A quick post today as I’m currently wrestling with my photo software, trying to figure out if I need to upgrade or not.
We hung the plates on the side of the pantry. We used disc hangers, which worked really well! If you want more info about them, let me know.
A larger view, thought not the clearest photo. They’re just above the red and white checked chair. I’ll take a better picture soon.
We went to the bookstore yesterday as Don had to pick up some books that he’d ordered. I drove, as he’s still not feeling tip-top. Above, you see a photo of me eagerly entering a bookstore – one of my favorite places to be.
My stack. The book on top is a gift from Don. He read it a while back and is now a huge fan. He’s giving copies to a couple of his friends as well.
I just read about Elaine Sciolino’s new book, The Seine, the River that Made Paris yesterday. I read a brief excerpt. And there it was, at Oblong Books. In fact, we just missed hearing the author, as she did a reading for the bookstore on October 30th – our major jet lag day. Consequently, my copy is signed.
Two more books by Anthony Horowitz, as I really like his writing style. And the first volume of Karl Ove Knausgaard’s memoirs, which have been on my radar lately, Knausgaard somehow miraculously appearing everywhere I turn.
I have more books than I can count on my TBR pile already. So I’m going to blame this on Don for suggesting we go to Oblong to pick up his books.
Yes. That seems fair.
Honoring Veterans today, especially – for me – my father.
Happy Monday.
I’ve enjoyed all your Paris posts, Claudia, though I haven’t commented on each individual one. You have a n incredible pile of books. I’ve read Horowitz too!
I’m finally almost 100%, after having fallen in Edinburgh on my first night there. I managed to walk the entire 3-1/2 weeks of my vacation in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cornwall, Oxford and London, jacked up on ibuprofen. It was painful nevertheless, as I fell hard on my left hip and slammed my head into the wall. Won’t go into details but it involved a slippery tub and one of those &@%# half shower doors that are prevalent in European bathrooms. Thankful that I was strength training and walking miles very fast prior to leaving on my trip. Having a stronger core really helped minimize the damage.
I’m so sorry to hear of your fall, Wendy! My goodness! I’m glad you’re feeling better!
Love the plates and where you’ve put them. I’ve used disc hangers before – great invention. Two of my happiest places are bookstores and libraries. In fact, I went to the library a few days ago to return a couple of books, but of course, came home with eight more. And I have hundreds and hundreds of my own books I haven’t even read here in my home. Such a book lover’s dilemma!
It is the eternal book lovers dilemma, but oh, what a happy one! xo
Claudia, Did you see the travel section of the NYT yesterday ? Front page story Discovering Paris by the bridges that define it.
I did! That’s what made we want the book – article and book are written by the same author. Thanks, Barbara!
Thank you for including us in your trip to Paris. It has been delightful to read of your adventures and your thoughts.
You’re most welcome, Michelle!
You can never have enough books. Hope Don is feeling better. Enjoy your books. Thank You to all who have or are serving.
Marilyn
We are overflowing with books! We’re considering building more shelves, Marilyn.
I like Anthony Horowitz too. But I haven’t read Magpie or this other one yet so let us know what you think! I think today is a great day for a bookstore. (Today it was a great day to shovel snow here in Michigan. In other words, not that great a day!)
Ouch! Sorry about the snow, Jeanie!
Claudia, when you put me into Paris-On-The-Brain recently(!!), I ordered this book for myself; haven’t read it yet: “Remembrance of Things Paris: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet” (Gourmet magazine, now defunct, but it was in publication for many, many years; I remember as a teen when my mother talked of it [she was still trying to learn to cook in the early 50s and even the late 40s, testing out recipes as a young 20-something newlywed]).
I never read Gourmet and I know of it only from an intro to its editor, Ruth Reichl, due to a apple tea she was later somehow involved with at one holiday season post-Gourmet (was pretty recent, like maybe three or four years ago; tea was delish; she’s really famous; I just didn’t know of her, yet I actually HAD known that the TV food-chef & writer Sara Moulton [who I like!] was a former Gourmet main chef [I think when Gourmet shut down some years back, Sara and Ruth {both native New Yorkers} then each lost their jobs, like with no warning or something; I need to read up on it; gosh, there’s so many magazines that we’ve lost in the past few years]).
Here’s the above book’s description on Amazon; this is what got my attention:
‘When the book begins, just after the war, we are in a hungry city whose chefs struggle to find the eggs and cream they need to re-create the cuisine from before the German occupation. We watch as Paris comes alive again with zinc-topped tables crowded with people drinking café au lait and reveling in crisp baguettes, and the triumphant rebirth of three-star cuisine. In time, nouvelle cuisine is born and sweeps through a newly chic and modern city. It is all here: the old-time bourgeois dinners, the tastemakers of the fashion world, the hero-chefs, and, of course, Paris in all its snobbery and refinement, its inimitable pursuit of the art of fine living. Beautifully written, these dispatches from the past are intimate and immediate, allowing us to watch the month-by-month changes in the world’s most wonderful city. “Remembrance of Things Paris” is a book for anyone who wants to return to a Paris where a buttery madeleine is waiting around every corner.’
The almond-y madeleine (little cake) not to be confused with the almond-y macaron (little cookie)!
xoxo
Sounds great! I have one of her books here, but I have yet to read it. I do know that she’s considered an excellent writer, Vicki.
The marionette plates remind me of a little treasure we have from my dad’s childhood … early 1930s marionettes of Alice in Wonderland and Tweedledee/Tweedledum. I loved reading about your travels in France! Your cottage always looks so comfy and cozy.
Oh, how lovely! I always wanted my very own marionettes. I have hand puppets, but still no marionette!
Thank you for your kind words, Emily!