Paris Parfait

Balloons

Photos of giant balloons at an exhibition in Centre Pompidou, Paris, by Jordana Shalhoub.

Balloons

Since Christmas they have lived with us,
Guileless and clear,
Oval soul-animals,
Taking up half the space,
Moving and rubbing on the silk

Invisible air drifts,
Giving a shriek and pop
When attacked, then scooting to rest, barely trembling.
Yellow cathead, blue fish--------
Such queer moons we live with

Instead of dead furniture!
Straw mats, white walls
And these traveling
Globes of thin air, red, green,
Delighting

The heart like wishes or free
Peacocks blessing
Old ground with a feather
Beaten in starry metals.
Your small

Brother is making
His balloon squeak like a cat.
Seeming to see
A funny pink world he might eat on the other side of it,
He bites,

Then sits
Back, fat jug
Contemplating a world clear as water.
A red
Shred in his little fist.

- Sylvia Plath - 1963

Power to the people

Photo of beaded and sequinned tapestry at Centre Pompidou, Paris by Jordana Shalhoub. Click photo to view detail.

Despite a whirlwind of guests and brocantes, I've been keeping a close eye on the news from Burma. I've been dismayed by the Burmese government's deliberate and targeted violence against peaceful protesters. The Washington-based group US Campaign for Burma said around 200 protesters have been killed, including Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai. Shari Villarosa, the most senior US diplomat in Burma told reporters, "It's tragic. These were peaceful demonstrators, very well behaved."

The Independent, London reported that a Burmese journalist said, "The police were shooting everything – houses, trees, anything. The bullets were flying over our heads. It was as if they were on drugs and were crazy." Seven young people ran from the protest in Thanwe and tried to hide in long grass, the 23-year-old journalist said. "Informers were pointing to the grass, people got up and ran, but the police just fired into their backs. Four were gunned down straight away. Shot dead," she said.

For the Sunday Scribblings prompt "powerful," a poem about real power:

Power to the people

Power doesn't belong
to the Burmese soldiers
firing wildly at anyone and anything
or to the one who killed a journalist
at point blank range.

Power belongs to the people
who march in quiet defiance;
who dare to speak the truth;
who show by peaceful resistance
someday justice will prevail.

Power is an illusion for the military junta
who think that beating monks,
arresting and torturing citizens
and shooting protesters
will secure their rule.

The junta might crush this uprising
with violence and force,
but they can't banish the seeds
of freedom sown long ago
now growing wildly

in the hearts and minds
of so many ordinary citizens who,
like Aung San Suu Kyi
will not give up their rights
and accept military rule.

The junta may cut communications,
but they can't suppress the stories
of those who bear witness
to their brutality
and inhumanity.

Power doesn't belong to China
or those nations with influence
who say nothing
and do nothing to stop the bloodshed,
as the world watches in horror.

Power belongs to the people
unafraid to act;
to those who raise their voices in opposition;
who refuse to accept dictates
from those with no right to govern.

Power to the people.

A rainy opening day at Chatou

An elaborate feathered headdress on an Italian bust Friday, opening day at 75th Foire Nationale aux Antiquites a la Brocante et aux Jambons at Chatou. Notice the vendor with his back to the camera chatting on his mobile phone. Particularly when it's raining, there's not much for vendors to do while waiting for customers.

It rained to the point that more moss must have formed on this stone cherub. Despite our umbrellas, we were drenched by the nearly continuous rain.

Anything out in the open, including these red train cars and toy cars, was soaked.

Even the "Pork Floyd" pig had rivulets of water running down his face. This photo was taken in between raindrops.

This 1940s metal industrial table and seats was collecting puddles and rust, adding character to its already aged patina.

This is the lovely Julie Isore, proprietor of Agape Deco, my favourite local antiques shop. Julie always has unique, interesting and often quirky items for sale. She also has a great eye and flair for interior design. Agape has been featured in several French magazines, as well as a Paris television program about stylish interiors.

A boat's life preserver and four "banquette de cinema" or theatre seats at Agape's venue at Chatou. A zinc window casing and enamel lamp are also pictured. I took several photos of Agape's vignettes and will post more in the days to come.

A wooden chest with multi-coloured drawers and a desk with its interior painted Hermes orange.

Di of Designers' Block UK - who by coincidence was wearing an orange Hermes scarf - admires fabric trim at Blandine Bavoux's Jolie Trouvaille. Di will write about her adventures in buying items to use in her Ghost Furniture line.

Children's "bear chairs" at Jolie Trouvaille. More photos of Blandine's kitchen collectibles for sale will follow.

With this home-based brewery, you could concoct your own beer.

Copper pots and 19th-century stoves in good working order.

Rel's wife Diane checks out a 19th-century icebox. And what was Rel (Under the Microscope) doing? Trying his very best to be patient with three women intent on shopping, no matter how hard it was raining! Rel and Diane left Paris this morning. No doubt Rel will soon be blogging about his experiences in Paris and in the South of France.

I like the "Genie" sign. But where's that magic lamp when we need it? The orange plastic chairs from the '60s are fashionable once again in modernist decor - and they're virtually rainproof!

A zinc watering can filled with wooden tulips beneath a large plastic tarp, which failed to keep the rain at bay.

A hand-inlaid mandolin for Vanessa Valencia set against a stained-glass panel.

A 19th-century gothic door, rather the worse for the damp.

A 1950s red chair, captain's wheel, assorted grillwork and a zinc bottle dryer left to the mercy of the elements.

By the time the day ended, this sailboat was holding water. I'll be returning to Chatou on Monday, it is hoped in better weather. On Sunday, I'm going to a twice-annual brocante in my neighbourhood. Stop by later for more photos! Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Win a surprise from the brocante

Photo of light sculptures at the Centre Pompidou, Paris by Jordana Shalhoub.

The fall brocante season kicks off with an exceptional opening today at Marche aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves at Vanves and with the opening day of the 75th Foire Nationale aux Antiquites, a la Brocante et aux Jambons at Chatou. Plus there's a brocante in my neighbourhood on Sunday morning. Since most of you can't come along, I thought you might be interested in winning a surprise from this weekend's brocantes. To enter, just leave a comment beneath this post.

On Sunday, Sept. 30, Di of Designers' Block UK and her partner Harvey will be here for dinner. I'll ask Di to draw two winning names out of a hat. I'll then notify the winners by email and post their names on Paris Parfait. Bonne chance!

Busy playing hostess

A variety of local cheeses offered after dinner at the Nobody Inn in Doddiscombsleigh, Devon, England. From the early 1600s, the inn was known as "The New Inn." In 1837, the inn's name was changed to the Nobody Inn after the sudden death of the innkeeper, a Mr. Lewis. Legend has it that his body was left in the mortuary, while his burial service was unknowingly conducted around an empty coffin. Since then the Inn has had four owners, the current ones since 1970. Last month David and I spent two nights at the Nobody Inn. It's famed for its food and this was our second visit.

At the moment, am too busy playing hostess to write much. Will be back Friday with another post after visiting the brocante at Chatou with Di, Rel and Diane. Au revoir, mes amis!

Brocantes, crowns and vintage lace patterns

Photo of a book of old patterns for lace embroidery, found for ten euros at a market bookseller's stall. It is tied with teal silk shantung ribbon and is from Succursale at 25 Faubourg Saint-Honore, Paris.

If you are in Paris beginning Friday, September 28 through October 7, you might be interested in attending the 75th Foire Nationale aux Antiquites, a la Brocante et aux Jambons at Ile de Chatou. It's one of the best brocantes in France and not to be missed, in my opinion. So despite my miserable cold, I'll be there when the doors open at 10 a.m. Friday, along with Di of Designers' Block UK and Rel of Under the Microscope and his charming wife Diane.

David and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner with Rel and Diane last Wednesday night in Paris. On Thursday, they're coming by train from the South of France and will be staying with us Thursday and Friday nights, before returning to the US on Saturday. Di and Harvey will be having dinner with us Sunday night. Aren't we lucky?

A sample page of vintage lace patterns from the book above.

Among my favourite things to collect are 19th-century Madonna crowns, once used in religious festivals in France and Spain. Some of these you've seen previously. But I'm reposting them, in case any lovely ladies attending the Bloglandia ball today want to borrow one of these crowns!

19th-century French crown with "diamonds."

A Madonna crown with "sapphires" and "diamonds," also 19th-century French.

This crown is adorned with "rubies," "emeralds" and "diamonds." I think the missing stones add to the crown's appeal.

A starburst pattern features "diamonds," while "sapphires" adorn the rim of the crown.

If you don't like gemstones, perhaps you'd prefer the elegant simplicity of this laurel leaf, accented with golden acorns?

Simplest of all, this 20th-century French organza daisy chain once was worn by a young bridesmaid.

The key

Arched windows offer keyhole views at the Paris Mosque. In both the Bible and the Koran, a keyhole recalls the tradition of locked and hinged manuscripts in securing, protecting and holding the "key" to the Word of God. Photo by Jordana Shalhoub.

For the Writers Island prompt, "The Key:"

Recently I read a rather naive blog piece in which the writer said she didn't want to know about or deal with the world's troubles; she just wanted to remain at home in her "safe haven." But there are no safe havens anymore, anywhere in this vast global village we call home. We are all connected; everything that happens, ultimately affects us all. Each day when I read or hear one bit of bad news after another, I am more and more convinced that the positive changes necessary must begin with us.

Along those lines, here's my 15-minute poem linked to "The key:"

The key to change
isn't politicians
or empty promises
made by those who claim to care,
but pursue their own interests
at our expense.

It's the monks in Burma,
who march in silent protest.
It's the writers and photographers and artists
who cast light in the shadows
and hold up the truth for all to see
and act.

It's those who have been oblivious
in their comfort zones of relative safety,
who suddenly wake up
and realise what's happening
and think, "Wait, this affects me
and my children and their children!"

Our planet is slowly eroding,
buffeted by nature's fury and manmade woes.
causing cities to flounder and ice floes to melt.
Poisoned by pollution and deprivations of war,
impoverished families struggle to survive, while
too many refugees trade one disaster zone for another.

We are all in this together.
The key to change, my friend
is you and I.
If not us, then who?

A tiny tour of Totnes

Want to spend an hour or two in Totnes, Devon? It's a lovely town, full of unexpected delights. Between May and September, each Tuesday morning local residents and traders wear Elizabethan style clothes to the "Elizabethan market." Pictured above is a church tower in the town centre.

The name Totnes derives from the Saxon word for fort or a lookout on a ridge. Originally a fortified Saxon settlement, the town was built to protect upper reaches of the river from Viking raiding parties. It was one of the five Devon towns originally mentioned in the Domesday Book. The town’s medieval wealth and prosperity grew from the export of wool from Dartmoor, as well as locally-mined tin. Totnes's location made it both the highest navigable port and the lowest bridging place on the River Dart.

