place like home.

14 comments:

  1. dear jane,

    you are so right. there is no place like home and my bed. i love camping and traveling (a little) but the best part is always getting in bed when i return. love the color of mystery and i'm not a real purple person.

    ~janet

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  2. what a GREAT post..i am such a homebody..the sun comes up every morning over Terrace Hill in SLO...right into my bedroom...

    at night..i lay awake and listen to the train..that long lonely whistle..and feel so safe and cozy...in the BEST place on earth...MY BED !!!!

    happy to visit today
    kary and teddy
    xxx

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  3. You and I were functioning on a similar wavelength today, weren't we? But possibly at opposite ends. I was leaving home and you were returning. Sweet dreams, Jane.

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  4. Janet, Our own beds rock! I was not a purple person either and then it hit me: purple is the new red. all my red door panels are being repainted purple ( slowly)

    Kary, Oh i love the train whistle image. i grew up with freighter horns on the river. i love night sounds.

    Denise, Welcome home. Next time take me with you.

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  5. Home is always where I prefer to be. I always think I'd like to be a world traveller but I always feel out of sorts if I'm not in my own bed. Although I can remember when I was young, sleeping in a playhouse that my father built for me. I would stay there and play house for hours.
    I mopped the floors and washed the sheets so tonight will be extra comfy. :)

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  6. I love colorful walls. It is the main reason I bought my house. As soon as I walked in and saw the bright red living room and bright yellow dining room (perhaps the previous owner had gone to Provence?), I turned to the real estate agent and said I have to buy this.

    And the walls have stayed the same colors even though every once in a while my neighbors ask when I plan on repainting them. Never, is the answer I give.

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  7. I love this post, hearing of places you have been and thinking, by the memory of different beds and night-time sounds, places I have been...tents on the beach, a shack in an African township, a birthday marquee, a guesthouse in Guatemala - you have filled my Tuesday morning with memories! But, you are so right, there is nowhere as "aaahhhh" as your own bed, (and mine has a distant freighttrain call too!)xx

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  8. Sarah, fresh sheet night makes it even better!

    Karen,Maybe some pics of these rooms? Sound fabulous.

    Belinda, your nights away sound pretty romantic to me. But since you have the train calls home does sound very appealing.

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  9. Dear Dorothy

    I concur.

    I am also a fan of the paint.

    Miss P.
    xx

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  10. Like Sarah, I like to think that I love traveling, but whenever I do travel, I miss my home and my bed. I, too, am a homebody. Waaaayyyy back in the day, when I was young, I slept in some pretty odd places though, and this post brought back some wonderful memories. Thank you for that! And what a wonderful name for that beautiful color - mystery!
    Karin

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  11. Say it with me, Ladies, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home..." Even on a bad night, it's the best place to be.

    Love the paint tho. I am such a pastel person, that I'm surprised how much I like it. Maybe because aqua would look so good with it...

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  12. So agree with you... love the coloured wall and the bed... makes for very sweet dreams.x

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  13. Lovely! And the colors in your room sound so soothing, and the snoring lab on the sheepskins on the floor tops it off perfectly xo

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  14. Oh.. who would have known you are our real life Dorothy! Sinead x

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