The Tower Of Song

Ring the bells that still can ring.  Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.

(i've moved SUZANNE up to the top of my playlist - righthand sidebar - click play to listen while you read!  or not.)

Back from my journey of 800 miles to see Leonard Cohen in San Jose.  The last stop on his North American tour.  His next stop will be France in early 2010, where I hear he is deeply loved.  It was a fantastic concert.  Rich, beautiful, humorous.  I loved the way he speaks his poems out to the audience like a conversation.  Ahhhh.  A perfect night of enjoyment with an old friend.  We hung on each word.

 

If you find yourself in Berkeley, you'll want to stop in here at Le Bateau Ivre.  Its great charms are evident in the perfect ambiance and the pear raisin pie a la mode.

We also visited a GIANT scrapbook store on 4th street that was filled with stuff.  Oy.  Have you been into a scrapbook store lately?  I haven't.  I felt like

A.  a kid in a candy store

&

B.  a bull in a china shop

I picked up some things I am dying to cut up, and sew onto other things. 

Next stop was here:

 

Where we were rewarded with a stunning view of the San Francisco Bay.  We walked through the rambling hillside gardens that are designed like an amphitheater.  Wide stone terraces and benches are scattered throughout.  Next time I come I'm bringing my journal, a book, and a picnic lunch.

LA is my girl and always will be, but I always find myself seduced by the climate and ambiance in all points north.  I haven't spent enough time in Berkeley.  I'll be back!

 

I drove home in a trance.  One eye (and ear) on last night's sultry concert and the other eye on my crisp white bag of things from the scrapbook store.  Every now and then I pulled something out of the bag and gasped.

Next up:  Mary Ann builds a tower of song and Leonard Cohen pops over for a visit.

Comments

[susan w]

I love northern California,I am mostly familiar with Palo Alto and its rhythms, next, Santa Barbara, then, LA*. Each region has a different pace and feel (y'know, like diffrnt Vibes, man) and each made me want to return. How lovely that you gave yourself this treat.

Excited to see your new playthings...

*you notice that LA is almost always written without periods, as in L.A., Just like no one ever writes T.V. It means something but I don't know what. I'm not somethin' enough to think on it for long.

[ellen]

This is beautiful...thank you for reminding me about the cracks. Where would we be without them and the blessings of the light?
I will never..probably..again...be in the big city...been there..but now I am in the smallness of the country...but I can still look for the cracks, the light, the sounds...the scents..........that are all there in the big city.....and here in the place where I live........and I thank you for reminding me to LOOK and to find the glorious blessings of the CRACKS no matter where I am. I will ring the bells that I can still ring at my age with joy and gratitude. Isn't that a wonderful phrase..ring the bells that still can ring...let the light in..forever and ever!
You are a wonder!

[celeste]

Ah, I do love the Rose Garden...we lived near there for three years and the Rose Garden was a part of our daily walk. The first week we were there we took take out Thai food to a bench up there for a date night. ahhh...Berkeley.

And yes, that scrapbook store is great...but what about that magical store near there (can't remember the name, but lots of glitter and yumminess)...

[Mary Ann Moss]

oooohhhh celeste a daily walk to the rose garden seems so extravagent! how divine! a store down in south berkeley with glitter and yummies? i make it my mission to find next time! if you think of the name lemme know!

[Clara]

This is my favorite quote from a Leonard Cohen song. I've been playing Anthem (and everything else from the "Live in London" album) since I went to the concert.

[lilylovekin]

The glitter and yummie store accused me of shop lifting I would stay away if I were you!! But before that I loved it.

[kelly]

That store that you speak of is quite dangerous, isn't it?

[colleen darling]

the store is Castle in the Air.........truly magical. they have German glitter and molded paper birds and crepe paper in fabulous colors. I stop on my way to Artfest every year.

[toni]

Leonard definiteloy rocks out. I enjoyed the other singers on the album like Perla Batalla, the Wainwrights and Nick. Too much.

[Sister!]

What? No picture of the pear raisin pie a la mode? Did you attack it like a wild wolf before said photo could be taken? If so, I understand. If not, send the photo. I am getting ready to attack a mile high stack of pumpkin pancakes. Then I am going to lick the plate and crawl into a cave and take a nap because I understand the nature of wolfishness.

[catou]

Leonard is Montreal's gift to the world. He is a Canadian national treasure. Alas, he knows not of my existence. He is a thrill to see live, is he not?

[Suzanne]

Actually you could have been at Scrapbook Territory, Castle in the Air or Paper Zone all on Fourth in Berkeley. Berkeley is a very dangerous place for artists as the Dick Blick is a couple blocks away from those stores. I am only 20 minutes and a bridge away and it is hard not to be drawn over there.

Glad to hear you had a good time.

[daniela]

what a fabulous trip! there's nothing quite like that norcal energy. and doesn't leonard seriously make it all ok? so glad you got to see him. sigh.

[Stephanie]

Leonard Cohen in person...yowza! Sounds like a picture perfect road trip....mmmm

[Robyn]

Ahhh Mary Ann, just found your blog, am giving myself your class from my mom for Christmas! Lucky how that works out for me! Your LA pictures make me homesick, I actually live in San Jose now, but family is still in LA, so I get my fix of your town too.

Love all the goodness on your blog and can't wait for the class to start. Will you post more things I should be collecting, off to the recycle bin now to pull out security envelopes! haha