Paris Parfait

Al Khalil glass

Aqua blue glasses are for sale from the Al Khalil Glass Factory in Jordan. Once thriving, with highly-sought-after glass, the factory ceased operation after a main route to the Dead Sea was diverted. Today, remnants of the factory's production are sold by appointment to locals and tourists who seek out the beautiful Hebron glass.

Aqua glass fish in various sizes.

Clear, aqua and pale blue goblets, carafes and pitchers.

Cobalt blue and clear glass vases and candlesticks.

Green, clear, aqua and amber glass pitchers.

A bowl of aqua glass beads, coated in dust.

Hand-blown glass vases in green, blue and amber.

 

Clear and cobalt candlesticks, rarely disturbed and therefore covered with dust.

 

Amber covered spice jars.

Decorative glass vases.

Handblown blue and green glass goblets to hold candle votives.

Glass medallions containing inscriptions from the Koran.

 

A showpiece light fixture, from the factory's height of production.

Mottled glass, which is paper-thin and deceptively fragile.

 

Popular Hebron pottery.

 

Blue-and-white ceramic candlesticks.

 

Candlesticks and bells.

What remains

These images were shot at an abandoned glass factory on the outskirts of Amman, Jordan. The factory was once thriving and featured in many guidebooks. But a new road to the Dead Sea diverted most of the tourist traffic. The factory subsequently lost its government license and was forced to cease production. A limited selection of decorative glass from the factory's final production is still sold in an adjacent room. Check back soon for photos of the hand-blown glass.

 

Broken examples of frosted glass.

 

A ladder, unused equipment and debris.

Rays of sunshine spill through holes in the wall and ceiling.

A corroded, rusting barrel.

Peeling paint.

A rusty fan.

 

A mirror proclaiming "Palestine forever" and "I heart Palestine."

If I were...

 

A fading Tree of Life mural at an old glass factory on the outskirts of Amman, Jordan.

I'm following in Julochka's footsteps at Moments of Perfect Clarity. Want to play along? Create your own "If I were..." list. Here's mine:

If I were a month, I'd be September.

If I were a day, I’d be Wednesday.

If I were a time of day, I’d be midnight.

If I were a font, I’d be elegant.

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a dolphin.

If I were a direction, I’d be west.

If I were a piece of furniture, I'd be antique.

If I were a liquid, I’d be burgundy.

If I were a gemstone, I'd be a blue diamond.

If I were a tree, I’d be a Magnolia.

If I were a tool, I’d be a camera.

If I were a flower, I’d be a white rose.

If I were an element of weather, I'd be lightning.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a Spanish guitar.

If I were a color, I’d be teal blue.

if i were an emotion, I’d be passionate.

If I were a fruit, I’d be a fig.

If I were a sound, I’d be soft.

If I were an element, I’d be water.

If I were a car, I’d be a Jaguar.

If I were a food, I’d be jambalaya.

If I were a place, I’d be by the sea.

If I were material, I’d be pure cotton.

If i were a taste, I’d be lemongrass and lime.

If I were a scent, I’d be subtle.

If I were a body part, I’d be an eye.

If I were a song, I'd be dancing.

If I were a bird, I’d be a white owl.

If I were a gift, I’d be thoughtful.

If I were a city, I’d be Sevilla.

If I were a door, I’d be wooden.

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be black suede heels.

If I were a poem, I’d write it myself.

A plethora of pandas in Paris

1600 panda bears were on display Saturday at Les Passages at Boulogne-Billancourt. Pandas are increasingly under threat, as their native habitat - bamboo forests in Southwest China - diminishes. The World Wildlife Fund exhibition is in conjunction with the United Nations Year of Biodiversity initiative.

This little boy ran past the ropes, in his enthusiasm to touch the pandas.

His mom ran to retrieve him.

 

A group of pandas enjoyed the carousel.

This trio of pandas stood guard on top of an adjacent building.

A panda in the ticket booth.

This black-and-white dog moved closer to investigate the curious creatures.

 

...but seemed to lose interest.

The carousel at dusk. Thousands of excited children - and plenty of adults - visited the pandas, now an endangered species.

 

 

Go here to find various ways you can help assure the pandas' survival.

 

Children's t-shirts were selling like hotcakes Saturday at the WWF booth.

Shattered

Abandoned glass factory on the outskirts of Amman, Jordan.

Desperately seeking a quiet, soothing place to let the daylight in... Prayers, positive energy and good thoughts are much appreciated.

Let's look in the mirror, America

Graffiti on a building in a village near Kerak, Jordan.

