3.31.2012

penguin


Made from an old t-shirt for my favorite five-year-old.


3.30.2012

clear


It has been a gorgeous week of summery weather in March. Clear mountain views, ripening spring colors, and bursting branches. I've taken so many photos of blossoms lately...here's a month worth of flower pictures! I've made long runs and beautiful, apple-blossom-scented walks home.



3.29.2012

night out


Tonight we feasted in Geneva. Yum, fresh bowls of tabuli, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, and even better than the food, laughing with friends.


3.28.2012

happy places


At home happy place #1: Breakfast time at the table with the window open. I love having a little bit of the springtime inside. 

At home happy place #2: The sun is just now high enough in the late afternoon to sliver between the rooftops and warm the patio for a beautiful, quiet, hour. Looking forward to summer's grilling. 


3.25.2012

spring forward


Despite the lost hour of sleep overnight, we managed to wake up bright and early to bike to the Sunday market...haven't made it there in months. What a beautiful morning, sunshine and flowers, and peddling through the vineyards. We gathered fresh fruits and treats for an afternoon picnic, and a few blossoms for the table, then rode home for an afternoon of playing, relaxing, feasting, and walking with friends, losing track of time in the extra hours of daylight.


3.24.2012

picnic


After a great run, we headed out to the vineyard for our first Spring picnic and a nap in the sunshine while listening to the thunder above the mountains. It sure feels like Spring. Although we hoped to drive to Annecy for this picnic, the car wouldn't start- hopefully nothing major-so we walked a bit down the road to settle into a usual spot. Pinot came too, but hid under my dress or inside Derek's shirt for the afternoon.  We tried walking the cat in the vineyard...it went about as well as putting a cat in a harness can go.


Magnolia in bloom.


3.23.2012

cloud


The snow has receded again, buds are popping out everywhere, and I just escaped the Thoiry cloud to make it out into the sunshine on my way home. 


3.21.2012

potpie


Vegan potpie has been one thing that kept us warm through the winter. This may be the last batch until next year...since I'm finishing the last one outside in the sunshine this afternoon. Original recipe here. I double everything so we end up with 4 medium and 2 small potpies. They are perfect to come home to after a ski outing or anytime you want a warm belly and happy taste buds.

3.20.2012

white


Just when it seemed the snow had melted- a fresh new layer accumulated up at the top. It's a fun contrast with the blue sky, greening fields, and unseasonably warm temperatures.

3.18.2012

L’ESTHÉTIQUE PHOTOMATON


This rainy Sunday provided the perfect the Elysée museum for photography in Lausanne (especially since the current exhibit features a photo booth shipped over from A&A Studios, Oak Park, Illinois- where we took a field trip with the VQs in early January). 


..........

BEHIND THE CURTAIN – THE AESTHETICS OF THE PHOTOBOOTH

17.02.2012 - 20.05.2012
When the first photobooths were set up in Paris in 1928, the Surrealists used them heavily and compulsively. In a few minutes, and for a small price, the machine offered them, through a portrait, an experience similar to automatic writing. Since then, generations of artists have been fascinated by the concept of the photobooth. From Andy Warhol to Arnulf Rainer, Thomas Ruff, Cindy Sherman and Gillian Wearing, many used it to play with their identity, tell stories, or simply create worlds.

Behind the Curtain - the Aesthetics of the Photobooth, an exhibition created by the Musée de l’Elysée, is the first to focus on the aesthetics of the photobooth. It is divided into six major themes: the booth, the automated process, the strip, who am I ?, who are you ?, who are we ?. Provider of standardized legal portraits, it is the ideal tool for introspection and reflection on others, whether individually or in groups. By bringing together over 600 pieces made on different media (photographs, paintings, lithographs and videos) from sixty international artists, the exhibition reveals the influence of the photobooth within the artistic community, from its inception to the present day.

Museum Intro
..........
Here's the booth and our sequence:

It was interesting to see patterns in people's behavior taking a strip of photos in the booth, starting off normal and then making crazy faces, kissing, or even exposing themselves behind the curtain (hehe). 

The rain let up enough to explore the museum's beautiful exterior and take-in dramatic views over the stormy lake before we filled up on a fantastic Ethiopian dinner while catching up with Tim. 


3.12.2012

inscription


Derek and I just signed up to run the Jungfrau Marathon again in the fall. The entries are doubled and the runners are split over 2 days to celebrate the 20th anniversary. We are competing as a couple this year- I run on Saturday and Derek runs Sunday then our times for the full course will be added together. I'm so excited!  

Here we go again...hopp hopp hopp!


3.11.2012

wander


3.04.2012

blue doors


We started this morning with a beautiful breakfast spread, jams, coffee, fruits in a sunny dining room at the hotel.


Making our way gradually north toward home, we stopped in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, marveled at all the quirky antiques at the street brocante, and caught the end of the produce market for some delicious olives and clementines.


We found our picnic spot at the base of Venasque before making the trip up to wander the little hilltop town. 


I was especially intrigued by the short, colorful doorways, stopping for too many photos of the portes de la Provence. From here, it was time to make our way back to the highway and home. I hope to make another trip south when the lavender and poppy fields are in bloom, but it's also nice to enjoy Provence as it's just beginning to come out of hibernation.



3.03.2012

early blooms


This weekend we took an overnight trip to Provence. The weather is getting a little warmer and springtime is slightly ahead of us just a few hours drive south. We saw blossoms starting for the first time this year, and a hint of an early Spring.


We stopped in St. Remy first to walk around the town, which was strangely quiet. We a just ahead of the beginning of tourist season, but the streets were surprisingly empty.


Next we stopped in Aureille for a short walk and a picnic on the rocky hillside.



Aureille.


The weather was a bit cooler and cloudier than we hoped, so we made our way to check-in at the hotel in Eygalieres.


We stayed at an old shepherd's house-turned hotel, Le Mas du Pastre, outside town, surrounded by olive groves. It was a pretty place  to explore, and would be absolutely magical in the summer. 



It also had a small caravan of gypsy roulottes to stay in.


We walked to the Chapelle Saint-Sixte, just down the road to catch the sunset. Although we were hoping to dine at a really yummy restaurant in town, unfortunately, we were just a few days early before it re-opened from it's winter closure.