that quiet pause between the moment the little whirlwind 

leaves for school and the litany of daily chores begins   .    .        .

good morning !

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a. and little friends at the dragoman's house for an exhibition, a talk and tour, the parents only caught snippets, the girls were entranced

[ photographs by k ]
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 the des songes blanc  |  grand wu long  |  yunnan white jasmine


thank you for minding my thirst dearest vibeke,
i fill my cup in the evenings while a. is going to sleep
and take it into the drawing rooms of moscow and st petersburg
(looking for something long and deep to submerge in
/the sea was not an option/ i dived into war and peace  
-  me who hasn't read for so long  - 
and who knows when i'll next come up for air .   .    .   )

i felt autumn chill my shoulder tonight

so now i know it's just waiting in the wings .    .       .

.

we each bought something at the weekend [ HERS + hers ]
+ a clump of echinaceas. they lifted our chins a bit *



+

played with some japanese paper, getting the feel .   .        .
i knew it would be soothing.







hope you've had a soft start to the week )
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remember that bad knee? it turns out it's bone cancer.
there's not a dry eye in the house, nor an unbroken heart.


"mummy, he can't die now, he needs to live with us for many, many days until i grow older, when i won't be hurting any more."












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everyday: the monotony, the miracle










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yesterday: a pause on the south coast
just as the sun emptied into the sea.

.

gold, silver, double hope
an agitated nature always on the move
one moment it lets you gather seashells
the next the wind hurries the clouds into a storm

.

crunching black basalt at
a 'chateau' of the tropics
drapes and wallpapers of birds from france
strangely in place, despite the mosquitoes

(and, unexpectedly, on the top floor
a photo of k's grandparents among
the fashionable youth of the day)









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and so we began the month on a loose-end sunday
peering at autumn (really?) through butterfly wings
+ turning a blind eye to all the housework   ; )

[ i still have some images from mauritius,
  i hope you'll bear with me ]

when a. was a tiny bundle her papa would carry her on his shoulders
for an imaginary lullaby stroll through the jardin de pamplemousses
on the back of an elephant, looking for a little monkey .   .     .

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