Green Relief

Bad Hair Day for the Pulsatilla; Shy Ferns; Hosta: Greens by generous Olga.

The first shot reminds me of the little Danish trolls many of us had as children. Yes, I made clothes for them & there were dances, weddings (yikes), & so forth. I didn't like any shots in a 5-minute search for the little guys (& girls), but here's a site that includes the original Danish manufacturer of the real trolls, DAM at Trollhouse DK (in English & Danish). I wish I had a set of trolls right now.

Hardwired for Blue

I am, that's for sure. Here are some random images with/of blue from a folder; but not the monochromes of Yves Klein, currently on exhibition in Washington, DC at the Hirshhorn. Here are two related Washington Post articles (with illustrations) about Yves Klein, his blue, & other blues. I am beyond tired...so I look at blue(s). It's not even a choice, really. I'm waiting for the crowds to clear out (ha) before I go to the exhibit.

I was going to put in links to tumblr & other image sites using blue hues...wow. Too many to check out tonight. Read up on Yves & yes, I know the top shot has a lot of violet in it.

[images backward (!): sunbrella by Olga; blue (with green) room, blue window, gull take-off, & diptych on deviant art, via we heart it.

The Sheltering Sky

I was on the edge of a dust storm today (as here), just the edge; but enough to make one wonder "Why do you do these things? Why?!" Helping unpack & cull fabulous-to-good baskets from Darfur, Sudan, destined for sale here in the States. (The poor uh-oh baskets--we're thinking of what/how to salvage.)

The travel time for these boxes of baskets...what a journey. A new intern, "I think these boxes are older than me!" I think so, too. We had the Sahel all over us, the dust & grime. I said, "Look? Ugh" "I prefer to not think of it," she said in a funny voice. Naturally, I began thinking of the provenance of every piece of grit.

A nice bit of serendipity--Tina Tarnoff, fantastic artist & author of Thought Patterns has a post on tarting up a steamer trunk. (I have had one in my bedroom since I was very little & am enthused by the possibilities. This enthusiasm may wane. We shall see.) Tina & her husband were inspired to acquire & do something with a steamer trunk after they watched The Sheltering Sky, the adaptation of the Paul Bowles novel. And so I take that title for the post or else it will just be titled Desert Grime. Or something worse.

I just realized, yes only now, that I was unpacking things-that-were-shipped from a far away land. Camels were involved. Yep.

Thanks to everyone for their comments here, on Facebook, & in email about Giulia Geranium's birthday. The cat herself remains unimpressed by me & my machinations on her behalf. She is very interested in the basket I brought home tonight, though. After all, she descends from North African desert lands....as do all domesticated felines (anywhere in the world...how weird is that?).

Thursday update: Here's an interesting post called Writing Morocco from Peony Moon blog (gorgeous photographs).

[photographs by Tim Navis (via Sebastian tumblr), Fady Habib (via Beauty in Everything) & the sea is from Noa's tumblr (inactive) all via we heart it]

Sicilian Sunbrella

The stripes & umbrellas continue...this time from Giampaolo Macorig's Water & Sky flickr set. I've used a lot of his shots on the Giulia Geranium blog. He's a terrific & generous guy with a painterly eye & imagination. He lives in Rome now, but lived in Palermo (where this was shot) for some years.

Back tomorrow with Fourth of July & other summery stuff. Right now, I'd like to be in Sicily...so off to make some Sicilian food. That's as close as it gets tonight. (Oh, & with an Andrea Camilleri mystery.) ciao, belle.

Another Roman storm approaches...

Museo della terme, Roma. Fun making it look like it felt--humid, electric expectation, yellow, thrilling (saturation, tint, & who knows what else I did to this, can't remember, doesn't matter...) Leaving in the clickability feature, whatever feedburner says. It's weirder in larger size. ciao.

Multicolored balloons in a green sky

Happy St. Patrick's Day. I wish someone would leave a case of Harp & a bottle of Jameson on the front stairs. Seriously. Considering I was a founding member of the James Joyce Society in DC, one of three responsible for running the first Ulysses marathon reading in the U.S. at American University in 1984, & on & on...one would think I'd have more to say. Quote Yeats, at least, if not Joyce. Anecdotes about friends at the Abbey? My collection of Irish children's books (that are anything but sentimental, of course)? Nope. Not feeling it tonight (as this is 16 March). Perhaps later. xo. (photo credit)

Pieces of another puzzle

More pieces. Blue balloon (though not blue enough, it'll do for now), figs. Typewriters, done; Vespa, oranges, South of France, to come. (photo credits) Still having computer problems. Will set things to post through the weekend. Wish me luck. Ciao, S.

Carnevale di Venezia 2009 - Azzurro

Spooky, blue-ish Venice (even without the graduated tint). I'll stop with the blue stuff soon, probably.. (photograph by mysterious wax0r, who is in Venice right now.) ciao

Week's End - Along the Tevere

Rome is my favorite city & I miss it terribly. Giampaolo Macorig captures a certain moment beautifully. Have a lovely weekend. ciao, baci...