A World War I memorial in front of the church. Note the arched windows with leaded glass.

The 16th-century Totnes Guildhall on Ramparts Walk was originally part of the Benedictine Priory. The building was constructed in 1533 and still is used as a town council chamber. It also has served as a school and a courthouse. In addition to the council chamber, it contains a mayor's parlour and prison cells. Visitors to the Guildhall can see the table where Oliver Cromwell sat in 1646.

The charming Tudor Cottage, located in a street near the Guildhall.

A Moorish-style door on Fore Street leads to a shop selling Middle Eastern items, including an Egyptian hubbly bubbly pipe. A quick peek in the window is all we have time for today.

A sign on a stone column pointing to "Please's Passage." Shall we go exploring? Oh look at that costume museum! And that antique shop! I wish that tiny sewing machine from the 18th-century would fit into my luggage. Jordana would love it! Hmm, David thinks we should leave before I spend any money.

Are you hungry? Let's stop for a quick bite at Seeds Bakery. All their sandwiches are made with organic ingredients, as are their pastries!

Time to walk off our snack. Doesn't this courtyard have a lovely potted garden?

Ah, the canal! Check out the lavender scaffolding alongside apartments built in converted warehouses. If you look closely, in the distance maybe you can see that bold fuschia Smart car parked on the quay! Smart cars are everywhere in Paris, but typically they're silver and black.

Warehouse residents' boats are linked together to buoys in the canal.

Be sure to follow the rules! The residents in this neighbourhood maintain high standards. But no cycling?

Scenic cruises to Dartmouth six miles downstream are offered several times daily from the Old Steamer Quay on the River Dart. Want to go aboard? On second thought, maybe we don't have time today.

After all that walking, perhaps you'd like some tea or juice at this cheery lemon yellow corner cafe?

Locally-grown asters are sold from a lively market near the cafe.

Check out the hanging beads giving traditional lace curtains a modern edge in this cottage window.

I'd really like to go inside and shop at this charming cottage and boutique, but David says we must be driving to our next destination, where friends await. Thanks for coming along on this quick tour of Totnes!

Bidding adieu to the fair

This is the fifth of a series of five pieces written by artist Leau Phillips about her experiences at the New Mexico State Fair.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have met the underbelly of the arts and crafts events and lived to tell about it! It isn't pretty, is isn't easy, but it had to happen sooner or later. Met it, confronted it came out with all fingers and toes and ego intact.

I told you yesterday that we had decided to leave the fair a day early. Wasn't an easy decision, didn't come to it lightly, wrestled with those demons of "NOT fulfilling a commitment" It was a toss and turn night.

After having a conversation with the organizer yesterday, just casually mentioning the PET TAGS banner that hung above our booth (something to think about in the future, make sure no one person's banner is so outstanding that all the other booths are ignored in the process; not complaining) and talking about the traffic (none) and the location (those jumping flies, really were fleas and flea bites on your ankles hurt when you sweat!!) and the very casual use of the words "art" and/or "craft" followed by unique and HANDMADE to describe this particular motley crew of booths, I was ready.

Upon my arrival I immediately sought her to tell her my decision. Ms Sweetness and Light became devil dog and turned on me. She THREATENED me! Said I would never be invited back - I said I was good with that. Told me she would blackball (I kept seeing marbles rolling around) me from every other arts and crafts fair in the area. Huh? She wields that much power? I wasn't intimidated, I knew I could take her. She went on to say I was not living up to my commitment. I said she didn't live up to hers, she called this an ARTS and Crafts event after all. She said it was really a "mostly" arts and craft event and I said it was a NOT arts and "mostly" craps event.

There was wailing and gnashing of teeth about how hard she had worked with us to get us our space (she recruited us from another market), how she had bent over backwards to help us...when was that? We didn't see her more than once a day at most. There was no advertising, no promotion and we had to pay to get into the fair and for parking!!! She went on to blame us for not having things people wanted. She was right there, we had nothing that contained the words Dallas or Cowboys, nothing that came from another country (that's for you Mark!) or was so cheap it was a given that it would be in pieces and/or completely destroyed before it reached the exit. Nor did we import any of our work, order online or buy it at the dollar store. And no one could eat it.

She couldn't "control" the attendance at the fair or the fact that no one was spending money. She must not have seen the life-sized stuffed black Spiderman or the plethora (don't 'ya just love that word) of cheap and tacky crap coming out of the exhibit hall. She was really getting worked up, but I was very professional and said the decision had been made. Then the big one comes out of her mouth..."This will haunt you forever!" And ya know, I think I am good with that too!

Unfortunately, this also affects our new friends Ren and Ken because she accused them of encouraging others to leave early and since we were all the artsy types we must all talk and obviously they convinced us to do this and they would regret it if any of the others left today. We are writing letters to the fair folks to let them know. Do you think we can get any kind of restitution for flea bites? I guess that might be pushing it a little, eh?

So how was the last day at the fair you ask? HOT and then not and then HOT and then not. Welcome to fall in New Mexico. Many, many flies (just the regular kind but annoying as hell). My favorite outfit of the day was the little girl dressed in a soccer jersey and a chiffon skirt with a handkerchief hem...all in shades of pink!

And the pet apparel vendors? Well, after a rough start (the organizer took down their banners in the night after we left and then told them we had complained about them...) they sold like crazy. One woman bought a tag with her name and her husband's number on it so if anything happened to her while she was out jogging, someone could get help. I found that very sad. Did you know that if you squeeze a squeaky toy once, you must do it four more times (scientific study here folks, I have been sitting there for five days!!) to see if it will make the same noise each time? And they do, fast or slow, the same noise. Every time. They cost $5 people, of course the noise isn't changing!!

Biggest change of the day? Angry/Happy (depending on the minute) Hot Glass Lady is suddenly now my BFF! She would pop into the booth, give me some fascinating little tidbit and be off again. Kinda like Hammy in Over The Hedge. It was hilarious! One minute it was "This show sucks so bad" and the next, "Do you know about this show or that show?" "Where else will you be showing?" "Send me the information!!" She obviously hadn't heard I was going to be blackballed at all of those. Then she brought me caramel corn! I had already completed my prerequisite (roasted corn, caramel apple) fair food by that point, so I had to turn her down.

Another unfortunate thing about A/HHGL is that she doesn't appear to have any personal space awareness. Of any kind... She would stand in front of me, almost touching my knees if I was sitting down. And if I was sitting, there was no place to back up and so I had a few moments of panic that she soon would be sitting on my lap! If her attention span had been any longer and she had been able to stay right there longer than a few seconds, I am sure it would have come to that. Whew! Sometimes short attention spans are a blessing.

Best question of the day? "What happened to your pet tags?"

And ANOTHER weird haircut dude came by! Now a gang of three roams the street with weird hair. Where is that gang suppression unit when you need them? When I was telling Paul about them, he said they probably heard there was gonna be a rumble at the pony rides and they had to check out every rumor...

Regina's husband (upon seeing something bizarre) always says; " I didn't know the state fair was in town" and Chami's husband Eric said last night, "If you want to feel good about yourself, go to the fair." Boy are those true statements! It just doesn't get any better than this.

Have you ever noticed that is seems like middle class Americans have no taste whatsoever and wait for the counter culture to do or say or have something and then they latch on to it? What comes to mind first are vans. Remember when "hippy vans" were thought to be so awful? Then everyone started driving them and they evolved into the ever pervasive minivan? It now seems that all the funky off beat things I love that were not so popular or in the middle of that middle class stream (not that I am not dipping my toe in that stream once in a while...) are now EVERYWHERE on EVERYTHING!

Like skulls for instance. Today, every fifth or sixth person (scientific study, remember? I have been sitting here for five days!!) had on something with skulls. I know this is NEW Mexico and that has always been a part of the Mexican culture, but come on...skull camouflage? Skull backpacks and even on a stroller? I saw skull flip flops, sneakers, tiaras, dog tags, tee shirts, belts, wallets, belt buckles and even a tiny girl carrying a purse shaped like a skull. But in pink sequins, of course. As much as I love skulls, I think I liked them better when they were just a little harder to find.

I did admire the knee high lace up sneakers. And the black feather wings. I loved the young couple in a pink and black combo outfit, she in pink and black plaid with a black boa and he in a matching pink and black do-rag. (Can you imagine the conversation when they were deciding what to wear? "Oh please honey, just wear it for me, just this once, we'll look so cute together!!") And I loved, loved the Santa Fe Rodeo Queen's cowboy boots, well more like outfits for her feet. First the very cool boot, then the spurs with lots of dangling things and then the spats with Milagros and other cool things on them. If I used words like genuine, I would use it here to describe the look. I saw one of the few men in NM who is willing and manly enough to wear a skirt. Love a man in a skirt!

Decided maybe blacksmithing would be fun only in the dead of winter. Saw a young girl who had on a spray-painted tank that proclaimed to the world that "Dominic Q loves Ashely S" across her chest. As she walked by, it was on her rear as well - so we could know about this undying love coming and going. When I went to buy my pretty, pretty, purple parasol, I did not buy the most wonderful painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I guess the original is famous or something but it was fabu! All of the pieces of her clothing were people or angels. The background was all people and even her face was made up of people's faces. This doesn't come close to describing it in a coherent manner but I loved it. It was so unique. If I had sold just one more necklace, it would have been mine. Did I mention it had glitter on it too?

And that same vendor in Hispanic Village had these cool plastic bracelets with saints on them, mostly several saints mixed on each bracelet. One was all the same man. When I asked the first person who that man was, he said some guy. So the lovely man who was trying to give me such a great deal on "our Lady of the faces" tells me some name that sounded made up to me. I said what is he the patron saint of? He said "sheep" Is that true? Is there a patron saint of sheep? I should want to learn to speak Catholic, but mostly I love that religious art!

Some of my final thoughts on the 2007 State Fair:
1. People of any age should not use a roasted ear of corn with butter dripping to point at anything. Especially in a booth that sells art not craps.
2. Just because someone manufactures it or sells it, doesn't mean you should wear it.
3. Tube tops come in as many sizes as jeans do. See above.
4. If you are hot and sweaty, SO IS YOUR NEWBORN!! Get those babies out of the sun.
5. Underwear shouldn't advertise things. And it should be at least partially under something. Saw a bra strap
charm today, that's a first.
6. Forget demonstrating a mop for eight hours, the very worst job at the fair is really having to wash out those foot baths in the booth where you can "soak away" all of the toxins in your body. eweeeew
7. True love is biting off the red part of a bomb pop so your sweetie doesn't have to eat that to get to the
white part.
8. If you wonder if it might be a flea, it is a flea.
9. Somewhere, somehow, you can still buy lime green cat eye glass with genuine, imitation diamondettes.
10. You don't die from having the water that you can only wash your hands with sprayed into the fan in
front of you. I didn't drink it, I promise, I kept my mouth shut.
11. People will probably always say anything that comes to mind, no matter who can hear them.
12. No one enjoys the state fair more than those field trip cuties in their wonderful crowns.
13. There is logic and reason behind a sign that reads: Please don't feed the zebra your fingers.
14. I am incredibly grateful to be much older than 14.

