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January 28, 2012
I've gone to my farm in Kentucky for the weekend. It's a great place to relax, do a little hard physical labor, and forget about the rest of the world. If you don't have such a place, I highly suggest you get one.
In the meantime, here's a charming article I found for you to read about the City of Lights.
See you on Monday.
J. Peterman
From: The Chicago Tribune
still thinking about today...
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03/08/11
Can't jet off to Paris just now so I'll just enjoy my time with the delightful folks in the Village.
Schoolgirl Saturday job, working in Woolworths. They put me on the make-up and perfumes etc counter. One of the nastiest 'fragrances' we sold was called 'Evening in Paris'
ooh la la la, c'est vrai HAZEL, absolutely nasty scent!
Bon jour everyone. Hope your weekends are tres bien.
HAZEL & CHEFDEB: That stuff smells awfully much like some stuff we found on a table at a Garage Sale, called ... "Weekend in Bossier" ....... Not surprisingly, Paris itself stinks ... I much prefer Provence, or even Epernay ....... In either of the two latter ... the LIPs are Genuinely Friendly, and not just putting-on for the Tourists .......
Bedtime For Bonzo !!!
Good Day !!!
Good morning Ivan! Thats funny, because in Paris I found absolutely NO ONE either pretending to be friendly, let alone actually friendly. Provence, mais oui.
I am not going to ask what LIPs stands for!
Paris (to me) suffers from the same malady that cities like Berlin and yes, New York City suffer from. "I am not just a superior French personne I am a Parisian", so I do know that it is not just my flagrant Americanness that brings out their patronizing rudeness. I have only been there twice so I could be wrong. But much as I love to see the Sights (Tour Eifffel, Champs Eeysee, Louvre, etc) in any locale, my favorite part of travelling is getting to know the people who live there. Sitting in a cafe having whatever they have and soaking it all in through their eyes as much as possible.
All right, I will watch "Midnight in Paris." After all I do love Woody Allen as well as Owen Wilson. So if Mr. P and Woody like it, I'll give the whole city another shot.
I know the feeling...... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXBba77U1_Y ;
Excellent local tobacconist actually has Gauloise. Onion soup simmering, stripey T-shirt on. Me prancing around singing 'Sur la pont d'Avignon' and thinking about Impressionist Painters, pavement cafes, the strange plumbing in the sort of accommodation students could afford, the flea markets ... the coffee, the wine ...... the buildings, the art galleries ..... the wine.
Wish I may, wish I might wake up in Paris tomorrow night...................w/ a chocolate croissant in one hand, trout w/ butter & almonds in the other, & a cheese plate and baguettes in front of me...........................mmmmmmmmmmmmm.........................
A local man from a prominent family and of the generation and neighborhood of my wife's parents served in France in the big one and was, for awhile, married to a Parisian woman.
A racist and Bircher, he was relentlessly tiresome on the subject of politics and way too interested in and hands-on forward with much younger women and girls as well.
But, get him talking about Paris, and he became another man… almost reverential in his encyclopedic knowledge of and respect for the city.
For a few days this week, there were no birds around: no morning flyover by the bald eagle, no cardinals in the sour cherry tree, no improbable January robin eating frozen orange crab apples, no chickadees, sparrows, finches, juncos or crows… no nuthin'.
Someone reminded me that it happens that way every winter but it didn't help much.
Today with a layer of new snow sparkling in the sun, they are back - all of them and it is very nice to see.
Speaking of seeing, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD was given the paperback versions of the first two novels in the Stieg Larsson Millennium trilogy and read each of them (they are very thick books) in two days.
Just saying is all.
Hazel ~
You struck a chord with the sidewalk cafe reference: Coffee and, maybe later, something a little nicer while in the background:
http://youtu.be/4kDZXHmC4Cs
A favorite of a late friend of ours, Guest and I got a bit misty and more than a bit loaded listening to it on an iTunes loop one sweet summer evening out on the screen porch.
Good too:
http://youtu.be/ckSh969s5gQ
http://youtu.be/ZUIeTJ3h_L0
Alas, Stoney~ I am currently locked out of youtube, but thanks for the thought.