The United States has witnessed some truly amazing change this week. First, there was reason to celebrate with the passage of a landmark health care reform bill. But the hard-fought victory for Americans was marred by near-hysterical reactions from those with little or no knowledge of the benefits the legislation provides. Polls indicated the majority of those complaining the loudest had failed to read anything about the reform bill. Instead, they reacted angrily to false information and slanted talking points they'd heard repeated by right-wing talk show hosts.

A few unhinged "teabaggers" resorted to violence and despicable language and behavior not seen since the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. And weakened GOP party leaders appeared complicit by failing to strongly denounce their fellow Republicans' acts of extremism. Such inaction suggests the Party of No has well and truly lost not only its direction, but its moral compass.

The new dumb

An absence of class

Rage on the right

"The black commie Nazi did it"

Ok, my blog; my opinion. If you'd like to express your opinion here about health care reform or the teabaggers' actions, you're welcome. All I ask is that you stick to the facts; don't repeat supposition you've heard on Fox "News." I won't waste time and energy debating the erroneous, outlandish pseudo-information put forth by right-wing talk show hosts such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh (shouldn't he be in Costa Rica by now?).

Update Sunday, March 28: Frank Rich writes in The New York Times:  The rage is not about health care.

Written on the walls

Cartoon drawing in the Paris Metro, which is again on strike today.

The Arabic version of graffiti: information and phone numbers scrawled on a wall in Aqaba, Jordan.

 

A public bulletin board of sorts in the seaside resort town of Aqaba, on the Red Sea.

 

Information about a mosque under construction outside Amman is written on the wall.

From Robert Frost:

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it
And spills the upper boulder in the sun,
And make gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there,
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There were it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors."
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down." I could say "Elves" to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there,
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having though of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Finally, health care reform.

Historic medical college stained glass window, Oxford University, Oxford, England.

Hooray for the 219 Democrats who voted Sunday night to extend health care coverage to 32 million more Americans! While the plan is far from perfect, it offers a lifeline to many, including those with pre-existing medical conditions and the under-or-uninsured. Basically, the bill - which President Obama will sign - provides quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Plus, health care reform is projected to reduce the deficit by more than a trillion dollars over the next 20 years.

As for 34 Democrats and ALL Republicans who voted no (as per usual with this deliberately-obstructive Congress), shame on them with their excellent government-paid health care and hefty insurance-industry contributions. Obviously, they care more about their own selfish gains than their constituents, their health care and their rights. As an editorial in the Los Angeles Times pointed out, "Rarely has such a good thing for Americans been perceived by so many as a threat to their livelihood and liberty."

Read about ten immediate benefits of HRC and more about the health care reform bill's passage here, here and here.

Spring blossoms

An abundance of wildflowers blooming at Jerash, Jordan. Hope the sun is shining wherever you are today!

"...Joy can spring like a flower, even from the cliffs of despair." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

 

" It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" - Mark Twain.

Last weekend for the brocante at Chatou

Antique-lovers, get your skates on! It's the last weekend for the spring version (and 80th anniversary) of the Foire Nationale aux Antiquites a la Brocante et aux Jambons at Ile de Chatou. Doors are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Sunday, March 21.

Be sure to visit Blandine Bavoux's charming stand of kitchen delights at 78 Allee Nouvelle. Blandine's discerning collection was featured in the January-February issue of Campagne Decoration, my favourite French interiors magazine.

Sunshine yellow canisters and red and white enamel skillets.

La balance: kitchen scales in three sizes.

Wonderful enamel coffee pots and tiffins.

Canisters and a hanging wall cabinet for spices.

Porcelain canisters (above) with a Dutch influence.

 

A geologist's measuring instrument is one of the unique attractions at Blandine's Jolie Trouvaille. If you can't get to Chatou, check out Blandine's online shop.

P.S. My daughter Jordana's work is mentioned here.

Scroll down the page for another post today.

Guest photographer Yara Dabis

Young Jordanian photographer Yara Dabis shot these photos in Ghor, near the Dead Sea. Yara's striking images of Jordanian women are currently featured in an exhibition in Amman.

This lovely woman was a charming hostess, offering us beverages and delicious flatbread. She also gave me a traditional Jordanian dress she'd made by hand. Of course I could not accept her generosity, without paying for the dress.

This engaging woman lived nearby and kindly posed for photos.

Signs of spring at my favourite brocante

A cheery reminder that summer's just around the corner in this vignette at the twice-yearly brocante and ham fair at Chatou, France.

 

Need supplies for your yacht?

 

 

Perhaps an old spinning wheel or a collection of vintage tools?

