girl at large

Welcome Back Captaine Pat!

in the Comune Libre du Safranier neighborhood on our walk yesterday Mom's back! and she got so tan and skinny! nothing like the "Sailboat Diet"...Bert is bringing the boat back from Italy, Mom took the train....and she may take it back again to Italy, she fell in love with both the coast and Tuscany....

au revoir

another movie poster shot... Ryan is off to his favorite place on the planet, Amsterdam, or "The 'Dam" as he says....i suppose there he can pay the ladies to stop nagging at him....ha ha quoted Ry: "Damn, I love the Dutch!"

in the cards

we went to the Musee de la Carte Postale today, an amusing way to kill two hours, where we were treated to a personal tour that encompassed not only a history of the postcard but a bit of French history as well. there were 5 or 6 American examples...one of which was from Portland, Oregon. hmm...a sign perhaps? quoted Ryan: "The goddamn Postcard Museum didn't even sell goddamn postcards!"

you said it

in Berts absence, i thought i'd be missing the "Bert-isms" we've come to know and love so much, but as Ryan points out...we have a few 'isms' of our own: "These naps are exhausting me." "What'd he do, send you a picture of the word 'cock'?" (on the possibilities of Scrabble Club meets Craig's List online dating). "Did you raid the dwarfs?" (referring to mom's 7 fiances history). "Aside from the smoking and the drinking, I'm kinda on a health kick myself." (i did give up soda and fast food!) "Calendars are meaningless, what do I care what day it is?" (mom on retirement). "You look like the little carton of Minute Maid before the three glasses of water." (i was concentrating).

wheels

the Smart Car or a version of it is scheduled for introduction in the USA in 2006....it's a super thing here--parking in one turn of the wheel, zipping in and out of little lanes, outstanding gas mileage, just the room a single gal and her dog would need...just the kind of car i would have loved in Savannah....but does it stand a chance against the monster american SUV's? Ryan's take on the Smart: it's so small, you'd need one of those orange warning flags off the end of your baguette sticking out the back. i love that image.

o' bureaucrat, where art thou?

Ryan had a package sent from the States with some standard allergy medication in it, his father, law-abiding citizen (and um, Police Chief) that he is, noted as such on the documentation. oops. eight phone calls, two agencies, three faxes, one trip to the outgoing fax office, three translations, one declaration letter and some serious printer ink cartridge depletion later, Ryan was issued an Import License by the Ministry of Medications (Agence des Medicaments) and the package cleared for delivery. as i turned to find a pen, i was stunned when the pen-less FedEx guy said don't bother...after all that, they don't even get a signature!?!?!

ok, take the shot already

me and Ryan in Haut de Cagnes

daytripping

Haut de Cagnes, our favorite local get-away spot---only twenty minutes away, quiet and as yet undiscovered by tourists, gorgeous and host to a great bistro and great views....but i just don't think there are enough archways...

Tishie Mae Update

Mom called this weekend with the obligatory update: she and Bert were confined by weather to the same port for too long---so, they rented a car and drove to Tuscany last week, found a great old hotel and spent a few days relaxing with the luxury of showers and meals served without a to and fro rocking sensation. as of today, they are in back on the boat and in Portofino, the classic Italian port town.

easel update

Fort Carre II, acrylic and oil pastel on paper, 19.75" x 25.5"

at last!

in Vintimilla or Ventimiglia

market day in Italy

one small handbag, one large tote (for someone else) and a large summer-weight scarf...how did i forget to get sunglasses? that's what i went there for!...just gonna have to go back next week... and Ryan still needs to get those mandals...

lotta latte

still on the Starbucks quotient: Savannah, pop.135k: 2 Portland, pop.490k: 45 Chicago, pop.2.7m: 72 Los Angeles, pop.3.6m: 56 Atlanta, pop.400k: 23 Madison, pop.224k: 3 San Francisco, pop.747k: 63 Fond du Lac, pop.40k: 0

Starbucks, mass transit, housing... but what about the boys?

hey! i wasn't crazy with this idea! seems someone has compiled a list of the Best Places for Dating.

well, i wouldn't be wanting for caffeine...

a statistical side-by-side comparison--Savannah vs. Portland. surprising: though having fewer rain days, Savannah overall actually has more rainfall than Portland. encouraging: Portland has a markedly lower crime rate, not a big shock as Savannah can be crime central. slightly alarming: 45 Starbucks in Portland? 45?!?!? how would i find which one Miss Dawn is at???

could this be it?

