Closet Fashionista

(Our hostess for this week's Fun Monday is Alison's 13 year old daughter ,Cassie, over at RDH Mom . Cassie wants to see the inside of our closets. She needs to know if adult closets are as messy as hers. Well Cassie, this is a timely topic because over the past few weeks I have been thinking about what's in my closet. As you can see from the photo below, my closet is not messy, but it is very bor-rr-ing! Let me tell you why.)

Look at this sad wardrobe. Just a lineup of black, brown, and grey slacks and sweaters. On the floor there's an equally boring pile of sensible black and brown shoes. This is what I buy and wear. Over the past couple of week I've decided that I definitely need a fashion makeover. Tim Gunn, can you help, please!

I've miss you all for the past couple of Fun Mondays because I've been on vacation in Europe. That's where I began thinking that my wardrobe was the pits. Before leaving on the trip, I bought new black and brown slacks and sweaters and sensible Hush Puppies walking shoes from Land's End catalog, my normal fashion shop. No sooner had I arrived in London than I began to start comparing my non-wardrobe to the high fashions of European women. My hotel in London was within walking distance of Oxford Street, one of the city's busiest fashion spots. And, the London Fashion Week was in full swing. Look at these store windows with their fantasy designs in the colors of the rainbow. The only designer I recognized was Stella McCartney, Sir Paul's daughter.
And then the first day of touring I snapped this early photo out the bus window of young designers lined up with their latte skims waiting to get in the show area to set up for the Fashion Week runway activities.

From London we travelled on through The Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. No fashion insecurities there. Everyone seemed to dress as sensible as the tourists. Then we

stopped over in Venice. Oh my, were we not pitiful in our functional travel pants and athletic shoes! Take a look at these Italian women, turned out perfectly to stroll through the streets for morning bread.

Even injured puppies made a fashion statement.

We shopped for exquisite handmade lace blouses and skirts on the small island of Burano near Venice one afternoon. I didn't buy because the largest size appeared to be zero. . .

However, back in Venice I took the fashion plunge and bought a beautiful Italian shawl to
wear with my black/brown wardrobe. Willie reluctantly agreed to model it because he's not afraid to nonchalantly throw one end over his shoulder. I'm hoping to get up enough fashion attitude to do the same soon. . .

Most of the women on the tour couldn't resist these beautiful fashion accessories. They wore them during the day to escape the chill on the water or as a coverup for an on the bus nap. Everyone broke out their newest shawl purchase for evenings out to dinner when a little dressing up was called for. I wore this one on our final evening in Paris when we saw an authentic caberet/can can show. More about that later!

After leaving Italy the next fashion stop was in Paris. Everything about the Parisian women spelled elegance, no matter what they were doing. The photos below were shot from the bus early one morning as we drove down Paris' famous Champs-Elysee. Can you believe these women were going to work? Note the heel heights, suits, and handbags. Anything for fashion!

Parisian women even look good riding their bikes to work!

So, Cassie, what are you learning from your peeks in our closets? From mine I'm sure you've learned some big fashion "nots"! As a 13 year old girl, I'm sure you're interested in fashion. Hope you and all the other Fun Monday participants enjoyed my European fashion tips. Now I'm off to check out some closets!

(Click on the photos to embiggen. Best way to get the details of fashions captured in motion.)

Final Citron Presse

(Our hostess for this week's Fun Monday, Woodlandmama , has thrown out a rather unusual challenge. She wants us to write the first paragraph of an unusual, but not real, love story. I was tempted to write about a dog, but that would have been too easy. So, here's my first attempt at writing a tale of love. One as bittersweet as the citron presse shared by the lovers on their last morning together.)

