Facebook kills the blogging impulse. It's much too easy to post a comment, a photo or click a "like." Here, before 2013 is gone, is one more post - and a hope for more once the new year begins!

Happy 2014 to everyone, and keep writing.

The mixed joys of needlework

Perhaps I will not give up knitting.

But I came close. For weeks I have struggled with a lace pattern scarf, ripping again and again after ending a row with too many or too few stitches. My feelings about the project did not improve after reading Ravelry comments about how easy the pattern was to follow, how wonderful the chart was, how boring it was to be on the 22nd repeat. (I was still trying to get past row 9. Of the first repeat.)

Suddenly (touch wood here!) I am on a third repeat, with no errors. And a lifeline inserted so I never have to rip all the way back again.

Going up one needle size made it easier to see the stitches. Now I'm looking forward to that boring 22nd repeat - and possibly a lacy scarf I'll be pleased to wear!

I even took the project along as travel knitting on a month-long fall trip, anticipating a couple of leisurely European train trips. Unfortunately, the train trips turned into one long day in a small van, and a short airplane ride, thanks to major work on Hungarian and Turkish railways. (The plane trip from Bucharest to Istanbul was definitely a better idea than an overnight train trip - and not much more expensive.)

The trip - another journey to Transylvania, in time to join in Thanksgiving celebrations (the last Sunday in September, at the end of harvest) and participate in an international gathering of Unitarian women.

This is Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mureş) where one of the pleasures of the conference was a session that took place in this lovely building, the Culture Palace, built early in the 20th century, at the height of Art Nouveau.

Then a sojourn in the Danube Delta, a completely different experience from the river voyage of four years ago.

From the Delta I went to Istanbul, for an intense week in which skilled tour guides worked hard to give our group a feel for this crowded, infinitely historic, often overwhelming city.

Best guide to Istanbul is any book by Orhan Pamuk. (I've read three since returning home.)

...and happy mid-year (almost.)

Tonight I checked on a blog I used to read regularly - in fact, it was one of the ones that inspired me to begin.

Last post from the author was in December - of 2010. I'm only a few ahead of her, happy to find out I had at least made one post in 2012.

Oddly, although I was back in Paris in March, for nearly a month, I never blogged. On that trip I had no company, and decided that being alone in Paris is over-rated. Thank goodness for the occasional meet-up open to all comers - Patricia LaPlante Collins' dinners, Adrian Leeds' "Parler Paris Apres-midi" and the like.

But the weather was lovely - an early spring that had more warmth and sunshine than we've experienced in Seattle all year. Exploring on the bus system got me to some previously unknown corners of the city, and I'm ready to go back for my next month at Villa Monceau - in June 2013. (A couple of guests have already requested accommodation.)

In Seattle we are nearly at the solstice, which means daylight continues until well after 9 p.m., whether the days are sunny or gray. We are all tired of wearing fleece.

Reading: Volume I of a 3-volume history of the Hundred Years War (author: Jonathan Sumption.) Just a few pages into the book, I'm astonished at how little has changed since 1328 - causes for dissent and major disturbances included (in no particular order) deficit financing, vast income inequality, unfunded wars, climate change, food shortages, and conflicts over the role of central vs. regional government.

Happy New Year!

In 2011 I began to explore the wonderful world of apps, after acquiring an iPadII. There are hundreds - perhaps thousands - and you can waste massive amounts of time thereby.

After returning to Seattle, real life, a new year, and a pile of Christmas cards from people who presumably wanted to hear back from me, I focused on a card. When I thought about making a collage, it hit me - "there's an app for that!"

And so there is. It's fun to assemble a group of favorite photos, then make a collage with a few clicks. This one is number five or six, because even the best tools can't read your mind. (I would probably change it again, but you have to stop somewhere.)

Christmas rambles

Ian and Zanne brought with them a box of cards called "Paris Walks," a collection guaranteed to introduce you to new parts of Paris (or deepen acquaintance with places you thought you knew.)

On Christmas Day we used the cards (smaller than a postcard, they are a wonderful accessory for travel snobs!) to do two radically different walks.

The first was in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, an urban but wilder-looking park than our neighboring well-tamed Parc de Monceau. Buttes Chaumont features a panoramic view of Paris, and paths leading up and down hills and through a gorge with a genuine waterfall. (How genuine the gorge is a matter for discussion, as Haussman dynamited the hillside to make the cliffs more dramatic.)

On Christmas Day (mild and sometimes sunny, by the way) the park welcomed runners, strollers, photographers, a few picnickers and children trying out brand new wheeled objects. We climbed to the highest point, a pillared folly with a great view. (Over Ian's right shoulder is Sacre Coeur, for example.)



Thanks again to the card, we found the neighborhood bakery of note -- and it was open! Treats all round, which we took back to a park bench to savor.

From there (after a walk through a definitely untouristed neighborhood) we made our way to the École Militaire metro, staging area for a walk up the Champ de Mars to the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero.

At least half of Paris evidently had the same plan for the afternoon. And half of those were carrying maps - there is no such thing as low season for Paris tourism. We blinked at the long lines waiting to ascend the tower, and pushed on to the Trocadero, for that wonderful view back from where we had come.



In the foreground you can see the skating rink, and the tented pavilions of the Christmas market. Everything was in full swing.

It was wonderful to get back to the 17th, where almost everything was closed, and traffic almost non-existent. Ian cooked us a splendid Christmas dinner to finish off the day.

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Christmas Eve in Paris

And the sun was shining! We walked the Rue Montorgeuil street market with crowds of people doing last minute holiday shopping. Santa outfits were popular.












In contrast to the usual Friday-night bustle, the neighborhood was quiet last night. We went out to dinner, and were the only guests for quite some time. On the street, buses and taxis were empty.

That continued today, where only the usually heavy tourist areas were crowded. Notre Dame was full of people, but St. Eustache, near Les Halles, was almost empty, except for people preparing for tonight's services.

This is a side chapel, dedicated to the farmers who brought produce to the market that once spread out in front of the church.








At the apartment, we have a small, reusable Christmas tree (I can pack it flat and bring it home in the suitcase!)




And we have candles and Christmas ornaments. French yogurt glasses make excellent candle-holders.




Joyeux Noël to all!


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Company!

Staying in an apartment here makes it easy to invite friends to visit. Since the invitation is to Paris, most accept. Immediately.

Last week two friends from Seattle arrived for a week's visit. They stayed here 4 nights, then moved to a hotel for the remainder of their stay.

When I saw the 2-room suite at their hotel, I had trouble believing that they had actually enjoyed sharing the tiny bathroom here and pulling down the Murphy bed every night. But they assured me the experience was memorable.

Because they moved to an entirely different area, we were able to explore and enjoy two neighborhoods in the course of errand-running and Christmas shopping.

One Christmas window near their hotel featured penguins. When the window was illuminated, the birds moved up and down.



Here's a side street near their hotel (located near the Luxembourg Gardens.)





The Luxembourg Museum was directly across the street from the hotel, making it wonderfully easy to visit the current exhibit, a Cézanne retrospective, featuring his time in Paris.







The visitors from Seattle departed on Monday. Today Ian and Zanne arrive.

Now it really IS Christmas!

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