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This post is really not a literary discussion.  I hope you will bear with its short introduction.

In one of my classes we are reading and discussing Jonathan Safron Foer’s first book, Everything is Illuminated.  (It’s a brilliant, hilarious book,&… Read full post »

 Topic:

Mad Men

I took a little hike today, and thought some of y'all might like to come along...

a riot of yellows against an azure sky

 

an impressionist view

The harvest is over

Farmwork almost done

The Wabash river slows… Read full post »

 

When I was in my late twenties, I met a group of like-minded friends through church. Eventually we all got fed up with the patriarchic small-minded madness of our elderly pastor, and our group became our “church,” meeting once a week, where we shared our lives, our hopes… Read full post »

 

 

I saw this little lady in my grape vine munching on a honey bee.  I watched her as she cleaned every morsel off of her front legs.  Her lunch was over by the time I came back with the camera.

photo © voicegal 2009 Read full post »

 

My father is awakened by the cats at 5 AM.  They knead his stomach, anxious for their daily dose of fishy-smelling cat food.  There are five of them; he was not particularly a “cat person” before his wife collected them.  She had always been jealous of his r… Read full post »

I always get a little sad this time of year.  I usually credit it to the changes in the light; by this time in Cleveland we’ve lost the hazy white gaze of summer, the days are noticeably shorter, and our long, frigid, unrelenting winter is on the horizon.  Or,… Read full post »

 

Thought you might like to meet one of the visitors to my garden today!

And a shot of the whole glorious plot:

Happy Summer! Read full post »

 

I am in love.  I am so in love that I’m alternating between gushing, having the loss of speech, and sobbing uncontrollably.  And I never ever expected this to happen to me, here, now and at this time in my life.

I am currently visiting New York City,… Read full post »

 

I have loved Mexico since my first six-week exploration of the Yucatan and Chiapas in 1996.  I went there with a meso-American anthropologist friend and his students and we spent our time climbing pyramids, swimming in cenotes (natural limestone pools) and waterfalls, and sleepin… Read full post »

I am very fortunate to be an honored guest at a conference in the historic part of Mexico City.  Today was the first day of the conference, and the program notes described opening remarks and speeches by guests much more distinguished than I.  In deciding my wardrobe for the… Read full post »

 

Suddenly I feel dropped into a Tennessee Williams Play.  I’m in a hotel room in downtown Mexico City.  It’s quite nice for Mexico standards, a little seedy if compared to American hotels.  Let’s just say that it has been well-used.  The electrical… Read full post »

Fourteen hours ago I boarded an RER train for the Paris Charles DeGaulle airport.  I’m currently ensconced in the TGIFridays in terminal A in the Newark Airport.  (What do I see?  A real knife?  Oh that’s right, I’m outside of airport security.)  My f…

Read full post »

Yesterday it was once again cold and rainy, but I packed my satchel and headed out.  I walked north and west towards the Champ de Mars, looking for an open market on Boulevard de Grenelle.  It was a longer walk than I expected, and by the time I reached… Read full post »

 

Got up early this morning to finish packing, clean out the refrigerator in Venice, and get on the road to the Nimes train station.  David had volunteered to drive, and we were leaving at 8 AM sharp for me to catch a 9:50 train.  David told me to wake him… Read full post »

 

It is my last day at the Chateau, and fittingly, it is grey and rainy; a perfect day for packing and cleaning “Venice.”  But I am sad to leave, and the gloom does nothing to elevate my mood, nor the knowledge that the rain will cancel our outdoor wifi… Read full post »

(Our classroom)

 It’s been a busy few days here at Malérargues.

I am co-leading a workshop which runs 10AM-1 and 3PM-5, so I tend to wake up at 8AM, get ready, teach, eat lunch, nap, then teach/take class again.  At 5:30 or so I join the others at the outdoor… Read full post »

 

(lunch, chez moi)

 

I know where the wild strawberries
grow

will you go?

imagine the way the sun shines there
(alight in a shimmering glow)
and the grass smells sweet
and the heat
plays with the wind in my hair

will you go there?

We could lie on our backs
And sip strawberry sweetness
bees da… Read full post »

  J

 Jay and Jennifer look at the sweet meats of the wedding supper

I’m feeling a little blue today, perhaps an after-effect of too much celebrating yesterday. I woke up at 8:30 this morning, had some juice and coffee and watched the rain drip down the roof tiles.… Read full post »

 

Upon waking at 9AM, I breathe the crisp air rising off the mountain.  I boil water for coffee, and look out my window, contemplating the day.  There are gold finches singing “dee ditty, dee ditty, dee ditty” and there is a whissh of wind in the pines.  Roote… Read full post »

 

 Ah, I open my windows and outside there is heaven!  Mountain rock and pine, and echoes of the hot Mistral winds blowing through the valleys.  The sounds of Jay chopping wood for winter fires.  

But back to the beginning.

Ivan picked me up at the Nimes train station,… Read full post »

 

 

Lord God, I had forgotten how beautiful it is in France.  I’m currently speeding through central France on the bullet train “T G V” (pronounced “tey zhey vay’) and wondering at the lush countryside populated with dots of white cows and stolid s… Read full post »

This is where I'm going to be for the next couple of weeks.  Stay tuned for updates! Read full post »

 

www.netstate.com

For the first time in weeks I didn't check the computer first thing in the morning.  Instead, I picked up Dave Cullen's book Columbine.  Twelve hours later I'm finished.  The book should come with two warnings:  First, YOU CANNOT PUT IT DOWN. … Read full post »