Eduard left his apartment just off the Place Stanislas in Nancy, France. His route through the town was a familiar one. Four days a week Eduard met groups of tourists and students in the square and led them on explorations of Nancy's world famous Art Nouveau architecture. Today would be different though. He was meeting only one person, Madeleine. Eduard was pleased that the blue doors of Madame Perrin's flower shop were open. He carefully selected a small bunch of lavender for Madeleine. The fragrance would remind her of the warm afternoons they spent together on day trips through the French countryside. Madeleine sat on the steps of King Stanislas' statue in the square, waiting for Eduard. Without saying a word, she held out her hand. Eduard gave her the lavender and picked up her suitcase with his free hand. They walked silently to the cafe across from the train station. Eduard stopped at the ticket window to buy Madeleine's ticket back to Paris. She went on in the cafe. He found her at their special table. Two citron presses were already on the table. By his drink, Madeline had carefully placed four packets of sugar.Tears stung Eduard's eyes. On their first meeting many months ago, they has shared a citron presse. Madeline had given him her sugar that day. Today, however, Eduard knew that no amount of sugar would ease the bitterness of saying "Goodbye."

(Hint: if you want to get a closer look at Eduard's neighborhood, click on the images to embiggen. And, when you recover from this bittersweet tale, be sure to go over to Woodlandmama's and check out other Fun Monday love stories. I suspect we'll have many good reads.)

Cajun Tiger's Blog Spot--and Mine

(Our host for this week's Fun Monday is Gattina over at the very colorful, cat-friendly Writer's Cramp website. Gattina's giving us a chance to share photos of our blogging space. What better way to get to know each other than to share where we all love to spend too much time!)



I found the Cajun Tiger's image of a blogger's brain last night when I was googling around for inspiration to write this week's Fun Monday post. Now I'd love to give Cajun Tiger more credit for his spot on illustration of the place where most bloggers spend a lot of time--inside our heads--but he was probably very preoccupied last night. His profile has him living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and he was probably on Hurricane Gustav watch last night and not spending much time blogging.

I started blogging just over a year ago and now everything is potential blog fodder--day to day experiences, the past, current events, entertainment, books. When I walk Willie my blogger's brain is constantly thinking about possible posts and the particular slant I want to give the writing. I only post once a week and, based on my own brain swirlings, can only imagine how those of you who post daily may be scrambling to get your thoughts organized and online.

Earlier this month I did share photos of my actual writing space. Here it is again for those who may have missed it:

This is my office retreat. When I retired I turned a bedroom into a relaxing space where I can work on the 'puter, blog, stay connected with friends through e-mail, paint when inspired, read, and kick back with the latest Netflix film. If you look closely at the photo you'll see just the tip of Willie's tail and leg. He lays on his yoga mat under the desk when I'm at the computer. I like that a lot. Another thing that means a lot to me in this room is that all the great furniture you see was a retirement gift from my former colleagues. How cool is that? They presented me with a very generous gift certificate at my retirement party and I furnished this room with it. Much better than a gold watch!

Now head over to Gattina's place to get an insider looks at other Fun Monday blog spots. And, if you're in the path of Gustav, take care. We'll all be anxious to know how you fared--that goes for the Cajun Tiger as well.

Ungrateful Jewish Grandmother

(Our hostesses for this week's Fun Monday are Margaret and Stephanie over at Mamadrama . They want us to share a funny, trivial fact that we remember even though we probably should have forgotten it a long time ago. Well-l-l, most of the time my mind is filled with trivia, funny and not so funny. This week, however, I couldn't come up with a single good example. So, I'll tell you my best Jewish grandmother joke. It's been a favorite for about 40 years.)

I loved the northeastern boys that came to my college in eastern Kentucky in the 60s to escape the high tuition and, probably, the more stringent college entrance requirements of states like New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island. They had names like Levy, Nusbaum or Ackermann. In contrast to the local guys, they lived off campus in dumps that we loved to get invited to on the weekend and drove junk heaps that no self respecting southern boy would be caught in, dead or alive. In contrast to the common Scots-Irish, English faces on campus, these guys had the dark hair, prominent features (translate big noses) and dark complexions of their eastern European ancestors. They loved the southern girls because we were pretty and sweet--or at least pretended to be. We loved them right back because they were so different from the usual fare.

I was lucky enough to live with Coach Hamilton's family for four years of college. Coach Hamilton was very popular with the northern boys because he coached the Morehead State University baseball team and also pitched for the New York Yankees. Northern boys love baseball, especially the New York Yankees, and welcomed a chance to sit at Coach Hamilton's kitchen table with the family, sharing some good southern home cooked meals, baseball stories, and Jewish humor. This was my introduction to Jewish humor with it's play on the insecurities and foibles of a people who used humor to tell their stories of family persecution and survival. My appreciation for Jewish humor grew when I had an opportunity to hear some of the great comedians live in New York and New Jersey where we spent our summers.

