Le Petite Trianon

When we last spied our heroine, she was busy readying her studio for an artist play date.  As it turned out, the other artist did not feel like playing, so they went out to lunch and then her friend went home to bed.  Next came preparations for a surprise clean up of the room known as the parlour and home to her husband's office/studio, then a whopping snow storm/birthday and now it is now.

Day 2 of our Paris Adventure was spent at Versailles.  It is an easy metro ride and once off the train, there is no need to ask where to go, just follow the crowds.  One of the things I discovered while looking at my photos is a severe lack of long view photos.  So to see what the Palace at Versailles looks like, go here  and to see an overview of our destination, Marie Antoinette's estate, go here.   

Here is Marie's village as it caught my attention:

 

 This photo is extra large cuz I am sucker for roses!
Both grandma and nana loved them, which makes them very special to me.

 

Artichokes

I don't know where the vegetables go, but this garden is still producing!

That's all for today, my kids are home for the weekend and we're going to cook together.  My favorite way to cook -- together.

 

 

A Hint of What's to Follow

 I did go over to the barn/studio with the idea I would post about our next, fabulous day in Paris.  And while I was looking at all the photos I had taken in this heavenly garden, it also hit me that my friend Lynn is coming to visit next week to play/create in the barn.  And the barn/studio is a mess!

So I reluctantly left France and glorious garden shots to work at getting a table clear, space around the table to sit or walk and the general detritus off the floor.  I worked for 3 hours, putting stuff away, throwing stuff away and even de-stashing some boxes of supplies that can be sold at the flea market next summer.  There's still a lot more to be done, so until Tuesday, I'm over there working, not blog posting.

I will leave you with another hint of loveliness and hope you will return next week when I will post more photos and talk about The Queen's Gardens.

Dreaming of France

While sitting at my worktable, the heater going full blast at my feet, bare trees out my window and the whole arctic vortex thing going on, I am dreaming of my trip to France.  I figure there's no better way to get back into blogging then to finish sharing my June 2011 trip.  I wrote about my first week and the wonderful workshop with Anna Corba.  To read those posts start here, then go here,  here,  here,  here,  here,  here, and finally  here, 
When we left our heroine, she was leaving Toulouse, boarding a train for Paris to meet up with her husband. 

The train trip was an adventure.  I had booked a bed on a sleeping car which left Toulouse at 10 pm and arrived in Paris at around 6 am. Four of us shared a car and slept all the way to Gare d'Austerlitz.  I then schlepped my suitcases across the Seine to Gare de Lyon, checked them into a locker, bought  metro passes and made my way to Gare du Nord where my husband had arrived from London. 

 I'm glad I have experience with subways.  

Paris is no harder than Boston or New York, except all the signs are in French!

 Considering all that, I don't look the worse for wear!

But sadly, the shoes were not as comfortable as I could have wished.

Our day continued with a stroll on the Left Bank.

We decided to spend our first day in Paris visiting just two special places:

Musee D'Orsay where we ate lunch and overdosed on the largest retrospective of Edouard Manet since 1954.
I bailed after room 9 and went in search of the pretties -- Monet, Degas, Van Gogh.
My husband loves Manet and saw the entire exhibit.

Notre Dame:  I had visited before, but my husband had not, so we walked there next.

Who doesn't love a good flying buttress?

 

And my husband's favorites -- Gargoyles!

Can't Wait to Share

I have been chomping at the bit to share some of the things I have been working on.

* Cleaning out my studio (I've invited a friend over to insure I keep on track)
* Alphabet tags using Zentangles
* A clutter-free home library with many, many less books (the public library got those)
* Supply Journal
* Travel Journals from a bunch of past trips, including France 2011.
* One Little Word 

As you can guess, all those things really need photos.  And since I have searched and searched for the camera battery and charger with no luck, I finally broke down and ordered new ones from amazon.  They should be here in a couple of days. Until then,  photos of Marie Antoinette's garden.

One Little Word 2014

One of the great things about One Little Word is that as much as I want to be the one choosing the word, this year the word has chosen me.   That word, the one that chose me is Mindful.  I flirted with the idea of going with Story.  It's a great word, and fun.  I do like telling stories.  Ask anyone who knows me.  Heck, read my posts.  But telling stories alone is not what I need to focus on in this new year.  What I need is to be Mindful.  And the stories can come out of that!

I did find a lot of wonderful quotes about the importance of stories in one's life.  I will incorporate those into my work in the OLW class.  And I'll share them here.  It's just I have a lot of important personal work to do this year.  And to do it, to grow, to glow, to move forward, everything needs to be infused with mindfulness.

 

I got the January prompt for my OLW class.  I'm really excited to start working on it.  It's all about intentions and defining my word and because it is Ali Edwards there is lots of opportunity to add art & creativity to this first page.  It also asks for a photo of me and I have a great idea of what I want that to be.  But you know, to take a photo one needs a camera!  And my camera's battery and charger have gone missing!  I know I had it at my dentist appointment in November. . . . where the heck did I put it down when I came home?  I know where the camera is, with the memory card inside, so no pictures have been lost.  It's just no new ones can be taken until I find the battery and charger (or wastefully have to buy another).  Ugh!

Have a wonderful day today.   My family will be watching the Rose Parade and between oohing and ahhing about pretty floats and the incredible use of flowers, I'll be exploring Mindfulness!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!