I spent a weekend in Paris.....what a delight! What food! What memories! As for "Evening in Paris" (which by the way if anybody feels nostalgic or likes it is available through the Vermont Country Store) always reminds me of Aunt Esther--my dad's aunt. She married late in life and never had children so she madly spoiled us whenever we saw her. However, all the mad abandon of being indulged and spoiled was marred by two things. Two things that for me were real deal breakers. She swathed herself in "Evening in Paris" and she let her parakeets fly loose in the house. I've always had a keen olfactory sense so was overwhelmed by the perfume and I've never ever liked birds--except far far far off in the distance outside. Oh my! I'm almost getting a headache recalling that perfume. As vile as the scent was it was packaged elegantly in a cobalt blue glass bottle with silver cap. I still can't understand how something that looked that pretty could smell that bad.
...oh! and just to set the matter straight....the weekend in Paris was just a fluke piece of good luck in my days as a travel agent. I'd won two tickets to anywhere TWA flew and we couldn't decide where/when until the month before they were to expire and a travel agent friend said she could get away, so she and I went and she (who dealt with Paris hotels, etc. daily and had lots of contacts) set up our hotel and meals (all no cost!). So not exactly a decadent, romantic fling away--but still fun! And what an experience!
As a child wandering around Woolworth's I thought Evening in Paris was for "ladies of the night." I didn't know what "ladies of the night" were exactly, but I knew I wasn't one. And that was before I smelled it!
STONEY--tell Beauty that I did the same th ing and I envy her having the third one yet to read!
Paris, Paris
beaucoups du parapluies.
Stoney ~ Paolo Conte, most excellent!
We are going to Paris in Sept. on our way to and from some of the wine country in France. Looking forward to an enjoyable trip. Were going to go in april but some health concerns have caused us to delay the trip ,but have some friends that have gone to some fo the French wine in Sept. and say the weather is very good and the crowds ard down and is avery good time to go.I hope they are correct.
Loved the comment about the difference between looks and smell, Carol. And, ChefDeb, you might have smelled like one of those "ladies" if you had used the perfume.
I'll take a chateau in Provance over Paris as a place to stay. It's a delight base of operations, and you can make Paris and other wonderful places day-trips. The you return to the tranquility of the countryside and the family run shop down the road for le fromage frais and better le pain et le beurre than you can get anywhere in Paris. But brush up on you French. It's not that they snub Americans. I was treated as a welcome guest. It's that they are so delighted if you can speak a little French and really try to do so.
As Billy Crystal said, in a movie of the same name, "Forget Paris" -- I had a visit from my son and two year old grandson today -- still smiling.
Paris, leader in the Industrial Age, beautiful langauge, I am related to Marie Anoinette, on my father's side, French heritage...too...I want to go to Paris, agian too , love the shops in Paris....and the country side of France.....my sisters lived there..I am still a 21st Century Cinderella...living in Pittsburgh....in the family home...French have amazing Leadership and and are indivisible with their neighbors...what a toss up to try to hold on to a country's culture...and heritage...because of the changes: evolvement of this next generation of French citizens....people...in France are amazing...!!!
Two words:
Carla Bruni
**************************Honey Bunny Outdoor Whispers***************************-*-*-*-*Outdoor Whispers of Snowflakes Falling, *-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*Twiling to a Spiritural Dance------*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*the Outdoor Silence of Misty Breezes Allures Me,*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-******-*-*_*-*-*_*-*-*-*_*Awakening my Spiritual Senses-------*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-******-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-******Passed from Generation to Generation.....*-*-*-*-*-*-*****_*-*-*-*-*-*-*****Even in the Brisk, Cold Light of a JANUARY DAY,*-*-*-*-*************-*-*-*-*-*-*The Crystal Morning, as the snowflakes Fall from....*-*-*-*-*-************-*-*-****Pillow Clouds you can hear...******************************-*-*-*-******************-*-*-*-*--"Outdoor Whispers,......"*-*-*-*-*-*-*-****************-*-*-*-******"I love You,*******************Honey, Love You,*****'I love you Honey Bunny!*******and so you miss your lost love, dearly and hear the winter woods whispering... the winter scenes like today, in Pennsylvania snowing and cold; there is new snow, large snowflakes fallen, your overlooking a wintery scene that includes a partially frozen stream.among snow laden Pine Trees..and you mind is at peace and you are happy and content...from the silent misty snowy peace of the day!
