Paper Lace

This week the heat wave ended. The hydrangeas under the back stairs faded from bright pink to mauve. And a few nights ago, a cool dewy breeze foreshadowed fall. I refuse to take their melancholy hints; autumn really is a long way off. Only in late September do classes resume and temperatures drop. But the light in the kitchen on Wednesday afternoon was disconcertingly fall-like, warm and quickly fading. It made for a certain haziness in these photos. But still, in all the layers of white you find summer once again; everything seems sensibly engineered for lightness and cool - walls like cream organdy, the openwork of paper doilies, the midair suspension of scalloped lace. The garland is for Project Wedding - it's so simple to make and equally lovely to sit under whether your watching a bride walk down the aisle or the day fade into dusk outside the back door.