Merry Christmas!

My home computer is at the corner 'geek' shop getting fixed! Hopefully I'll have it back soon since it's very hard to be creative at work. Merry Christmas from Google images and the Notre Dame de Paris!

Explanation

A quick message to all faithful blog readers...I'm having home computer problems and will post again when I get the darn thing fixed!

An Invitation

The village priest invites all from near and far to "Come, prepare for the birth of the Child." It's Advent, the time of invitation and preparation. Who will answer the good pere's call? Who will show up for the birth? Will it be country folks or city folks? Will you come?

Preparing for Christmas

This month's issue of France Today contains a very informative article about santons. It brought to mind my santons. My Provencal 'people' are busy preparing for Christmas. It's none too early for these citizens to begin readying for the Christ Child's arrival. Both Monsieur le Chef and the Monsieur le Boulanger (the baker) are waiting for Madame who brings miel and lavandre. La chevre and la poule will contribute valuable ingredients for the Christmas feast, while le moulin will help grind the wheat for Christmas bread. The people will be busy the next few days. Come back again and meet others in the village who will welcome Baby Jesus and His family soon.

Geese

Lessons from Geese

I thought of you today as the geese honked their way southwest.
Overhead they strung out across the sky,
Wings beat rhythmically sending feathery vibrations earthward.
First one, then another took the lead.
Strong became weary and rested
Rested moved ahead to lead the flock and allow respite.
Onward to the Missouri flyway, then south to warmth and sunshine, they fly.
They fly, work hard, produce, fly, rest and revitalize, fly and fly.
Cycles of seasons, the great wheel of life
Survival at its hub.

November 2006

News Flash!

Our baby-to-be has a name! She's Marley Grace and I love it. Travis picked Marley...he's a huge Bob Marley fan. Becky picked Grace for her grandmother. Only Trav and I know that this will be a true little rock-n-roll girl. Shh! don't tell...she's really Grace for Grace Slick. Oh okay--maybe not!

Red Bell Farm, Parisian Style

I'm buying my first piece of 'real' art! Not a print, not a copy, not a poster...a real piece of art from a real artist, Mary Blake. I first discovered Mary's blog, Painting Paris, via another favorite blog, Polly-Vous Francais. Polly made mention of Mary, and I checked out her blog. I even made a comment or two which I think intrigued Mary. Who is this person in Iowa and how did she find me??? I love Mary's style which I think is described as 'abstract impressionism.' It's lively and colorful and that really appeals to me. Recently Mary has updated her website, Mary Blake Art, and as I scrolled through her online catalog, I came across this small watercolor entitled Red Bell Farm. Mais oui, bien sur....I had to buy it! Mary and I are currently exchanging emails, trying to figure out how to make this trans-Atlantic purchase happen.

Update: my art should be in the mail on Monday. We're still working on the money exchange thing. I'm thrilled!

How Life Should Be....

How life should be:
a joy
a celebration
something to make you twirl with excitement
giggle,
clap, and
plant slobbery puppy kisses on everyone you love.