Author Archive

New Toy

Posted on July 30, 2012

Hi Everyone,

I have a VERY fun new toy, and I’m very excited about it. I went to visit a friend recently, and he had had a huge movie screen and a projector installed in his home, so he and his family could watch movies at home. And although I’m not very into technology, I got excited the moment I saw it, and thought about how much fun we could have with it. He had had his installed by a friend, at a fairly reasonable price, and he gave me the friend’s number and I called him. We have an old playroom that my kids don’t use much anymore, with a Ping-Pong table in it, a good sized TV, 3 couches to lounge around on, and a round table where they still play games when they’re at home: Scrabble, Monopoly, and cards. » read more »

Filed Under Hobbies, Paris | 5 Comments

Chanel Haute Couture

Posted on July 23, 2012

Hi Everyone,

To keep you abreast of Haute Couture fashion events in Paris, no report on the subject would be complete without telling you about Chanel, which is the leader of the pack in fashion. Designed by the remarkable and legendary Karl Lagerfeld, he is tireless in his energy, innovations, and extraordinary designing skill. (He designs at least four or five ready to wear collections a year for Chanel, two Haute Couture collections, and also designs for Fendi, and his own label, and a sideline and huge talent in photography too.) It makes the head spin to think of all he does, and to see him in all his strength and glory at 80. He is TRULY an icon, and deservedly so. » read more »

Christian Dior Haute Couture Fashion Show: Report from Paris

Posted on July 16, 2012

Hi everyone,

For a number of years now I only go to one Haute Couture show per season (they show the Haute Couture clothes twice a year, in January for the following summer, and in July for the following winter). After years and years of going to many shows, now that most of the big couture houses have closed, I only go to Chanel. Dior used to be one of my favorites, but although I immensely admire John Galliano’s talent, I’ve never been a big fan of his clothes, and as he’s been the designer for Dior for many years, I stopped going to their shows. Due to a series of unfortunate events, a year or two ago, Mr. Galliano » read more »

July 4th in Paris

Posted on July 9, 2012

Hi Everyone,

I always give a small dinner party in Paris on July 4th, for close friends. It just seems fun to celebrate it, so the day doesn’t go unnoticed while I’m in France. Usually, I do it at home and serve hamburgers. This time, I did it at one of my favorite restaurants, where the food is very French. But I had red, white and blue flowers on the table, with little American flags in them.  And being a child at heart, I LOVE party favors, and use any excuse to have them: Halloween, Easter, Valentine’s Day. I love silly light up things, things that sparkle, little teddy bears, wind up chicks on the table at Easter. For July 4th, » read more »

Chiquita

Posted on July 2, 2012

Hi Everyone,

It’s a sad day for us. I usually report our family news to you, and have told you about our dogs. Chiquita is the senior citizen in the group, and belongs to one of my daughters (Chiquita’s photo is in the section about dogs). She is an adorable black teacup Chihuahua, and has been in great shape at 16 years of age. Chihuahuas are usually very long lived, so we’ve been hoping, and believing she had some good years left in her. Some even live to be 20, much longer than a lot of other breeds.  She was fine until two weeks ago, when she suddenly went blind from cataracts, and was scheduled for cataract surgery this week. She was checked out, and in such good health, they felt the surgery was not risky, even at her age. The day before the surgery, she began acting strangely, loss of appetite, losing her balance and seemed a little confused. The next day we took her to the vet, and she went steadily downhill all day (and of course, we cancelled the eye surgery, until she was back to seeming normal again). In 36 hours, she made a shocking decline from healthy dog to very sick one, as her condition worsened, and her kidneys became a problem. All her systems began shutting down the day after we took her to the hospital. We did everything we could to reverse it, but she just continued to get worse. She wasn’t suffering, and was peaceful, but she appeared to be fading away. And the day after we took her to the hospital, despite everything they did, she died peacefully, at 16. » read more »

Filed Under Dogs | 13 Comments

Paris in the Summer

Posted on June 25, 2012

Hi Everyone,

It doesn’t feel like summer in Paris yet, but it is. The weather has been awful, cold, gray and rainy, but it’s still Paris, and I don’t care if it snows, I’m always happy to be here. There’s always lots to do, and the big excitement in my life is that I’m turning a playroom into a home movie room, which will be fun when my kids are home, or on winter nights, to share a pizza and watch a movie on a big screen with friends. Pretty tame pursuits!!