Somewhere along the way I heard this Jewish grandmother joke that never fails to make me laugh. In fact, I can't get to the punch line without cracking up, but here goes:

A little Jewish grandmother is sitting on the beach at the Jersey shore in one of those legless beach chairs. She's wearing a new flowered one piecer with clever slenderizing shirring across the tummy. Her freshly done hairdo is protected by a big hat. She has a big aluminum sun reflector propped on her tummy to capture the rays.

Her only grandson is playing in the sand by her feet. Lo and behold, this HUGE wave
washes in and carries the boy straight out to sea!

Grandmother Yetel heaves herself out of the no-legged beach chair and raises her arms
to the sky in supplication. "Oh Lord! Help! What will I tell my daughter-in-law has happened to our only grandchild?"

In answer to her plea, another HUGE wave washes on shore and deposits the boy and his sand pail right back at Grandmother Yetel's feet. She looks at the boy and then turns a sad eye to the heavens again, saying in an aggrieved voice, "He had a hat."

Bonus Joke:

What Mona Lisa's mother probably said on viewing Da Vinci's painting of her: "With what your father paid for braces, you could have tried a little harder with that smile."

Well, that's it for trivial humor for me tonight. Head on over to the other Fun Monday spots to fill your head with lots more fun trivia facts so you'll be the hit of your next social gathering.

Can We Talk?

(Our host for this week's Fun Monday is Lisa over at Lisa's Chaos . And, what an opportunity she's given us with her assignment. We get to ask readers of our blogs the BIG QUESTION. Perfect! I've needed to know your answers to this question since last January when I started participating in Fun Mondays.)

My question to you: "Why do you blog?"

This sculpture by the Ha'Penny Bridge on Liffey Street in Dublin is the perfect illustration
for my answer to the question, "Why do you blog?" To quote a Dubliner, "the oul wans are havin' a chat" on a bench outside one of the city's landmark retail therapy spots, the Dublin Woollen Mills. The sculptor(unfortunately, couldn't identify the artist--can anyone help?) who created the piece called it "The Shoppers". However, like many other sculptures around the city, the irreverent Irish renamed it "the hags with the bags."

I found this sculpture by googling "good conversation". The main reason I blog is to have good conversations with longtime friends and new people from around the world who may want to share ideas, opinions and insights about everyday life. I have stories to tell and am also totally interested in your stories. I blog in hopes of having the good conversations that will help us learn about each other.

For a long time I've thought about conversations I have with friends and acquaintances. And, have been discontented, even sad at times, at the lack of depth and feeling in our communications. How do we get beyond the "So, what have you been up to lately?" I love knowing that about my friends, but after 20-30 years in each others' company, I want to know more about them and for them to know more about me. What are their childhood stories? What do they want out of life and are they getting there? What are their interests and passions? What troubles them? What makes them happy?

Look at the oul hags. Notice how relaxed and attentive they are, bodies turned toward each other so they can be totally present for that moment. Maybe they're speaking of family and friends, the latest Dublin political scandal, or the bargains they just got in the Woollen Mills. It doesn't matter. You just know that they're having a good conversation and that they'll be happy to meet up with their friend at the same time and place next week. That's why I blog--because I look forward to "havin' a chat" with you each week.

Now head over to Lisa's place and start answering those questions from Fun Monday inquiring minds. Hope I get there first before all the original answers are used up!

Crazy Zack

(Our host for this week's Fun Monday is Angela over at aoj and the lurchers . Angela wants us to share our favorite photograph(s)and why, out of the thousands we have, these photos mean so much to us. I immediately thought of a few old photos of Zack the crazy border collie. He fit all the requirements: a favorite with plenty memories and stories to tell about him.)

