Off to Class

I have to run to my analog photography class but here's proof I still take photos in color and digitally. Side view of St. Paul's Cathedral at night, in London, England. Unfortunately I didn't have the time (and energy) to visit the interior. We were only there overnight on the way back from Paris and on the way to the airport.

A morning stroll in Paris

This was the morning of August 6. Not long ago but so long ago at the same time.
My son slept in--nothing like being 17 for being able to sleep--a lot! I went out for a walk with only my small, portable camera. It made walking easier and made me less conspicuous as a tourist. Most of the stores were still closed and some were closed for the entire month of August--a French holiday tradition. Parisians flee to more comfortable spots leaving Paris to the tourists.



I discovered for myself a lovely Cafe, La Cafeotheque. The shop is not entirely traditional in that it served many gourmet coffees but it still had a distinctly French touch.
Here is what I recorded in French: "Je commence avec un cafe creme a un tres bon petit cafe pres de la Seine, La Cafeotheque. Le cafe d'auhourd'hui vient de Brazil. On le donne avec un petit Madeleine et un tout petit verre et une carafe d'eau. On joue un peu de jazz. Ma chaise porte un coussin fait de sacs de cafe."
(I began with a coffee with milk at a very good little cafe near the Seine, La Cafeotheque. The coffee of the day comes from Brazil. It is served with a little Madeleine cake and a small glass and carafe of water. Jazz is playing and my chair has on it a cushion made of coffee sacks.) It was such a treat that I wished I could have stayed and read a novel for a few hours but I knew that I had to return to my son who eventually would awaken, bored and hungry.



On the way back to the hotel, I window shopped. Browsing Parisian windows is almost as good as sipping Parisian coffee. I passed an antique music store, unfortunately closed for the season.


Orphee (French for Orpheus, a shop specializing in antique musical instruments

The street I was on seemed to specialize in printing and paper goods. Unfortunately there was no time to shop and all the stores were closed anyway. Store closings save my family a lot of money!



Last of all, here I am:

Scraps and Memories

I kept a travel journal of sorts on my trip to Paris and London. I wish I could be one of those talented people who can line draw or watercolor their travel experiences but I'm stuck with words and interesting scraps of junk paper. Here are a couple of pages. It is still a work in progress which means basically that I will never get it finished.

Not blogging much and more

(Closed for Work)

I wish I could tell you why the impulse to blog just comes and goes. All I can say is that some days I just stare at my blog and nothing seems to be worth writing about.
I've been busier again. Younger son returned from a month long stay at summer camp with a cold and fever. We had a last summer trip to visit family planned and had to postpone it until we were sure the plague had run its course. My older son got a mild version of the illness but my husband and I have missed out on all the fun.
I admit to being disappointed about not going to see my family. I miss them and there is a new baby I haven't seen yet.


(Captifs, detail of sculpture by Martin van der Bogaert, in the Louvre)

--Deep breath--I wasn't sure if I could/should post this news since it isn't my story to tell but I will post an abbreviated version--a young family member was diagnosed with a rare pediatric cancer while we were in Europe. The poor baby has a tough road ahead of him--chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bone marrow transplantation, surgery and more--and even then his odds aren't the best. My heart is breaking for him and his parents. We were going to visit but we can't visit an immunosuppressed toddler while sick, obviously.
If I truly believed in the power of prayer, I'd be praying night and day for him. I don't mean I have no personal spirituality, since I do, but I don't think G-d dishes out miracles to those who pray the most. So I treat it in my usual way which is I think too much, and worry too much. Not likely to get a miracle that way either but at least I'm consistent.

Wordless Wednesday

Why Air France runs on time?

Me and My Camera

I thought I'd share a picture or two that prove I actually went to England and France and not just my camera. The first picture was taken by my husband near Buckingham Palace. I'm the not-so-young chick in the front row with the SALE bag.



The second picture I took in a fun little Japanese fast food restaurant--sort of a combination of Sushi, snacks and frozen yogurt--all with a health food twist. We didn't really eat there--we had just eaten lunch a short while ago and were totally full but bought some wasabi peas and rice crackers as "rent" for use of the bathrooms. I really like how this picture turned out. It might be one of my favorite from the trip.

Harvest of Time

I have a collection of clocks. Fortunately for my husband and family my clocks are stored virtually even though they are rarely digital. Actually my collection is of photos of clocks, usually outdoor clocks on buildings although occasionally otherwise. My current set on Flickr has 49 photos (with a few clocks duplicated) going back to one dated 1672.
I managed to pick up a number of clocks for my collection while in Europe. Here are three. Look closely at the time(s) in the second photo.