Hi! How have you all been? I know posting here is usually sporadic at this "end of the school year" season, but I have been missing here for 10 days or so because my beloved iMac was attacked by unseen forces about 2 weeks ago and it completely shut down.
It is now being operated on by some folks at a place called "Tech Superpowers" (I expected (hoped!) to see them wearing capes when I dropped off my computer ;) No such luck but great company name don't you think?
So, I am getting by using my husbands' old laptop for urgent computing and have been trying to take advantage of the space and time that has been created when a favorite tech toy is absent from my everyday.
Hope you (and your computer :) are well and happy and creating in any way you can.
New idea. New day. Library visits for volumes of "how-to's" .Research, research, research. Study every detail within an inch of its life and take copious notes. Sketch, draw, plan and plot. Mix it all together in a big steel pot. Answering every question, crossing all the "T's", plan upon plan upon plan. Mapping the road ahead with such detail yet still sitting smack in the middle of the giant red star that says "You Are Here".
Conclusion: If you spend all your time making maps, you'll never go anywhere.
Action is freedom.
This is what was rolling around in my head this morning. It's these types of creative road blocks that lead me back to re-reading "The Artist's Way". What is your un-blocking secret?
A warm, soft and sweet new friend guarding the cafe where his owner works.
The hard, uneven, wobbly cobblestones underfoot that lead to Jim Morrison's grave.
The heat of the sun on our faces on a cool day in the gardens.
Well folks,that wraps up the five senses tour of Paris! Hope you enjoyed this way of looking at the city. I feel so grateful to have had this opportunity with my daughter, mom and sister and know how easy it would've been to not to take this trip. It would not have been very difficuly to talk myself out of a huge adventure like this... (not enough money, not enough time, shouldn't, couldn't...blah blah blah blah) But gratefully it turns out that it's just as easy to say "yes" and plan and save with patience, until the day arrives where we are boarding a plane :)
If there is somewhere you want to go and something you want to do, I have learned to just take one single step in that direction. All the steps after reveal themselves one at a time. I think the key is to just keep walking .
Continuing on with the final 2 posts using the five senses to describe our trip to Paris :)
Today the focus is our sense of smell.
** Butter and dough and a sugary scents hanging in the air of a small boulangerie
** Wafts of cigarette smoke trail by and although it is not a sought after experience, it does add a feeling of nostalgia and grittiness to a walk down the city streets.
** Delicate aromas of many types of perfumes as women breeze by on foot, on bicycles, on Vespas..
** A vase full of lillies on the coffee table in our apartment lend a sweet smell to the cozy space for the length of our stay
So I think it's safe to say the French love butter. ..and bread.........and goat cheese....and pastry! :)
I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure the recipe for Brioche goes like this :
2 sticks of butter whipped. Add 3 sticks of butter and stir gently. Fold in 2 pounds of softened butter and bake batter lovingly. Eat in 60 seconds flat!
Sooo delicious people. Go out and find yourself one of these babies :)
..and now I am continuing with the idea of sharing our experiences in Paris through the five senses! When a friend or relative of mine goes on a trip, I am the one with 10,ooo questions upon thier return. "What did the food taste like? "Was it quiet, noisy?" "Did you see anything new"? I always want to try and get a real feeling for a place that I've never been. These posts will be my attempt at sharing that kind of information with you. I hope you enjoy!
Of course there are many sounds in Paris, but these are the ones I heard.
Soft French voices everywhere that somehow ended up sounding like romantic backround music precisely because we didn't understand much of what was being said.
The old fashioned ambulance sirens that we've only ever heard in the movies. Weee Aw Weee Aw. So cool.
Clicking and clacking of well heeled Parisien boots on cobblestone.
Vespa motors whirring past and weaving through traffic and pedestrians.
Classical piano music floating and bouncing off the crumbling walls of a gorgeous church that has been standing since 1550.
But one sound has stayed with me since that one day last week when we first entered an underground tunnel. The tunnel led to a bridge that crossed the River Seine and the sound that filled it was of the music of a lone saxophone. I couldn't see anyone at first but heard the music immediately. It seemed to fill every inch of that space, billowing out like the air in a balloon until I could feel it reverberating in my chest. The musician came into view and it struck me how magical it was that such a huge sound could be brought out of one instrument by one single person in that underground space. I could have listened for hours.
The following video is the closest I could find to what I heard that day. Beautiful all on its own and a very close match to that moment by the Seine. Enjoy!
Yes, I have been back home for 4 days now and am still processing this trip to Paris that I was so fortunate to be able to make. Such beauty everywhere. In the streets, in the balconies laid across the sides of most every building, in the pastry and bread (!!) and especially in the lone saxophone player nestled under a bridge that crosses the River Seine. I can't describe that sound but it has stayed in my head for a week.
Maybe I will share this trip in that way. One sense at a time. Sight , Sound, Touch, Taste, Smell. Yes, one bit at a time sounds just about right for my slow pace :) Hope you enjoy experiencing just a little bit of Paris this way!
Hello! I seem to have let the whole week go by without a post. Busy preparing for Easter and also packing. Weird combination of tasks, I know. Easter eggs and buying tiny bottles of shampoo ;)
Yes, an adventure awaits my daughter, sister, mom and I and I am only now beginning to comprehend that we will be boarding a plane to Europe in less than 5 days!
Looking forward to new sounds, sights, people and light. Finaly bought that new camera I've been chattering about so I am planning to have lots of beauty for you to enjoy when I get back. Meanwhile it will be "boy town" here, with lots of baseball and burgers I'm sure, as the guys hold down the fort.
Take Care, enjoy your days and see you back here soon :)
I want to thank each of you for visiting and for your comments. They are so much fun to read and I love to be able to connect with other creative people and exchange ideas. Thanks for stopping by!