In 1983 I was suffering from a major case of puppy lust and specifically thought I needed a border collie. Why, I don't know because I knew nothing about them except what they looked like. And, I lived in a three room duplex with a no pets rule and traveled too much for work. However, one Friday I spotted an ad in the paper for a litter of six week old pups, wormed, shot and ready to go to a good home for $6.00 each. A local farmer's working girl border collie had managed to get an unauthorized "date" with the handsome black lab running loose in the neighborhood. Apparently, he was quite persuasive because Working Girl forgot all her border collie discipline and ended up with a litter of children that combined her intelligence and his good looks. Sound familiar?

Anyway, I rushed out to the farm after work on Friday afternoon to have a look. . .and this little fur ball came up to me and said "Write the check and where are the car keys!" So I did and we drove home.

We had a weekend to bond before I had to leave on Monday morning for a week's work in the far end of the state--beginning the first of many dogsitting challenges. Luckily, I had some very tolerant friends who had two small children who loved the idea of keeping a puppy for a week. So Zack--his name by then--spent his first week playing with the two little ones until he was exhausted.






As you can see, he took bathtime supervision quite seriously. He got a good conduct report at the end of the week except for ripping up some horrid green indoor/outdoor carpeting on the back steps. The border collie in him just knew that fake grass carpeting is just wrong.




Zack the Escape Artist--from the beginning Zack was a frenetic, smart, and challenging dog and I was clueless about what he needed--and suffered the consequences. We lasted only three months in the duplex before getting evicted. I bought us a house, but it didn't have a fenced yard. I couldn't stand him tied, so I used my income tax refund to build him a fence. He repaid this kindness by sitting on top of the fence as the workmen pulled out of the driveway. The only thing that kept him in was a little "goosey wire" strung along the fence. He learned to avoid it and I gave myself a cheap electrical thrill every time I mowed the lawn. Whenever I opened a door to the outside he was ready to bolt. His theme song, Born Free, started playing in his head and off he went through the neighborhood with that gorgeous feather tail flying. The neighborhood kids loved the "Zack's loose!" alarm cry and gave chase. Usually I would find him pinned to the ground by a heap of kids, grinning from ear to ear with tongue lolling.

Zack the Weather Barometer--as is common with lots of high strung dogs, Zack was petrified by storms. He would pace, pant, and drool at the first cloud that passed over. He destroyed window and door screens trying to get in the house and even chewed through a wooden door once when I accidentally left him outside. In his older years he became even more bizarre. It wasn't enough to hide under the bed, he became a water seeker. He'd curl around the sump pump hole or--the best--crawl in the bathtub to ride out a storm. The crazier he got, the more destructive. He chewed through dryer vent hoses and once the furnace ductwork. The repairmen said it was a good thing it was summertime or we would have all gone under from carbon monoxide fumes. After that escapade, he became Zack Kevorkian to me for a time.

Zack the Parochial--like our current president, Zack had little curiosity about the world beyond his neighborhood. In particular, he opposed any international travel on my part. In '93 I was saving pennies for an English horticultural tour and--in a maniac race around the yard--he tore his cruciate ligament, which required about $1,500 in orthopedic surgery to repair the damage. Kiss the Chelsea Flower Show good-bye that year. In '98 when Zack was 15 years old (!) I went on a tour of Ireland and Scotland, leaving him and his three brothers in my sister's care. In his last "got ya", Zack died of old age and heart problems in the middle of the night. My dear friends, Sally and Dan, came to the rescue. At 6 a.m. they came to the house and loaded him in their car trunk and took him to Bob Evans' Restaurant for a farewell breakfast until the vet's office opened. Being new to pet funeral planning, imagine my shock to get a call from the vet to come by and pick up Zack's cremains. He's currently resting comfortably in a heart-shaped box in my closet. As usual Crazy Zack got the last laugh on me. . .

Crazy Zack has many more stories to tell, but out of consideration for other Fun Monday players I'll save them for another day. I'm headed over to aoj and the lurchers right now to check out other favorite pics--this is going to be a good week!

Netflix Escape

(Our hostesses for this week's Fun Monday are Jennifer and Emily over at Mothers of Brothers . They want to know about the word or words that mean a great deal to us. After all, they say, words can be our building blocks to communication and understanding, our stepping stones, even our salvation. For this time in my life, I'm going with "Netflix". Here's why.)

