A Place Like This......

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

 

A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

 

When I picked Katten up Friday night to give him a little hug before bed, he cried out in pain. I couldn't see anything wrong. No broken bones, no abscess, no wounds. So I laid him in his bed in the basement and would see how things were in the morning.

The Morning:

Poor little Katten couldn't walk on his rear back foot. Off to the vet we went. It wasn't all of the prodding and searching which gave us our result. It was the fact of laying him down on the examining table and hearing "clink" which told us there was a problem. Katten had been shot by a pellet gun.  He was repaired by our vet and I was sent home with a couple different types of medicine to help his healing.

Once home and the story told, boy, that's what the cat calls "O",would not leave his side. So much so that Little O fell asleep upside down on the bed.

 
Both are resting contently.

 

 
We'd like to thank everyone for their very kind messages on my Facebook page. They made us feel better. Katten is walking normally now and is very happy once again.

 
We are so lucky that it turned out the way it did. I really don't know what I would do without my little crafting cat. He's so very sweet and we love him very dearly. Thanks again for your heartfelt wishes.

Favorite Hat Conversion

 
Ta-Dah! Here it is.....my new sacky hat. When I was visiting Emily I bought some Noro yarn, surprise surprise. I just love Noro yarn and as much as I try to stop knitting with it I can't. Can you believe I went all the way to England to buy Noro yarn from Japan? I had never seen this Noro yarn before. It's Noro Blossom . They have the greatest colorways in this!....And this is why I had to buy it or at the very least that was the reason I gave myself to make another noro yarn purchase.

I knew immediately that I had to make her "favorite hat"with this yarn.  I've made Soulemama's hat at least 12 times. It's such a fantastic hat but this time I wanted a sacky hat like I was seeing everyone wearing in Europe. Ok go ahead and call me a fiber fashionista. So I knit Amanda's favorite hat with amendments. I'm sending you to Amanda's for the hat pattern and the amendments are below. How does it look?

 

You will need two 50 gr skeins of Noro blossom

Head on over to Amanda's to get her favorite hat pattern.

Amendments:

I did 2 inches for the ribbing.

I knit Amanda's pattern a total of 6 times.

The next row after the final purls I K2tog.

Do the entire pattern one more time.

K2tog for the next round

Purl the next round.

Do this to the very end. You will need to switch to double pointed needles. When you get to the top, turn the yarn to the inside of the hat and pull. Tie it off and now you have a sacky hat.

A Little Birthday Madness

The instructions for his 12th birthday party were clear. All guys, only girls he's related to i.e. mom and sisters, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (homemade of course), mini hamburgers, homemade steak fries and all the bonding that 5 12 year old boys could muster in a sleepover.

Somewhere in all of this I became the only girl and I was completely out numbered and then boys do what boys do best, they forgot about me and became completely silly. I became the observer. I pulled out my camera and started taking photos. Watching all the while as they began to do sillier and sillier things.

 

The worst of them was the man I'm married to aka sack head.
 

As the boys looked on, one can tell that the guy wearing the sack on his head was thoroughly proud of himself. "What are you looking at?" He would ask them.

 
Yea Mahdi, they're looking at you. You sir, are a wonderment.

 
 
"Valli, look at O's dad!"

Yep, I got his picture right here.

 
The rest of the evening can be summed up like this: Food, Guitar Hero, Legos, Nerf Guns,Boingo, and a surprise visit from Mimi. She came in from university for this festive occasion.  With all of this frivolity, I had to have a little of my own fun. The Cake!

 

 
 
So now 12 year old "O" is blowing out the candles on his cake, that is until they lit up again.

 
This greatly amused me and them too.

 
Happy Birthday Opie and Many Happy Returns! Mwah! Love you.

To The Tower

Happy Valentine's Day from the city of love, Paris.

"And the cathedral was not only company for him, it was the universe; nay, more, it was nature itself. He never dreamed that there were other hedgerows than the stained glass windows in perpetual bloom. Other shade than that of the stone foilage always budding, loaded with birds in the thickets of saxon capitals; other mountains than the colossal towers of the church or other oceans than Paris roaring at their feet."

Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris 1831

So the last time I left you I was heading to the bell towers to meet Quasimodo. All I can say is it started with this.

 
And continued upward for 400 more steps like them. I kept thinking to myself, "slow and steady wins the race."  "Just put one foot after the other".

I took a break at the gift shop, bought nothing. I was just gathering a bit of oxygen and then continued on. The stairs became narrower and narrower in their spiral fashion. Just when I thought I would never get there, I was met by the most famous one of them........

 
The Gargoyles of Notre Dame are legendary.

 
Part rain spout system, part spiritual protection, these stone creatures have entertained the imaginations of many. I couldn't get over how each one was distinctly different and held their own personality.

 

I was so involved with the gargoyles that I hadn't yet noticed the views,

 

 
or how high up I was.

 
After that downward glance I was ready to move on. A large orange arrow was on a pillar pointing me in the direction of a little door, which was maybe 3 feet high. Ducking was in order. Upon entering the scenery immediately changed from one of stone to one of wood. It was so easy to imagine someone living here, ringing the bells.

 

 From behind me a deep voice rang out "madame" and that's when I screamed. " Oh Mon Dieux" (oh my god)! In my very bestest French I just had to know what he was doing up here and why it was necessary to scare the living daylights out of me. In his very best French he calmed my nerves by saying,"He didn't want me to miss the bell, la cloche."

The bell? You won't believe this, more stairs......

 

It was at this point that I felt I could miss "La Cloche", that the towers were enough but he insisted and so more stairs I climbed. While I'm climbing this might be a good time to tell you the story of the "real" Quasimodo. In 2010, a british archivist discovered that in the 1820's there had been a real-life hunchback named Trajin who was foreman of a government sculpting studio in Paris who made post Revolution restorations to the Cathedral. Victor Hugo knew this man and most probably modeled his character Quasimodo after him. Ah here we are, The Bell. His name is Emmanuel, is rung only on holidays, and is 300 years old.

 

From here I had more stairs to climb until I got to the very very top. I could feel the breeze blowing before I even got to the roof. As I walked through the doorway this very happy face met me with a big "Bienvenue sur le top"(Welcome to the top.)  

 

I didn't learn his name but I just had to find out how one gets a job like this. So I asked him, "Did you ever imagine when you were a child that you would be working security on the top of Notre Dame's bell tower?"

His response was so funny! he said, "Not at all. I never even visited Notre Dame as a child let alone thought I would be working here."

"What's the best part of your job?"

"Meeting people from all over the world, from every known religion, and keeping the rhythm of the year by sharing in people's devotion to Paris by visitng Notre Dame. You can't imagine Christmas for example. On Christmas eve we have over 10,000 visitors. On the Annunciation in the summer hundreds of thousands of people come here. It's just incredible."

"So maybe you're the Quasimodo of today." I said.

"Non, I don't have a hunchback. I'm just a greeter."

Let's pause for just a moment before we head down.

 

 

Victor Hugo wasn't the first to love this cathedral nor will he be the last. This site has had religious activity for well over a thousand years. The land itself and what it stands for leads ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Do you remember our headless wonder from a couple of days ago?

 

This is Saint Denis, the patron saint of Paris. He's the man who took Paris from the Roman religion to a Christian religion. Here's what happened: St. Denis was told by the Roman rulers to stop preaching christianity. If he didn't he would be executed. Well he didn't stop and he was executed but here's where the story takes a turn and makes him not only a saint but a wonderment as well.

St. Denis was executed on Montmartre. After being executed he picked up his head, washed it off in the fountain, placed his head under his arm and walked for 6 miles, preaching all the way, until he fell down an died.That spot is now a cathdrael call St. Denis Basilique. Every king and queen of France is buried there. Why is he on Notre Dame de Paris? Because he is one of 14  helpers who listens to petioners prayers. As people come into Notre Dame they can look up and see him knowing that they are heard.

