PARIS!

Yes, it is just that gorgeous ALL the freaking time! They really do have a way with lights, that I cannot understand or possibly replicate. In fact, most of my Parisian pleasures were things that could only be experienced and enjoyed in Paris. The food, the lights, the sounds, the wine, the champagne, the bread, the art, the architecture... none of those things could be packed up and taken along to enjoy weeks later in the bland midwest. Well, maybe the wine, but I didn't have a spare suitcase to bring it home.

I did try to export what I could-- cute outfits, ideas for personal and home styling, scarves, photos, and memories.

Now I'm going to try to track down anything that remotely recalls Paris here in the Twin Cities. So far, I've found a good herbed goat cheese, the New French Bakery that sells $1 baguettes after 5 p.m. (just in time for picking up after work), a decent Cremant (sparkling wine) from Trader Joe's, and a sweet shop that sells French style macaroons (which, if you haven't had, are not the same coconut variety we have here) and a Tibetan shop at the Midtown Global Market that sells nice silk scarves.

Oh, yes, I was that inspired.

How could I not be with scenes like that above?

I love Paris in the winter...

It's a Beautiful Day!

Ever have one of those days when everything just seems so right and perfect that you wouldn't change a thing?

This is one of those days for me.

I went for a run this morning down by the river and stopped to watch a plane fly overhead against the thin, rumbly-looking clouds and thought "that is going to be me soon."

I stood a couple feet from the Mississippi and watched the perfectly calm water swirl oak leaves downstream, and looked at the reflection of the East Bank buildings in the river.

The color of the day was just like Thanksgiving week looks in my mind.

And I thought of one word: santosha.

The book website is up!

http://www.dogdaysattheweirfarm.com

Thank you, Heather, for your gorgeous design and brilliant ideas.

Now it's time to find a publisher. Wish me luck!

I've started work on a kids' story. Its working title is "The Fabulous Adventures of Oona Oolong." Here is a bit that I've written so far...

Oona Oolong opened her front door and stepped onto the porch. She took one big inhale and looked around. A tendril of morning glories wrapped the faded wooden fence in green and sky blue. They were not there last night. Orange sunshine streaked across the lawn and alighted on tiny dewdrops on each blade of grass. A cat sashayed down the sidewalk, as if it had a very important engagement.

“I can’t possibly go to school on a day that smells like this,” Oona Oolong declared, and walked right past the bus stop and kept going until she reached an old stone staircase that led down into the river gorge.

Some kids may have stopped and looked back at the bus stop, with a fleeting sense of guilt or obligation. Some may have even turned around. Oona Oolong was not one of those kids. She forgot all about the bus stop the moment her foot hit the first worn stone.

If she had thought about school at all that morning, she may have said to herself “Oona Oolong, you will have many days, many years of sitting behind a desk, but you will only have one morning in September when the flowers are still blooming and the sumac is turning red and the air smells just like someone somewhere opened a window and let everything in.”

But, Oona Oolong was already skipping down the steps, anticipating what lie ahead and half-watching a log in the river below swirl past the sandy shore.

Book Website update...

I have seen some sample pages of my book website from the very talented Heather Murphy. I am absolutely thrilled with her gorgeous design and I can't wait to see the finished website! This is just so very exciting for me to see it come alive. I am lucky to have such a professional and inspirational artist to work with.

I will share her lovely work as soon as the website is ready.

Thank you Heather!

Smile Philanthropist

It usually pays to do that thing that you are afraid of doing because someone might not approve, or you may face ridicule. In fact, those are the things you really should do, because there are way more people out there who are waiting for you to do it. Someone has to pave the way to show that it's okay to be honest and bold and brave. Go ahead. Do it. Then watch what happens.

Yoga teacher training is going great so far! This week I learned how to give good Sivasana.

I'm going to state my BIG DREAM here right now, because I know the more I focus on it, the more likely it is to come true!

So here it is...

I'm going to start a yoga/writing/art/meditation/nature retreat center. It's going to be in northern WI. I'm going to live there with whatever friends and family wish to join me. I'm going to try to benefit the community as well, with a focus on good health through nutrition and physical activity.

More to come...