Paris visitors

Here are a few people pictures to break up photos of beautiful art & food. These photos are on the balcony of our very sweet Hotel Lenox where they have been very kind to us and offer a great respite in our busy sightseeing days.





Our dear friends Jo & Jocelyn have saved us with their fluent use of the French language...Jo is a frenchman and they have both been so wonderful by showing us Paris. They'll also be joining us to head south today on the train.


Jocelyn and me in front of one of the numerous Monet murals at the l'Orangerie museum...pretty awesome murals.






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Location:Rue Delambre,Paris,France

French food...

Just a quick post on a few delicious dishes in the last few days...



Rabbit pot pie with polenta crust...heavenly!


Love the way the crust overlapped the dish.


A simple lettuce wedge salad with a lemon vinegarette


Poached pear in red wine...yummmmmm!


Onion and mushroom crepe topped with bacon


Roquefort and walnut salad.

Tomorrow we'll go to the boulangerie and get croissants, pastries, sandwiches and wine to eat and drink on the five hour train ride to our next stop in the South of France.

Location:France

Paris day 2

Today was a whole new day in Paris! We had a wonder full day. The Lourve, Notre Dam, Marie Antoinette's cell at La Conciergerie, Napoleons apartment...what a treasure trove of art and history.



My sweetheart mapping out our morning at the Louvre'



The Lourve courtyard



As a faux artist I was very impressed and inspired by the verde green stone in these very large sculptures...




...then I my attention turned to snakes ( my chinese astrological sign)...



...so how about verde green snakes ! Really, these sculptures are so magnificent and the detail is amazing. I've never been drawn to sculpture,
though this has changed my appreciation of it.



What I really was drawn to as an artist was the techniques of draped fabric, in paint and marble. So voluminous and rich in texture. I know my painting friends will so appreciate seeing these, though the photos do not do justice to the beauty in person.















Tomorrow we're off to Mus'ee l'Orangerie to see murals by Monet, Mus'ee d'Orsay to see Van Gogh and an exhibit of Severini ... and more good food with our dear friends Jo & Joclyn in the Latin Quarter.

On a more personal note...photos of us enjoying France...



The Conciergerie main hall...immensely impressive.



Me inside a large fireplace (one of four used to warm the great hall) at the Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette was held and later beheaded.



Jim waiting outside the Lourve for me to finish taking it all in !



Jim in one of the main sculpture halls in the Lourve.


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Location:France

First day in Paris

A quick note before we take off for our day at Norte Dam, Saint Chapel and the Louvre...it looks like a much better day than day one in Paris!

Day one was not good! Besides being jet lagged from a very long day of traveling and trying to keep up and get onto local time...we had a few run in's with the legendary French arrogance and supposed dislike of Americans!


While admiring the flowers at this little flower shop down the street from our
Hotel, I was scolded in length by the shop owner to only look at the plants & flowers, do not touch! I had to just finally walk away rather than listen to him go on and on in French, out in the street while he had everyone's attention.

Then while trying to buy a metro ticket, the information person pretended not to speak English or help us figure out how to buy a train ticket, and the woman in the sandwich shop was annoyed that we didn't speak French and know ham is jambon.

A little intimidated, though determined, we tredged onward, and headed out for the Eiffel Tower. We figured out the train tickets on our own, and found the metro system to be really efficient and fun. We were amazed by the size of the tower and the crowds of people there. So we decided to stroll around it rather than wait in line to go up it.







We topped off the day with a nice dinner close to our hotel where we could actually read the menu and had a sweet French waitress who gave us hope that tomorrow would be a better day in Paris and with the French!





Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:France

New Toy !

Did I mention...we're going on a trip to France & Spain !   Yippppeeee!!!  We're pretty busy getting everything organized and ready to go...and part of that was getting a new iPad2 to take along for entertainment, keep up with emails, and hopefully blog (if I can figure it out).  You'll soon know, if I disappear for blogger for three weeks, you'll know I didn't figure it out !  If I do, I'll be sharing photos of sights and things that inspired me while in foreign lands !

I waited in line at 5am on Sunday morning to get an iPad at the Apple Store...reminded me of many years ago, waiting in line for Rolling Stones tickets all night in San Francisco.  I was 17 then, you'd think I'd know better now...NOT...and it was fun !  I met some nice people in line, lots of Apple talk and anticipation of the new toy we were about to receive !

Everyone was asking what apps I've downloaded.  Apps ?  I was too busy making a hanky cover for my new little buddy!  I used a great hanky from the Boston Museum of Art that I found on eBay some time ago, some scrap fabrics and extra buttons, lined it with a nice quilted satiny fabric (so as not to scratch the little fellow) and inserted a few hard pieces of cardboard inside along with thick batting for extra protection.

