Art in Hearth

Kenavo

2010-07-01T22:06:00.003+02:00

The whirlwind and the wonder and the disbelief (and a computer too full with images) prompt a post denuded of both images and deep thoughts. But I am holding tight (oh so tight) to these last two days, to the gentle good will and sincere kindness of people we've come to care deeply for, to the beauty of this landscape which changed (with) us, to Eleanor's speaking French, to Iris denying that

Hello Goodbye!

2010-06-29T23:01:00.004+02:00

All of Josselin is dressing up for the upcoming Fête Médiévale - from the time we ran our afternoon errands to dinner this evening, the streets have been festooned with rich colors, and the restaurants are at constant fill. It's another wave of awakening: les Grandes Vacances. School ends on Friday across the nation and the excitement and energy is practically crackling in the air. Here, we've

Brittany 'till you Drop (Kerguéhennec Redux)

2010-06-28T23:09:00.012+02:00

We couldn't stay away from Kerguéhennec (so much fun to say) to see the inside of the manor, but first....This is Iris's rendition of her "herrow" on the horse (that horse must have appeared to have been all legs to her!) - complete with cool if puzzling beard braid! So without further ado at all, here is a video extravaganza from our time at the Fête du Cheval at Guer.These are the Bagad

Breton Panorama: Fête du Cheval (Guer - Ferme du Vauvert)

2010-06-27T22:18:00.019+02:00

Mac l'Extraordinaire found out about the Fête du Cheval at the Ferme Vauvert near Guer about three weeks ago and we've been counting down the days ever since. It was all here: the music, the dancing, the horses, the food... the music, the dancing... :-) As I sit down to write, Mac sighs and says "Do you know what I love about Brittany? It's France with good beer and bagpipes." Indeed! And a

School Kermesse (wow!)

2010-06-26T23:07:00.014+02:00

This was our first day of good-byes, as by next Saturday we will unbelievably be on the road to Switzerland. The kids had made cards for our two most valiant merchants: "Merci pour les fromages" went to monsieur le Fromagier who did indeed look refreshed from his California sojourn, and who provided us this week with half a Reblochon, which is just soooo ready to give itself up to us, and a

Pêche a Pied - Fishing by Feet (Séné)

2010-06-26T01:18:00.011+02:00

All people are born good. This is what a day with small children, big wonderful groups of small children, makes you realize. Maybe just the one day (maybe after 10 days there would be a different conclusion) - but no, being around kids and seeing their triumphs and needs first-hand definitely confirms my faith in humanity's goodness. It's the openness of kids, whether it's about their joy or

Bliss (Kerguéhennec)

2010-06-24T22:48:00.009+02:00

When I went to bed last night, I had a searing ball of fire in my throat with what I thought was me coming down with a cold. Ouch ouch ouch. So at 8h30 this morning, I was in the waiting room of Dr. Niemiec's office (that's right, you have to say it two or three times to really appreciate it). As I may have described previously, doctor's visits are on a first come, first served basis, so

Vannes Redux (what a difference 6 months make)

2010-06-23T23:52:00.010+02:00

What do you do when it's gorgeous out, you know tomorrow is a teachers' strike and you only have about 10 days left in beautiful Brittany? Why you go to one of its most hopping ancient cities: VANNES! We were last there as a family on January 23 - exactly 6 months ago, so it was high time to go back. The thrill was not just in the return, but in seeing absolutely everything about the city

Great Big Wonderful Day

2010-06-23T00:11:00.011+02:00

In our last days here, I think that we're thinking, "If you can't take it with you (really? you can't take it with you?) maybe you can just eat everything." We'd both had productive mornings (among other things, annotated bibliography finished for Mac, conference paper abstract sent off for me - yipee!) so we easily let ourselves talk each other into going for galettes at the crêperie on the

A Meal with a View

2010-06-21T23:36:00.013+02:00

Every morning when we go to school, we cross the chef of the restaurant La Table d'O walking his daughter to school. The smells already coming from his kitchen at this early hour have always made us dreamy, they're so complex and delicious. Going there is super special: we went with my Mom, Alison and Mallory went on their last night in Josselin, Mac went with Steve and Gina (it's a

In the Footsteps of Prehistory (Malansac)

2010-06-20T23:42:00.017+02:00

A welcomed sight, oui? Les vacances (to California no less) of monsieur le fromagier were wonderful, and now he has returned! Mac was the one to see home and bring home (starting with the triangular wedge in the bottom and going clockwise) a bit of Livarot, du Broucaou, de l'Etivaz, and a wonderful goat cheese. We've dismissed the sobering thought that we have but one more marché in Josselin

Vive la Resistance!