Thanks for being my armchair fair-goers!

Photo and jewelery by Leau Phillips. Visit Leau's just-launched blog here. Leau also wanted to give a shout-out to her fellow artists participating at the fair: Raine Klover, Paula Scott, Regina Portscheller and Donna Barntiz.

Happy fall!

Happy fall! Colourful flowers grace college grounds in Wye, England.

A cottage garden in Wye, England.

Blacksmiths, a momentary fright and rude remarks

Photo and art by Leau Phillips

This is the fourth of five pieces by artist Leau Philliips about her experiences at the New Mexico State Fair.

First folks, an update on my previous post. I neglected to mention that Friday night at the petting zoo is mostly for single dads and interestingly enough, first dates!! Nothing says "getting to know you" like jumping goats, a Brahma bull and the smell of manure. Last comment overheard as I left the area: "Wanna do the petting zoo?" "Dad, I'm 12..."

Now on to recap today's frivolity. Themes for the day: Feel free to comment on anything and everything you want to; underwear and seeing the fair through the eyes of a child.

I arrived early this morning so that I could take pictures of things that people will not believe without an unaltered photo. A sign that says "Manure Only" and the parking spaces reserved for the "Assistant Swine Supervisor." (Does that give the the right to boss around pigs? Or wild boars?) Also, I wanted to try to get the coolness (both attitude and temperature) of the blacksmiths. I really, really thought I wanted to learn to weld, but I am now pretty sure I want to be a blacksmith when I grow up. I watch them every morning on the way in and love the whole forge, beating metal into what ever you want it to be and most importantly, bigger tools!

So I chat them up every morning as I walk by; today I chatted and took pictures. Paula's comment was,"You can't do that where you live! You will have to move up North." I did explain to her that blacksmiths are everywhere and I never intended to do it in my living room. Needs more thought and at least one more photo opportunity!

As I got to the booth, I was greeted by the angry hot glass lady and she was happy!! Now she is HHGL? I don't know that I can deal with that... Did she get laid? Are her meds kicking in? Or did that Tai Chi finally work? Who knows but she was downright cheerful and was giving a pep talk to every vendor. "Gonna be a great day!, We're gonna sell out, right?" Smiles all around, pleasant, a little disconcerting. Later as I walked down to get coffee, she was telling someone that her husband made lots of money and she just did this for fun. She has been having fun? Wowsers.

Good tee shirts:
Vegetarian: Old Indian word for bad hunter
I'm easy to please, just do things my way!
Dad enough to wear pink (I think he screwed up the laundry and had to iron those letters on to the shirt
and wear it as punishment!)

Raine and Chris came and Chris stayed at the booth while we took Will to see the fair. Will, who is three, made me see the fair in a totally different way. He kept saying he wanted to get on track. In my mind, I am thinking, who has been talking to him like that? His mom and dad don't talk like that. Who has been making him feel like he is off track?...at three! And then we step onto the paved main street and he says, "Oh good we are on track." Did I mention I have learned bunches about my preconceived notions during the fair?

So after a while on track, we see where you can get cool New Mexico State Police balloons and what kid doesn't love a black balloon? It was the tag-a-kid place to make parents think their kids are safer at the fair. Will doesn't want a tag, he wants a balloon. Even when the police lady tells him how cool it is to wear one, he just wants the balloon. His mom tries to talk him into getting tagged, but he means no. So we get the black balloon and are back on track. He is a pretty observant child, but Raine and I were both astounded when he announced: "That where the horses run" when we passed the race track. She assured me we didn't have to worry unless he recognized the betting windows.

I don't quite understand the whole "show everyone" your underwear (aren't they called UNDER for a reason?) trend. But it's a big one folks, old and young, by accident and on purpose. I personally don't care what kind of underwear people have on, or if they are wearing them, but if you choose to wear your underwear where the world will see them, make sure they are not the holey kind, maybe the holy kind. But people and by that I mean girls, don't wear the ones with so many holes holding the straps and hooks it looks like it could be lace, but isn't, you worry that any minute is all going to let go! Best example? Two young girls sitting on the steps in front of the booth. One's turquoise bra is barely hanging in there, but definitely out there, when a song comes on her cell phone and she and her friend jump up and start dancing, very choreographed. In the process, she turns and I see that she is one of those very young, very pregnant girls. She has on low rider jeans -guess that eliminates any need for preggo pants! And when she sits down after the "performance" and leans forward to rest, no granny panties for her, it's a thong that shows over the top of those jeans with the word...available! on it. Huh?

A momentary fright

We took Will and baby Katie to the Hispanic Village because I finally saw something I wanted and needed to find out where I could get it. Yep, that's me, instant gratification girl. Kids kept coming by with these great parasols, which I thought were plastic. Nevertheless, I really loved how "authentic" they looked. I no longer trust the words "authentic" or "genuine," so maybe I should have said they really looked like paper parasols. I also wanted to look for the cool Day of the Dead stickers I'd seen, so off we went.

Raine had on denim long shorts and I had on denim crop pants and Will would move between us. We stopped for a second and suddenly Will was nowhere to be seen and he hadn't been tagged!! Just as my heart didn't seem to remember to beat and Raine's voice was becoming a little squeaky, we spot him a little way ahead of us. He is reaching up to hold hands with a woman in denim shorts. She is also starting to panic when we reach her. And he is just now realizing we "lost" him. Will said: "That was a different mom! " And Raine's comment was: "I am the only mother you have!" Once we all were breathing again, we trudged back to the booth. Ah what a difference a moment makes...

Say anything

The dog clothes vendor informs me early in the day, that I should be referring to dog clothes as PET ATTIRE. Okay, but when he tells me that the "technology" in this industry (pet attire) changes soooo fast, I am right back at dog clothes. He goes on to say that what was high tech in the summer, is old hat now. As I was trying to form some kind of response, he said that people's taste (in dog clothes?) changes really fast and what they would buy last year (in pet attire?) doesn't interest them now. I still haven't formulated any kind of response, but he is still talking. I decided to just stay quiet, because, well I just didn't have any words.

My new best friends, Ren and Ken are on the other side of the pet attire booth and get lots of the same questions. Do you have dog tags? Will you engrave a lighter for my boyfriend? Ken makes amazing jewelry and Ren does beautiful Chinese brush painting on interesting surfaces like newspaper or pages from a book. She told me about the absolutely most offensive comment of this whole adventure. Another vendor mentioned in the "this is not art" rant from yesterday, told them that this just wasn't their venue. Okey dokey, but then she went on to say: "We don't have many "Orientals" (her word, not mine!!) around here and that is why Ren isn't selling anything! What the ...? People actually think like that? I'm embarrassed even typing such a statement. She went on to tell Ken his displays (of black and white beans with his silver jewelry) were ugly and he shouldn't use beans to show off his jewelry. Who made her the display diva? Self appointments don't count!

I think there was some kind of invisible sign up today that said: "Say anything you want to, to anyone you want to, anytime you want to." I was told if I made "them..insert product here" diamond (or round, oval, or insert shape here) or painted them a different color or remade them, they would sell. Or if I used different images, process or blah, blah, blah. And then there was the "I love this! I love it most of all because I can do that better." Thankfully we also got the "these are so unique," "everything here is so well done" and "I haven't seen anything like these" comments. Nice balance.

As hard as it is for me to not live up to a commitment, I am not going back on Monday. Tomorrow will be the last day of the life lesson labeled "State Fair" for this year,or any year, or ever again!! From now on the mantra will be "No more state fair, no matter what!"

Leau Phillips is a mixed media artist and photographer in New Mexico. She has been persuaded to create her own blog, which may be viewed here.

Casting aspersions

For the Sunday Scribblings prompt "My name is..."

My name is aspersion and these days I am tossed about all too frequently. If you dare to publicly disagree with the current American government, it may be suggested you are unpatriotic. But true patriotism as envisioned by our forefathers involved questioning the government - not following blindly whatever direction we are led and doing whatever we are told, like sheep. The Constitution calls for a government by, of and for the people - not just a privileged few who care more about politics and making money than the country and its citizens.

In his new book, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve slams the Bush administration's economic record. He writes that Bush ignored his advice to veto "out-of-control" bills that sent the U.S. deeper into deficit. "Little value was placed on rigorous economic policy debate or the weighing of long-term consequences," he said of the Bush administration.

The Republicans deserved to lose control of Congress in last year's elections, Greenspan said. He said Republicans in Congress "swapped principle for power" and "ended up with neither."

Negative advertising and pointless exercises

Some advertising copywriter used poor judgment when writing the MoveOn.org ad that appeared last week in the New York Times and cast aspersion on the character of General Petraeus. No one believes that the general is to blame for the Bush administration's bad decisions in conducting war in Iraq. But the US Senate was ridiculous to waste time debating resolutions censoring MoveOn for the language used in the ad.

What about all the Republican-sponsored negative print ads, casting aspersions on distinguished war veterans, just because they disagree with Bush's policies? These advertisements are just as wrong-headed as when representatives in the run-up to war with Iraq decided to "punish" the French (for not rushing headlong into folly) by naming the House cafeteria menu "freedom fries," rather than French fries.

On 11 March 2003, Representatives Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-North Carolina) declared all menu references to French fries and French toast on restaurants run by the House of Representatives would be removed. House cafeterias were ordered to rename French fries as "freedom fries." This action was made without a vote, solely under Ney's authority as chairman of the Committee on House Administration, which oversees restaurant operations.

It seems our elected representatives can find time for name-calling and posturing and passing meaningless resolutions, yet little time for the things that actually matter, such as getting us out of a war and bringing our soldiers home. This week they even rejected a bill providing that our soldiers have adequate home leave between tours of duty!

The case of a missing child

My name is aspersion and oh so casually, I can ruin lives. Witness the case of the missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann, apparently kidnapped while on holiday in Portugal. After months of a convoluted Portuguese police investigation - in which the crime scene initially was not secured - suddenly the police decide to cast doubt on the child's parents. Based on some inconclusive DNA evidence, the police have named Gerry and Kate McCann as suspects in their daughter's disappearance. Both are doctors and well-respected in their home community in England. Is it not enough that they have to agonise over ways to find their missing daughter? Now they have to waste time, energy and resources defending themselves. All reports suggest the Portuguese police boggled the investigation - a police chief was even removed from the case - and are trying to save face by naming a suspect, any suspect.

