rose hip

skirt sale...

 

ready, set...

 

jump,...




jump,...




jump!

I've finally stocked my Etsy shop with all four of these ruffle skirt styles in the four sizes that I currently make (2-3, 4-5, 6-7 and 7+ years). If you have a moment, please come and visit my shop!...

ruffle report...

...I'm taking a break from all things Paris, because I want to show you more of the ruffle skirts I've been putting together throughout the summer. I should be stocking my Etsy shop with these, as well as this one very, very soon.... I'll tell you more about it in my next post --

my Paris, part 3 - much ado about Monet....

Monet's nymphéas (water lilies), irises, etc... may seem a tad tired to some of us these days, probably because we've seen them on too many umbrellas, place mats, mugs, t-shirts, and so on... While I don't get too excited when I spot another bit of "Monet merchandise",  I always have been, and probably always will be, excited with the prospect of viewing any of his original work firsthand -- maybe, it has to do with the simple fact that I love color... color excites me to no end!.... 

So, when I first thought of what I would like to see on this trip to Paris, I immediately thought of Monet's Giverny garden, especially since June is such a great month to view the garden. Given that Giverny is not in Paris itself but 87 km west of it, I though that the pilgrimage to Giverny would make a great day-trip when we felt ready to take a break from the bustle of Paris  -- and so it did...

We took the train to Vernon, and then right next to the train station, we rented bikes and rode the 5 km to Giverny along a lovely bike/foot path in the countryside. The little town of Giverny is charming beyond charming with all its country houses and gardens, and Monet's estate (house, studio and garden), well... what can I say, the photos above tell the whole story -- what a treat it was for me to be there after having seen so many pictures of it! Beautiful roses, clematis, phlox, etc.., in full bloom and Monet's water lily pond -- such an enchanting spot, perhaps smaller than I imagined, but so much more intimate... Ah! what I would give to enjoy it in solitude and not with a zillion tourists swarming all over!

I was so touched by Monet's little bit of paradise that, upon returning to Paris, I insisted that we visit the Musée de l'Orangerie, which used to be a greenhouse for the Tuileries Gardens, but now houses massive murals of Monet's ethereal water lily pond (all the above photos of paintings were taken at this museum). The museum recently underwent extensive renovations which saw the gutting of its second floor, thereby opening Monet's murals to natural light which comes from skylights in the ceiling; because the light which hits the paintings filters through a gauzy fabric laid just under the skylights, it is very diffuse, without any harsh shadows. I would recommend viewing the murals on a partly sunny/cloudy day as we did, because every time the sun hides behind a cloud and then re-appears (you can see this happening through the gauze on the ceiling - very cool!), the mood of the nymphéas change as they suddenly get darker, and then lighter, just as they would in Monet's pond...Wow! an absolutely breathtaking experience for me! Now, if I only could have been there on my own, without all those pesky tourists, so I could truly savor the peacefulness of this moment!..

P.S. We have been holidaying in the interior of British Columbia, enjoying long summer days on Lake Okanagan, so I've been quite removed from blogging, e-mailing etc...  I'm finishing up some ruffle skirts which I hope to show you soon.... Last installment of "my Paris" coming up soon...