I couldn't leave Paris without telling you that incredible story. There's another version of that story which says his body was thrown into the Seine and buried later. It's up to you to decide whichever story you want to but I love the Atta boy version.

 
Though there are a million more memories of Paris, I will leave them for another time. Tomorrow, I'll be back writing from home where crafting, cooking, and gardening are in order. Thanks for letting me share my special moments with you. Be Well. 

Elements of Early Childhood

 

 

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that the Waldorf Connection is having a new course which starts tomorrow called,"The Elements of Early Childhood." I'm so excited about this course and the support it can bring to those of us with small children in our homes.

The “Elements of Early Childhood” 5-week course is starting this Thursday, Feb. 10. That means you still have time to enroll!

Let me tell you a bit about The Waldorf Connections, "Elements of Early Childhood course. It was created especially for moms, parents & early childhood educators who are ready to get the back-stage pass into Early Childhood and start experiencing the wonders of Waldorf without the struggles.

(In a hurry? Grab your seat here: http://thewaldorfconnection.com/dap/a/?a=26&p=www.elementsofearlychildhood.com/preview.htm )

You'll learn in-depth "behind-the-scenes"information from Waldorf Early childhood teachers like Rahima Baldwin Dancy, Sharifa Oppenheimer, & Patricia Rubano. Led by Carrie Dendtler of The Parenting Passageway, here are foundational concepts you will come away with:

*Raise your confidence by knowing your child is just where they need to be and how you can create the optimal environment

*Create smoother daily rhythms and transitions throughout the day

*Discover realistic expectations of your child's age and stage that can take you off the hook

*Strengthen your bond and communication skills with your child with less talking

*Easily foster creativity through music, stories and movement, and puppetry

*Learn why play is the foundation for learning and how inspire creative play

*Receive the support you need at this time to grow within yourself as a mom and parent

Here is the link to get all the details and see the success stories from past participants. : http://thewaldorfconnection.com/dap/a/?a=26&p=www.elementsofearlychildhood.com/preview.htm


This invaluable training could be just what you have been looking for to bring harmony and rhythm to your daily routine.
This is a thorough, interactive training where you will be guided by your own Waldorf coach for 5 weeks, so take advantage of this! All calls are recorded so you can listen again and again, as well as you will receive the CD/Notebook shipped to your door.
http://thewaldorfconnection.com/dap/a/?a=26&p=www.elementsofearlychildhood.com/preview.htm 

Thanks again to Donna Ashton for bringing us such wonderful and supportive programs. Hoping to see you there.

Valarie

Our Lady

I'm just taking a short walk down the St. Miche and then over to one of the most famous sites of Paris. As I promised yesterday, today we're following in the steps of Victor Hugo, famed writer of the "Hunchback of Notre Dame".  Have you guessed where I'm going yet? Yep ....you're right. Notre Dame de Paris. Which in French means "Our Lady of Paris". 

 
Who is this lady they are referring to? Mary, the mother of Jesus. Though as beautiful as this is, the story I really want to tell you is the one of a writer who was so in love with a cathedral, that he wrote a book to save it and inspired a generation.

 

Though Victor Hugo beagan writing "The Hunch Back of Notre Dame" in 1828, it was published three years later in 1831. Very important dates because it was very recent to the ending of the French Revolution.  During the French Revolution Notre Dame de Paris was nearly destroyed and was left housing food stores for the people of Paris. At the time of Hugo's writing, the roof of Notre Dame was almost completely caved in, the stain glass had been replaced with normal glass and the masonry was in really great disrepair and all of those statues you see up above the doorway, were completely destroyed.

Do you see all of those kings in a straight line? Those are the 28 kings of Judah.

 
During the Revolution, the people of Paris thought they were the Kings of France and so they stormed the cathedral yelling "Off with their heads!" And then cut off their heads. Wait...... it gets better.

 
 
A school teacher who lived near the cathedral collected all of the heads and buried them in his garden to keep them safe. There they slumbered until 1977, when they were accidently found. They are now on display at the Cluny Museum, one of the best Middle Age museums I've ever seen.