On Wednesday it was announced that the McCanns would not, for the time being, face further questioning, after the Portuguese attorney general ruled that local police had not gathered enough evidence. Clarence Mitchell, a former BBC reporter who assisted the couple on behalf of the Foreign Office in May and June, announced he had given up his job to work as the McCanns' spokesman, believing them "innocent victims of a heinous crime."

Customer panic creates run on solvent bank

My name is aspersion and I can spread gossip, lies and slander in a matter of moments via the power of the worldwide web and satellite television. I can undermine reputations and create situations resulting in lawsuits. I can break up relationships and make people lose their jobs. I can instigate panic, creating a run on a solvent bank, then causing it to verge on collapse. Northern Rock, a Newcastle-based firm, was the highest-profile UK victim of the global credit crunch, triggered by the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the U.S.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King told Members of Parliament this week that it was "logical" for savers with more than £33,000 to rush to take it out, after the Bank of England was forced to give emergency financial support to Northern Rock. The crisis resulted in customers at Northern Rock branches across the country queuing to withdraw savings, fearful that the business could collapse.

The Bank of England has called for more protection for customers' savings. The current system, guaranteeing 100% of the first £2,000 and 90% of the next £31,000, contributed to this month's run on Northern Rock, says the Bank.

An embattled Financial Services Authority has promised a "root and branch" review into its handling of the Northern Rock crisis, as it emerged that over the past week the Bank of England provided a £3bn emergency line of credit to help the bank. It is the first run on a British high street bank in 150 years. On Friday, the FSA admitted "surprise" by the public's unwillingness to believe assurances given by its chairman Sir Callum McCarthy and by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that Northern Rock was solvent.

The moral of these events? Think and think again before casting aspersions. Often aspersions are dead wrong and wreak havoc with people's lives and businesses' reputations.

Photo of the French flag flying at Les Coteaux train station in St. Cloud. Photo of the Red Devil on the left of Stonegate, marking the start of Coffee Yard, in which York, England's first newspaper - with the aid of a Printer's Devil - was printed in 1719.

Treats from the Devon Guild of Craftsmen

Raku ceramics by Rob Whelpton at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen at the Riverside Mill in Bovey Tracey, England.

I like the "Alice in Wonderland" whimsy of these bottles and vessels. Alas, I don't know the name of the artist who produced them.

These felt pieces by Liz Clay made me smile. The little pointy hats adorned with colourful beads or pearls look as though they belong in Vanessa Valencia's paintings.

Paul Khosla's bowl carved from burr oak came home with us.

Birthday wishes and a rugby match

A blue thistle at Wye, England

Today I received a lovely package from Blue, which prompted me to post this photo in her honour. Merci bien, dear Gillian, for your thoughtfulness and friendship!

This is my longtime friend Linda's birthday, who along with her husband Omar (another Virgo baby), visited us in April. She's a news reporter in the US and I hope they're letting her off work to celebrate. Happy birthday, Linda!

After handily defeating Namibia in their last game, France faces a crucial test tonight against Ireland. Whichever team loses probably will be out of the Rugby World Cup competition. Allez les bleus! Update: France won 25-3!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend ahead! When you have a spare moment, check back for more posts and photos, as well as the final installment of the hilarious observations of artist Leau Phillips at the New Mexico State Fair. They don't call it the "Land of Enchantment" for nothing!

More adventures at the state fair

Photo by Leau Phillips

This is the third in a series of five pieces by Leau Phillips at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque.

You must be on the edge of your seats waiting to find out the scoop about angry hot glass lady. But before I give you the rundown of the third day of the glorious New Mexico State Fair booth saga, please indulge me while I rant.

These things ARE NOT art - in my humble but adequate opinion:
Pampered Chef or Tupperware;
Paintings done by machine and sold in every hotel lobby on any given Sunday;
Pressed jewelry imported from some place that probably uses child labor and is considered handmade
because you put on the fasteners;
Balloon bouquets;
Jars of honey, even if they put up their own fly strips!
Long straws of colored sugar or cotton candy that looks like a shawl but melts when it hits the kids
skin;
And most of all...
Anything that uses the words "canine" and "couture" together and really means it...
Not art, NOT art, not even crafts.

Location, location, location!

When you sit outside -in the sun across from a petting zoo and a pony ride, it should not be next to the exhibt hall that sells almost anything known to man most for less than a dollar. AND most importantly, grown adults who are willing to buy clothes for their dogs ARE NOT interested in buying anything that could remotely be considered art! Always ask who your neighbors will be at these events and if the words pet, tags, or doggy clothes are mentioned, just say NO people, just say no.

Whew, now I can tell you about today. I learn my lessons, I don't generally repeat my mistakes so preparation for Day 3 began like this:
Loose, baggy, light colored clothes? check
Seven water bottles frozen solid instead of the five from yesterday? check
Snacks prepared so I don't have to resort to fair food? check
Spray bottle to spray water into the fan as my own personal mister? check

So off I go and I learned a very valuable lesson right off the bat - do not put a rolling backpack on the chair you are planning to sit in wearing aforementioned light-colored clothes after rolling it through the street where they just cleaned out the stalls with power sprayers. Can you say manure tea butt?

I knew it was going to be hotter today- in the lower '90s but do they ever talk about the "concrete" factor like they do the wind chill factor? NOOOOOO, and so I am pretty sure we could have fried eggs on the sidewalks (and called it ART) most of the day. No wind, breeze, cloud cover of any kind. My dad used to talk about watching his clothes melt into polyester puddles when he came down to visit me and today, I think I actually witnessed that.

Second immediate lesson of the day: do not sharpen colored pencils with one of those crappy little uncovered pencil sharpeners that you get at 7-11 for a quarter (hey, I was desperate!) while sitting in front of a fan, in the aforementioned light-colored clothes. Learn from my mistakes. Please.

First event of this morning- and I blame this on the "concrete" factor - was an argument between the dog clothes vendors that ended with "I know marketing dude!" How much marketing do dog clothes need? 'Ya say doggie clothes and people knock each other out of the way to see what they can buy for their "babies." I wrote down the description on one of the tags so you see that I am not making this up. This is for the doggy smoking jacket from Canine Couture: "Sophisticated estate smoking jacket gives your dog a dashing look." Wouldn't just dashing around as dogs are known to do give them a dashing look? How many of them smoke? They need velvet and fur? And what kind of fur would that be?

Best quote of the day from the dog clothes booth: "Jay Leno hates it when people dress up their dogs, that's why I do it." Huh? Is he their close personal friend? Does Jay know they do this and if he does, does he really care? Oh and get this, the sizes range from Chihuahua to Terrier! Well, at least it's clever and fun to write about, eh?

There was another guy with that "strip of hair in the middle of the back of his bald head" haircut! Must be big in some part of the state; at the very least there is a gang of two. Maybe they were related? No "wife beater" teeshirt for this guy, he was fully dressed in a tee shirt that said "Old Guys Rule," with a skeleton on a motorcycle. Great shirt; weird hair.

Helping small children identify mystery popsicles

I really, really love those field trip blobs. I hesitate to take pictures of them for fear of being thought to be some kind of pervert but I wish you could see all those darling faces dripping with Popsicle juice and dirt and maybe even a little bit of what they just fed the animals. Popsicle du jour was this "bomb pop" that is shaped like a bullet and is red, then white and ends with blue. I asked several children covered in said juice what flavors the colors represented and most said "sweet." Freeze sugar, keep kids entertained. One mom did guess cherry for the red, but her kid said nope, not cherry just sweet! Out of the mouths of babes.

Outside the petting zoo are these "portable rest stops" - no, not bathrooms but places to wash up. They bring huge barrels of water in the morning and fill them. The sign on them says "Do not drink the water." So how is it that it's okay to wash your hands in it? What if you put your hands in your mouth by accident? Then where do you go to wash off what you just washed your hands in? Anyway, they are foot pump operated; you have to pump for a few seconds, then water starts to flow. But you must then keep pumping to get these little spurts of water to finish washing ONLY your hands.

Back to the field trip darlings, most of them don't have the height or body weight to keep this kind of a system going, so they spent a lot of time trying to pump and then jump up to get their tiny little very dirty sticky hand into the tiny little stream of water. Maybe that's why the field trip blobs are so entertaining to me, the side show!

Most interesting outfit today? A teenage girl in those low rider jeans that barely cover anything with a GIANT belt buckle that was too heavy for the belt and the jeans and kept falling forward so that the jeans were close to obscene. She had quite the following. I was worried she would be falling forward at any minute and experiencing that "concrete" factor up close and personally.

Unusual tattoo of the day: entire chest of crosses at odd angles (I first thought they were daggers) just above the top of a tank top and up to the middle of her neck. She also was wearing a gold lame "sweatshirt" or hoody thingy that came to her midriff. Are they still for warmth at that point or just looks? So are they "sweatless shirts?" I'm telling you, I am not so sure there are any mirrors in New Mexico.

Because of the heat, I spent a lot of time today observing flies at the fair; there are lots and lots of them across from the petting zoo and pony rides. There are three basic kinds of flies at the fair: Little tiny jumping/flying ones that I am hoping are flies and not fleas; regular ones that I have at home and then there are these enormous ones that a friend tells me are deer flies or horse flies. These babies could have their own zip code. You can hear them coming and I have this momentary panic - we are very close to an air force base - before I realize it is those flies. They are bigger than those giant bumblebees and not as leisurely about the flight pattern and I really think they must have a command headquarters somewhere on the fair grounds. I was gonna try to photograph them but that would have required walking into the "concrete" factor and I was not willing to do that. I just hope Popsicle juice isn't on their list of required targets.

Today was also memo day at the fair, one from the "arts & crafts" (and I use that term VERY lightly) organizer and an official one from THE State Fair. In part it said "The Fair does not condone the sale of products that may be deemed as objectionable, offensive, or in poor taste." I don't think THE State Fair folks have ever been inside their exhibit hall! While I know mops or brooms are not considered objectionable by anyone but me, I am pretty sure a teeshirt with (...I am trying to figure out how to say this tastefully...I got it!) a graphic depiction of Family Jewels, showing generous balls encrusted with genuine, imitation diamonettes isn't all that tasteful. And while it wasn't exactly life size (or maybe it was if you read all those ads in your spam box) it was unmistakable. I said to the kid wearing it, "I think that would be pretty painful...in real life." He looked at me like I had lost my mind and said "What are you talking about?" I couldn't answer, maybe it wasn't what it looked like to me? Nah, that's what it was, I would recognize them anywhere. This isn't my first state fair, people!

Angry Hot Glass Lady

Before I tell you about the other memo, you need to know about the angry hot glass lady (hereafter known as AHGL) in order for it to make sense. Just as I had finished setting up the booth the first day, a car comes screeching into the area, proudly proclaiming itself to be an "Art Car." It looked really cool, with stuff glued all over it (turned out to be toy soldiers and baby bottle nipples..huh?) and a vanity plate that read "Ht Glass Ldy." A woman jumps out, cursing and carrying on, to use a good Southern phrase, at the world and everyone else and the arts and crafts organizer in particular. Thus began the saga of the Angry Hot Glass Lady.

