Diary of an adult runaway

Bonne fête du travail!

It's Labor Day today, and absolutely glorious in the City of Lights. Here's the proof:

The fruits of Sunday's labor (we planted 5 window boxes and transplanted about 5 pots, and now there's 4 pots of lavender, some rosemary, thyme and basil, and 4 boxes of geranium):

I'm so proud of these! They were just sticks 2 weeks ago.

You can't really see much but it gives you an idea of the view from the living room. I'm training the clematis (on the right) to climb up the frame and across the top, above the lantern.

The clematis, with the pink and mauve geraniums I plan on growing HUGE so they'll block out Nasty Neighbor (or, as Jenny calls her, the Curtain Twitcher)

The boys:

Don't be fooled by the seeming domestic bliss. This will last until Kody wakes up and decides he wants Pumpkin's spot.

Uh-oh. It's moving.

Poor Pumpkin knows what's on the way.

My other project:

 

Happy, happy Earth Day!

Hope you're having/you had a great one! The first time I was ever conscious of Earth Day was in 1990, when  Mum and I were in Boston and went to the concert. I'm so happy to see more prominence being given to this event. And I'm just loving this poster, created by Bob Masse, who also created many memorable rock posters, starting in the 60s. I'm also loving the Earth Day Groceries Project. Getting kids involved in this fight is fundamental, especially when they're having fun, like these kids in Seattle:

With their energy, there's still plenty of hope.

Today in Paris at noon it's already 19C/67F in the shade, heading toward a high of 26. Yes, too high for this time of year~they're already predicting the hottest European summer on record. Still, I'm feeling good. Taking this week off was the right move, and I'm feeling happy and centered. Every morning I did yoga then wrote/collected materials for my new manuscript, and in the afternoons I cross-stitched/watched loads of junk TV. American Idol, Survivor, Ellen, The Biggest Loser (Australia) and much, much more. Completely hooked on Drive. Loved that twist about Nathan Fillion's character, and the writers certainly know how to write hook endings. So pleased that Sanjaya left AI. Not that I disliked him personally, it's just that some more talented people left before he did. Though I did get teary when he got teary. Whoever said he represented love was right. Oh, and Jordan made me cry, too. That girl blows me away, that's all there is to it.

So at the end of the week I'm filled with gratitude, for the following reasons:

1. To my boss, for giving me the week off on 2 day's notice (she's not the real boss but she should be~she's the one who knows what's going on and gets things done.)

2. To Rainbeau Mars, for her wonderful yoga practices. Kody would like to say that he enjoyed them immensely, too, especially the floor asanas, because then he could snuggle into my shoulder. Oh, and downward dog was so much fun, too~he really liked sticking his butt in my face just as I got into pose.

3. To Om Girl, for their wonderful clothing. Every morning after I did my practice, I changed into the yoga gear I wear around home~Om Girl velour capri pants and soft cotton t-shirt. Most days I chose the first t-shirt I bought in Topanga Canyon almost 5 years ago. The hem has all come undone, the design is faded from so many washes, there are stains and tiny holes in the front, but I don't care. It's like wearing a dream, the cotton is so soft and such a pretty shade of blue~a light indigo, really. You can buy their gear here at Barefoot Yoga.

4. To my friend Susan, for a wonderful lunch yesterday. She's always full of light and positivity and mischief. She laughs loud and from the heart. I "met" Susan on a Paris email list long before I moved here, and met her for real in summer of 2002 when she invited me to stay with her and her husband, Tom, and 2 kitties, in their wonderful home near Walden Pond. I had the most relaxing time, wandering around Walden Pond while Susan was at work, and owe her an eternal debt for taking me to 2 of my retail havens: LL Bean (yep, we drove to Maine for the day, stopping off at lighthouses and filling our gobs with saltwater taffy, and on the way home we stopped off in Marblehead and saw my gorgeous friend Sheyda) and then to the original Yankee Candle, where I was positively giddy with joy. Susan and Tom are the kind of people where nothing is a problem and everything is interesting and there's always something wonderful on their horizon.

5. Speaking of, thanks to Yankee Candle for their Ginger Citrus scent. It's really invigorated me this week. And thanks to KIFM for providing the music that kept me going. (If you live outside the US and can't stream directly from their site, try here.)

