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the day has dawned bright blue with sun beaming down on the venetian canals filled with tidal sea water. things are being stirred in my unconscious. was up late playing in my travel journal. turning my thoughts towards a NEW YEAR. new life... rising to the surface.
hope you're well. and cozy. and brimming with big thoughts for the new year.
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lovely & amazing. every step i take here in the serene republic of venice. if you ever get a chance to come here in winter. don't hesitate. it is wonderous.
home soon!
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i arrived under cover of swirling fog. the next day the sun shone and the skies were blue. it's not as cold as i feared. anyway just a quick note to say i'll just be here. exploring, dreaming, writing, travel journaling. life is good. hope you are well. lots to show you when i get home!
xo,
mary ann
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Just a head's up. CNN is broadcasting live the Newtown memorial service. RIGHT NOW. It is so moving. In case you didn't know and want to watch...
President Obama is there.
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NightFall from Colin Rich on Vimeo.
dear los angeles,
i do love you. and always will. but i'm turning my face towards venice now. see you in january. don't miss me too much.
love,
mary ann
p.s. i like this video best with the musak OFF
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may i just say that when i collapse into my roomy plane seat on monday and head directly to europe i will be sighing a BIG sigh and falling fast asleep. launching an online class, packing up my classroom closets and storage bin, securing a proper cat nanny, heading off on a leave of absence, and running out of gas are v.v. exhausting to do all at once. i don't necessarily recommend, but it is all terribly wonderfully exciting.
i decided it would be a lovely well-deserved splurge to get a nice premium economy seat. you know. so i can fall asleep in a cereal bowl instead of a sardine can. so i did.
dear people who have your TICKET TO VENICE in your hand here's a few last minute instructions:
as of 10:44 pm there are 78 of you NOT signed up for the daily postcards. go HERE to do that. and make it quick. if you aren't signed up by tomorrow you'll miss out. that would be sad. meh.
class starts bright and early tomorrow morning. 20 videos are rolling off my production line straight over to the class blog. the pdf stitch instructions will be there too, and i'll start blogging from La Serenissima on the 19th. tonight i will be sending out another test email to the postcard list in case you missed the first one.
it hasn't sunken in yet that i have the next 8 months off. yadda yadda yadda. i'm rambling! getting ready to go drown in a river of coffee and travel books.
posts related to my LOA can be found HERE and HERE
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i just cannot imagine anything sadder than what happened today in connecticut. hard to think about 20 little lives gone. that would be my ENTIRE class.
i'm so so sad and sorry for the parents who lost children. it's unimaginable.
~
my day here in LA started with me running out of gas... and a call to AAA. i wish i could say this has never happened to me before, but alas it has. i know!
i was about 40 minutes late to school. yikes!
i was so torn about what to tell the kiddos about why i wouldn't be returning in january. or even IF i should tell them. but in the end i wanted to give them a chance to ask questions and process everything. so i told them a lie.
so... as of january 7th i'll be caring for my ailing grandfather. in his big rambling house. in the mountains. where i will definitely be taking wyatt & corky. and i will have a big room in the big house and hang up all their pictures and notes. and i will never ever forget them. i watched the news move across their faces. they looked stunned. but then started speculating about who their new teacher would be. they hope it will be the sub who moonlights as a magician and taught them some magic tricks last month. i hope so too. he will be perfect!
i asked 4 of them who looked the most bewildered and sad if they would please babysit our french moulin roty friends. marie, antoinette, and jean paul. also there is a monkey named george. with one exception these were the quietest kids in class. the introverts. little miss sunshine in one of the photos above wanted george. they were very happy when i told them they had to take the class pets home to be sure they were cared for properly. L.M.S. promptly made a cradle for george on her desk. at the end of the day she asked if my grandfather lived in europe. then she asked what she was supposed to do if she had to tell me something important. i told everyone they could send me notes and pictures via my two best 2nd grade teacher friends and i would answer them.
we played, made books, colored, listened to beethoven, played baseball, and wrote in our journals.
if you think of "my ailing grandfather" as synonyms for my "creative spirit" you will see it is really not a lie at all. not at all.
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i crept out of the quiet house. down the porch stairs. out into the foggy morning. a wooly layer of fog draped over everything - the house, the trees, and hills, leaves, petals, fence posts, cars sleeping on the quiet streets.
everything hushed.
resting.
winter is here.
i am inside. with nails painted the color of aqua blue christmas ornaments!
{ me a chronic nail biter now the proud owner of 4 wild colors of nail polish. }
uploading class videos, thinking about packing, walking around the house in my new boots, composing travel posts, chatting with my sparkly travel companions in our online travel lounge. who, if i can be perfectly honest, are the most enthusiastic lovely group of people. connecting with me. and each other. already orchestrating meetups, sharing resources. i am giddy with excitement. in exactly one week i'm raising the masts on our ship of travel love, pushing away from shore, and sailing towards Venice.
you can book your passage HERE if you're feeling up for a little holiday merry-making with all of us. i can't wait to dive deep into my role as girl reporter, travel journaler, wide-eyed explorer.
THIS article is how it all began. one read and i knew venice in winter was something i had to experience. for myself.
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have i told you before? have i?
that i like to lie in bed at night with the lights out and watch little movies like this one on my ipad.
just before i fall asleep.
dreaming of bus rides through snowy hills.
and little cafes just like this one.
I DO.
i click the HD to make the HD go away. makes things faster. more efficient. easier.
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Nestled in the small French village of Douzens in the south of France..close to Spain...live 2 artisan winemakers. Jennifer Buck & Didier Ferrier. They met in 2001 while Jennifer was teaching English in France.
Now they have a small winery Colline de l'hirondelle and grow grapes in these verdant hillsides.
They lure friends and villagers to tempting outdoor picnics among the grapes. Then cleverly trick them into lending a hand with the harvest.
I don't think anyone is complaining!
and their sweet daughters Lili, the nudist, and Nina, the tractor driver...
I myself would love to be able to find the lovely organic wines of Colline de l'hirondelle right here in California! If you have any leads on a thoughtful importer who would be interested in working with a small, but very special winery in the south of France, you can contact Jennifer & Didier HERE.
And...next time you're near Douzens go visit and sample some of their wine for yourself!
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it's a rainy cool day here in the city of angels. mmmmm. my sister is on her way up from san diego. i'm motoring slowly around moss cottage. staring out the windows. plucking a fat rose from the garden. talking to catboy and catgirl. finishing up Ticket To Venice things. 10 more days of school before my LOA begins.
somewhere in the middle of a jam packed week i found time to watch nearly every enchanting episode of the little paris kitchen. and more time to bake some eggs in pots with creme fraiche and nutmeg. oh heaven i know your name!
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