 

A selection of vintage coffee grinders, including a large one from Philadelphia.

 

1920s fashion hand-coloured illustrations.

 

Curious face masks.

 

A vendor talks to a customer.

 

An ancient clock from Geraldine Michelis's collection of stylish antiques and vintage collectibles at her  Une Chanson Douce stand on rue de la Gaite at Chatou.

 

A desk with vintage books and school supplies.

 

Vintage cookbooks on a boulangerie cart.

 

Scales, pharmacy bottles and assorted decorative kitchenalia with a spring and Easter theme are arranged on a painted chest with numbered drawers. I also like the stack of baskets, perfect for display.

 

Letters and a wooden sign.

 

This huge French mercantile cabinet features numbered drawers on both sides. Oh to have a big kitchen or studio!

 

A vintage child's steam shovel, framed antique map and wooden plan chest.

 

I'd like to fill the back of this truck with CDs or old photos.

 

The smoothness of the wood on this elegant, simple piece made me want to rub it like a touchstone. Luckily, I forgot my checkbook.

 

A chandelier with crystal "branches" dripping like a weeping willow.

See more treasures from Chatou in an upcoming post. Or see the many delectable antiques and collectibles for yourself! And plan on staying for lunch. They don't call it the "ham fair" for nothing!

The 80th Anniversaire Foire Nationale aux Antiquites a la Brocante et aux Jambons at Ile de Chatou continues from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Sunday, March 21st. Tickets are available at the door. Hope to see you there (yes, I'm making a second trip).

Scroll down the page for an additional post today.

Of frankincense and oriental spices

Spice markets, downtown Amman, Jordan.

I grew up reading about frankincense and myrrh that the Three Kings brought to Mary and Joseph, to celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus. But until this month at a Bedouin camp in Beidna, near Petra, I'd never actually smelled frankincense burning in its purest form. The delicious aroma was enough to convince me to bring some back to Paris.

This spice merchant told me his daughter lives in Michigan. Asked if he'd visited her in the United States, he replied, "No; the US is only for young people."

A big bag of dried chili peppers.

Another shop with bins filled with spices.

 

Beans, peas and popcorn.

Orange/red marigold.

Drawers and bins containing rare spices and pulses.

 

Bags of nuts, rice and beans.

Filling a special order.

 

Some spices are on special offer at this shop. 

Since returning from Jordan a week ago, I've been busy being hostess to two sets of guests. I also escorted visiting American friends to the brocante and ham fair at Chatou (see next post). Check back soon for more photos and tales of our  Journey to Jordan.

Downtown delights

My friend Gillian going native: trying on an antique headdress at the famous Al-Afghani Bazaar, Amman. We managed to find quite a few treasures here; more about them in an upcoming post.

 

Downtown Amman, Jordan is filled with an Aladdin's Cave of delights. Among them: freshly brewed Arabic coffee.

 

Take your pick of flavours and spices, including the ever-popular cardamon.

Roasting coffee beans.

A vendor carries a brass teapot and tray of glasses past stalls of knitted hats and scarves.

  

Sugarcane juice, anyone? This gentleman kindly agreed to pose for a photograph.

Crossing the street.

Traditional dresses trimmed with teal designs.

 

Red embroidery and cross-stitches accent these dresses.

 

Window display featuring traditional designs.

 

Bolts of neatly-stacked fabric in a tailor's shop.

 

Gillian and Julian at the Gold Market.

 

Feeling lucky? Here's your chance to play the numbers.

 

An old hotel that's seen better days. On one building in Amman, a sign proclaims "Life could be better."

A variety of tempting perfume oils.

 

King Hussein Mosque.

  

A flowering tree hints of spring. More snapshots of Jordanian life to follow.

Laughter is contagious

Twins and their friends March 9 at Ghor near the Dead Sea, Jordan.

Just back from spending two-and-a-half weeks in the beautiful country of Jordan.  It was such a treat watching my photography group's enthusiastic reactions to the desert kingdom's natural wonders and its warm and welcoming people. Check back this weekend for the first of many stories and photos. Meanwhile, congratulations to the lucky winner of a souvenir from Jordan: Princess Haiku.

We have a guest from Switzerland here until Sunday night; American guests arrive on Monday. Will try to download images and write posts in between hostess duties. Hope your weekend is filled with laughter!

P.S. Happy to report my photographs of Merci, Paris are in the current issue No. 73 (March-April) of FRAME magazine, Amsterdam (pgs. 116-117). Also, three of my photographs are in the April issue of Romantic Homes magazine.