Our day in Aix en Provence

Nice to meet you Mr Cezanne! I love the idea of time travel - wouldn't it be fabulous to be able to sit and have a chat with people you admire from history.  Not a new idea, I know, but I love the idea. Perhaps I could have been an artist's muse!  Ha!   I loved "Lost in Austen" and I must see Midnight in Paris before it finishes at the cinema.  Roaming around Aix En Provence I lost myself in visualisation and imaginings of Cezanne in the cafes, walking the streets, echos of voices passionately discussing brush strokes etc....

An exhibition on Australia at the local museum.

Back to the ship for a well earned liquid refreshment to accompany my baguette - the best baguette EVER!  Hiding in the bag is the cheese and fresh raspberries!

Pottery Barn Quilts

I dream of a house filled with quilts.  Every room to have its own quilt and/or crocheted or knitted throw.  For years now I've watched the inspiration rooms on the Pottery Barn website.  Every one of their bedrooms looks so inviting.  They present beautifully, if not a little unrealistic for this little black duck.  I don't think I can ever live their reality - I'm way too messy.

There's a formula to their rooms I think... great looking bed, lots of pillows, bedside tables usually piled with an enticing stack of books, walls adorned with interesting finds or artwork - (I love the giant buttons), a sensational lamp and great light in the photo and evidence of a cuppa.  They just sing to me, relax and loose yourself in the comfort and luxury that I am - your bedroom, your haven.  A bit different to my reality...I do try to make my bed everyday but I forget as my mind screams coffeeeeee and I stumble to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Yes I am working towards my bedroom evoking all these positive feelings, but there always seems to be a pile of discarded clothes, odd shoes, towel, handbags....perhaps I'll share a photo, perhaps not!

Anyway I digress, I'm not doing too badly, there's a quilt for 4 rooms.  Perhaps one day I'll manage a B&B and it will give me an excuse to dress up more beds, or maybe there's a job going somewhere for a bed dresser... eh, Pottery Barn??  Quilts supplied. 

But aren't some of these quilts just fantastic.  PB have embraced American quilt history - you can watch a video on their website.  They've collaborated with the American Craft and Folk Museums, Gee's Bends and Denyse Schmidt, I love how they are so proud of their quilting heritage.

BTW all the above images are from the Pottery Barn website either recently or saved to my inspiration file over the years - I am not responsible for any of the images and am not pretending to be!

Desiderata

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even to the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love,

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann

My paternal Grandma had a copy of this on the back door of her loo, so I grew up reading it over and over again, whenever I visited her and the loo!  I have my own copy now - somewhere - I must put it up on my inspiration board.  It never fails to make me take a deep breath in and out and relax about my state of affairs. I think it grounds me.  I never heard Grandma utter a bad word about anyone, and she seemed so at home in her own skin - a smile and a funny quip were constantly forthcoming too.  She was a gem or as someone said at her funeral - "a national treasure". Oh Thelly May - so many admiral qualities - thanks for the Desiderata legacy - you did always manage to ground me!  Oh and she made the best Green Tomato Pickles EVER!!!

(Where did this post come from?  A work colleague and I were talking today about philosophies and sayings etc and it just occured to me how much Desiderata had been a part of my life, so I just thought I'd share)

Paris! A Visual Feast!



Le Tour Eiffel - View from Above





Macaroons!




Montmartre




Frog's Legs!



Fabric shops abounded



Crepes!




Traffic at the Arc de Triomphe!



Dreams do come true! Me and my girls at the Eiffel Tower - Very special!

Parents on tour!

Cafe Lunch!

Look at those cheeses!!



Berry nice!



Snails





Decision Stress ... which ones to get...!!!




Lollipops!





Bread and wine!  It's all good!



Aix en Provence - Footsteps of Cezanne

The final port of call on the cruise was Marseilles which I decided to bypass in favour of Aix en Provence http://en.aixenprovencetourism.com/aix-en-provence.htm, a town a short drive away and birthplace of Cezanne, an artist I love.  What a charming town!!  From the port, we caught a taxi to the Marseilles bus station and then a local bus "up the hill". The bus dropped us near the centre fountain.  The first statue we came across was of Cezanne himself where I realised we'd forgotten the camera!!  Luckily we were travelling with friends who were so accommodating and took lots of photos of my favourite bits and pieces (more doors, cobblestones and lamp-posts!), so I will end up with a record of my visit.