2010-06-19T00:39:00.008+02:00

Perhaps it was reading the spy novel Assignment in Brittany, perhaps it was the visit to the Museum of the Breton Resistance, perhaps it's thinking about the moment of high rhetoric and historical significance, perhaps it's because when you see a sign that says "Light and Sound Show" in France you feel compelled to go - whatever the reasons, I had to be at the Invalides tonight for the 70th

Paris je t'aime

2010-06-18T02:21:00.008+02:00

Et oui, what else is there to say after a long, worried and then also wonderful day? The long goes without saying: once you start going in Paris you just keep going (especially if you miss your last Metro connection and wind up walking some ten Metro stops home, but oh the sweet turn of the key in your hotel room lock!). The worried had to do with my dad being in the hospital - he's resting

Louise and Anne and Blanche and Judith and Esther

2010-06-16T23:30:00.011+02:00

This is what beloved Josselin looks like at 6:15 in the morning - a pretty rare shot now that the main square is filled with people all day long. I smile to think that the sun used to rise only at 8:45 a.m. when we first arrived. Pretty radical difference, since it rises at around 5:45 a.m. now. Another cool Brittany development.And this is what my favorite passage near the old Bibliothèque

Escargot Dilemma

2010-06-15T21:38:00.008+02:00

I can't think of many situations in which one child's new-found culinary delicacy is another child's beloved class project. And yet Eleanor's snail, currently living in the lap of luxury (check out the potato and tomato, and I do believe that's arugula on the side) is threatened by Oliver's desire to drench it in melted garlic herb butter. These competing plans were discussed on the walk home,

Home Again en Bretagne

2010-06-14T15:17:00.011+02:00

The last three weeks have been delicious: sharing Brittany with dear friends, discovering and rediscovering sites and places, feeling the landscape change with the seasons... The next three weeks, I have resolutely decided in the face of any melancholy at leaving, will be delicious, too. I breathed deeply of Broceliande, Merlin and Vivian and Morgan and Lancelot and Yvain's forest, yesterday.

And now, the Louvre...

2010-06-08T01:09:00.004+02:00

Today was our day to make new friends at the Louvre: Venus, Nike, someone named Mona Lisa, Leonidas, The Horatii, Brutus, Atala, the Sabines, Psyche, Bathesheba, the Lacemaker, and the Virgin Mary to name a few. My internet time tonight is super short, so this will be much too brief to give the full picture of another marvelous day-long conversation revolving around images of ambiguous women (

Wow! We Had Dinner Next to Catherine Deneuve!!!!

2010-06-07T00:56:00.007+02:00

Yes, that's right: iconic French film actress Catherine Deneuve was at the table next to ours at Marco Polo (a little Italian restaurant around the corner from Saint-Sulpice that I've been wanting to go to for years) this evening. Alison was no farther from her than you are from this computer screen. Granted, this photograph is from 1995, but I tell you what, she is still absolutely striking and

Getting Medieval

2010-06-05T23:02:00.006+02:00

Today was All Medieval All the Time (with a modernist pause for a picnic in the park and a shoe purchase or two). We themed our day starting in the Cluny, whose visit culminated in a marvelous conversation/meditation before the incredible Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries. In the art of courtly love, women hold sway/have power - does this reflect some aspect of lived reality? is it an escapist

How about the Eiffel Tower?

