Thursday, July 28, 2011

Gordes

Hello to all,

I know, I'm a bit quiet. First, I don't have much to show, working on a secret project, then I spent last weekend with Amandine and one of her friend. Among other things, we went to Gordes this weekend.

This one of the prettiest village in the South of France, and a fashionable one too. You can find out more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordes

A few miles away, there is an old village of little stone houses. They are called "bories". Until Sunday, I thought a borie was only a shelter for sherpherd, but apparently, they were also houses on their own. In this village, you have dwellings, an oven, shelters for goats, pigs, poultry, food, etc...

Another reason for my silence is the sudden death of my PC. I had to find out how to upload pictures and blog from my Ipad. I don't master it completely yet, ...

I hope you are all well and enjoying life.
Take care!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Long lazy weekend

It was Bastille day on the 14th, that is our French National Day. I took a day off on Friday, so I enjoyed a long weekend.

Bastille day, and the day my grand-nephew was born. As his Austrian father put it, that baby is a true Frenchy:-) and a big baby too, 4.600kg ...

The first two days have been very windy, forbidding fireworks wherever there was a danger of bush fires. The temperature dropped a little, which is fine with me. The wind made the cats very nervous. Billy, the shy feral cat, wanted to play and snuggle with Osiris. But she did her Drama Queen act, hissed, groaned and run away all the time. After two days, they were all exhausted. Billy reverted to plan B. And came to snuggle with me for the first time in daylight. The red strips are my leg... Not bad for a shy cat...
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Osiris relaxing
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Choupette helping on some patch project. She wanted to nap on the patches, or near the iron. I disagreed, so  she made the project bag hers... I'm surprised she did not try the purple box...
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Now is that time again: time to prepare the clothes and food for Monday. I confess I'm not thrilled...
I hope you are, and that you'll enjoy the coming week.
Take care!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Leviathan - Anish Kapoor

Hello to all,

Thank you for your comments. George, I'm sure you would look great in a sweater, modeling on steps.
Honey, I guess it would take some time to make you a sweater too. But didn't I see you in jammies?

Right now, I've put my knitting needles away, and I'm quilting the Japanese dolls quilt. No fancy quilting, just quilting in the ditch. I needed some quilting needles, and ended buying Black Bold Needles by Clover. I swear they make a difference. I must check if there are other kinds of Black Gold Needles... but I digress.

I almost forgot to tell you about the Leviathan by Anish Kapoor, exhibited in the Grand Palais in Paris. I like this building very much, with this glass roof, and its size. So I was a bit curious to see that sculpture made specifically for the building.

First, you go into the sculpture:
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It is a strange feeling. There is some pressure to keep it inflated, the light is red, as you can see, it is hot and moist, and I don't think anybody can see to the end of those tunnels (I'm not a good judge for that since I'm vertically compressed, as someone told me once). The shadows are quite amazing, showing the iron structure of the roof through the red skin.
Then you leave this space and enter the big hall of the Grand Palais. It is somehow a relief to be back in the fresh air :-). But this strange thing has taken possession of almost all the space. I could not get one picture of the whole.

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Have you seen how perfect the reflection of the iron is. Good quality surface...

You can learn more here.

I found the whole a bit frightening... What do you think?

PS: I don't know if Blogger is playing tricks and dating Amandine's last post back in January, or if she did actually post in January, and Blogger told me this morning only. Anyway, you can see her top list pictures of her trip on her blog. Perfect if you need a break :-)

Take care!