Armed with a map of Cezanne's haunts we walked in his footsteps for the day, meandering around the town past cafes and houses where he frequented.  Stopped for a fantastic lunch on the main street - the wine in Europe is so light and easy to drink! (And it's the cheapest beverage!) We came across the market - unbelievable and it's there every day!!

I insisted on buying a baguette and walking around with it just to feel like a local. I bought a cheese and punnet of fresh raspberries (yes, perth-ites, fresh raspberries for about 3 aussie dollars!! - note for non Perth people - not possible to do here! You are lucky to get fresh blueberries at extortionist prices, otherwise we rely on frozen berries and fyi blackberries are on the no-grow/pest/banned list here.  Imagine my excitement when I stumbled across a couple of late blackberries with my cousin Sarah in the woods at Welwyn Garden City!!!) to take back to the ship and have with our evening cocktail!  Deee-lightful-deee-vine! 

Now I want to go back and study French in Aix en Provence!  My bucket list includes learning at least one foreign language.  I learnt German at school and have studied French and Spanish at different times.  I am hopeless at French pronunciation!!  Absolutely pathetic.  Here are my bucket list language ideas - German in Vienna, Spanish in Madrid or Seville and French in Aix en Provence.  I'm also interested to learn Arabic...perhaps Casablanca?!  Although my sister is moving to Qatar, so who knows! I would love to be multi-lingual!

So it was a gorgeous day.  And I have this lovely French throw to remind me of it.  I spied a little shop with wonderful homewares so ducked in and in all of 5 mins, picked a throw, paid for it and left - by then we were needing to get back to the ship. So here are pictures of the detail.  It is covering the sofa in my mezzanine space - it's a perfect fit!

Scrappy Hexie Patchwork Quilt Progress Report

Recently I took all my hexies over to a friend's house and put them up on her design wall to have a look at my progress.  It was very exciting stepping back and seeing it all - it's so different than spreading them over the bed or floor. It's now been 21 months in the making (probably at least that to go!!)  I haven't stitched a stich in months, but am keen to make a bit more headway over summer. I'd like it to be big enough for a queen bed.  The pattern is completely random.  I toy with the idea of a second one with a pattern to it, or one made from my Liberty Tana Lawn stash, but that's a way in the future (possible) project.

I started using scrap fabric from all the quilts I've made to date, then I visited my mum who gave my hexies my grandmother had made in the 80s and 90s that hadn't made it into any of the quilts she made before she passed away, so I've added those in too.  Mum also gave me some old pieces of fabric from dresses we had as children so I've put those in as well. It's fast becoming a nostalgia quilt! Typical of me.  I'm very sentimental in many ways.

Contemporary Crochet - Pumpkin anyone?

I get such a buzz from seeing crafts used in retail any where - hark back to my touche crochet post.  Here is a jewelley shop in Paris using crochet veg in their window display! Isn't it fun? 

I saw lots of crochet brooches for sale in London as part of the 5 a day healthy eating campaign.  I think it was seeing it in mainstream retail outlets that was so cool.  It's not something you would see here - I don't think - but correct me if I'm wrong.  Don't get me wrong you can buy crochet brooches and all sorts at our wonderful handmade fairs but not in retail chain stores.  Perhaps it's coming, but I'm not sure - I felt generally there is a greater freedom of expression, call it quirkiness, individuality to expressing oneself via fashion in Europe.  We seem more conformist here?  Maybe it's simply the larger population and climate compared with us?  Perhaps it's our new, young country - still emerging and forming its identity. My daughters commented on it to though too and loved it and happily embraced it.

And that really had absolutely nothing to do with halloween!! just coincidence there's a crochet pumpkin in my day after halloween post!!!  I don't even know how subliminal I am.