i have been working working working. i’m pleased to say that i’ve crested the hill. not sliding downhill yet. oh no! but close. the website is built, videos are 95% completed, and registration will be opening later this week. i must remember to schedule a trip during my next online class. it really has pushed and propelled me forward at a fast & furious pace. i think this will be my first class EVAH that i am not still cranking out videos after the class has begun. i’m preparing to start on carol & my travel journals, which i’ll incorporate into STITCHBOOKERY. may as well!
blah blah blah. all of that was to say THIS. i’ve missed blogging. wahhhhhh. but wait there’s more! i have not been depriving myself of the pleasure of good books. oh no! when one loses time for books all is lost.
i’m collapsing onto my bed at every break or sitting outside in the sun dappled patio out back devouring janice macleod’s delicious new book!
it is an absolute pleasure to hold. the thick smooth pages are sewn into the binding. so nice!
one of my absolute favorite kinds of books – beautiful photos and fine writing.
the sketches are rich with just the right amount of detail. just lovely!
it’s just like receiving several years worth of her fantastic letters!
you better believe i am pacing myself.
in the world of audio books i’m listening to an absolute winner!
a historical novel about thomas jefferson’s daughter, patsy (martha). the story is wonderful and the narrator has a honeyed voice that drawls and sighs. so good!
TJ & PJ just finished their 5 year stint in paris, leaving the french revolution behind, and have headed back to virginia. back to monticello which has become hopelessly run down in their absence.
parts of the book are taken directly from the thousands of letters TJ wrote. here’s a favorite quote i scribbled down yesterday:
“only my father would debate anyone about opposums. if papa still did have a madness it was in that he had to take a measure of everything under god’s creation. obsessively recording the tiniest minutiae as if it would all add up to an answer of what ailed us in this world!”
oh i did laugh and laugh over that one!
okay friends, i’m off. it’s bedtime in california and i have books waiting!
see you soon soon soon.
Just bought “A Paris Year” at Barnes & Noble – it is just too yummy! I am loving the sketches, plus the paper and photos, everything! I was in Paris in 2015 and the book brings back so many wonderful memories. Makes me want to go again, of course. Thanks!
I knew you would appreciate the yummy paper. Thanks so much for posting such lovely photos of A PARIS YEAR. You’re the best!
Merci for the tip — my copy is arriving today and I can’t wait to get my hot little hands on it. Heading to Paris (&Spain & Portugal) this fall and need to get in the mood….well, I am already in the mood but still…..
i’m a shade plant living in constant sunlight. i understand!
I just read Paris Letters thanks to a random discovery on your blog a couple of weeks ago. I cannot wait to dive into this. I might have to save it for my mid-summer road trip.
Tina, where are you going, pray tell?
I have her first book “Paris Letters”, and thanks to you notifying us (and tempting us with photos) I’m going to get this book. Vacation coming up soon? Can’t wait to armchair travel with you and Carol!
refresh my memory as to the area you went (was it last summer?) and saw the orcas. maybe we’ll see some! eeeek! so excited to think of it.
I think I need that book. I’m not supposed to be buying any new books. But my birthday is coming up…
Have you read Vivian Swift’s “Le Road Trip”? I think you can get it here, though I got my copy in London last year. Also, Susan Branch did a terrific book about her trip to England. I think you’d like both of them.
i did read Le Road Trip! and I’m a HUGE fan of Susan Branch and loved her recent trilogy. hated when it ended 🙁
So glad you’re back, Mary Ann! I just ordered the Paris book and cannot wait to read it now that I am on summer break from school (unfortunately, this is about my only chance to read!). And your new art class . . . so much to look forward to.
oh isn’t it a JOY to have our summer days to while away the time… such a luxury…
O ooo ms Mam! I found and foliowed Janice through a link from her compadre artiste Carol Gillot who does the most delightful watercolour illustrations of Paris daily life. Her blog is parisbreakfasts.blogspot.ca. I would recommend eating first before perusing as she delights in featuring French food and we all know what that does!
Janice and Carol are also instagrammers:janiceartship and parisbreakfasts. 😊
love carol & janice. yes yes yes!!!
Well THERE you are! I missed you blogging too! Def getting that Paris book. How delightful!
It was SOOO freakishly hot here today! We in Washington are not used to that, you know. I am a shade plant, through and through!
Looking forward to your new class, very much! Welcome back to blogging😃