Apparently she didn't have her entry passes or parking pass (we didn't get ours either) and the gate people weren't going to let her in and she was late and blah blah blah. She starts slamming things out of her car because it is almost time to clear the street and open. She rants and raves and starts setting up her booth. Now her company isn't called Hot Glass Lady, but she does do glass mosaics and it is handmade and definitely art. Day one progresses and she rants and raves with colorful expletives off and on during the day. Then she does Tai Chi with a cigarette break in the afternoon. Day Two rolls around and she is getting angrier and angrier. It was kind of scary, but as she is a couple of booths down, it is more of an entertainment than a concern.

Evening falls and she is way over the top mad at everything and everyone and then Mister AHGL shows up! With friends! And she is a happy camper. So she closes up her booth and starts off with said company. Here comes the arts and crafts organizer, at a trot. "You can't close yet!" And boy oh boy does AHGL go wild and now we know (and so does the rest of the entire fair I'm guessing) that she is so upset that no one has bought anything from her and she is in a rotten location and the people around her are not artists and this ^&*^$*(@% fair sucks. She sends Mister AHGL and friends off and tells them, at the top of her lungs, she will join them..if she can. One of the other vendors told me "she expresses her emotions quicker than most of us." Nicely put, eh?

So today's memo from the organizer says: "...as we all know the fair attendance is down this year, but let's keep our positive attitudes going," and goes on to say: "what the fair expects from us... booths across from the petting zoo and horse rides do not close any earlier than 8 p.m." We all laugh that nervous kind of laugh when you see a train wreck about to happen and can't do anything about it. We are hoping that the Tai Chi will help. But what if the Tai Chi IS helping? Gulp.

To my surprise, AHGL comes up with a brilliant plan to draw people into her booth. Earlier in the day she drug a woman in and then drug her back out into the street so she could appreciate her glass pieces in the sun. That didn't work like she planned... But her new plan is brilliant. She started to make balloon hats/animals to draw in the kids who bring their parents with them. Organizer says sure, that's fine. AHGL makes and sells 15 or so hats/animals to small children. Organizer comes running over and tells her to stop, it is distracting from the sale of ART (see list at top of post for what she considers art). What sales? I had had one by then.

We wait for the explosion we know is bound to come. Nothing...nothing from AHGL at all! We wait, in the heat and concrete like we were at the Ok Corral. We wait, trying to get each other to go find out what is happening. Finally Ken goes and low and behold AHGL has sold her most expensive piece and isn't angry any more! Almost everything she said was right, but wowsers, there has got to be a better way to say it. We are across from the petting zoo and pony rides! So all's well that ends well? We'll see what tomorrow brings for AHGL and company.

In closing, on day three, I met some really wonderful artists and made some great connections. So short term, not so profitable; long term, good prospects. Had great conversations with like-minded people. I found this great quote by Edward deBono: "Humor is by far the most significant activity of the human brain."

And my tee shirt for the day would read:
2 Hot
2 Draw
4 U
2 day.

Leau Phillips is a mixed media artist and photographer in New Mexico. She has been persuaded to create her own blog, so her hilarious observations of ordinary life will stop taking up so much space in Paris Parfait. Once Leau's blog is launched, it will be announced to much fanfare. So watch this space! If you missed parts one and two of Leau's series, read them here and here.

Syann van Niftrik's delicate sculptures

This "Siren" mild steel sculpture by Syann van Niftrik is priced at £600 at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen at Riverside Mill in Bovey Tracey, England. It reminds me of a more sophisticated version of the Slinky toys!

Syann van Niftrik's "Search" is for sale for £760 at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen. The Dutch-born artist lives in England.

Syann van Niftrik calls this steel sculpture "Thirty-nine." It is priced at £360. She also makes contemporary jewelery of silver and gold, including articulated necklaces and bracelets. Besides England, van Niftrik's work is sold at various galleries and other venues in Scotland, Wales, Holland, France, Japan and the United States.

This selection of pottery is currently for sale at the Devon Guild. While the pottery pictured was produced by Svend Bayer, Syann van Niftrik is a ceramics graduate from the Johannesburg Art College in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A special brocante at Vanves

   MARCHÉ AUX PUCES
DE LA PORTE DE VANVES 

      BROCANTE EXCEPTIONNELLE

le Vendredi 28 septembre

de 7 h à 15 h

200 Brocanteurs de province et de l'étranger présenteront leurs plus récentes trouvailles. Chineurs, marchands, curieux et amateurs se presseront dès 7 h pour y dénicher l’objet de leurs rêves.

et tous les weekends -av. Georges Lafenestre, av. Marc Sangnier et av. Maurice d'Ocagne - Paris 14ème.
http://www.pucesdevanves.typepad.com/
Métro: Porte de Vanves ou Porte d'Orléans
Autobus: 28 - 38 - 48 - 58 - Tramway T3
Parkings: Porte de Châtillon et Malakoff

Day two of fun at the fair

Photos by Paula Scott

In the second of a four-part series, Leau Phillips writes about her observations on day two at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque:

Well boys and girls, today was a much shorter day, only 11 hours, but a much hotter day so I guess that evens it out. And we sold three things, so we doubled our sales!! Oh what I would have given for just a small amount of the cloud cover we had yesterday.

Also, mystery solved from yesterday i.e. big families, many teenagers...it was dollar day! So of course if you have ten children, you go when you can pay $1 for each of them as opposed to $7 (ridiculous, eh?) for each of them.

Now on to today's big adventure. It wasn't the crowds we had yesterday, in fact it was downright slow, no small (or large) child rode a pony for almost two hours, but I still managed to have a good time people-watching.

Most of my observations today were about what folks were wearing since I could clearly see each and every person that came by. Now, you know that I love me some camouflage but when did it become the pattern du jour? I kept track of each and every new color combo I saw just to share with you. By far the most surprising was the red, white and blue...just where could you wear that to blend in? Washington?

And then there was the darling little girl who had on a fluffy skirt and jacket in a camo print of purple, lavender, cream and tan. Accessories included matching purple cowboy boots...and she could take cover in what hostile territory? The Gap? Barney's neck of the woods? She was with a friend who had on a camo hat (in the standard colors, could blend in jungle terrain, was even made like the hats that soldiers wear), but to girl-ify it, she had carefully placed one of those halos made out of glittery tinsel, flowers and streamers. I guess that wins Best Juxtaposition of the Day.

Another favorite was the small girl dressed for all intents and purposes as a cowboy down to the boots and then topped off the outfit with a gold lame belly dancer belt with coins hanging off of it. Or the small child wearing a "flower girl" dress in red and black lace with small girl high heels. Sweet!! Or should I say sweat?

Adults were not much better: one woman had on a tank top and shorts and then those leggings that stop at your ankle and flip flops! It was 86 degrees at that point. And you know those "Gone but not Forgotten" tee shirts we seem to be so fond of in New Mexico? Lots of those today, including one that didn't have the person's name, but a huge Our Lady of Guadalupe on the back and a truck on the front. Is the truck not forgotten? Or is the virgin gone? Confused me.

Then there was the very burly man with his "wife beater" tee shirt ( skinny, white, ribbed, with small almost spaghetti straps - Archie Bunker or Ralph Cramden?) who is in the process of getting some sort of massive tatoo on each shoulder and had no hair on his head EXCEPT for a little 4" long, maybe 1" wide strip right in the middle of his head, where the hair was long enough to hang down his back. I didn't take his picture..I was scared!

But my favorite accessories of the day were magnificent crowns made by preschoolers out of construction paper and adorned with cut outs of farm animals they had colored themselves. Priceless. They were all so proud.

To understand this next set of accessories, you should first know that it was law enforcement day at the fair. Most local, state and some federal officers had all their "toys" lining main street of the fair grounds. Some very clever children (of all ages) figured out the CAUTION: CRIME SCENE tape would make great belts. So here they came, the funniest/best being a kid who had on those huge baggy shorts that are soooo popular (You know the "you know you are from NM if your son's back pockets are behind his knees" kind). So picture it: black tee shirt that doesn't come to the top of the shorts, white boxers hanging out and a CAUTION tape trying its best to hold up the shorts that have become "longs" because they are six to seven sizes too big! I wanted to follow him around to see how long he could wear that plastic tape around that very sensitive area it was resting on without getting a heat rash that might be hard to explain.

In that same vein, a very daring young girl had placed the DANGER!! BIOHAZARD!! orange tape across her chest like a beauty queen. Miss BioHazard 2007? No second term for her!

Because it was law enforcement day, we didn't see even one state policeman and the security people barely gave us a glance. However about 2:30, the Gang Suppression Unit from APD came over and hung out at the pony rides, because that is where the gangs are known to congregate, 'ya know? They must have heard about the gobs of blobs of preschoolers that invaded in the morning - each child dressed in the same color with signs on their shirts. Acoma Head Start isn't exactly a major threat, but we were well protected from them in the afternoon.

The law enforcement day ended with the helicopter taking off above the pony rides, like they didn't know that would kick up tons of dust and other not so nice things! But they looked cool, right? Law enforcement-like even.

I got to look around more today, thanks to having a partner help out with the booth. So I went wild and went to the Agricultural building, Natural Sciences, the Exhibit Hall and the Hispanic Cultural building. That's where our friend Louise's quilts were exhibited, because she won both the first and third prize. Her quilts are fabulous! And they had a whole category for Day of the Dead art. It was really amazing. The guard - yes they had security - followed me around so I didn't take any pictures inside, but trust me, it was spectacular.

Best quote in the Agricultural Building at the miniature train exhibit:

Beautiful small girl: It is NOT a railroad, it is a choo, choo.
Charming small boy: Mom isn't this a railroad? (Yes, it's a railroad)
Beautiful small girl: Mom, (different mom, of course) Can a choo choo be a railroad too?

Best quote at the dog clothes booth (today they brought in their Christmas line!): "I try to dress my
dogs up but they don't like it!" Uh, duh (my editorial comment)!

Oddest purchase at the dog clothes booth: The woman who bought a dog collar for her daughter - wait for it -Princess Kiara. Even the vendor laughed at that.

Biggest surprise of the day: A woman who visited the dog clothes vendor several times then, left the fair and came back at closing (paying yet another $7/person and again for parking) to bring her dog and LET HIM TRY ON THE CLOTHES!! Yes folks, that surprised even me! BTW, he hated everything and wouldn't even keep the smoking jacket or uggs (is that how you spell those ugly boots with too much fur?) on for a second! How ungrateful...

Oddest tattoo of the day: Nursing mother with yet nother newborn attached with "Afraid of the dark" just above her cleavage. What does that mean? Am I missing something here?

