August 2022 in Pictures

"Life is a painting, and you are the artist. You have on your palette all the colors in the spectrum…” — Paul J. Meyer

While many people, especially educators, enjoy this last, long month of summer, I really do not enjoy August. It is typically hot and humid and buzzing with insects. Although this year was pleasantly cool, usually, once August comes, I’m ready to skip right to September.

Over the past few years of curated monthly collections, I have struggled to define the colors of August. Some months seem obvious while other require a bit more creativity. I have tried “sunny hues” — yellows, reds, and oranges, yet, having just finished a patriotic July, my reds have been depleted; I used most of the yellows in April aside from the sunflowers; and since it’s my least favorite, I have very few photos that feature the color orange, most of those being reserved for October. In 2020, I scrapped the color theme in August in favor of the alphabet — an image of something that begins with each of the letters followed by the numbers one through five. In 2021, I featured photos of my favorite things — the things for which I am most grateful: nature (especially the birds, bees, butterflies, and flowers in my own garden), being on the water (sailing and rowing), travel (especially to Door County and Paris), creativity (photography and writing), education (books and my time at Marquette), good food and wine and time with friends and family (especially Miss Piper). And as a bonus, the color scheme evolved naturally and reflected my some favorite hues, rendering August 2021 one of my favorite collages.

This year’s collages are softer, more muted versions of their monthly color schemes, but for August, I embraced a bold spectrum. It’s not my favorite collection, but it still features some of my favorite subjects — flowers, water, shapes, textures, and of course, a certain ever-photogenic beagle.

Currently • August 2022

“Breathe the sweetness that hovers in August.” – Denise Levertov

READING:

• The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor — “When her grandmother passed away, she left sixteen-year-old Alice an apartment in Paris that no one knew existed — an apartment that has been locked for more than seventy years. Alice is determined to find out why the apartment was abandoned and why her grandmother never once mentioned the family she left behind when she moved to America after World War II. With the help of Paul, a charming Parisian student, she sets out to uncover the truth. ” (Goodreads).

• The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger — Just for fun and because everything else I want to read in on hold.

WATCHING/LISTENING TO:

• The Kennedy Center Honors — Great tributes, great music.

• Green Bay Packers pre-season games

• Jimmy Buffett Life on the Flip Side Redux live from Alpine Valley 08/20/2022 — We didn’t go this year, but I think it was even better to watch “live” from our living room with wine and a beagle.

ENJOYING:

• Socializing at the Nagawicka Lake Yacht Club — It is great to connect with others who share our love of sailing and this club is right across the lake from our house.

• One nephew’s sweet sixteen and another’s final send-off before he starts college in two weeks.

• My annual personal holiday, Dolce far niente — the joy of doing nothing. I always take a day before school starts to read, watch movies, get pampered, and other equally idle pursuits with my favorite loafing partner, Piper.

FEELING: Anxious — Even after fifty years of first days of school, I still feel equal parts excitement and anxiety. C’est normal.

PLANNING:

• A couple of fall weekend getaways — We didn’t spend a single night away this summer, so I’m eager for a change of scenery. We plan to visit friends in the north woods of Wisconsin in mid-September and enjoy the fall colors in Door County in October.

• Walking tours and excursions for three co-workers who are taking trips to Paris in August and September. It’s fun to take their must-dos and create bespoke itineraries for them. And it’s good research for my own trip next spring. I’ll be posting a sneak peek at where we’ll be staying very soon.

Links I Love • August 2022

“When life gives you lemons…”

• When the World Gives You Lemons … Make a Stand — Always stop at lemonade stands and always leave a big tip.

• 10 Groceries I Buy to Feel Like I’m Back in France

• French Finds at Trader Joe’s

• A Directory of Paris’ Outdoor Markets

• 5 Flat Shoe Trends Every Smart Parisian Woman Owns — I live in my ballerinas, but I also love loafers.

• More Hemingway, Less Faulkner

• An Ode to Bookstores and Promiscuous Reading

• Notre-Dame Cathedral on Track to Reopen in 2024

• 5 Charming Villages in the South of France — I’m visited all but one…so far.

