my favorite thing about this dwelling place...

I just finished reading The Giver. If you haven't read it or if it's been awhile, they call their houses "dwelling places."

In terms of my latest "dwelling place,"I am so sad that I am merely renting this floor-to-ceiling built-in pristine white bookcase next to this just-as-pristine white mantel with a wonderfully large empty space above. I wish I could box up this whole wall and take it with me on our next move. It looks like it would break down into parts or maybe fold over tortilla style... what do you think? Maybe?

I love the asymmetry of the whole set-up. Plus, we've been able to pull out many things that have remained in boxes the last two "dwelling places" and put them on display.

For example, this martini glass that I found at a beach yard sale.

There was only one.

And I don't drink martinis.

And I thought, What will I ever do with it? as I handed over the two-quarter price.

And now I can display it, filled with shells from that same beach we loved so much.

And the wine corks. I can display my wine corks. Husband and I write memories on them as we finish (or as often happens, as we pour out the remaining red-wine vinegar from) each bottle.

I got the wine cork memories idea from a friend. Husband and I plan to architecturally incorporate our collection somehow if we ever build a permanent home. I got that idea from her, too.

And my "Swiss Alp Bird" collage. I call it that because I made it from snippets of an advertisement for skiing in the Swiss Alps. It was the result of a rainy day when I needed to release some creative energy and wanted to try something different.

Moving on, any guesses what this is:

POLLEN.

Do you have pollen falling so heavily your camera flash catches it in nighttime photos?

This thrilled and pained me simultaneously. How amazing that it falls in drifts like this and no wonder I'm taking Zyrtec everyday for the first time in my life! (I was able to spell check that the old-fashioned way. A brand new bottle of 45 is sitting right beside my computer.)