My New Toy is well protected...but it took me two tries (remember to always measure 5 times, cut once), and way more time than I had while trying to get ready for the trip...though it turned out pretty fun and I'm glad I did it.  I actually found alot of covers on Etsy for iPads...next time I think I'll support a fellow etsian instead of struggling through making my own !


So....the question is...will she be able to figure out posting on iPad ?  I'm going to give it my best, so please keep checking in to see what I have to share from my trip.  And please, as always...feel free to comment and share your ideas on crafting, painting or travel tips...or anything that comes to mind.  I love your ideas and comments.

Au revoir...Adios...TaTa for now...

Testing

I'm testing out my new iPad in hopes that I can make it happen on our trip. So please bare with me while I test the posting and photo capabilities. Better yet, if anyone has any suggestions, tips or comments that will help me along in the process, it would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a photo I edited in a photo editing app...PSExpess (photo shop express) Let's see if it shows up...

Location:Home

What to do with old slides...

I saw this wonderful idea in a store window when wandering around North Park in San Diego.  I was so inspired by it I snapped a few shots...and then went on about my business and forgot all about them !  I just came across the photos while rummaging through my iPhotos and was inspired again...so I thought I best share...

How cool is this !!!  Drapes made out of old slides !  They were linked together with two little O rings on each side.  They hung beautifully, and what a great light display on a sunny day...love these !

Of course it made me want to investigate what other ideas people have come up with for old slides...so I created and Etsy Treasury list to show you.

obrienkate

bitsanpieces

photofinds

Check out the whole Kodachrome Treasury here and please share some ideas you may have for all our old slides.

Studio Nesting #4

This is a great idea...okay, not my great idea...but a great idea  worth sharing.  As I mentioned before, I have many painting sitting on the floor against a wall waiting to be purchased and find a new home.  Meanwhile my home studio/living space looks like I just moved in!  I have to get them up off the floor, where if nothing else, they'll get scuffed from vacuuming !

My dear friend and artist, Carole Mayne,  built shelving for her paintings on her studio wall.  I love that I can see all her new works whenever I'm there...and with shelves it removes the mess of hanging each painting with another hole in the wall.

So I put her good idea to use on my one and only big wall in my studio.  At first it was a little overwhelming for me...and my "zen like" guy...but now we're both liking it.  It keeps me inspired and makes it easy to find paintings when I need them.

As for my friend Carole...she is an amazing painter of everything under the sun ! She has an Etsy shop too, with paintings of birds that she paints from wonderful photographs her husband Chris takes...he's an avian photographer among many other things. 

Carole Mayne

Etsy shop Fine Feathered  Friends

Best Birds of the Week

Photos by Chris Mayne

Written by Carole Mayne

A week from today, my guy and I are taking off on a trip to France & Spain !

I'll do my best to send a few posts, or at least photos from there, and will try to set up a few to post while I'm gone.  

We're both pretty excited and can't wait to take it all in !

Mom's & Roses...

Mother's Day is really right around the corner !  I seem to forget it some years...now that my Mom isn't here to celebrate.  I think of all the things I would love to do for her now, that I seemed to be too busy for then.  

I want a Mom do-over !  

I want to take her every phone call, run over and have coffee with her in the morning, go to dinner every Sunday...or better yet...every time she called and invited me, I want to go shopping with her, and finish painting the mural in her bathroom, and look through the endless catalogues she got in the mail with her showing me the things she loved in them.  I miss her cooking, telling me a new recipe or what she had for dinner,  her humor, her matter of fact way in the world.  Mostly I miss her blue sparkling eyes looking at me, through me...and I remember so vividly, the last wink she gave me before she was gone.

My MOM

On an equally happy note I want to share some of the pillows I've done to honor Mom's...my Mom and all Mom's.  And oh yea...I'm a Mom too!  My little one is 30 now...a wonderful young man who is bright and creative and picked the perfect daughter in law for me...I'm crazy about these (my) two kids !

Pink Monogrammed "M" Hanky Pillow

Mother Gingham Hanky Pillow

Set Of Two Mother Hanky Pillows

Green Monogrammed Hanky Pillow


In honor of Mother's and those shopping to find the perfect gift for Mom...
I'm offering free shipping for any pillow for Mom ordered before
April 22nd in my Etsy store.


Teardrophankys.etsy.com


Use this coupon code at check out
MOTHERSDAY2011

Enjoy the Day...
...and please share a favorite story about your MOM