on a suggestion from The Custard, i've been investigating Portland, Oregon as a place to live when i return stateside in the fall. and what a contender! it had been on my short list some years ago when i first left Wisconsin, but it had slipped my mind--i think the rain deterred me. but i can get over the rain if what i see online is even half true... The Pearl neighborhood looks like just my kind of thing (if it weren't so over-priced and nouveau snobby)---walking lifestyle, farmer's market, gallery row, a streetcar to downtown, loft living galore.... lots of other neighborhoods with distinctive feels, much like what i like about Chicago. a Design Within Reach studio (as well as numerous other design destinations)--that's my own benchmark--kind of like "Is there a Target? Ok, then I could live there." not a lot of mover and shaker style jobs in my field, but a surprising number of solid, established companies and intruiging independents that i wouldn't mind working for or shopping at. a decent daily newspaper is so important. and something else i find encouraging--the wealth of information online about the city, nieghborhoods, economy, jobs, parks, etc. lots of single girl places to go and things to do. an active art community including lots of galleries, a small design school, an art museum and a traditional studio arts college. (no, i'm not planning on going back to school AGAIN, but i like what an art school and other universities and colleges bring to the community and it's good to know i can take a course here and there if i want to.) from what i've seen so far, a reasonable cost of living, including not-insane (compared to California!!) apartment rental rates. and to top it off, no less than 8 dog friendly parks! heck, i can put up with the rain---it's raining AGAIN here today!

easel update

Fort Carre I, acrylic and oil pastel on paper, 19.75" x 25.5"

Tishie Mae update

Bert brings her in last fall Mom and Bert are still in Genoa, the weather continuing to be a factor, but not yet dampening their spirits--they are enjoying the city life and the Italian surroundings, namely especially the livelier people. plenty of phone calls this weekend for (American) Mother's Day--Grandma was astounded that she could hear the water slapping against the side of the boat when she spoke to Mom yesterday--what a remarkable international connection! these new cell phones are amazing...but a little bird told me the difference might be Grandma's new hearing aids...sshh....

shoulda had shades

me and Rydog enjoying the sunshine---by looking directly at it

Ryan Takes A Walk

Stiff and Uncomfortable on the Cote d'Azur

perspective

i sent Gloom and Doom Boy out with an assignment for his digital camera today to get some shots of the town---people out and about on a lovely spring day in the south of france, that sort of happy thing---and he comes back with the homeless crazy guy on the corner and the french fashion firing squad...

served with pizzaz

Ryan's dessert of choice be a kid again and order up an ice cream or a sorbet here and you'll get one of these...complete with cookie, delicate spoon and sparkler! Ry: "I can't imagine why people think I'm gay."

not meant to be

Ryan in Not-Italy after hussling out the door to catch the 11am train we arrived at the station to find that the 11am train was a figment of my imagination (and the online train schedule). a cup of coffee and an hour later we're waiting on the platform for the 12pm train...which is delayed for in "indeterminate" amount of time due to an "electrical" problem....hmm..will we ever get to the market in Ventimille? is the goddess of new Italian shoes telling me that today is just not my day?

someone has a crush

kisses! Miss Ruby has really taken to Ryan...a new and currently still-willing victim for her licking obsession and spinning/dancing/leaping displays of affection...

back in the day

Mom bellydancing in Door County, action series, the white-fro years (the "pat" labels were my dad's doing--i'm not the only one with a label-maker problem.) my brother Thomas asked me for photos of Mom in her bellydancing years...considering the content (addicting!) of his workplace's blog i'm a tad concerned.....mom, forgive me. update: i can't believe Tom remembers the Pyramid. a good supper club never dies.

now how did i miss going there?

this is reminiscent of my childhood supper club experiences, though vastly more commited, so to say, to the concept.....and in my homestate no less, just down I-94....

recipe for laughter

it seems i've inherited mom's colorful, creative use of language, which i use with phrases and cliches--i prefer a mixed colloquialism salad. one of Ryan's favorites: "I'd like to be a fly on the wall of that brain."

Tishie Mae update

Bert in his lounge chair Mom called today---caught me napping---she and Bert have been in Genoa for a few days, waylaid by weather but happy to have a big new city to explore--they've spent time in museums and churches and a few cozy nights in a hotel. the weather has been an issue---storms have been battering the coast all along their course (and here as well---four out of five days overcast and rainy, unpredictable winds). they even came through a hail storm out at sea intact! the boat envy seems to be worsening with each experience like that---Tishie Mae has a rather open, unprotected cockpit that takes all the pleasure out of pleasure boating when you're caught out in bad weather. she'll be calling again next week, i'll keep you posted as they progress, albeit slowly, down the coast of Italy. note: they've only got disposable waterproof cameras onboard, so no instant picture uploads to offer i'm afraid. it took some doing to convince mom that indeed the salt water would ruin the digital camera in just a few days (and how would she download/upload them until they returned anyway? that will have to wait until the Big Boat materializes--complete with satelite internet). what they really need is one of these badboys.

Bon Fete!

Happy May Day!

no need for the drinks list

Ryan has a thing for Coca Light...it's his usual order at our favorite evening bar. there was some confusion once about whether he wanted the bill or another Coca Light (he wanted another soda) and the patrons had a giggle...and still do everytime they see him....Monsieur Coca Light.