Monday, August 31, 2009

you're invited...

i've had the privilege of being a guest blogger over at the home blog of la belette rouge. she has a wonderful series of stories concerning the idea of home. my writings are posted today, august 31st. please stop on over and have a read. prepare yourself, my story is not cosy and sweet... but perhaps as a result of a difficult story... i hope i am all the more sweeter for it. there is a saying that says something like 'everytime your heart breaks, it gets bigger....'

as always, this door is not her real house, though perhaps she might not mind a private residence in the midst of paris. i just find pictures i like... and dream. who knows maybe home sweet home for me one day will be in paris. that might be a nice ending to a story. a nice beginning as well! have a wonderful week dear You.

bises!

oh! you can find la belette and me here today www.labeletterouge.blogspot.com ...dew drop inn.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

dinner and a show in london?

is it clear to you? i'm just wondering, for i don't have a clue as to why i am so fascinated with travel and being in and experiencing new places and spaces. i've such a curiousity and love for the arts. this morning i was reading an article about a kind of memoir that was published by a british actor about the love of his life. he'll be speaking at the national theatre in the uk. i thought how interesting, it's a talk i would like to attend, so what if i'm in nyc. i thought i'd click on their website and see what's up.



they have a production of shakespeare's 'all's well that ends well.' the price of the ticket is 10 pounds. nice price. i thought how cool it would be to attend.
even though i wasn't tempted, i had to remind myself that i'm not allowed to buy tickets. you see i had in mind to visit montreal in canada. it's a beautiful city, and they have the whole french thing going on 'canadian style.' so i've been wanting to go. i stumbled upon a small cool band that will be playing there. more nice prices for tickets to the show. i bought a ticket and thought i'll just hop a quick flight to montreal and stay maybe 2 days. who knew the flight tickets would be so expensive. about 4oo bucks. canada is right next door.
so i'm not allowed to buy tickets to this theatre production in the uk. and we'll see what happens with montreal. but i do love browsing around in seeing what arts are happening in various cities.
hope your sunday today is sweet. the sun is shining again here after a day of rain yesterday. it's nice, it cleans the city nicely. yesterday i watched the 'home going service,' as they say in the south, of teddy kennedy. it was quite beautiful and inspiring. while they stood before the space where they will bury him the sun was going down. the priest presiding said it is a gentle reminder of how the sun sets on us everyday, but tomorrow the sun comes back up bringing in a new day. with the days i have, we have, let's try to do the things that bring us life...

Friday, August 28, 2009

end of summer rituals


with the coolness in the air today one can't help but wonder if we're entering into 'last summer days.' i mean i've got on a light fleece jacket and little wooly socks... what gives? summer? upon thinking about summer ending and the rituals that might go along with it, as we usher in autumntime, something very interesting came to me. i spent 5 summers in spain and one of the things that i loved, as i love summertime, is that summer ends in october. at around april folks start talking about their summer holidays, what we're thinking and what we're planning. how cool is that? for the most part they get the month of august off for summer holiday. i, as a teacher had 2 months off. and then even so, when folks started finding their way back into town, late august early september, i remember that feeling and joyful search for who was back yet, and who was lucky enough to still be away. we came back full of the fun we'd had as well as the rest and relaxation. and it took a few weeks really to get back into the rhythm of things. we did so slowly, almost dusting off summer while meeting in cafes after lunch talking and sharing stories of our summer holidays.
here in nyc, we roll a little bit different. unfortunately? we kinda start talking about summer days ending around the beginning of august, already at that time folks are preparing themselves or their children for the school year. and already are making plans for the coming year. september is almost like a 'new new year.' somehow for all of us around the globe we still have that feeling of september being a new beginning. perhaps all those years of getting ready and starting school in september has left an imprint within.

to my surprise people are engaged in all kinds of end of summer rituals. it surprises me because for the most part i never did so. it had never crossed my mind. sure we did our things to prepare for the new school year, got our new school supplies, new clothes and such, but the idea of doing something special to end the summer and bring in the newness of fresh projects and exciting new doings was not my experience. while browsing through an old magazine i came upon an article about end of summer rituals. i like this idea. and all kinds of interesting ideas followed. for examples, a special breakfast, the same french toast and bacon for the first morning of school. mini vacation, a few days just before september away, kind of like the last hurrah. and then upon return, getting back to more productive and steady schedules, some girls all get together for a kind of home spa evening, where they bathe and do facials, their hair and nails, and gather around with wine glass in hand to talk about their goals, expectations and wishes for the coming year. one woman goes off on her own for a day spa and gets all scrubbed up and beautified before venturing into her new work year. and one of my favorites, going out for ice cream dinner. that's it... ice cream for dinner. how sweet is that?

it seems end of summer rituals are not only fun, they seem like a wonderful way to begin to bend our minds toward autumn with all the freshness, possibility and opportunities it holds. now i'll have to think of an end of summer ritual for myself. do you have one?


text by audrey paradis
photo by mturnage

little writings

tea is brewing now. it's raining and it looks like it might do so all day. it's nice. today, in august, albeit the end of august, for me it's cool. can you believe it? i've got on some little wooly socks for walking around the house in and a little fleece jacket. i get cold easily which is one of the reasons why i love summertime... i stay toasty. but i don't mind today. there is something cosy about the breeze of autumn introducing itself, encouraging freshness and new beginnings, while at the same time we still know and have a sense that summer is not quite over yet. and we know to take advantage of these last summer days. they remind me of....

feelings and scenes out of pride and prejudice. cool and pretty...
i think i might make a little deal with myself and write here monday through friday a little something. i'm always wondering about my writing and how best to write with commitment. so here i will post something, not sure what, every 'weekday.' it will be a little something just to get in the habit, start off little and slow... it will take the form of a poem, a little story, or an idea in a little essay. so let's see what it might look like...
i'm now reading an article on the end of summer rituals. i had never quite thought of this idea. i'll finish the article and return here and write a little something. ...et toi, do you have some end of summer rituals you like to indulge in?
see you soon, right back here...

