Old window.
Framed by peeling painted wood, and long-ago decades witnessed beyond your wavy panes.
You know I can’t resist you.
I peek through your glass, into the past, and find my soul.
http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/2013/09/trifextra-week-eighty-five.html
In real life I live in a 114 year old house-with new windows. My floors are original, though. However, I couldn’t seem to find my soul on them today in 33 words.
My life today is slow and mellow so I am here at the 'puter and saw your cute commento. 1. didn't know you had a 16 yr old dog 2. didn't know a dog could get a stroke, but it makes sense because they have a brain and a central nervous system, too. Glad to know you weren't the one with the stroke. (♥) {that is a hug around love to you}
ReplyDeleteRenae, it feels good to be back! I didn't know that about dogs either, until another dog we had experienced one. For a few days Willow's left side was paralyzed, but nature is mind bogglingly miraculous. Aside from a drooping eye, Willow seems much like her old self again! Glad it wasn't me either! I'd hate to go around winking all the time;)
Delete(♥) to you too! xx
Old houses have such wonderful character and stories to tell. If we could only know what the windows witnessed.
ReplyDeleteI agree Tara! I absolutely love old houses-in spite of all of their aches and pains and need for maintenance, I can't imagine living in anything else:) Thanks for your comment!
DeleteWow, a 114 year-old house - that would have some character (good for energy costs to have new windows, though :))
ReplyDeleteI love that last line and the idea of finding our soul in something outside of us.
Janna, sometimes I can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that this house is so old-I love to think about the people who lived here before me! While I wish every bit of it was still original, reality dictates that things have to be replaced too:) Thanks for you wonderful comment!
DeleteBeautiful. And I always love hearing about your house.
ReplyDeleteOh Valerie, I am SO sorry to hear about Willow! How scary! Huge hugs - I hope she's doing much better. I've been thinking of you and missing your posts!
Thanks Lisa! I missed your posts too! Hugs back at you:)
DeleteGood response to the prompt. :-) Original flooring? What a treat. And, it's hard to beat the benefits of new windows (for soul gazing or electricity saving).
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, and for leaving such a fun comment:)
DeleteValerie -- I loved this one not only for your words, but because old windows are one of my photography subjects. You captured my feelings perfectly in your words. It may not be my soul I see in the windows, but still I wonder about the people who looked out the windows.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Willow, I really understand this. I had an old dog and while she didn't have a stroke, I thought she did. It turned out to be an ear issue that some old dogs suffer. It's called Vestibular disease and often is mistaken for a stroke. It was scary, but like Willow, she recovered with some minor issues.
p.s. Thanks for the comment you left at my site. It was very nice:~)
Sara-I love your photography so much! And I wonder the same things about old windows!
DeleteThanks for the info about your dog-I'm interested in learning more. I feel so sad that Willow is getting so old and starting to slip a bit. Not long ago I found some of her teeth on the rug-life is cruel!
p.s. My pleasure:)
Makes me think of the looking glass. I like this so much.
ReplyDeleteDobson, Thank you so much!! I appreciate it!!
DeleteI adore old houses. And I can't resist anything with a "history" or a past. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMe too Gina! I'm exactly the same way. My husband says I was born chronologically challenged;)
DeleteI have always loved old windows too! There's just something about them. I totally relate to this one :)
ReplyDeletePS - I'm so glad Willow is ok! I bet it was scary. I can't even imagine!
I agree Tammy! And you've done some great projects reinventing old things, like your gorgeous table! We definitely think alike!
DeleteThanks from Willow and me:)
who can resist an old windoe (stain glass or otherwise)
ReplyDeleteit tells the stories, and I love the stories.
This one was so pretty, the words, the images, the thought of looking through. :)
Kir, Thank you so much my friend!! That means a lot!!
DeleteHave a wonderful weekend, too!!
Love old windows I have new windows now too and you are right no soul to be found:) Hug B
ReplyDeleteSad, and true, dearest B. I'm thankful for my old floors:) (hugs!) xx
Delete"I peek through your glass, into the past, and find my soul." A deep connection described very beautifully. Great take on the prompt, Valerie.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely comment! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
DeleteI loved the last line, Valerie. No new houses talk to us, but when you see an old relic sitting just off the road, you just know if you looked thru those panes you would see something.
ReplyDeleteMy sentiments exactly:) And I truly hate to see old houses demolished to make room for new ones:( They will never be the same.
DeleteThanks, Ted! I'm so glad you are back:)
Love old houses. Enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteLaTonya-thank you!!
DeleteMaybe because it's Friday the 13th and my head's stuck on horror movies today ... But I imagined this old house calling you to it because you have some spiritual connection to the previous inhabitants. The answer to the mystery is within the windows. (I think I need a nap ... or a drink.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this is a fabulous, multi-layered piece. Pretty much what I expect from you. :)
Ivy-definitely a drink! I can fix Mai-Tai's if you like;)
DeleteAnd definitely ghosts too! I'm a big fan of the show Ghost Hunters!! I don't think a house can be as old as mine without some sort of paranormal presence (and I've had a couple of interesting experiences, too!)
Thanks for reading this-I always value what you have to say!
Oh, goody! I'm not sure what I like more: ghost stories or Mai-tais. Probably a tie.
DeleteI'll bring dessert. :)
If only! Wouldn't it be fun!!
DeleteLove those old windows -- layers of paint and uneven panes .. Great write
ReplyDeleteThanks Bjorn! It's hard to beat the vintage coolness of way glass:)
DeleteI guess it's the title that gave it a bit of a raunchy twist for me (or it may be me, I won't argue).
ReplyDeleteEven so, the last line is pure gold.
The only thing I kept in the flat are the meter-high wooden windows (see Dali's Woman at the Window). Which, I see, need quite a bit of work...
Beautiful piece, Valerie! PS I've missed your posts.
Oh Kymm-you make me smile, my friend. Our minds are on the same wavelength! I seriously considered "Casement" as the title, or maybe "Bay" but neither worked as well as the manly one I chose;)
DeleteThanks so much for you thoughts, and glimpses into your own life (your windows sound magnificent!) And most of all, thanks for being part of a community of writer's I'm very fond of:)
So much said in so few words... This one's a wonderful piece! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, September! I appreciate that comment so much!!
DeleteBeautiful prompt!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, mademoiselle!
DeleteA peek through new windows to see the past. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the title my mind traveled to a double-entendre. Since I'm among friends I feel safe to admit that.. :) I stare out windows so often this really spoke to me. I'm staring out one right now. It's a wonder I get anything done. I grew up in a house built right after the Civil War. As a kid I thought about that. What stories these houses could tell. Really nice, valerie!
ReplyDeleteI once stripped the paint off 28 old, double-hung windows in a 1926 house, then
ReplyDeletere-glazed them all by hand, and rehung them on their original weights. I think I left part of my soul in them by the time they were finished with me. Your piece reminded me and my hands and my back started aching all over again, lol...
This is exactly how I feel about old houses and old windows. I live in a 70 year old house (and before that, a 100 year old house) and I often wonder about the people who lived here before me. Pieces of their souls mingle with the crystal doorknobs and vintage bathroom tile.
ReplyDeleteGreat writing!
best,
MOV
This is delightfully quaint yet so profound, Valerie!Great job:-)
ReplyDeleteLove this and it's feel. Wonderful
ReplyDeleteI love the melancholy feel to this. Thanks for linking up!
ReplyDeleteOld house, old memories and treasured connections - my heart resonated with "You know I can't resist you". Lovely!
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful and so vivid!
ReplyDelete