In the Natural Sciences building, I got a skull on a stick (a fan warning folks about abandoned mines). I saw a sad little black-throated humming bird in a small netted space. More mad than sad. As a red head, I get dive-bombed by hummers all the time and this one seemed determined to have a drink on me. I felt really bad for him, but still didn't stand too close or take any pictures, just in case.

Oddest statement of the day: "Don't break anything, I don't want to have to buy that shit."

Because I went through the Exhibit Hall, I can tell you what I don't want and won't buy at the fair: A giant pimp hat in hot pink (or turquoise or lime green) leopard print with boa trim. Or a Russian nesting dog of the Chicago Bulls. Or an enameled Jesus on dog tags or really anything enameled on dog tags. Or do-rags with butterflies and puppies on them (not thatI would buy a do-rag, but if I did, it would have a Harley or skulls or something tough on it). Or a giant Sponge Bob Square Pants belt buckle. Or any jewelry labeled "genuine or authentic" that was only a dollar. Or wooden roses of any color that were licorice-scented.

So I am off for tonight and will be back in the trenches tomorrow and may get to see the State Fair Queen (in full regalia) driving a golf cart again or really find out for sure if state fair food smells better than it tastes -it sure did today!

Full story about very angry hot glass lady tomorrow!! Read Part One of Leau's series here.

Leau Phillips is a mixed media artist and photographer. In her spare time, she helps small children identify mystery popsicles (story on Friday).

A day at the fair

Check out the eyelashes on this beauty! Photo of pgymy zebra by Leau Phillips.

Remember as a child what a big deal the state fair was? When my friend Leau Phillips emailed daily accounts of running an art booth at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque, first I laughed at her often hilarious observations. Then I asked if she would share her amusing reports with my readers. Here's her account of day one at the fair:

The state fair is undoubtedly one of the best places for people watching. Since I was there for more than 12 hours, across from the petting zoo and near the pony rides, I had plenty of time to watch!

Oddest question of the day: "You don't use crystals in your work? I would have thought you would use
crystals?"

Oddest accessory of the day: Two six guns in a grandma's back pockets under her red belt and purse. We are hoping they were the kids' guns and fake!

Biggest surprise of the day: A ZEBRA in the petting zoo, a pygmy zebra with the longest eyelashes and the
funniest whinny!

Other surprises:

1. The number of NEWBORN babies at the fair, in the sun and in the petting zoo! Who raised those mothers?

2. The number of very pregnant, very YOUNG girls traveling in packs...field trip? Who knows, they increased as the day got later.

3. How many young families have more than three kids (the fair's day of home school field trips?) The winner was a group of ten, all girls in pink teeshirts with their age on them! Most had four or more kids...who knew that was the trend?

4. Blue jeans come in lots and lots of sizes. More than I could possibly imagine.

5. By 5 p.m., even the Popsicles that might be banana (bright yellow) looked fabulous and if even one of those kids carrying them had come close to me, he would have lost his, even if the tongue was attached. It was hot, people!!

6. By 6 p.m., even fair food begins to smell really, really good. Even the smell of steak on a stick smelled good. Fortunately, I got over that when I got hotter.

Weirdest request of the day: A woman came several times to look at a mixed media piece of Paula's. She finally came late in the day with her mother and thought maybe if they "pushed" the picture out and painted it black, they could use the frame! When they saw the price, they decided it was too much to pay for a frame. "Would I lower the price since that was what they were going to do?" I said, "No, go to Hobby Lobby!"

Funniest juxtaposition: Angry Hot Glass Lady (another story altogether!) doing Tai Chi in the middle of the crowd and stopping to take a drag off her cigarette!

Favorite tattoo of the day: Two lip prints (kisses) behind the ear of a man with bushy, bushy brown sideburns and absolutely no other hair on his head.

Granny, get your gun??!! Click photo to view detail of the guns in her back pockets.

Things I learned at the fair (day one):

1. Some people will say anything - "It's too hot to look at this junk." "Your sign says free engraving, will you engrave something I bought somewhere else?"

2. Children are jaded earlier and earlier - " I've seen a zebra - they are at the zoo 'ya know," spoken by a four-year-old.

3. Not every child WANTS to ride a pony. 'Nuff said.

4. People will buy anything for their dogs. Flip flops, bathrobes, football jerseys, ANYTHING. Trust me, they were right next to me.

5. Along that line, grown adults, moms and dads, people who are supposed to have good sense will pay $8 (yes, eight, VIII dollars) to have their faces painted or in some cases their nose or one eyebrow. ADULTS I'm telling you. And then there was the state fair employee who had what looked like ahem, a key part of the male anatomy painted in blue on each side of her face. I kinda stared each time she passed and finally had to ask her and when she faced foward and announced it was Blue from "Blue's Clues," I could, of course, see that - NOT!

6. Small girls should not be given duck call whistles- ever.

7. Boys, after a certain age, MUST spit, even if said luggies will land just where their next step will be. Men are equally as bad at this, but generally turn their heads instead of the middle school spit forward. Is this some kind of marking their territory? Do they just have more mucus? Don't get it and have seen it many other places...hmm?

8. Before 4 p.m., I was way too well-dressed, after 4, I was a complete schmuck. There is no way to compete in the glamour department with preteen and teenage girls. I need more glitz, bling and then there is that preggo belly - oh wait, I have that.

9. For every well-behaved, polite child who doesn't touch before they ask, stays with their parents and is pleasant (what a joy), there are 10 to 12 that run wild, touch everything with sticky fingers and pick up stuff to take to show their parents (I use the term lightly) who are talking with their schoolmates and don't have time to see to their children (the result of all those preggo bellies!) In some cases, it was so sad to see these darling children practically begging someone to pay attention to them.

10. There are an equal number of older (older than me even!!) adults that run wild, touch everything with their sticky fingers and pick up and drop things they look at. These misguided souls say things like, "Hey what are ya gonna do, I'm old, I deserve to act this way!" In what universe??!!

11. NM State police can actually run in those Nazi-like black uniforms. On that line, it takes a considerable number of security "guards" to keep the fair safe. AKAL was everywhere the whole day. One even walked me to the gate.

So there ya go, day one. I look forward to tomorrow! Oh and we sold one thing, six whole dollars' worth. Off to a great start!

Leau Phillips is a mixed media artist and photographer. She has been creating art since she could hold scissors and rub glue on her fingers. Her father called her "the cut-and-paste queen."

Transcending time

Photograph of funeral stone at the Institut de l'Monde Arabe, Paris by Jordana Shalhoub

For the Writers Island prompt, "The Gift:"

These linked poems were inspired by this remarkably-preserved stone funeral heart that has withstood ravages of many centuries. While writing the poems, "sailing on a new ocean," a line from a piece by Kristen Robinson leapt to mind and was incorporated within the poems. These are rough drafts, as thanks to guests, I've had little time to myself when I'm not exhausted; therefore, not in full creative mode.

True love never dies

So strong was their love
that when she died he carved a stone heart
and placed it in her tomb for comfort in the afterlife;
an eternal reminder that love transcends lifetimes
and would be theirs again.

The hearts survived centuries intact
both the stone one and the beating one
that fluttered in recognition
when she walked into the room
in another country in another lifetime.

And her heart skipped a beat
when their eyes met,
subconsciously remembering
what the mind forgot:
ancient promises indelibly written in her bones.

All familiar terrain
yet unchartered territory
sailing on a new ocean
mapped via the heart's compass
finding her home in his embrace.

Transcending time

Look deep into her eyes
you'll notice the sadness
like a faint shadow

that follows her everywhere
unbidden reminder of a love so powerful
everything else pales in comparison

for a brief shining moment
their joy blazed a trail of stars
like a comet streaking across the heavens

Su destino*
he murmured to himself
the moment their eyes met

She smiled in recognition
as the spark caught fire
that would carry them far

and sustain them
those long months, years even
when they were worlds apart

sailing on different oceans
but never forgetting
the true measure of love

cannot be diluted
by time or distance or circumstance
Hearts always know

what's sacred and true
No substitutes acceptable
for the real thing

A flame steadily burning
sometimes brightening
occasionally dimming

forever evolving, transcending time

*Spanish for "It's destiny."

The art of carbon footprints

The Devon Guild of Craftsmen at Riverside Mill, Bovey Tracey, England is set next to a swiftly-moving stream. The soil's high iron content turns the water a brownish-red. The gallery on the edge of Dartmoor National Park is showing selections from area artists and craftsmen created for the "Carbon Footprint" theme competition.

The entry of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen features a patio with bamboo and Japanese maple trees planted in pots handmade by local potters.

Carbon footprints suspended from the ceiling trace a path throughout the gallery space.

Tim Smit's trio of bowls was awarded the prize for the best interpretation of the theme "Carbon Footprint." Smit is chief executive of The Eden Project in Cornwall.

Malcolm Law created this "Ark Shanghaied" piece of stoneware with velvet underglaze colours and gold and platinum lustres.

Jan Truman's beaded wirework "Nexus Aerial Sculpture" is priced at £1,200. I could see this suspended from my dining room ceiling.

Series of five tiles by Lynn Bailey.

Roots both actual and a carbon print by Susan Deakin.

Flat-back urns and jugs by Terri Holman.

This pile of 17 peeled beechwood branches with charred ends was created by Carl Hahn. His philosophy attached to the project? "I can't make anything as beautiful as this." The driftwood is for sale for £4,200.

"Musicalis Prostheticus" and "Two Men in a Boat" clocks by Rose Emerson. The pottery was created by Nick Rees.

A rug woven of natural fibers and coloured with vegetable dyes.

"The Horseman" and "Mandarin Shadow Puppets" were created by Jenny Kyle.

Tony Mann's "Mineral, Vegetable and Animal" contribution is priced at £960. One mother let her young child turn the handle over and over again, as if it were a toy.

Ceramics by Taja: "The Beginning;" "Song of the Blackbird" and "Rain."

"Textile Treat" hanging banner by Penelope Florance. The panels are fashioned of machine-embroidered leather, suede and silk. The piece sells for £1,900.

"Hanging by a Thread," Peet Leather, priced at £1,680. John Donne's "No Man Is An Island" poem hangs to the right of this piece. Visit again soon for more art from the Devon Guild's revolving collection.

It's the berries!

Photo of late summer berries growing near the city walls in York, England.

"It's the berries!" Did you ever know anyone who actually used that expression? Me neither. But it popped into my head when posting this photo. For the past week it's been cool and fall-like. Suddenly, it's warm and sunny, like summer's last gasp. No wonder I have a migraine, with such abrupt temperature changes. For all you Under the Microscope fans, Rel and his wife Diane arrived safely in Paris yesterday. He phoned to say they are in a nice hotel in an interesting area and he'd already exhausted his camera's batteries, snapping photos of a youth rally/demonstration (luckily he has extra batteries). And David and I will be seeing them in person Wednesday night.