I wrote this in 2005 on Blue Spruce Run...during a wintery day in January of 2005.
Twirling..some other typos...ooopsie....**********
Guys like me don't make jokes about how guys like Nick Sarkozy wind up with women like her… we just don't.
http://youtu.be/TiC6Iwj1vxs
http://youtu.be/N1D7flshdYQ
http://youtu.be/vjftpMe6h8c
STONEY - my favorite Paolo Conte - It's wonderful, it's wonderful, it's wonderful good luck ma baby!
Never been to Paris .................... it is on my bucket list.
My mind is still stuck on the mention of that god awful stuff, Evening in Paris. It *is* dreadful; when I saw it in the Vermont Country Store catalog, I winced and then I sneezed. All senses react to that scent, it's so so - SO something.
I had a great aunt who wore what I still consider to be the worst perfume ever made, and like Evening in Paris, is still being made, by Estee Lauder -- and that's Youth Dew. It literally gags me - I just checked their website and it says that the top notes are rose, jonquil, and lavender. Oh really? I can't imagine how a perfume company can take three lovely flowers and make such a horrific scent.
I apologize for the detour around the City of Lights...I'm having a hard time focusing on much of anything other than IVAN IS BACK HOME in the Village - WHERE HE BELONGS.
Do you think they made "Evening in Paris" smell vile on purpose?????
....my grandmother had a bottle we were not allowed to touch. I admired the pretty blue bottle and silver cap, so my grandmother got me a bottle at Woolworths. It said "toilet water" on the bottle, so I poured the scent in the toilet and flushed.
My grandmother was VERY upset with me. I rinsed out the pretty blue bottle and I still have it among my treasures.
Penelopetx ~
Funny, never met anyone who liked him who wasn't himself or herself, likable.
Even our grandchildren love Gelato al Limon.
Terrific drinking music… in fact…
Let's have some wine and listen to Paolo......When I see Paolo Conte - especially in those Youtube videos - he reminds me of my grandfather - down to the nose! He was a short, irrascible man with piercing blue eyes and my Mom said he used to tell people he spoke five languages - french, english, obscene, profane, and dirty.....
I'm in… if the wine is red and cheap.
ChefDeb ~
I forgot to mention, apart from how amazingly appropriate it was to show up at the boneyard in a big, shiny, black Cadillac, we matching eight preppies stopped afterwards at a nearby roadhouse for drinks.
The barman, one of those a little too chipper types, wondered: "So, are you guys, two barbershop quartets or what?"
The oldest and crabbiest of us responded: "We are a death squad," and mentioned the name of the guy we had seen on his way.
"Never heard of him," said the bar tender.
"Neither had we."
and the chipper barman slunk back to his corner.....
Red, cheap and good!
STONEY---did you all order the same drink?!
Last year, an well known educational magazine--the one with the yellow boarder on the front cover had a very intriguing ariticle about Paris' underground catacombs. That would be interesting to visit.Has anyone watched the small independent movie called "Before Sunset"? It was the sequel to "Before Sunrise"? That movie showed the sites of Paris in a lovely way.
Red--California, not French.....yes! cheap, but taste(ful)y............laugh away the gallows humor of the day........Carla Bruni?Really?Why?? Expensive clothes don't make the woman, true beauty is more than botox and treatments.........REAL French onion soup done correctly.....post-prandial brandies.....walks by the Seine......pastries?????? Of course!
paolo, parigi et vino
I'm in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz1oEXmOD50
Funny how none of us touched on how Paris glitters with romance. Maybe it's because we're too well grounded in the real meaning of romantic love.....................or it's too far from Valentine's Day!
This song has been playing in my head all day.
Hazel, striped shirts and all...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rRatYVTy-A&feature=endscreen&NR=1
What a lovely day. The onion soup was perfect with cheesy croutons and the house smelling of garlic and Gauloise. So, duvet time here. Nos da/bon nuit dear people. x
haze, onion soup sounds good. Maybe another day.
Right now, it is potato and leek soup in our household.
In winter time, our thoughts turn to soup most days.
It's almost wine time. STONEY..........................utterly delightful stories, you do know how to weave words in a most magical way............................ I have not read the 3rd book yet, I am still waiting for it to come out in paperback..................