Sunday, August 23, 2009

birthday girl

today is my birthday. i'm trying to get out of the house, but there is much that keeps me here. good music, beautiful beautiful birthday messages. and life really is quite gorgeous and funny, i've gotten really beautiful messages from people, friends, who had not even made the connection that it is my birthday. messages from friends 'just' keeping in touch and sending sweet thoughts. i feel good. and for some reason, i woke up with the sounds of janet jackson in my head. she has a song about moving around the world that i love, 'walking in the rain in spain, and springtime in paris sounds good to me.' these really are a part of the lyrics, you'd think i made them up. to my delight and surprise, there is a video for it. i love it. if you love travel, check this one out. it really is fun! if i had my way... hmmm, walking by the sea in barceloneta with Hans, dinner beneath the eiffel tower with Susu, wandering through the guggenheim in bilbao with Nuria and Ulises, and a generous tea and coffee meeting with belle Belette, as we both love travel, oh where shall that be... . 'i'm just saying!' have a wonderful day dear friends, dreaming of you, i walk with you in my heart and mind.

oh... here's the video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BTjbjU6FXA

smuaaaccck!

Friday, August 21, 2009

rescue me

just finished reading 'twilight' the novel. i liked it a lot. to be honest i don't want to think about it too much, then i'd have to figure out a way to justify my enjoyment of these 'vampire chronicles.' just an enjoyable read. i realised something about myself along this read. but just to go back a minute, when i was a little girl i used to sit and watch casablanca over and over with my aunt. we would have detailed discussions about the fashion. you can imagine there was much to talk about. i always remember a scene in the film when ingrid bergman lays her head on humphrey bogart's shoulder. she's in tears as she says something about him deciding for the both of them. she can't think anymore. and she would do whatever he decides. i remember as a teenager thinking, why can't she think for herself? why can't she make her own decisions about her own life. i was raised very much as an independent woman, doing and deciding for myself.

in connection, i was surprised when a very high powered lawyer friend said to me over lunch one day, that these days she's very much 'the damsel in distress,' 'rescue me!' she has no interest in doing it all on her own.

me personally, not doing it on my own has never been on the map in my mind. but i am surprised these days when i get to thinking i wouldn't mind being rescued. i know! how surprising. what i mean is, scoop me up, treat me sweet, and let's talk about how we can together sweeten our days. no longer do i feel like i want to go it alone. and no longer do i feel like it is necessary. much of these thoughts came to surface as i would swoon over the male main character in 'twilight' as his thoughts were in caring for and pleasing her. i like this idea.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

darling have a heart


i've been reveling in the special posts of la belette rouge on the idea of home. and i must admit i love the lyrics from a video she posted. does anyone sincerely apologise anymore? and do they ask, beg and hope for your love. i love this idea. the lyrics go something like this...


'darling, have a heart, and don't let one mistake keep us apart. i was wrong and i know it. please forgive me. when i climb the stairs and turn the key... please be there saying thay you're still in love with me...'

Sunday, August 9, 2009

a cup of comfort for writers


i met with Amanda the other day in Bryant park here in nyc. as she now lives in california, it's been years since i've seen her. i adore her. she always asks me about my writing, and encourages me. she always encourages me as well to send it out for publication. i had two professors say... well one said, 'i hope to see you on the new york times best sellers list. and the other would pass me in the hallway and say... i'm waiting for your book. and just as sweetly, when i once tried to introduce myself to one of my new professors he looked at me in all earnest and said, 'i know you, you're a poet.' (how sweet is that?)
at first, years ago, i thought i was not ready. now i am just fearful and undisciplined truth be told. while browsing through 'a cup of comfort for writers,' i'm reading an essay on rejection slips. and i thought i would like to at least get one rejection slip. you know what that might mean? it would mean i finally did what i needed to do to tell a story, or develope an idea into essay, polished a poem well enough for submission, and sent it out. i suppose someone would say 'thanks but no thanks.' but at least i know i tried. and that makes all the difference, i think. and as they say, fail forward into success.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

past present

i read a lot on the subject of eastern philosophy. one of the teachings is that it is more beneficial to live in the moment, to be present in all things. this helps to eliminate longing and suffering. but how can i not want to visit the past when it looks like this. a moment that was once present in a paris courtyard in 1950.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

twilight beauty

ok i'm in. i must admit that i am enjoying the book 'twilight.' there is a really beautiful scene that takes place in the character edward's house. the description of the space and the light and the mood is so glorious. i was weakened by the writer's words in that moment. i felt as if i was there and it was immensely pleasureable to be in the midst of such beauty. and then they are vampires right? i surprised myself and tickled myself when the thought crossed my mind... 'they can eat me if they want.'

the mood was so beautiful in that moment i just wanted to experience it. and if the vampires wanted to eat me, then so be it... the pleasure seemed worth the sacrifice...

"the house was timeless, graceful, and probably a hundred years old. it was painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned...

the inside was even more surprising, less predictable, than the exterior. it was very bright, very open, and very large... but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space. the back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass, and, beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched bare to the wide river. a massive curving staircase dominated the west side of the room. the walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors, and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white."
~from the book twilight.

i have this thing, i enjoy sitting on beautiful staircases and reading... i can just see me there, on those spiral staircases lost in story.

another dream


i dreamed last night that it was princess diana who greeted michael jackson when he 'crossed over.' it was her there, gentle and smiling...
i suppose i continue to mourn... true they are 'celebrities,' but people as well,
like you and me,
in all their glory and faults and foibles...