Speaking of my husband, he arrived from China this morning. Thankfully, he didn't buy any cheesy cheap souvenirs (other than for his office staff). And Elisa, my Italian friend from Spanish class in Seville, arrives this afternoon from Milan. She will be teaching Italian at a language school here. With the Rugby World Cup underway, she's having trouble finding accommodations, so she is our guest for awhile.

Hope you're all having a good weekend! Tonight after the chef's famous roast chicken, we'll be cheering on France as they play Namibia. A victory is crucial for France to remain in the Rugby World Cup competition. Allez les bleus!

Rocking the cradle

The Sunday Scribblings prompt is"collector personality." But you've already read quite a bit about my collections of everything from Madonna crowns and religious icons to books. So I thought I'd venture further afield (plus I have a raging migraine and can't sit at the computer longer than strictly necessary). These photographs are of a small portion of the extensive collection "From the Cradle to the Grave" at the Castle Museum, York, England. Christening gifts, handmade lace gowns, baby bunting, cradles and bassinets are among the "cradle" section of the exhibit.

York School student samplers circa 1785 by Ann and Rachel Nevins.

An English sampler from 1788.

Sisters made these samplers featuring verse in 1845 and 1834. Click photos to view detail.

Vendredi et La Poste

After returning from the airport Wednesday, I went into Jordana's bedroom to find her much-loved childhood toys arranged on her bed (which made me even more teary, after saying goodbye earlier). From left, they are Snuggle (wearing his outfit the budding seamstress made at age three), Paddington Bear (a gift from a friend in London); Glowy (she's had since her first birthday; when you hug him tight, he glows with light) and Gund (her first stuffed bear, a gift from Heidi, my best friend in New York).

Hooray, it's Friday, right? Normally I would agree. But so far my day is best described like one of Jordana's favourite childhood books Alexander Tara and the No Good Really Horrible Very Bad Day. Quel surprise, most of the angst is down to French bureaucracy and the infuriating snideness and pompous attitude of certain male officials, who absolutely revel in wielding power. If I'd been in America, I would have made a fuss and insisted on my rights. Here, I'd be wasting my breath. And do not get me started about a certain American president and his deluded plans for victory in Iraq unless you want to hear my screams of frustration across the Atlantic! Ok, deep breaths, d-e-e-p cleansing breaths. There, that's better.

You know what a book fiend I am. Becky Ramsey's book French by Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France is about her family's experiences in Clermont-Ferrand. I've just skimmed through a few paragraphs and it looks like a really fun read - adventures good and bad, viewed (by necessity in France) with a delightful sense of humour. Becky very kindly offered to send the book, as my blog prompted memories of her life in France.

Then there's Karen DeGroot Carter's One Sister's Song. Several months ago, Karen asked if I'd like a copy of her book. I forgot all about it, until a couple of weeks ago. Seems the package arrived months earlier, but a substitute gardien received the delivery. She put it on top of a filing cabinet in the building office. Apparently the package then fell behind the cabinet, to be rediscovered only when the cabinet was moved to vacuum! After all that drama, I'm so excited to read this story of a biracial woman returning to her hometown as guardian to her young nephew. When preparing to sell her sister's old farmhouse "a series of discoveries forces her to rethink everything she's ever assumed about love, race and respect," according to the back cover. I can't wait to curl up on the sofa and start reading! Thank you, ladies!

Yes, it's almost that time again! The 75th Foire Nationale aux Antiquites, a la Brocante et aux Jambons at Chatou. Tickets arrived yesterday from one of my favourite antique dealers, Blandine Bavoux. And my blogging friend Di of Designers' Block UK will be coming along on opening day, September 28. The brocante runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day through October 7. If traveling by train, take the RER A1 direction Saint-Germain-en-Laye to Rueil-Malmaison or Chatou-Croissy and walk to the Ile de Chatou.

Tulle and ribbon-wrapped packages from my dear friend Kristen Robinson. Her work - including this gorgeous necklace - has recently been featured in several magazines. I'm happy to say, I am now the proud owner! And the adorable bracelet was a gift from Kristen. Both items arrived nestled inside elegant black tulle.

Judie of A Little Room for Art thoughtfully sent these two postcards of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which connects St. Petersburg and Bradenton, Florida. The first card was printed in 1954 when the bridge was built. In 1980, a freighter collided with the pier support on the southbound span, causing a Greyhound bus and six cars to plunge into the water. The second card features a photo of the new bridge, completed in 1987, at a cost of $244 million. Judie said the design is inspired by a bridge a former Florida governor saw during a visit to France!

Sam, a very kind reader from New Zealand, sent some lovely photos of four churches grouped in and around Leeston, New Zealand. Merci bien, Sam!

Even the smallest kindness matters

How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. - George Washington Carver

My cousin Glennie died this week. I didn't know her well, seeing her infrequently over the years at family reunions and funerals. But she made an impact on my life. When I was a young girl in a small town, Glennie - who was near my mother's age - was different than other family members. In a gathering full of adults, she took the time to ask my cousin Susan and me questions about what we wanted to do with our lives. She listened as though what we had to say mattered and acted as though whatever we wanted was possible. She told us we should think beyond the confines of our environment. She paid attention to little things and wasn't afraid to say what she thought.

Glennie was witty, chatty and opiniated, with high standards. She had her own unique style, wearing red lipstick and taking pride in dressing well. Later in life, she played tennis in stifling summer heat wearing slacks, but didn't care what anybody thought. Sometimes misunderstood by people around her, Glennie had a big and generous heart. She raised two sons, Billy and Terry, on whom she doted. Her husband Bill died from emphysema some time ago and life wasn't always easy for Glennie. But she never stopped thinking positively or trying new things to make life a little more interesting.

Thank you, Glennie, for encouraging a young girl's dreams. Your many acts of kindness mattered.

A time for reflection

Photo of keyhole window and arch at a Paris mosque by Jordana Shalhoub.

In much of the world, today marks the beginning of Ramadan, a 30-day period for fasting, reflection, prayer and charity. The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, also began this week. I am neither Muslim nor Jewish, but my hope is that each religion - including Christianity - shuns the politics of division and looks to the true meaning of their faiths, to forge a path of reconciliation and peace. This is particularly important in Jerusalem and in the West Bank and Gaza, where Arabs and Israelis share a long and troubled history. I've written this previously, but it bears repeating: the late King Hussein of Jordan and Yitzhak Rabin of Israel ultimately came to the same conclusion - either the Arabs and Israelis learn to live together, or they will die together. This philosophy applies to us all.

Perhaps during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslim clerics will reiterate that the policies of killings, kidnappings, suicide bombings and sectarian violence adopted by extremist and terrorist groups - in the name of Islam - go against every single tenet of Islam. Those people who perpetuate violent and deadly acts around the world are criminals and murderers, not martyrs destined for heavenly reward. No religion endorses such barbarous and inhuman behaviour.

Peace. Paix. Assalam alaikum. Shalom. Paz. Vrede. Pace. Frieden.

Wild horses

Wild horses on the moors at Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. Sheep also roam freely here.

Today I took my daughter Jordana to the airport. We've had such a wonderful two-plus weeks, it was hard to say goodbye. And there were a few frantic moments when both of us thought we missed that opportunity, due to security measures preventing ticketed passengers from exiting into the terminal. Eventually we met at passport control. As usual, I couldn't suppress a few tears.

Jordana is in her last year in college now, successfully following her own path. Much of her time in Paris has been spent in various museums, bookstores and a mosque, conducting research, photographing Islamic art and collecting fabric samples for the collection she will design. And of course there was shopping, always shopping. We stayed up late into the night chatting and watching DVDs while she sewed or embroidered and I helped scan documents or print photographs for her project.

Jordana has had to be very strong and independent, with David and me an ocean away. I have to say that I am knocked out by the wise and wonderful young woman she has become. I have learned so much from her. In case you didn't notice, I am a proud mom! Alas, we were so busy photographing everything else, we forgot to take pictures of each other. In any event, Jordana will be home in December; not long now!

Ever since we returned from holiday in England, I've been busy - first with guests, then with my daughter. I've afraid I've been remiss in responding to email and comments and in keeping up with other blogs. Yet I still have a packed schedule: routine doctors' appointments; a houseguest from Italy and visits from more blogging friends, as well as late-September brocante events at Chatou and at Vanves. In addition, I have hundreds of photos to upload, several posts and articles to write and -what I'm really supposed to be doing with my time - finish the book! So please bear with me while I practice my juggling skills.

Thank you all for the thoughtful birthday wishes! You - and Jordana - helped make it a very special day! Happy fall (or requiem, as my poetic friend Maddie prefers)!

Arabian nights

"Preparatifs du mariage de la fille du cherif a Tangier" by Jose Tapiro y Boera (1830-1913) from the book Broderies Marocaines by Isabelle Denamur.

For the inaugural prompt at Writers Island, prose suggesting "an imaginery life:"

In an imaginery life, I am a singer with an astonishing vocal range like Umm Kalthoum. My voice sweeps high above the plantiff chords of the oud and the driving beat of the drum. The poignant lyrics make grown men weep with memories of times past and invoke intense emotions of longing and regret amongst all my listeners. Kings and presidents come to my performances and issue intriguing invitations.

But I choose to live simply in a small villa by the sea, where I spend my time practicing music and preparing for my next performance. Men come to call bearing dazzling jewels, delicate silks and extraordinary gifts, promising their undying passion. Yet my heart belongs to one with twinkling blue eyes in a foreign land. To lessen the pain of his absence, I take long walks by the sea, imagining our reunion. Such pent-up emotion is released in my performance each night. Then I return home to dream of his return.

In a heartbeat I'd trade it all - the fame, the jewels, the dinars - for a peaceful life singing only to the man I love. He is my destiny, long-ago written in the stars. And all the storm-tossed seas and strong winds swirling around us can't diminish that truth. Someday we will be together and my joyous heart will give thanks to the heavens. Until then, I sing for you.

Another birthday

...and I am counting my blessings. Even though my husband is in China, he left me a gorgeous bouquet of my favourite white roses, among other things. But Jordana is here to celebrate; we shall indulge ourselves!

Turns out quite a few blogging friends are Virgos (or Libras with late September birthdays). The names that immediately come to mind are Dana (September 11); Kristen and Amber (Sept. 15); Regina (Sept. 16), Janet (Sept. 21), Tammy (Sept. 24), Scott, Deirdre, Nina and Chantal. And I missed these special days: Beverly (Sept. 3), Caty (Sept. 6) and Stephanie (Sept. 7). No doubt I'm forgetting others - a sign of aging, if ever there was one! Bon anniversaire les tous!