July 2022 in Pictures

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” — John Lubbock

Links I Love • July 2022

“If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need” - Marcus Tullius Cicero.

• 42 Best Souvenirs from France

• How to Do Paris Like a French Girl

• Bringing ’50s Dior to Life in ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris’

• The 13 Most Affordable Fine-Dining in Paris

• The 14 Best Patisseries in Paris

• Beautiful Photos of Early Summer in Paris

• How To Read More Books (If You Want)

• Redesign Around Notre-Dame to Keep Tourists Moving and Lower Temperatures

• French Pharmacy Finds on Amazon

• The Best Paris Books of 2022 (So Far)

• The Fascinating Science Behind Freckles

• Why Women Do or Don't Change Their Name When They Get Married

Currently • July 2022

“Don't buy much but make sure that what you buy is good.”— Christian Dior

READING — 3 Dior-inspired books and 3 that are outside my comfort zone:

• Mrs Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico — “Determined to make her dream come true, Mrs. Harris scrimps and saves until one day, after three long, uncomplaining years, she finally has enough money to go to Paris. When she arrives at the House of Dior, Mrs. Harris has little idea of how her life is about to be turned upside down and how many other lives she will transform forever. Always kind, always cheery, and always winsome, the indomitable Mrs. Harris takes Paris by storm and learns one of life's greatest lessons along the way. This treasure from the 1950s reintroduces the irrepressible Mrs. Harris, part charlady, part fairy godmother, whose adventures take her from her humble London roots to the heights of glamour” (Goodreads).

• The Last Dress from Paris by Jade Beer — “Paris, 1952. The City of Light comes alive in this lush, evocative tale that explores the ties that bind us together, the truths we hold that make us who we are, and the true meaning of what makes someone family [not to mention seven magnificent Dior dresses]” (Goodreads).

• The Beautiful Fall: Fashion, Genius, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris — “n the 1970s, Paris fashion exploded like a champagne bottle left out in the sun. Amid sequins and longing, celebrities and aspirants flocked to the heart of chic, and Paris became a hothouse of revelry, intrigue, and searing ambition. At the center of it all were fashion's most beloved luminaries - Yves Saint Laurent, the reclusive enfant terrible, and Karl Lagerfeld, the flamboyant freelancer with a talent for reinvention - and they divided Paris into two fabulous halves. Their enduring rivalry is chronicled in this dazzling exposé of an era: of social ambitions, shared obsessions, and the mesmerizing quest for beauty” (Goodreads).

• 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand — “Based on the classic film Same Time Next Year (which Mallory and Jake watch every summer), 28 Summers explores the agony and romance of a one-weekend-per-year affair and the dramatic ways this relationship complicates and enriches their lives, and the lives of the people they love” (Goodreads).

• Book Lovers by Emily Henry — “Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story” (Goodreads).

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig — “Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived…” (Goodreads).

WATCHING:

• Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (see READING) — This article explains how this charming film is “The Fairy Tale We Need Right Now.” Despite the scenes in Paris and the beautiful dresses, as usual, I preferred the book to the movie.

• Only Murders in the Building - Season 2 on Hulu — “Only Murders in the Building follows three strangers (Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. As they record a podcast of their own to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building which stretch back years. Perhaps even more explosive are the lies they tell one another. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late” (Hulu). So funny.

• Grantchester - Season 2 on PBS — Season 7 picks up in the long hot summer of 1959 with wedding season in full swing in the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester. This does seem like the end. Does anyone know if it is indeed the final season?

LISTENING TO:

• The Earful Tower’s Paris Countdown — Oliver and Lina are spending 24ish hours in every Paris arrondissement from 20 to 1 and I am taking notes for my next trip to Paris.

ENJOYING:

• Time with friends — We have had graduation parties and holiday celebrations. I have had coffee dates and cocktail dates with friends and colleagues and have even entertained overnight guests.

• A better life-work balance — I have been prepping and facilitating summer professional development and attending meetings; yet, I also have days when row a little longer, keep my home comfortably tidy (including my closet pictured above), and linger over coffee in the morning, a good book in the afternoon, and wine and music in the evening — all with a cuddly beagle by my side.