Femme et Fleur: Lazy Girl in Paris and Orient: Summer 2023

Potpourri - Paris to Poquatuck Park

I look up from my laptop. There are goldfinch on the bird feeder eating thistle seeds. I hear a ripe apple thump on the ground fallen from the perfectly shaped apple tree in the yard. A deer will later enjoy this apple as her two fawns cuddle against the white shingles of the garage.

I look across the lawn that the neighbor man mows every Tuesday. I see cars crossing the causeway in the distance on their way to the ferry which will take them to New London and points north. Beyond the fenced-in garden at the back of the yard, with its tall sunflowers, orange zinnias and blue Chicory, I see the "big pile of dirt". The neighbor who owns the house behind my rental has built a pool house this summer, and in doing so, has displaced a great deal of dirt to Latham's field. This BPoD with its fleet of assorted tradesmen trucks, cement mixers and cranes, has provided both visual distraction and fodder for commentary for the two months that I have been in Orient.

The beautiful pool house and BPoD.

Before I came out to Orient, I went to Paris in June. At The Picasso Museum, we saw a display by the British designer, Paul Smith, who provided decor for the exhibit.

Paul Smith's clever installation of the iconic black and white striped shirt favored by Picasso, hanging from the rafters at the Picasso Museum.

Picasso with Françoise Gilot in the South of France. Gilot died last year at the age of 101. She was a painter, and the only woman to ever leave Picasso.

Bouquets from Deep Roots Farm, Southold, New York

A highlight of my trip to Paris was a picnic on the park grounds of Versailles where we had a catered luncheon sur l'herbe while our tour hosts, Cassidy Zachary and April Calahan, shared details about Marie Antoinette and her couturier, Rose Bertin.

"Marie Antoinette with a Rose" by Elizabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, French, 1766-1842.

Oil on Canvas, 46 x 35", 1783

Cassidy and April speaking to us about Marie Antoinette and Rose Bertin.

Madame Bertin was a French fashion merchant and milliner. She is considered the first French fashion designer. She became the couturier to the Queen as well as her confidante and friend. She was known for the extravagant pouf hairdos made from pads and pomade and the chemise à la Reine.

Fashion historian and Dressed Podcast co-host, April Calahan, in her custom-made gown à la Marie Antoinette. April attended the Grand Masked Ball at the Versailles Palace, held on the last night of our Paris tour. It began at midnight.

April ascending the steps of Versailles at dawn.

A painting that I completed during my summer in Orient with doll furniture that I found at a yard sale. It's as if I am looking at a real landscape with real people, and with a blink of my eyes, I transform it to a fantasy world.