And I will be honest, I find Sarkozi to be quite sexy..................I seem to be the only one. I LOVE his nose, adore it..................& his voice....................ooh la la..........................
I hav never smelled Evening in Paris & I am so glad I haven't! Reading everyones' wonderful posts did make me so sad that Woolworth's is no more................there will never be another like it & no grilled cheese as delicious.................
PARK.................I guess the Valentine gift I ordered for you from your beloved Vermont Country store ( I got a Christmas catalog & lusted over many things........) will have to be returned...................I laughed because one of my mother's best friends always wore Youth Dew & after she visited the bed she slept in smelled so strongly of it................I believe it was considered the first of the "Oriental" ( the precursor to Opium) scents.....................
CHEFD................pretty please will you whip us up a giant cauldron of bubbling french onion soup...................HAZEL's mention made me so hungry.........& what pastry will you be making for us?????????????????????????
" On the Whole, I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia ..." Wm. Claude Dukenfeld 1936
CHEFDEB: LIP is an Achronym, a Military abbreviation used among Occupation Forces to indicate ... L OCAL I NDIGENOUS P ERSONNEL .......
IVAN--sorry for being presumptuous about your naughtiness. I spent a week in Philadelphia one night!
BEBE--after the French Onion Soup I think some chocolate dipped meringues would be in order...oh, I guess they always are!!!!!!!
ChefDeb, bebe,may I add some hazelnuts to those meringues?
And, I have a lovely Mercurey to go with the soup and chocolate.
Carol, Because "romance" is fleeting and not real love. That is why. Real love has nothing to do with a "place". If one is with the right person, you can be in a cave and be happy. Imagine how lonely Paris or anywhere can be without anyone by your side. :)But it could still be FUN! :) not being negative. .. .. just being real. Paris is overrated.
Don't get me wrong, I do love the life, energy, and the threads of memories that can be found in great cities. It's just that they do look better at night, from afar, or if you squint your eyes real tight.
Cities are like stepping off a beach into cold water...for some it is best to stick your toe in first and gradually get acclimated, for others it is to just jump in and feel like someone punched you in the heart..
Nos da from a small town in the prairie state.....
P.s., if you grow up in a great city, well there just isn't anything like it and no other city can measure up to it...
That's all folks......
"I was a free man in Paris. I felt unfettered and alive." Actually these daze, I prefer Typical Small Beach Towns and tiki bars with ocean views where I can sing along with the blender..."he went to Paris looking for answers to questions that bothered him so...." Yep. No one calling me up for favors no one's future to decide. I'll leave that up to Gertrude Stein. Let Tommy eat cheesecake.
Just wanted to note, I grew up in diversity,the melting pot, city of Pittsburgh,I do embrace diversity; France has foundation in acting like a secular nation; ie., Thomas Jefferson...there are, as well as their should be, two trains of thought...outcome in policy making... provides a balance of wealth in decision-making...what i wanted to note and i am very aware that i am close to a Petermans' 100's medal...so quickly, in nineth grade in America...in the old days, now...you were given a choice to select what langauge you wanted to learn, it was well understood...that everyone wanted the most favorite sounding langauge, French...so the hands raised, in the classroom, sharply the majority...Spanish was second favorite...becasue it was emphazied that it would be the future second langauge in America....this 1975.....another memory is you learned in the classroom solely supported by your teachers lectures.....they were also, the teachers that traveled the foreign country... of their craft.....movie reels ..of France and Spain...Rome....no headphones or cassettes or special learning aids...amazing teachers..My mother gave me a menu signed by Peron and his wife...at an outdoor cook out...I took Spanish, but wanted to take French, following my older sisters footsteps...and i could speak alot of Spanish since my Godmother, lived in Buenos Aries...she wrote me every month....and she definitely taught me the art of letter writing....I also, instruct as an adjunct professor...and quickly, have every student write a letter to food companies, or diabetes, heart, associations/health organizations.....and it is very true...that people do not know how to write letters or address envelopes...so i provide an early introduction...ASAP; I liked many of todays discussions...and opinions...keep up the good work...some have such grandiose writing skills..and thoughts...this is a bridge to learn to write better...i still have not master video themes...