For last week's Fun Monday I shared some of the challenges I'm currently working though with my older sister's medical issues and loss of her home through a fire in her apartment building. Over the past month I've moved her over 300 miles from her lifetime home to live in my city so I can provide the care and support she needs. She'll live with me for several months, at least, until we can find her a suitable new apartment. I'm so grateful to all of you who shared your insights and experiences in dealing with this all too common dilemma last week. You did indeed provide some pearls of wisdom.

Last week I spoke of living on the fringes of my home and the challenges of nose to nose living 24:7 for someone who's accustomed to privacy and the company of only Willie the pit bull. Willie doesn't demand conversation, need my bed, forget to clean up after himself. Nor does he watch game shows or the home shopping network nonstop. Why he hardly ever demands control of the remote except for Dog Whisperer episodes (he thinks Daddy puts on airs)or Houston Animal Policeon the Animal Planet(he gets misty over a good pit bull rescue story).

Here's where my favorite word,"Netflix", as in Netflix Escape comes in. A couple of months ago I signed up for movie delivery at home service thinking it would get me through the summer dry spell of TV reruns and bummer pilot shows. Even before all the Sis drama came up, I was loving the opportunity to have four great movies lined up at once to watch at my leisure (which is most of the time since I'm retired). Over the past couple of months I've watched over 30 memorable movies--British dramas, all the Jane Austen productions, obscure independent films that deserved more attention, and blockbusters that I missed when they were playing locally.

What you see here is my Netflix Escape spot. When every nerve screams for privacy, I retreat to this corner of my home, and go to another place in the world--maybe even another century by popping a DVD in my computer. If you look closely at these photos you'll see why this place is such an escape. First, Willie always sleeps on his yoga mat under the desk--he'll stay up as late at night as necessary. If I look over my desk, I can see the huge map of the world with places I've been and other places I'm going soon. When I look over to the left, there's some of my watercolors and pen and ink drawings done in a calmer, more creative time.

Stacked on the desk are books that I'm currently reading and favorite DVDs that I watch over and over. There's also photos of some much loved dogs and my current actor hotties--Colin Firth posing as "adorable casual" and Richard Armitage as John Thornton in
North and South who's almost replacing Mr. Darcy in my affections. Yes, this raises some questions about the maturity of this 60+ year old, but I did say it's an escape, right? And, I do assure you that I didn't have to hide fan pics of the Jonas Brothers before taking this photo!

See the big blue pilates stability ball under the desk? It makes an excellent foot prop for leaning back and watching movies for hours on end. And, do you see the two small purple pilates balls to the left? Their names are Paris and Lindsay and are highly recommended to sit on for long drive times--takes the pressure off your "brain", if you're still with me? I traveled over 2,000 miles in a couple of weeks in July and they were lifesavers.

Now here's my five favorite Netflix Escapes from this past month:

1. North and South--an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel off the clash of north and south in the midst of England's Industrial Revolution. Northern mill owner, John Thornton, and southern parson's daughter, Margaret Hale, wage a major class battle until they come to an understanding, as you can tell from this scene. Do you even need to ask why this one is #1?

2.Veronica Guerin--Irish newspaper reporter fights drug dealers and crime bosses through her investigative stories when no one else dared take them on.

3. Darjeeling Limited--three grown American brothers travel across India to find their mother. They regularly do each other in, but come through in the end to act like brothers. Very, very funny.

4. The Songcatcher--an uptight music professor travels to the Appalachian Mountains in the early 1900s and discovers the purest of English ballads and friendship from the people who shared their music.

5. What a Girl Wants--delicious fluff! 17 year old American girl ,Daphne, heads off to England to connect with her father, the uptight Lord Henry Dashwood (Colin Firth). The chemistry is great between the two and music just makes you happy.

So, for this month my magic word is Netflix as in a handy way to escape from my day to day concerns and let someone else do the plotting, planning and worrying for a couple of hours. Hope your magic word does the same for you. And don't forget to check out the other Fun Monday wise words.

(Hint: if you're like me and are always interested in other people's book piles--or if you need to see the lovely John Thornton up close and without his cravat--just click on the photos to embiggen.)