Other than that, I’m enjoying the usual art shows, auctions in my favorite auction house; I’m taking a little break from work, seeing friends, and doing errands for the house. I got a new couch for the movie room yesterday. It’s nice to take a break from real life, real problems, real work, deadlines, and all the pressures of daily life that are all too real most of the time. And it’s relaxing to do something mindless like buy new soap dishes, or something for the kitchen. » read more »

Filed Under Paris | 7 Comments

Robin Roberts

Posted on June 18, 2012

Hi everybody,

I was so greatly shaken and saddened today when I heard that Robin Roberts, of Good Morning America, is facing another tough challenge. After beating breast cancer five years ago, she now has a bone marrow disease, as a result of the treatment she underwent 5 years ago for cancer. Apparently, she is beginning some form of treatment immediately, will have to go through chemotherapy again, and a bone marrow transplant. I only know what I heard on the news, so I am no better informed than anyone else. » read more »

Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Emailing, Texting, Instant Messages, and More

Posted on June 11, 2012

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m of a different generation. Technology is foreign to me, and will never be second nature as a means of communication. And even I can see the benefits of it. Instead of having to find a phone to tell someone you’re late, you can send them a text, and I can respond to emails or send them, at any crazy hour for me, despite international time differences, and without having to track someone down by phone. So I get it, and without question, it’s convenient. I can communicate with anyone I need to in business, at any hour, and respond to inquiries from them about everything from titles, to jacket covers, to music for a radio ad, or editing issues with my editor. Or communicate with my kids, without intruding on them, or calling them at a bad time at work. BUT, and there is a big BUT here, I think these modern technological conveniences are severely overused, in ways I find alarming, on the spectrum of human exchanges and relationships. I am ALL for the text saying “plane landed an hour late, I won’t be home for another hour” or “traffic on bridge, will be 20 minutes late” That kind of text message can be a godsend. » read more »

Passing the Baton

Posted on June 4, 2012

Its Memorial Day weekend, and I’m spending a relaxing, lazy weekend at my beach house in California, after a couple of weeks of hard work. The weather isn’t great, and I just took a nice walk under gray skies, enjoying the scenery, and saying hi to my neighbours, as I walked along. Until a few years ago, I owned a second house across the street, which allowed our whole family to come to the beach, with spouses and significant others and friends. We’re a big group, and having two houses worked well. And even with two houses, on many occasions, both houses were bursting at the seams. (I keep fold up rollaway beds everywhere, and inflatable mattresses, and can turn a room into a dormitory in the blink of an eye!!!) It’s the kind of overcrowded family weekend I really enjoy (you have to enjoy crowds, if you have 9 kids!!!). Although admittedly, in recent years, it doesn’t happen often to have all of us together, only on holidays or for special occasions. » read more »

Filed Under Uncategorized | 11 Comments

The Graduate

Posted on May 29, 2012

Another one of those major landmarks seems to have snuck up on me when I wasn’t looking.  I tend to be so busy on a daily basis, just keeping my life organized, being in touch with my kids, hoping to help them solve their problems, meeting my writing deadlines and leading my life with all its minor details, and then BLAM!!! Suddenly you are face to face with one of those moments that stop you in your tracks, and you realize that something enormously important just happened.

After working very hard, getting terrific grades, and the usual grousing about how tired she was of school and couldn’t wait to finish—–my youngest daughter just graduated from college. WOWWWWW!!!! Talk about a landmark event.  I’m not sure even she realized how momentous it would be, and for a while, like all my kids, she threatened not to ‘walk at graduation’, because it would be ‘so boring and stupid’, and then she decided to do it. (Damn right, I’ve been waiting all these years for that moment, so I could watch her walk in her cap and gown, and feel giddy as she did it!!). She was taking finals, finishing papers, and doing all the stuff people do before they graduate, and I was busy planning a family lunch for her and a party afterwards. I don’t know why, but with major events, one seems to get distracted by the details. And then suddenly, the day was here. The whole family flew in last Thursday night, and we’re a big group. » read more »

Filed Under Family | 7 Comments

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