 For Victor Hugo, the cathedrals of the middle ages were "books in stone", works to be treasured and cared for.

 
Victor Hugo had a strong interest in restoring the Cathedral and so he made architecture one of the major themes of his book.

 
The publication of "The Hunch Back of Notre Dame" made Hugo one of France's most acclaimed and cherished authors. This book and this author are directly responsible for shifting the awareness of the citizens of Paris that their "Lady" was falling down.

 

One person who was greatly inspired by The Hunchback of Notre Dame was a young architect named Eugene Viollet-le Duc. He was also completely obsessed with Gothic architecture and wanted to make it his life's work to restore this Cathedral. With Victor Hugo's recommendation and money, he was given the job and 26 years later "Our Lady" was restored to her former vision of lovliness.

 

Remember what Mr. Hugo said? "That the stones of this cathedral were like the pages of a book." And in this case more true than I realized. Keep your eyes on this headless wonder.

 
By the time I finish tomorrow's blog post he will have won the "Atta Boy" award. I think if I really want to meet Quasimodo I'm going to have to go up. Sounds like Jump into a Book doesn't it?  I'm heading to the bell tower. From there I'll introduce you to the real hunchback of Notre Dame. Ok I'm off to climb 400 stairs....... 

 

 

 
 

Temple of Storytellers and Thinkers

 

Have you ever passed something a thousand times and never even thought of entering to see what's inside? The Pantheon is such a building for me. The art of passing such an edifice was an integral part of my Paris routine.

 
It was only during this visit as I was walking to the market that I got distracted for just a moment and found myself walking across the street and up the stairs. This beautiful neo-classical building holds a carved dedication: "To the great men of the Fatherland."

 
 
And with this homage I walked through the largest doors I have ever seen in my life.

 
It is vast inside.

 

I couldn't figure out what this was. Was it a church? A museum? A government building?

 

Sitting just inside the entrance was a university student. It was just her and I at the moment. So I asked,"What is this place?"

"Ah,simply it's a temple to honor the great thinkers and writers of France. King Louis the XV(the 15th) became very sick. He nearly died. In his sick bed he prayed constantly to St. Genevieve ( the patron saint of Paris) to heal him. When he recovered he tore down the old broken church on this site and built her this cathedral in gratitude. By the time it was finished in 1791, the French revolution had started. The revolutionaries took it over to tell the story of their revolution which over threw the King.  Since this time many great philosophers, scientists, and writers are buried here in the crypt. The brains of France. Don't miss the crypt!"

So I followed the sun and what before my wondering eyes should appear?......

 
But Foucault's pendulum swinging in mid-air. The Foucault's pendulum. It was here in 1851 that Leon Foucault demonstrated the rotation of the earth.

I stood here for the longest time watching the earth and I rotate. 

 
As I made my way to the back of the Pantheon I couldn't help notice how they truly have honored the beloved writers of France. On either side of the building stand these very large doors. On both sides of the doors they have named all of the writer's who are no longer with us.

 

I stood there in amazement at the fact that the woman who loves books so much had completely missed all of these years,the building which honors writers.

 
From here on out it's "Tales from the Crypt." Don't cover your eyes. I assure you there is nothing scary down there. It's beautifully done. Though there are many people buried here who truly have contributed largely to France, there are many who have contributed to the world. Louis Braille, who created the system for blind people to read. 
 

Pierre and Marie Curie the great minds of Chemistry.

And then there is the man who changed everything concerning my trip to Paris. Please let me introduce you to the author of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", and "Les Miserable", Victor Hugo.

  

He was the first person buried in the Pantheon. This is what the Pantheon looked like the day of his funeral.

His final resting place is shared with Alexandre Dumas "The Three Musketeers" and Emile Zola. It was after reading the biography of Victor Hugo near his grave that I realized that Victor Hugo loved his city so much that he held public office and more importantly saved one of the most beloved landmarks of Paris. It was right then that I knew I had to follow the path of Victor Hugo's Paris. 

 

So with the good intention of seeing Paris through the eyes of one who loved it greatly, I left the Pantheon to a famous view.
 