A taste of Topsham

Artful presentation and delicious food at The Gallery, 41 Fore Street, Topsham, England. Pictured is the "Calypso experience," a delicious seafood melange, perfectly seasoned. Mark Wright and Paul da Costa Greaves' award-winning restaurant features fresh seafood and organic ingredients. The restaurant also offers local products, including organic chocolate and Luscombe of Buckfastleigh organic lemonade, ginger beer and juices. David and I have dined at The Gallery on three separate trips and been impressed by the wonderful food and excellent service. If you're ever in the area, make sure to have a meal here; you won't be disappointed.

A local artist created this "Grandpa" in the ladies' room at The Gallery. It can be rather startling for unsuspecting patrons who open the door and see this lifesized man sitting atop a wine barrel.

The River Exe estuary at Topsham in Devon, England.

A tiled map of the River Exe and surrounding area on the side of a former waterfront warehouse. The building has been converted into an antiques store. Of course I went shopping! I found a beautiful handmade lace collar and some interesting African postage stamps.

Boats on the River Exe.

A mural on a Topsham building depicts the influence of the fishing industry.

A grouping of flowers and a vintage watering can in downtown Topsham.

Shop windows featuring toys and local products, as well as driftwood and shells.

The Vestry Room was built in 1866 and is now a private residence and office building.

The St. Nicholas Methodist Church in Topsham.

Chanel, Gaultier and jewelry

The latest updates to the Chanel windows on rue Cambon, Paris.

A fuschia wool boucle coat is belted and worn with over-the-knee boots.

Blanket-plaid, gold chains and pearls and camellias in Chanel's fall-winter collection.

Plaid is popular in Paris fall and winter fashions. This photo shows a vitrine in another store on rue Cambon.

On Friday, Jordana and I visited the Jean-Paul Gaultier "Defile" exhibition at the Musee de la Mode et du Textile, Musee des les Arts Decoratifs, Paris. The elaborately-designed clothes and costumes are the result of a ten-year collaboration between Gaultier and dance choreographer Regine Chopinot. Chopinot donated costumes Gaultier designed between 1983-1994 to the museum's permanent collection. No photographs were allowed, hence the above borrowed from a French fashion layout.

We also visited the jewlery collection, which featured some of the most astonishingly beautiful pieces either Jordana or I have seen. Again, photographs were forbidden, but I managed to sneak in a few, sans flash. While the photographs are not the best quality, at least you can get an idea of the unique workmanship involved in each piece. This comb is studded with diamonds and cabuchon emerald scarabs.

Another decorative haircomb made of tortoiseshell, ivory and white coral.

An ornate bracelet with big diamonds, enamel and 18-karat gold.

A coral, jade and 18-karat gold bracelet.

A bakelite and rhinestone art deco lapel pin found at an antiques shop in York, England.

Sketchbooks from the Musee de la Mode et du Textile, Paris.

Enough already!

Argentina surprises lackluster France in opener

Allez les bleus! The 2007 Rugby World Cup has begun, with France in a shocking 17-12 loss to Argentina at Stade de France, Paris. Meanwhile, the usual tourist souvenir choices have diversified to include World Cup merchandise. Photo of sporting gear for sale today on rue de Rivoli.

A documentary and a writers' project

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, a television program about 28-year-old Afghani activist Malalai Joya will be shown as part of the PBS series "Wide Angle." A Woman among Warlords is based on Eva Mulvad's award-winning documentary Enemies of Happiness. The film follows Malalai Joya during the final weeks of campaigning for a seat in Afghanistan's newly-formed parliament.

The program shines a spotlight on politics in Afghanistan and focuses on women's rights, democracy and social justice issues. Malalai Joya has been an outspoken champion of these issues. She continues to fight on behalf of her constituents, despite numerous death threats and a recent illegal suspension from the parliament.

Enemies of Happiness won the Sundance World Cinema Documentary Jury Prize and the Nestor Almendros Prize at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, among other awards. The film is distributed by Women Make Movies, a non-profit media arts organization. Viewers in the United States should check local television listings for broadcast times Tuesday night of A Woman among Warlords. Now to find a showing in France!

A place for writers

Ready to relax on a tropical island? This could be the next best thing: on September 11, a new writers' project kicks off. Check out Writers Island here. If you'd like to participate, on Tuesday, simply add the link to your poem, essay, short story or other contribution posted on your own blog. The first prompt is "My Imaginary Life."

A day in Paris

Colourful graffiti on a wall near Notre Dame.

An accordion player performing a mournful tune on Ile Saint Louis.

A window display at a gourmet food shop near rue Madeleine features a photo of the French Rugby Team. The Rugby World Cup kicks off Friday night at Stade de France, with Argentina vs. France.

The elegant entryway at Auguste restaurant on rue de Bourgogne. White roses are my favourite flower ever - I adore the curious contrast of innocence, purity and lush decadence.

Mother and daughter Italian suede shoulderbags (one is slightly larger). Strangely, the colour in the photograph isn't accurate- the bags are actually a pale blue-grey.

Jordana's new shoes. (This photo and the one above are for you, Vida).

Candlelight reflected through a champagne glass Wednesday night at Brasserie Lutecia on Boulevard Raspail. My lovely and exceedingly-talented friend Laura of Laurelines took me out to dinner as an early birthday treat. She's here for three days only, en route to the South of France for an artist's workshop. Even though Laura was jetlagged - having arrived just a few hours earlier - it was wonderful seeing her and catching up on the news. Am looking forward to a more leisurely visit in November when Laura and her charming husband David are back in Paris. Merci bien, ma chere amie!

An afternoon at L'Institut du Monde Arabe

Jordana and I spent Tuesday afternoon at L'Institut du Monde Arabe at rue de Fosses Saint-Bernard. She was doing research for her senior design project. We also wanted to see an exhibition currently underway about ornately-designed armour and protection for horses, as well as intricately-detailed weapons from previous centuries.

The Institute aims to foster knowledge of the Arab World culture by exchanging information about art, science and technology. French architect Jean Nouvel designed the extraordinary building in 1987. It features a huge south-facing garden courtyard wall comprised of numerous dimensioned metallic cutouts set in pierced metal borders. These diaphragms operate like a camera lens, controlling the sun's penetration into the building. This creates the effect of a giant Islamic pierced screen - typically crafted in wood - with a modern edge. The building houses a museum, exhibition areas, a library, a 300-seat hall and a restaurant, as well as offices and car parking.

Interior stairwells and elevator shafts.

Interior metallic panels based on Islamic designs.

Looking out onto the interior courtyard.

A close-up of the interwoven design of a steel panel.

Steel interior panels featuring traditional Islamic shapes with modern materials.

A huge exhibition poster displayed outside the museum.

A scene from the exhibition. Photographs were forbidden; one videographer had quite a tussle with security guards. But Jordana managed to discreetly snap a few images.

These engraved and bejeweled sabers and knives are displayed in rows as though they're dancing, but they're deadly weapons.

After visiting both the museum and exhibition, we went across the courtyard to a cafe and artisanal shop and drank Moroccan mint tea. That gave us enough energy to browse through the books, postcards and many beautiful products produced in the Arab World. A little bottle of Egyptian kohl and a brass kohl dispenser came home with Jordana, to compare it with ordinary eyeliner.

Photos by Jordana Shalhoub and Tara Bradford

Les fleurs et les boutiques

Indian summer flowers by the Seine, Paris.

In between routine doctors' appointments Monday, my design student daughter and I went shopping. Yes, there were shoes involved. Gleaming black patent leather heels with little double straps. And handbags: pale blue-grey suede from Italy, so soft and supple, you want to use them for a pillow and rest your weary bones. Because after hours in elegant Paris boutiques and department stores with the master shopper (uh, that would be Jordana), one might need to lie down. The dizzying array of gorgeous clothes - many reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn's Two for the Road look in 1967 or Twiggy's clothes in the late '60s and early '70s - began to blur, as my blood sugar plummeted (we skipped lunch, in favour of shopping).

I was surprised to see women who looked older than I trying on clothes clearly designed for younger women. Then I realised the women weren't necessarily older - their faces just looked it, because they'd spent much of the summer lounging seaside sans sunscreen!

Disappointingly, the largest size I saw on the clothing racks was typically equivalent to a US size 4. Just in case you're not so slender (that would be me), the thoughtful people at Printemps rather sadistically installed a Laduree macaroon cart right in the middle of the chicest boutiques!  Do they really want people walking around with sticky fingers, then pawing through racks of expensive clothes? Of course, not a single thin Parisienne woman would be caught dead anywhere near the macaroons, so I, too, resisted.

Today we are off on more intellectual pursuits, namely le Musée de l'Institut du Monde Arabe. Check back later for another post.

An unexpected burst of colour

Isn't this colourful sculpture an unexpected treat? Plopped right in the middle of Pont Garigliano in Paris, it reminds me of a dancing Dutch windmill - or perhaps a Halloween costume for someone wearing stilts!

Edited to add: I wasn't with David when he took this photo on Sunday, so didn't know the details. But reader Marie-Noelle very kindly informed me of the sculpture's history and provided the photo of the phone, which in the picture above is hidden by the couple walking past. Marie-Noelle said the "metal flower" is a special phone box designed by Frank Gehry for Sophie Calle's project. "For three years the artist will come several times a week to use the telephone as a way to tell stories to people who walk by," Marie-Noelle said. The sculpture was installed last December.

Paris-SG - Marseille match ends in draw

An enthusiastic Marseille fan waves en route to the football match Sunday with Paris St. Germain at Parc des Princes, Paris.

Police prepare to meet football fans off the bus from Marseille. A fierce rivalry between the teams representing France's two largest cities often erupts in fistfights, hence the police's aim to keep Marseille and Paris fans separated.

After getting off the bus from Marseille, fans singing and waving flags are kept behind barricades, awaiting police escort to the stadium at Parc des Princes.

Ticket holders to the Paris SG-Marseille match are completely surrounded by French CRS police wearing protective riot gear, as well as several gendarmerie on horseback.

Marseille supporters walk to Parc des Princes to await kickoff.

Enthusiastic Marseille fans were ultimately disappointed with a 1-1 draw. David and I are not football fans, although I do admire David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane. But Parc des Princes is a 15-minute walk from our apartment and David was out experimenting with his new digital camera. The football stadium is opposite Stade Jean Bouin, home of the Stade Francais rugby team. The 2007 Rugby World Cup kicks off in Paris Friday night, with France vs. Argentina.

Photos by David Holmes

Summer musicians and street performers

String musicians at York, England.

The Nutty Chefs in York manage to create music with pots and pans and kitchen utensils.

Opera singers at York.

This York brass band is composed entirely of railway workers.

A keyboard player at Oxford, England.

A man dipped in lavender paint at York had passersby worried he'd get paint on them.

Star Wars characters at York.

Students dressed as Viking characters entertain children waiting to go into the Jorvik Museum at York.