2010-06-05T00:49:00.004+02:00

Where do you take a radiant young woman on her first evening in Paris, France? How about the Eiffel Tower? How about right as the sun is setting? It was a grand gesture, but when in Paris... I haven't been to said Tower since January of 2006 with a gaggle of students, but here are some things I love about it (and I'll be writing teeny tiny posts these days as internet is très très cher in Paris)

Love Fests

2010-06-03T22:44:00.010+02:00

It's always wondrous to me when a life experience can handle even the most intense expectation. I've been daydreaming about Alison and Mallory being here for months, thinking through what I would show them, wondering what they would think of this, that and the other, wanting so much for them to find their own beauty here. And these past two days, to have seen la Bretagne weave its spell, offer

Out and About in Vannes

2010-06-03T01:24:00.008+02:00

I was able to get Mac's guest blog back up - here it is!Today was sunny in every way. Vannes and its cobbled streets, its ramparts and its lovely shops (shoppes), its happy people and its terraces - it was a blissful day, as attested to by this beautiful mother-daughter duo......and by our most excellent impersonation of a bigoudinière and her hubby (note how we are holding hands affectionately

Guest Blogger (Try Try Again)

2010-06-03T00:36:00.017+02:00

Hullo there: turns out you can't cut and paste on Blogger - lesson learned and apologies for the delay in getting Mac's guest blog out. Without further ado, here are his and the kids' adventures from Sunday!Our lovely Sunday in Brittany (for those of us NOT in Paris!) was a day almost entirely devoted to insects - with a couple of exceptions. our plan to while away the day was to have a picnic

Happy Birthday, Oliver!

2010-06-02T00:54:00.009+02:00

'Tis a wonderful thing to celebrate turning 8 with a plate-full of escargot, and Oliver celebrated in grand style. This moment of triumph was preceded by many of pleasure, so allow me to back-track, and then we'll zoom forward to the spectacular celebration that the Guetennoc always provide the children on their birthdays. In the meantime, this image just makes me smile and smile...If the world

Froissart and Frigos and Friends

2010-05-30T22:59:00.014+02:00

The BN research room was closed today, and my head is full of ideas that need to be sorted out, and so it was off to look at actual medieval art that I took myself this morning. Seeing the Froissart show at the Invalides seemed appropriate as well, with Memorial Day week-end back in the States in mind. I've always admired the idea of the Invalides, a complex that has grown and grown since

Vive le theatrrrrre!

2010-05-30T00:05:00.006+02:00

Ever since my mom and I went to the theater to see that Molière play, I have to admit that I've been eager to see another piece of French acting. What? Me? Who fears the breaking down of the 4th wall more than anything? Et oui. And so this morning at breakfast, I looked earnestly in the Pariscope and of course was stunned and pleasantly overwhelmed at the incredible choices to choose from.

We'll Always Have Paris

2010-05-28T23:56:00.002+02:00

Just returned from a lovely, boisterous, really, really good meal at Polidor with Steve and Gina. The website video describes the décor as "authentique et émouvant" (authentic and moving) - and you know what? They're right! The place has been there on these terms since 1845 - it's a pilgrimage site. And the Bavarois au Cassis is out of sight! Thanks, Steve and Gina - it was scrumptious at every

Brittany in Paris

2010-05-28T01:18:00.008+02:00

It's getting harder to leave Brittany without taking a little something form it with me, so for the trip to Paris I started another novel from the many terrific ones at the house (yes, this means I finished Careless in Red, and, in the process, discovered that Steve and Gina watch the Inspector Lynley BBC series - yea!). This one is entitled Assignment in Brittany by Helen MacInnes, and my cover

Out in Town with Steve and Gina

2010-05-27T00:18:00.008+02:00

It's somehow late again, and I'm leaving for a research stint in Paris in the morning, so here are the briefest remarks on the loveliest of days.We took a wonderful walk in the Bois d'Amour this morning. Though from afar, you can see Iris's new French clothes (we brought no spring clothes knowing those dang kids would just keep on growing like they've been). Très fashionable, yes? She looks

Big News for a Little Planet

2010-05-25T22:51:00.007+02:00

The girls were eager to go this morning. Despite threat of rain, they donned (then doffed) their Littlest Pet Shop (shudder) hats and gleefully greeted the day. I'm going to have to get over the Littlest Pet Shop thing - the girls are happy, thrilled, love their hats, end of story. So here they are, mid-doff and oh so happy. But it wasn't just the hats that made them happy, it was the fact that

Giant Elephant Ride! (Nantes redux)

