Thursday, June 30, 2011

Champoussin - a charming village in Switzerland

Champoussin is a charming village in western Switzerland.  Where is it?  Well, you may not find it in an ordinary map but it is close to Geneva airport- about two hours away in car or train.  If you find Geneva try moving eastward along the lake Geneva.  You may find Lausanne, Montreaux and in a smaller font a spot called Aigles.



You may take a AOMC  train from here.  This rather tram like train  will take you to Val d'Illiez station in forty minutes.  Then you take a bus up to the Champoussin village.

We landed in Zurich airport and took a train ride to Aigle.  It took us about three hours.  The view from Lausanne to Aigle is spectacular.  The train track is right next to the lake.

We saw tiny back yard gardens, tranquil lakes with boats floating on them. Then again, even Switzerland has its share of concrete walls and graffiti on them. But I found them artistic.





When we reached the Val d' Illiez station we expected to find the bus at 4:30 pm,  but today it is Saturday and there are no school children,  so no bus!

We were assured that there will be one at 6:30 pm though,  the last one.  We were hungry and thirsty.  A lady came out of a restaurant to help us out and made us cafe latte and a very delicious dish of grilled cheese on thick bread.  She knows as much English as I know French but we made it finally and she made a call for us to the hotel to confirm that we'll reach with the last bus.  When the bus finally arrived, she went and told the driver to wait for us.  We were the only two passengers.

Champoussin is awfully pretty and tranquil.  It is an out of the world place.  The little log cabin room  where we stayed in was very cute, comfortable and basic.  You can see the snow capped mountains from the little veranda and the rolling green hills.  It is so quiet here- with only occasional cow bells tingaling from time to time .  There is a farm on the top of the hill where they also make home made cheese.

There is no wifi or  telephone in the room, but you may find them at the hotel lobby .

There is a grocery store at the bottom where you may find basic things and home made bread.  Things are expensive here. Like an egg cost me a dollar!  There is also a restaurant, para gliding things and thermal baths.  This place is a ski resort in winter time.

But it is equally pretty in summer.  The lupins are in bloom.  There is a smell of fresh sweet milk and pine mixed in the air.  You hear the rustling of the leaves and slow moos of the cows and their cow bells.

It is a happy place with simple beauty. 
 









 

Thursday, June 23, 2011

A day in Vienna

The ceiling of the Opera House in Vienna- see the 24 k gold work on the ceiling
June 23, 2011- Vienna

Had a wonderful day today with Rinka.  Though the day started with a shrill alarm at 5 o clock in the morning and we all had to climb the five floors of  stairs,  nothing really was that dangerous.  After half an hour later everything seemed safe and sound (less- no pun intended) and we all climbed up in the elevator (!).  No fire truck really did show up to save the residents in this diplomats’ unit.  Any way it was a weird chance to meet Rinka’s neighbors.

Rinka took us to a nice cafĂ© and introduced me to a drink which was a mix of coffee, chocolate, lots of whipped cream with a swirl of caramel sauce.  Yummy.  I had a  soft boiled egg and roll with all kinds of jams.



We took the tram and came to Belvedere Museum.  Here I focused on Klimpt.  I love his The Kiss but I did not know so many things about this picture.  Gustave Klimpt chose bold rectangles in the pattern around the male figure, and roundish motifs for the female.  They have their differences but those differences are trying to melt for something soft, loving… the figures are surrounded by flowers and gold dust.  The Kiss is soft and beautiful.

Other pictures worth mentioning are “The Bride”, “Adam and Eve”, “the Meadow “ where he showed how the poppies in the fore ground stood out merging the big tree with oranges in the back ground.  There is a picture by Van Gogh- a landscape.  He shot himself two days after painting this picture.

The garden is fantastic.
Here you see the inside of the stage of the Opera House - A rare thing.  As a holiday there is no rehearsal going.  So we could see the inside of the stage


From here we went to the Opera House and we took a guided tour.  It is a holiday today so there is no rehearsal and we lucked out to see the inside of the stage.

It is magnificent.  The hall, ceilings and the whole place give you goose bumps

The inside of the auditorium


After lunch we had gelato.  It was so good.  Rinka knows all these little nooks and corners of Vienna.  My senses are so stimulated today.

After we came home it started to rain and get cooler.


Sunday, May 8, 2011

My Mommy and Me

My Mommy and Me
My Ma and Me - probably my first picture
On this special Mother's Day I was thinking about my Ma. There are so many memories, so many moments to cherish, laugh about and feel serious about.  What message did she leave for me to pass on?  consciously and unconsciously?

