A spinner at the D'Orsay in Paris

I found this charming marble woman in the vastness of the museum using a drop spindle to spin yarn. I'm taking it easy today and medicating a case of shingles which is something old people get if they have had chicken pox in the past. That long flight on the airplane coming home did me in.

French Cowboys

In the Camargue in southern France there is a region where prize black bulls are raised. The cowboys play little bull games of teasing a bull (which is really a cow) in a ring, trying to grab ribbons off her horns and then running to the fence and leaping over when she chases them. These guys are as macho as any you might find anywhere.

This region of France has much wildlife in the wetlands. We did see pink flamingos.

Lunch in Cassis on the Mediterranean

We took a bus to Cassis, a pleasant seaside village, for lunch and then our group got in a boat to visit the Caluques which are roadless inlets that people come to only by boat. There were nude beaches on the rocks along the way. After all it is France.

France on the Rhone

And food. France is beautiful, delicious food. Plane trees (Sycamore to us) line the roads and were painted by Van Gogh and Cezanne. We are just back from Paris last night and recovering from the eleven plus hour plane ride, the time change and a delay getting back to Eugene from San Francisco.

Bags are getting packed

Going off on a trip to France. Be back about the 19th.

Birthday Celebration at Marches'

This elegant restaurant at the 5th Street Market has to be the best place in Eugene to eat a delicious, beautifully served meal. The Lamb stew had an interesting spice which turned out to be star anise. Congratulations to Rob for his exemplary strength and good health on this, his 8th decade on earth.

Art from Irkutsk

These artworks from Siberian artists are now in Linn's art collection.

The package in the mail

Two beautiful jackets came. Perfect for Linn for our trip to France. Thanks to Jamalle, Dan, Hannelore and George.

Good Girl

Arianna's blog is informative and can be quite fun. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

The runner checks his time

The Saturday morning running/walking group is a good motivator for keeping people of all abilities moving and in condition. It is the most healthy group of people I know. Also, it is fun to have conversation and coffee afterwards. Thanks to Don England for organizing this group and keeping it going.

A More Clear Image

Thanks to Jane this is a copy of the artwork that Linn has in the Jacobs Gallery now that was jurored into the Mayor's Art Show.

My Poem

ACQUIRED TASTE

I like my old age.
I like enjoying myself.
I like planning my day as I please.
I like moving my body in deep water.
I like moving to music.
I like coffee with friends.
I like eating steamed broccoli cooked just right.
I like taking naps.
I like planning to travel.
I like my computer.
I like having my blog on blogspot.com.
I like traveling at random from blog to blog around the world.
I like volunteering at the library.
I like vegging out with the TV.
I like the rain, the sun, the wind, the stars. the falling leaves,
horses, cats and dogs, people, poems, puzzles, and not being too serious.
I like the smell of my husband's neck.
I like thinking about my children.
I like it that I accept I will die when it is time.

Morning Steamers

The routine after swimming at the DAC is to meet friends for conversation and a rehash of the day's news. Usually there are about 7 or 8 of us.

Running Path

A walk or bike ride in the early morning can be restorative. Since we've had rain the air is fresh. I think I have my pedometer set right for my stride now. I'll try it at 24" from heel to heel to see if that seems right. Yesterday we walked a mile going into town but the pedometer was not quite right on. Today is library day. I wonder how far I walk in the library.

Excuse me but-----

Did anyone actually listen to this man's speech to the UN general assembly? Who am I to say he gave an intelligent, thoughtful, good speech that rang true?

Big projects in town

For some time now the 5th Street Market and parking lot have been in process of what must be a very expensive remodel. I wonder how it will effect their business in the long run. A block or so down High Street three houses are being moved to make way for a new Whole Foods Store and a parking lot. Unfortunately, at this point Whole Foods is holding back as the cost for construction has risen. Attempts are continually being made to make Eugene upscale and it hasn't worked yet.

Voting Machines are a problem

A real problem. They can be easily hacked and a virus spread among other machines. Now who would want to do that? I am glad that in Oregon we have mail-in ballots. Here's a quote from Ben Tripp's blog:
"The evil electronic voting machines have been installed far and wide, although it has now been revealed that a mongoloid penguin could break into these devices, reverse any election result it wished, and be gone inside of four minutes, leaving nothing behind but a stolen election and the faint aroma of herring. Let us remember the apocryphal quote attributed to Joe 'Laughing Boy' Stalin: "It's not the people who vote that count, it's the people that count the votes". There are other problems, too. Gerrymandering has proceeded apace, sealing off entire slabs of the landscape from Democrats. Black people will find the nearest polling station is five hours from where they live (or used to live before the hurricane)."

Boat up the Rhone Valley

We are getting ready packing and preparing for October 6th when we will leave for Paris on Air France, then fly to Marsaille, visit Aix-en-Provence and then board a boat to travel to Arles, Avignon, etc. etc. I think it is either Arles or Avignon whose history goes back to 3000 years before Christ. At the end of our Elderhostel we have dinner in the Louve and a day in Paris. Our friend, Alice Cronin, will be on the trip with us. A few years ago we went with Alice and Frank to Spain. Frank has died since then. We are glad Alice can go this trip. She is an artist of great accomplishment and we plan to see many art galleries.

Morning view from our window

We had rain yesterday and there are clouds this morning. The building with the curved roof is our wonderful Eugene library. I volunteer on Thursday afternoon in the computer room. I love the diversity of people who use our library.

The lobby of the Hult Center

Linn and Angela waiting for the Mayor to speak.

A picture is a poem without words.