2010-05-24T21:25:00.031+02:00

Saturday, May 22, 2010 - Medieval NantesWhat a difference 3 months make! The last time we went to Nantes and loved it, it was very cold indeed and a terrible wind was whipping everything into what turned out to be one of the worst flood disasters of the region. But we had immediately loved the dynamics of the city, this feeling that there were new and cool ideas around every corner, and we had

From Theory to Practice and Back Again

2010-05-22T00:00:00.011+02:00

I'm searching for a rubric, for a frame, to remember and rethink this wondrous evening by, and I'm having to reach higher and higher each time, until I get to this Pretty Big Insight Really: to think theoretically is the highest form of humanity; to act practically is its most poignant form. So let's move between the two a bit.The first thing we all need to savor is that Mick Jagger speaks

Making Brownies in France

2010-05-21T00:00:00.008+02:00

We're having dinner out on the island (huzzah!) tomorrow night, and one of our friends there is studying for monster oral exams, so I thought I would make brownies (chocolate has been scientifically proven to make you even smarter, right?). If you know me, you know that, sad but true, I would really only ever dare to make brownies out of a box, so, out of curiosity, I went to see what the

Happy Birthday, Eleanor!

2010-05-19T22:29:00.008+02:00

Giving a day over to a birthday is an unmatched luxury. The world is very much in turmoil as we watch news of Bangkok, hear about the progressive banning of the "voile intégrale," and follow the BP oil leak disaster. But today we didn't keep up with the news, we entered the kids' world which, to my mind, is nicely illustrated by Iris's cozy little Playmobile set-up of this morning. For today's

There's No Substitute for Education

2010-05-18T23:31:00.010+02:00

Remember how on our first day of school I mused that there might not even be a Parents' Association here, because the line between public and private was so great? Boy was I wrong! I've been aware of the Parents' Collective (as it is called) because of the cool events they organize (Tic Tac Magie and the like), but I wasn't aware of their activist role. This banner greeted us when we came to

The Tooth Souris Strikes Again Again!

2010-05-17T21:25:00.003+02:00

One of the sub-sub-sub themes of this blog is that Iris keeps losing teeth at school - and only at school. She's lost three over the past four months, and always at school - sometimes we wondered if she (or the tooth) (or the tooth souris) were waiting for school. The remaining front tooth was quite loose before the five-day Ascension break, and so we thought for sure that she would break her

What a Week-End!

2010-05-16T22:41:00.008+02:00

This is really the only picture I need for today (but don't worry: the Sunday desserts are at the bottom of the post!) - it sums up the beautiful spring day, its lush green possibilities, and its insistent and welcome weirdness (you can't tell me that isn't a fez on the dinosaur's head!). The kids had a rough go of it most of the day - they are so wiped from the past two days of megalithic

Into the Neolithic Mind (Gavrinis)

2010-05-15T23:45:00.012+02:00

Gaze intensely at our cheeses for the week, dear friends, as monsieur Le Fromagier informed me today that he'll be going on vacation for (yikes!) three weeks. Yes, it's worth thinking about how in France, the seller of cheeses gets six weeks vacation that he can take in three-week chunks. But I'm more focused (panicked about) how I'm to cope with his absence. I'll go to the grocery store, of

One Thousand Roman Soldiers Turned to Stone (Carnac)

2010-05-14T23:19:00.020+02:00

What is the best picture of Carnac? How do you capture three fields of megaliths in perfect alignment? Perhaps, though woefully modern, we start with numbers: 1099 megaliths in 11 rows at the Menec site; 1029 in 10 rows at the Kermori site; and 555 in 13 rows at the Kerlescan site. These were never meant to be seen all in one human gaze, but we (conditioned by the all-powerful view that

Laying Low on Ascension Day

2010-05-13T23:33:00.004+02:00

The most shocking part of Ascension for me is not the metaphysics of Christ's unassisted ascent into Heaven, but rather the realization that it's been 40 days since His Resurrection. !!! How can time be flying by so very fast? The Easter Egg Hunt at the castle (and Iris's memorable commentary) seem like just days ago. And yet here we are in mid-May, with Pentecost to look forward to (we're

The Village of the Years 1500-1900 (Poul-Fetan)

2010-05-12T23:45:00.005+02:00

Imagine five families in the 16th century, who build a little village. And it's in this lovely part of Brittany (which had just been joined to France in 1532), and it's green and lush and fertile, and the generations stay and all is well. This steady cycle continues until the late 19th-century, a really long time for a small village tucked up into unexpected hills of Brittany, to survive. But

The Circus Came to Town!