What is this famous landmark I mentioned? I'll be heading that way tomorrow and of course I hope you'll join me. Au revoir! ( till we see each other again)
 

 

 

Paris:: The Best Things in Life Never Change

As the metro stop "Luxembourg" approached, I felt this little momentary need to scream. As in exhilarating moment of excited inner bliss sort of screaming.  Here I was in Paris, almost ready to get off in the "neighborhood", almost ready to get off and say hello to a glimmer of my life that I had loved so much. Had it really been 10 years since my boots hit the Paris pavement? Surely not?! Yes it's true. I had changed planes in Paris on my way to here and there but I hadn't gotten off to enjoy the sites in 10 whole years.  The last time I was here, the three amigos looked like this.

 
(the children in our elevator in Paris)

and this.

As I was walking towards the market a text arrived saying,"Mom, tell us if any-thing's changed."  It was then that a million little memories came flooding back to me.

The girls always knew we were close to home when they would see this sign.

 

 

How many times did we walk to this little market to buy little"O" his favorite cookies?

 

Early each morning I was greeted with Mimi's little face saying,"Momma, I think the croissants are done now. Can we go get some?" It was during our time in Paris that Mimi became a croissant connoisseur. No kidding. Do not think you will pass off  mushy croissants on this Mimi girl and call them French. She also loves her croissants warm and the only way you get those are by getting there at 7 a.m., otherwise it's not a croissant.

 

Friday's were always special with a treat from our favorite sweet shop.

 
Often times we were greatly delayed by a stop at the second hand bookshop.

 
As a family one of our great loves is of crepes. Crepes-a-go-go holds many  happy moments for us. As I would go to the various markets daily with ever changing family members, I would deliberately cross the street before we even came near Crepes-a-go go. My husband was the worst. "I can't resist", he would say. "How can you resist?" he would ask me and my answer was always very simple," All of those crepes a-go-go will have gone gone to my derrière." I didn't eat here this time though because I was sure it would be interpreted as absolute betrayal.

 
 
As I walked down the street from Crepes-a-go-go yet another conversation popped up in my head and that was a constant parley between my girls as they would pass the greatest art store ever. It's not that it's the biggest art store you've ever seen but it's so , well artistic.

 

 
Everyday my daughters would ask me to buy these art figure models. They would stand at the window and just look and desire these little moveable people. It wasn't long before we noticed that everyday our little wooden friends were in different positions. "I bet they move at night when the store is closed." Zaina said. "I'm sure they come alive when everyone's gone." Mimi echoed. So mes chéries, your friends are still here waving at you. I didn't buy them for you this time either because they belong here in the window where they are waiting for you to come back and say Bonjour.

 
 

(Note to my girls)     So no my sweet babies, nothing has changed except the next time you come to Paris you will no longer be small children with wonder in your eyes but young women who will be inspired from your past here to create your present moments. I wish for you as many wonderful memories of our time together as you've given me.

 

All of these most cherished memories were coming back to me as I made my way to the market when all of a sudden I took a detour which ended up creating the theme of this Paris visit.

 More tomorrow friends.

 

 

 

A Last Look at Wales

After the coldness of the last couple days, this morning felt down right balmy. You know what that means,......it's time to walk the dog.

 

I would have taken any occasion to walk through this lovely countryside. For a bit I was worried that I wouldn't even get to see Wales because of the fog, so what good fortune it was to see the dramatic darkness of the clouds.

 

Watching my friend use her new camera.

The pastoral view of free range fowl. 

 
A moment of captured sun

 

The exquisite shades of winter grasses.

A valley with a view. 

 

 
and a beautiful inn to have lunch with friends. Emily, Emma and I sat most of the afternoon away in the Pheasant Inn doing what friends do best........eat!

 

As we drove off I took one last look at the cheshire valley, knowing that many moments had been lived, happily together with my friend. There are no "goodbyes" only "we'll meet again soon".

 

Now I face towards the East because on Monday, we're in Paris. Have a great weekend.