She was very beautiful and as a young child I used to get awestruck seeing her getting ready for parties.  She paid attention to beauty .  I remember her saying  to me  one day,( on  one of those morose teenage days) - "Go pretty yourself up" - she even wanted to share her lipstick! "and see your self in the mirror with a big smile"   Phew!  I said that day.  But you know-  I found later on - IT WORKS.

She paid attention to beauty around her too.  Much before green living became vogue, she taught me -  the want less, waste less  mantra and to give away generously. She showed me how to pretty up the surrounding with simple things.

She was a great friend, a good friend, my Ma,  and when I miss her,  deep inside I feel that she is right there inside me.  I have not really lost her.  

Friday, April 29, 2011

The Help - a book that I am reading

I am reading a book named "The Help" .  It is so interesting that I cannot put it down.  It is one of those books that you really don't want to end.  Therefore my beading, business and other house hold  things are at stake.

This is the author's  first book and it is going to be a movie I hear.  I got it as a birthday present from my daughter.

Lately I did not read much.  And I was thinking my concentration is getting poor or some thing.  Why can't I just stick to the one I am reading and just finish it?  I was kind of mad at my self.  I found the answer.  




Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung.  Look at our  wisteria  tree and oh, the smell.

I am enthused to create two earring pieces too.  The first one, a knitted piece was when I got inspired by a cob web and the dew on it.

The second one - I name it WISTERIA.

I was motivated to do this from Mystic Pesto's blog.

You can join in the celebration by visiting these participating blogs!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

What did I do with my buttons?

What did I do with my buttons?

I'm late, I'm late - I feel like that rabbit in Alice in wonderland.  I live in California, so my day starts out a bit later than most of my blog hopping friends.  On top of that I spent a whole lot of the day today thinking about the design, then  creating my bracelet ( yes, I am one of those last minute persons...I don't want to be...but

When I was kind of satisfied I found the day  light is almost gone.  Well, still I took advantage of that slanting last beam of the afternoon sun ray on my window sill and I'll show you in a minute what I did.

I started with the lady.  I name this piece "She- and  her dreams".  This button is  sent by Cat.  It took me a long time to find out what I want to put in here.  Then I thought that keeping it most simple,  knitting it  with   waves and waves of  dreams and thoughts is what this piece should be all about.  I thought of my mom (who has passed away in 2007) as I was making it.
I am so anxious to see what the others have done with their buttons.  Please do hop on their blogs too.  Here is the list and a short notice from Michelle who kindly arranged this whole BUTTON project.

Here is Michelle's note:

You might also want to tell your readers about the giveaway--if readers comment on any (or all) blogs, they can win a set of buttons.  The full rules will be on my blog, but basically, each comment on a different blog gets them one entry.  So if they comment on all posts, that would be 25 entries!  But if they comment 25 times on Lori's blog, that only counts as one entry!  The giveaway is open to everyone.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Thanks,

Michelle
www.michellemach.com/blog/

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1. Cat - Boo Beads

2. Cindy - Sweet Bead Studio

3. Cory - Art with Moxie

4. Cyndi - Beading Arts

5. Dita - Alankarshilpa

6. Donna, Marti, and Michelle - Beads & Books

7. Erin - Treasures Found

8. Hope - Crafty Hope

9. Inca - Zerenity Design

10. Katrine - Army of Sock Monsters

11. Krista - French Elegant Jewelry

12. Kristie - Artisan Clay

13. Linda D. - Lutka and Co.

14. Linda L. - Linda's Bead Blog

15. Lody - Lody's Beadworks

16. Lori - Pretty Things

17. Loretta - Loretta's Boutique

18. Malin - Beading by Malin de Koning

19. Mary - MK's Creative Musings

20. Maryanne - Zingala's Workshop

21. Melinda - Melinda Orr Metal & Clay Jewelry Designs

22. Saskia - Perlendistel

23. Shannon - For My Sweet Daughter

24. Shirley - Beads and Bread

25. Stephanie - Confessions of a Bead Hoader
 



Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Yeh! My Buttons

My Buttons

I was in this button swapping project. I  had to choose some buttons for my partner Cat from boo beads and send it to her.
 

Similarly I received a nice pack of buttons from her too.  Like her, I love buttons made of natural materials too.


Aren't they beautiful?  Cat made the copper one herself and her mom made the one with the letter D.  I am so touched to receive hand made buttons.

O, I forgot to mention that I found some vintage copper buttons from an old jacket.  I discarded the jacket but saved the buttons to share with Cat.

Cat and I both saved one sample piece  of each button for our selves and would share later what we did with them.  In the mean time, my head is working more than my hands and that is the hard part.  Now I just have to carve a couple of quiet hours when I can totally immerse in the creative process.

Well, it is 9:39pm now.  The night is still pretty young to me.  I should rather be beading than blogging.


 



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