2010-05-11T23:02:00.015+02:00

3367 / 3000 words. 112% done!Huzzah - reached the top of the Mount of Wisdom and drank from the Kabbalistic Fountain! Will have to trim the paper down a bit, but it's good to go. Now the plan is to keep writing and expanding this into a book chapter, and then last year's Kalamazoo talk as well - will probably set up word meters for those, too. Today was bright and cheery all around: Iris was

Other People's Words

2010-05-10T22:18:00.006+02:00

2301 / 3000 words. 77% done!Tomorrow it will be finished - I am done mapping out the Mount of Wisdom and am almost to the Fountain of Prudence!Some days words and ideas seem to settle in all around you and you feel like you can understand them and appreciate them and live with them. (Other days, they flit about like bats mocking your inability to capture anything at all of substance). Today was

American Mother's Day in the Bois d'Amour

2010-05-09T23:42:00.009+02:00

It being Mother's Day in America, many lovely wishes for a happy day were exchanged with loved ones in the States today: right back at you, wonderful women! The Bois d'Amour and the awesome macro zoom lens in my camera joined forces to provide this little gift. It's a fern leaf, before its unfurling. I could expand upon the terribly sentimental metaphor of these leaves curling protectively

Armistice Day (St. Marcel)

2010-05-08T23:11:00.009+02:00

Several merchants (including our dear Butcher - no lasagna this week!) were absent from the market today, but Monsieur le Fromagier was there was an Abondance de Savoie (very smooth and gentle, with just a hint of nuttiness at the end); a Pérail (so smooth and creamy, I was surprised to find out it's a sheep cheese!); and another cheese that I (argh!) missed the name of - but it's a blend of cow

Oof-a-rama

2010-05-07T22:36:00.006+02:00

2037 / 3000 words. 68% done!Writing art history, like most academic writing I would imagine, entails keeping a bunch of plates spinning - much like those circus performers (one could go too far with the simile, so I'll be brief) who set plates spinning on tall sticks, you get an idea going, then another, and another, and another, and by the time you have five or six plates going, you have an act

Homecoming

2010-05-06T21:06:00.009+02:00

As I write these words, Mamie is in the home stretch of her long way home (an RER, a plane, another plane, a car ride) - oof! Bienvenue chez toi, Mamie! We were at the airport bright and early this morning and still had enough time for a coffee - funny that it was at a Starbuck's (those guys are getting nigh ubiquitous in Paris: there's even one beneath the Louvre!). The coffee did indeed

Bonaparte Meets Monet and they talk of Proust and Medieval Illuminations (Paris)

2010-05-05T21:54:00.008+02:00

Mamie and I just settled into a movie on arte about a coquettish woman in Paris 1900 - parfait! - so tonight will be brief, too brief, chers amis. :-) I'm always kind of ridiculous about leaving Paris and want to hang on to it to the very, very end - an arte movie about Paris c. 1900 is ideal. So was starting the day at Bon Marché at Sèvres-Babylone and finding teeny-tiny somethings for the

Les Orientales Drink Tea with les Femmes Savantes at Saint-Sulpice (Paris)

2010-05-05T00:01:00.013+02:00

I tell you: you give a little to Paris and it just gives back and gives back. Walk a bit, let your curiosity get the better of you, and treasures untold unfold. All. Day. Long. My mom just this second said to me "There really is something magical about Paris, isn't there?" - and yes, there is. I haven't been to all the cities of the world, not even close, but Paris I can tell you positions

Boris and Gleb get new shoes (Paris)

2010-05-03T22:22:00.007+02:00

In what other city can you be transported to the mystic heights of Russian art before Peter the Great after having actually seriously considered that shoe in light blue in the middle? Ah, Paris! Mamie and I had a glorious day in Paris, France - never mind the 50degree Farenheit weather. This city is, as we know, utterly inexhaustible. For various good reasons (I was a student, then I was

Paris Really Is a Magical City

2010-05-02T23:56:00.008+02:00