Autumnal Stroll part II: Steige

Yoo-hoo, cows!  The black and white cows above are members of a French race called the Vosgienne, natives of the...

Vosges mountains! ↑ 

Berries in late October ripe for the pickin'!?  ↑

An old abandoned cabin.

Through the broken window I saw a whole 2 liter bottle of Iced Tea at the bar.  Tempting!

Thanks for following along on our Steige hike!

Starlings in the Sky with Diamonds....

Wanna see something cool?  I captured this spectacular cloud of starlings out of the VW window yesterday!

Seeing these merging, dispersing, amorphous,  glorious creatures, I was so tempted to think the starlings were displaying a joyful jig of life, a celestial dance of unity before winter, but reality check!  There was a hungry, dive-bombing hawk spotted, so I think it was more a form of defending the collective that just happened to be beautiful.   I'd be happy to know more about what they're doing exactly.

p.s. Please excuse the camera giggles.   Unacceptable considering all the films I've made in the past...

Birds Heart Pie

Take a picture it will last longer, pigeon!  Hasn't he seen people speed-eating blueberry pie from a paper box on a bench before?
We got wicked hungry walking around in Colmar and just had to get a couple of pies before we viewed a mighty inspiring Korean film called Poetry.  The young pastry apprentice behind the counter put our blueberry and mirabelle pie slices into the lid of the box instead of the base and wondered why it wasn't closing properly.  We've all been there.  We told her to forget it, leave it, we were just going to eat the pies right away anyway.  Just then, from out of the back, came the hard-nosed, prim manager who certainly smelled inferior customer service in the air.  She gave the wide-eyed apprentice a humiliating 'how-to'  and my feet began tapping even more nervously, we didn't want to be late, when she pulled out a ball of twine and showed her how to secure the package like a christmas gift.  'No, no, it's okay, we're just going to tear into it in 5 seconds,' we insisted.  Some golden stickers later, into a nice bag, the madame strolled out from behind the counter and presented us with our bag with a most proud and satisfied smile (the apprentice was taking note).  What a show!    The problem was, we spent so much time trying to open our present that we had to snarf it down in order to catch the previews.  Talk about indigestion!   The pigeon got his fair share of pie.  Who could resist those flat red eyes, that ready to please attitude with one foot lifted even before we could say shake?

Autumnal Stroll

After a delicious meal at a friend's house, we retired to the sitting room and there on the couch was the cat, Cookie, snoozing away.  She barely noticed all the petting I couldn't resist giving her.  They said since it's been chilly outside, she does nothing but sleep.  Should we follow the example of the cat......NO WAY!  Let's take a stroll!

This is my new Louis the 14th haircut.  Sometimes Daniel just looks at me and cracks up.  Awesome!  

The Haut-Koenigsbourg castle.

Dromson factory fence.

Thanks for following us on our little stroll!

Announcement: New Blog!!!

go here to check out the new blog dedicated to BMBF sewing adventures!

Hey, Frey...

I found a fabric remnant and had to get it, not because I especially loved it, although the colors weren't bad, but because of it's notable soft density and printed phrase running along the edge: ''imprimé au cadre à la main.'  This was surely a quality textile!  

Doing a little research, I found that the name donning the fabric, Pierre Frey, founded his luxury design house in 1935 where he created and manufactured fabrics and wallpapers in the purest French tradition.  And the family-owned business is still a powerhouse today, having acquired three other well-known prestigious fabric brands: Braquenié (founded in 1824), Fadini Borghi (specializing in silks) and Boussac (celebrated for large plant motifs and geometric designs.)  What's more, the Pierre Frey Company has a notable historical textile archive.  From their website: 'Pierre Frey represents an outstanding heritage, a remarkable collection of archives at the customer's disposal.  Since 2003, more than 30,000 documents (designs, fabrics, carpet samples) dating from the 16th century through to the present day have been gathered in Paris where they can be searched by period, color, motif and by technique.  This unique heritage makes Pierre Frey a valued point of contact for leading museums across the globe.'
Something to visit for sure on our next Paris trip!
After visiting The Pierre Frey blog, it is evident that this business is still really fresh, not stodgy like I assumed.
So, here's what I made with the fabric:

A housecoat with front wooden button, snaps down center and handy pockets!
Does anyone wear housecoats anymore?  Because of the fabric's weight, it had to assume this utilitarian design.  Either that or become a curtain.  

Passerelle...Swell....

Have you seen the new footbridge that goes over the train station mes amis les Sélestadiens?

It's quite a change from the old crumby concrete one.  You can see that it's now sleek metallic orange with neon lights running along the length of it on either side at intervals.    I personally love taking this passerelle for my frequent trips to the Post Office (where I'm known as the Correspondant Américain) because of the view of the mountains above and the trains below.  So, Daniel and I like to hang out on the bridge from time to time.  Actually, I'm kidding.  We were waiting for a bus at the train station and had twenty minutes to bumble around.   

Paris Road Trip Randomness

Weekend road trip to Paris!  Daniel behind the wheel....↑

Stretch break!  ↑  Each time we stopped at a gas station, so did a bus of Germans from Freiburg.  GUTEN TAG!
We didn't take any pictures of Ol' Gay Paris, or Andrea the birthday girl!  Whattttt.....easy to forget when one is in the heart of La Vie Boheme with all the debauchery that entails...


Mars Bar pick-me up!↑

Eerie wind mill farm near Nancy↑

The Marne!↑ You can tell I totally retouched my scarred and pitted skin.  Thanks iphoto!

Architectural delights in Noisy-Le-Grand.↑
It all went by so fast but we had a blast!

Did you Paint Napoleon? Heck Yes I Did...

Napoleon before ↑.....

And after↑
What do you think?  When my friend Myms saw this, she said, 'why red?!'  thinking I had Communist leanings.
And for any of you who don't know what to be for Halloween this year, here's an option.

Dambach Drivel

In the vineyards of Dambach-La-Ville, among the old Grand-Cru.

There wasn't an object in view to remind us we were in the 21st century.  Except for maybe this old concrete street sign ('borne d'angle' manufactured between 1946-1971.)

No thought of stealing a grape or two, no water to wash away the pesticide residue!  I asked Daniel if he thought grapes wanted to become wine.  He said one first had to suppose that grapes were people and not things.
What do you think?

Daniel pointed out the mysterious Cathedral of Strasbourg on the horizon some 39 kilometers (24 miles) away!  It's a little bit difficult to define, can you see it?

Does Everyone Like BIrds?

'Not everyone likes birds and olive branches,' Madame Sutter said as we constructed this ↓ dress together.  

She'd like to move away from large bold prints.  As a naïve apprentice, I must remember to respect my elder master and trust that she's right, for even if everyone universally loves birds, not everyone wants them populating their frocks. 

She'd like me to get some tissus unis.  And why not, we have time to try a million variations on a zillion themes.  So, I'm pretty lucky to train under the best master couturière in all the land and figure in 10 years, I'll be pretty good at making clothes.

↑Here is a detail of the dress bodice front with covered buttons.  Dress is 100% cotton and a whole lot of fun.

Speaking of master couturières, my friend from Chicago, Michelle, is launching her own clothing line (made from recycled materials!) Dollparts and needs our crowdfunding support!  Let's spread the word and donate (even as little as $1) to cover her startup costs and get her into production!  Watch the vid below to get the details, see examples of her quality work, take in her pleasant countenance, and give what we can!