la mer

One of my greatest loves is the sea. 

I used to live by the rough and windswept Norfolk coast. I would lie in bed at night and hear the North Sea smashing against the cliffs; in high winter tides sometimes the house would shake. It is possibly the only non-human element I miss about England.

And then there are those crashing Atlantic breakers; a bodyboard, woops and thrills, unrestrained joy.

Since coming to live here I discovered a new joy. Under the water, floating, searching, chasing fishes, the dappled light patterns below and above, listening to my breath through the snorkel. 

How does a girl like me survive the next few months? Please don't tell me to find an indoor swimming pool........the idea alone fills me with dread.

feeding my mind

I may very well be all over the place at the moment, but I always cherish the things that make me smile, or fill me up with inspiration

right now I love these balmy, warm late summer evenings and homemade barbecued veggie sausages. They are that simple, even I can be bothered to make them

and I loved reading Fireworks by Angela Carter. Strange, surreal, sometimes scary but always exciting.

I have a current thing about photographing windsocks from a moving car. I'm not sure why just yet. 

My earworm right now is this, and it reminds me of this photograph I took earler this summer, and that makes me smile.

and this poster caught my eye in a street in Arles. 

Googling 'Postman Quartet didn't turn up much. I think he/she/they are graffitti artist(s) who create beautiful billboards they post around various french cities. I want to know more!

summer's end

these are some of my favourite photographs from the last 3 months. Goodbye summer I'm going to miss you.

:::::as a side note:::::

I will not miss the flies, my constantly over-heating car, people wearing crocs or those who deliberately run over snakes.

so until next year...........

another reason to love film.....would the light be captured quite like this otherwise? No, I didn't think so......

the sunny sky is aqua blue...........

I really didn't have time to take many photographs, although I walked everywhere with my backpack stuffed with 3 cameras and several rolls of film.

But we did manage flamingos, Rencontre d'Arles, snorkelling and some very infantile behaviour involving the murals in Carcés.
{do not worry, we didn't damage anything}

returns

from holiday, to school, to routine; a time of losses and gains

********

I have lost.........

precious time 

late nights 

a house full of noise, laughter & fun

and also

my favourite vintage hairclip on the beach at Le Lavandou (I blame my menfolk)

white inverted V shape on my feet, toffee-brown bodies with white swimming costume traces

another child to board at lycée, Monday-Friday

yet I have gained so much too.......

inspiration spilling over, new horizons 

A distaste for pastis, but a taste for cold white beer

another candle on my birthday cake

a brand new imac (expensive) and a Yashica TL Electro (free) proving yet again, the true value of something is not it's cost but the happiness it brings

exceptionally split ends, after a summer of snorkelling in salty seawater, evening lake dips and 2 months of driving continuously with all the car windows open

precious memories

pride as I watch my daughter take her first tentative steps into becoming a grown up. I wish so much that leaving our small village and studying art will make her blossom, and enrich her life as it has for her big brother. All I know is at 8am this morning she took that leap of faith, probably for the first time without me holding her hand.