A happy little boy in Venice in another time. By our friend Bernd who took wonderful photographs in Venice. Here are two more on bricolage. (photograph by Bernd Krause/all rights reserved)
This is for our friend Marguerite who is ill & in the hospital. Giulia & her editor send much love & healing thoughts all the way to Lyon, France. bisous, Maguy.
GG is rousing from Spring Break. She & her editor are still under-the-weather but invite you to the Human Rights Art Festival in Silver Spring, MD this Friday through Sunday (23-25 April 2010). We will be posting this week about the festival, but consider this your official invitation! Stay tuned. If you can't attend, we'd still love it if you clicked the links & read what it's all about (& see all the exciting sponsors, events in our neighborhood).
Even though GG is a feline, one of her favorite people is a very Clever Pup. Big news: The Clever Pup's artistry is available via her new shop The Plum Plum. See here for a hint about the name if you're in a fog. (We were & it's one of our favorite novels & film! Evidently, we need to do more crosswords.) Anyway, GG Central awaits an order of The Plum Tarts & we're quite interested in the new notebooks as well. Everything is very well-priced & there's more to come.
A huge thank you to The Clever Pup for not only a congratulations on our one-year achievement but original art! She has lifted our seriously sagging spirits after a long slog home. More on Mme Pup soon--when we can do her justice. But go, just go to her site. A fascinating (& of course, clever) experience awaits you. Merci, mille grazie, Pup!
From Tiffin for Tea, Lorry for Truck by Reetika Vazirani (from her second book, World Hotel). The line is Fog owns the morning and you can't travel. We've had foggy mornings & evenings the last few days. The computer & GG's editor are still befogged, as well.. GG, though, is in top feline form. Hope to see you later. Please check out the Darfur news, here. (Foggy Barn by Vermonter Paul Moody)
*The title of a poem from Reetika Vazirani's last book (there might be one more). We used to recite it faster & faster in a race against the second-hand; she wrote it, she usually won. (Photo by wonderful Grant Hutchinson, more of his work here.) 
How adorable are our friends Isabelle, Lenny, & their little Phoenix? A bilingual, French-American famille living in Washington. These are from Inauguration Eve & taken on Pennsylvania Avenue. GG can't wait for Phoenix to come over soon--she adores him (& he speaks French so much better than her editor:)
Our dear friend Alison Highberger's article, The Perfect Winter Drink in Bend, Oregon's Bulletin food section. Ali & son (sous-chef Nick) are pre-testing some Martha Stewart's Holiday projects. Of course, these marshmallows can be for Hanukkah, as well. You'd probably want to use a kosher recipe & here is one. (We can't vouch for it, though.) For the time-pressed, Whole Foods carries kosher marshmallows that are perfectly fine. For vegetarian/vegan marshies, try this recipe. (Again, no vouching.)
This is our friend Toffee dressed up for Hallowe'en! She's a Franco-American chienne & we're just crazy about her. As a French girl, she knows that a little classic touch (note the hair bow) goes a long way. And she was worried that she didn't have a great costume! She knows just how to pose--touching her forepaw to a tiny autumn gourd. C'est adorable. Look at those cute baby pumpkins.
The proverbial last bloom is nigh...GG's editor has seen late blooms on floribunda roses around the neighborhood, even downtown. In desperation, she snipped one small apricot-colored flower. Don't judge! Do you think that this will be held against Obama? We're at the ready to bat back ridiculous rumors, scurrilous commentary, & plain ol' mean-spiritedness--all of which are on abundant display. If you hear something you don't like, check here for the facts. This isn't over until YOU vote. 
GG's editor wishes her very dear friend Trina, in Germany, a wonderful day & year. They were university students together in Strasbourg (let's not say how long ago) & share a birthday week. Above are Trina's darling pups, Rocky & Termi. We hear storiesa about their hijinks--quite a handful. GG would fit right in. A French-Italian redheaded cat with (real) German dachsunds? No problem. We are all friends, now.
Happy Birthday, Bella Isabel!
Giulia was hanging out (literally) yesterday at her office & friend Isa took this photo with a cellphone. It's definitely fuzzy--GG wasn't cooperative, she was in deep contemplation. However, she also insisted upon having it posted today instead of waiting for a real photo shoot. Go figure. GG's editor dare not question GG-genius.
Today is the fifth anniversary of Reetika's death. She was a lovely, gracious person, and a marvellous poet, too. Here is a link to a web chapbook of Reetika's poetry.
We have a visitor for a few days named Hermione. She is a gorgeous brindled feline with connections, we think, to an ancient Nubian kingdom. (More on that later.) She is very quiet but curious. It's difficult to tell from the photo but she has bright green eyes & is an Obama supporter.