6. To Mirabilia, for making some of the girliest cross-stitch designs out there. I'm now working on this one. And to Melissa G., thanks for your comment! I'd upload a pic of where I am on this design, but my camera batteries are flat ;-(

7. To Haven Kimmel, for writing A Girl Named Zippy. You kept me laughing all week long, and brought back memories from my childhood, too. (Warning to animal lovers:  Haven grew up in  rural Indiana, and not everyone there was nice to animals, especially that Pete kid, so you might find some portions distressing. Flip past and keep reading~this is a magical book.)

8. To me, for finally writing a synopsis I think does the story justice. I suck the big one at synopsis, because all I want to write is "I love my characters and they wind up happily ever after, even thought hey're doing the best they can to fuck that up. The End. PS. Buy my book!"

9. To Champion supermarkets, for stocking turkey burgers actually made of minced turkey and not some pressed mystery meat.

Speaking of, it's lunchtime. One turkey, avocado and chipotle burger coming right up!

School's out!

I'm on vacation for a week and I'm probably not going to blog during that time, so here's a few pics until I get back:

The place below, with cherry trees in bloom and tourists enjoying the very mild weather. (The cats spent all weekend on the balcony, enjoying the sun.)

She's done!

Before I go, my assessment of the mid-season series:

Notes from the Underbelly~looks pretty, but that's about it
Painkiller Jane~meh

Thank God You're Here~Overall, not as funny as the Australian (original) version, though at least they kept the Hoodoo Gurus track as the theme song
Drive~apart from the fact that you can't film in California and call it Florida (no chaparral or mountains down on Cape Canavarel, folks!) this was an excellent pilot. Looking forward to next week's episode.

Bye!

Giving it all for my art

In the process of researching a new story, I came across this recipe (from Sunset magazine, my food bible, of course!):

Lavender margaritas

Notes: For 10 servings, use the larger amounts of ingredients; whirl in batches, pouring each batch into a pitcher. Stir the coconut milk before measuring it. You can also use plain sugar or coarse salt to garnish glass rims.

1. In a blender, combine tequila, curaçao, coconut milk, and lime juice. Cover and turn to high speed, then gradually add raspberries, blueberries, and ice. Whirl until margarita mixture is smooth and slushy.

Yield: Makes about 5/12 to 7 1/2 cups; 8 to 10 servings

3/4 to 1 cup tequila
1/3 to 1/2 cup blue curaçao or other orange-flavor liqueur
3/4 to 1 cup canned coconut milk
1/4 to 1/3 cup lime juice
1 1/2 to 2 cups frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 1/2 to 2 cups frozen unsweetened blueberries
3 to 4 cups ice cubes
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon fresh or dried lavender blossoms
Lime wedge
Lavender sprigs, rinsed (optional)

2. Put sugar and lavender blossoms in a small bowl. Rub with your fingers or mash with a spoon to release some of the lavender flavor. Rub glass rims with lime wedge to moisten. Dip rims in lavender sugar, coating evenly.

3. Pour margaritas into sugar-rimmed glasses. Garnish with lavender sprigs.

Woo-hooooooo! Lime, coconut, lavender and tequila! I'm going to make up a batch this weekend (sans ice, because I don't like my margaritas slushy). Don't say I don't give all for my art.

Ok, so here's what I'm working on:

Here's where I was last weekend:

Here's where I got to this weekend:

I'm just loving this, 1. because I love cross-stitch and 2. because it's a really good way to mull over plot elements. Same as with jigsaws.

It was Scottish week (well, 4 days) in Montmartre last weekend, and I was once again treated to the fantastic Clann An Drumma (Children of the Drum) thrashing it out opposite my apartment. I couldn't see all that much because of the dark (although I could make out one guy, shirtless, waving his arms around between drumbeats and howling at the end of each piece) but I could certainly feel the power of the drums and bagpipes. Then Saturday night, a more traditional band made its way past my place, and I instantly wanted to go back to Australia, because it reminded me of my grandfather, who emigrated to Australia back in the 30s. Weird, yes, how bagpipes made me want to go to Australia, but there you have it.

And here you have a video snippet. No, you can't see the band, but there's a cool shot of the Eiffel Tower ;-)

Bagpipes in Montmartre
Video sent by gabriellel66