She’s delightful:
She’s delicious:
She’s Delilah:
Ann Leary, author of The Good House
Author of The Good House
A Paris Quiz
November 29, 2009 by 63 Comments
I see from your comments that many of you love Paris, so I thought we’d have ourselves a little quiz. I don’t think you necessarily need to have ever been to Paris to answer these questions, in this, the age of Wikipedia, but it probably will give you an advantage.
Okay ready? Let’s begin!
1)When did the French start illuminating the Eiffel Tower each night with this brilliant light display?
a) The day the US House of Reps took the word “french” off its menus on items describing fried potatoes
Happy Thanksgiving
November 26, 2009 by 33 Comments
Happy Thanksgiving to you all, dear blog readers. Today we walked all up and down the streets of Montmartre and through the Latin Quarter. We had a lovely guide who is American but has lived in Paris for much of her life and is very knowledgeable about French history and by the end of the day I was clutching my throat with both hands and making sure that my head was still securely attached to my neck. Those French sure knew how to throw a revolution. Our American revolution was still quite recent when the French gave greedy old King Louis and Marie Antoinette the heave-ho, and it’s clear they meant to upstage us with all their casting about of freshly liberated heads of state (and I mean just the heads)and martyring of nuns and whatnot.
Versailles
November 24, 2009 by 48 Comments
Today we visited the Chateau De Versailles. I have never visited Versailles, so was very enthusiastic about our little excursion. We had a wonderfully amiable driver and guide named Didier who picked us up at our hotel. When we arrived, Didier parked the car and hustled about getting us all admitted and the next thing I knew we were walking up some beautiful marble steps and then we entered a vast hall covered with murals.
Yummy!
November 24, 2009 by 22 Comments
Some of you know my camera travails of recent months. Well, at the airport on Sunday, as I reached into my giant carry-on satchel for passports, etc. my new-ish camera leapt from the bottom of the bag in an apparent last bid for freedom before we boarded, and it landed on the hard floor, spinning crazily beneath the feet of our annoyed fellow travelers. The flash was destroyed. So now, all the indoor and nighttime photos you see will either, a)suck or, b) have been taken by my daughter Dev.
Yesterday, we walked and shopped. It was raining but just a little and very mild.
Bonjour!
November 23, 2009 by 29 Comments
Yes, we have arrived safely in Paris. But, on our way here, we stopped in New York to attend the annual benefit for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. I’m too exhausted right now to go into detail about two of the most inspirational, intelligent, funny and truly beautiful people I know – Tracy Pollan and Michael Fox, but one day I will devote a blog to the work that these two have done toward finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease. If you’ve read either of Michael’s books, you know he’s a true optimist and he believes that a cure will be found but also believes you must work hard for what you want, so, to date, his foundation has raised 170 million dollars toward that goal. Last night he raised a little bit more with the help of some friends.
Oh……You’re Back
November 20, 2009 by 49 Comments
Guess who stopped by again? This guy (warning, it’s Bonehead). Steve knew that if he buried it, the dogs would dig it up again so I guess he hung it high in a tree, deep in the woods. Today, it was back on our front lawn, being tossed back and forth between the two dogs. How did it come out of the woods? My guess is that it used its fangs and sort of dragged itself along, grinning and leering, teeth clacking, all the way down our driveway to where the dogs awaited
White Visions
November 20, 2009 by 29 Comments
Photo by Moses Pendleton
THE SADNESS OF THE MOON, by Charles Baudelaire
THE Moon more indolently dreams to-night
Than a fair woman on her couch at rest,
Caressing, with a hand distraught and light,
Before she sleeps, the contour of her breast.
Than a fair woman on her couch at rest,
Caressing, with a hand distraught and light,
Before she sleeps, the contour of her breast.
Upon her silken avalanche of down,
Dying she breathes a long and swooning sigh;
And watches the white visions past her flown,
Which rise like blossoms to the azure sky.
And when, at times, wrapped in her languor deep,
Earthward she lets a furtive tear-drop flow,
Some pious poet, enemy of sleep,
Say Cheese!
November 18, 2009 by 56 Comments
A Real Bonehead
November 17, 2009 by 78 Comments
I arrived home a couple of hours ago and was met by Steve, our caretaker. He was holding, at the end of a stick, a skull.
Believe it or not, it’s not at all unusual to be greeted by somebody carrying a skull when you arrive at our house, especially during this time of year. Usually, it’s a dog carrying the skull and the skull almost always once belonged to a deer. Unfortunately there are hunters who hunt without permits in the woods near our house. I have nothing against real sportsmen who hunt deer with permits, but these are just shooters who kill for fun and then leave the dead deer in the woods. Eventually, the deer are carried, piece-by-piece to us by our dogs who are astonished when we won’t allow them to bring the skull or the leg (complete with hoof) into the house with them.
