A Few More Clues

More clues....guess again!

Guess!

Guess?

Sepulchre

I recorded this panoramic sweep of the mountains of southwest France from atop Montsegur. The view was breath-taking; I felt as if I could see forever! I was surprised at how rugged and rural so much of France actually is. I thought of this view last week as I was reading a second Kate Mosse novel, "Sepulchre." Like "Labyrinth" this novel is also set in southwest France, in these very mountains. And like "Labyrinth, the stories in "Sepulchre" slip between two different time periods: France in 1891 and 2007. It's a melange of tarot, magic, and music, good and evil, and the universal search for family and love. While the novel can certainly be read on its own without reading 'Labyrinth," there are some threads that connect it with the other book that add richness to the story. Having seen the wildness of these mountains makes me appreciate how truly terrifying the battle against evil could be in the remote setting of Rennes-les-Bains and the fictional country estate of Domaine de la Cade. Perhaps the sleepy mountain town had stone buildings just like this one I photographed in the mountains outside of Collioure?

Color Update

It's been ten weeks since I put any color on my hair. As you know from my blog post of May 31st, I've decided to let it go natural, i.e. gray. I got it cut today and as I suspected, the sides are almost totally silver. So is the crown. My bangs and the back are pretty much salt & pepper. As I looked in the mirror while Jerry continued to snip and trim, I moaned to him, "I look just like my mother!" Which I actually don't mind all that much because I thought my mother was beautiful. And I really don't mind the gray all that much either. It looks a bit strange now, but I think once the brown is completely gone, it will be fine. BTW...do you know how hard it is to get  a picture of your own hair??

A Tiny Piece of Paris

I go for weeks receiving only bills and the occasional flyer offering me a discount on hearing aids in my mailbox. Then like magic fun things appear from far-away places. This tiny piece of Paris is from Laury. I admired the little music boxes she wrote about in one of her blog posts and voila...she sent me one! Okay...so maybe I whined a little. I love it. It's playing 'La vie en rose.' Can there be anything more quintessentially Parisian than that? It made me cry.

PS...I enlisted the help of my friend, Beth to shoot this video. I just didn't have enough hands to hold the tiny box, turn the crank and press the record button. I'm thinking I need a tripod!

"All the Better to See You With"

Did you figure out the clue?

The  label on the mailing envelope reads "one pair of glasses and one glasses case." Postmarked Aix-en-Provence, my package is a gift from a fellow blogger, Corey, who posted about these nifty stylish reading glasses that are the brainchild of her friend, Phillipe. Corey sponsored a contest on her blog to give Phillipe the best ideas for advertising photos of his new glasses...using Corey's yummy FH (French Husband) as a model. The prize for the best ideas...these reading glasses! And I won! Okay...some other people did too, but I thought my idea to photograph FH on his sexy motorcycle was the best...it appeals to women who would love to be on the back seat clutching FH tightly around his waist and to guys who would love to be FH hitting the road on this sexy bike to adventures unknown. The glasses are very chic trifocals... the bottom part of the lens is perfect for reading, the middle part makes reading the computer screen a breeze, and the top lets you see a bit in the distance. They are perfect for me when I have my contacts in and have great distance vision, but up close...it's all a blur. No more with this snazzy little number! And I'm thinking the red will look 'hot' when my hair grows out and is silvery gray. It'll be my new old lady look!

A Clue

How good is your French? Here's a clue about tomorrow's blog post. Can you read it? Can you guess what came in my mailbox yesterday?