i am not done yet with
my Christmas-presents buying
for friends and family
but i have already collected
a good amount of unplanned-to-buy items
for myself, every time i try to buy
something for my family or friends
i don't seem to find anything that could fit them
but curiously enough i seem to find every time
something for myself
so i decided no more gifts for me!
these are enough, specially since i think
i am more on the naughty side this year
anyway my latests indulgences
1. a 2009 small enough to fit in my purse agenda
since 1999 i have been collecting these agendas
but in these agendas i rarely keep appointments
i take quick/random notes & impressions of the day
(not daily)
2. a calendar for my kitchen
i had a cool one for 2008 and liked the idea
of seeing it on my kitchen, those cute art deco
posters of old food items are always charming
and they work for home appointments
and to remember when not to park my car
'cause of street sweeping...
3. On Beauty, by Zadie Smith, a recommendation
of mister Insky, a fine collector of interesting music,
great photographer, and avid reader who introduced
to mister Julian Barnes, and Paul Auster, amongst many
others, rather influencing along with my best friend's dad
on American authors, American and English literature.
So when I saw one of his recommendations and having read
a bit over miss Zadie Smith, on how witty and hilarious are
her books, the wonders of her story-telling, she's been
called a modern-day Dickens, a hard-cover for $5.99
oh yeah!
4. and then ah one of my favorite authors
Julian Barnes
the 1st non-fiction book of his I am about to read
Nothing to be Frightened Of
Barnes style is ironic, clever, elegant and well,
I heard about this book a couple of months ago
but my mind got distracted and wandered
then per conversations with Herr Georg
and after reading his famous post on
Religion, Power, and Money
I remembered Barnes' latest book
so i revisited this article about the book
Dying of the Light by Garrison Keillor
in the New York Times
the idea of reading Barnes' words, ideas,
and memoirs on aging, death, faith, and religion
feels like an oasis in my cluttered mind
i am currently reading Carls Hiaasen's Sick Puppy
but i suspect that Barnes' book will be my 1st one for 2009
5. this colorful Guatemalan scarf
6. the many bears are part of some Christmas packages
I am putting together for friends, I just thought a group
photo of them would be a good memory before sending
them all to different homes
so i guess i have enough of unnecessary necessities
for myself to cover 2009
well, except for the books, i hope i will be needing
at least another couple dozen of those thru the year...
2 comments:
Hallo Berenice,
Let me wish you once again a happy new year toothousandnyn.
First I had a look at your Autlan photos. I understand they were made in 2007. Indeed a colorful little city. And I realize that at least at that time you were a buddhist holiday monk clad in yellow safran stuff. You look good therein.
Some pictures of Autlan remind me places I have seen in Toledo/Spain.
As to Spanish, it is a wonderful language, especially if spoken correctly. Just going down a telephone directory full of those long Spanish names seems to me like reading a poem.
Give my greetings to Mr. Barnes and ask him to cheer up a bit. He looks as if he is feeding on lemons, exclusively. Tell him there is pie in the sky.
Georg
hola again dear Georg
my pleasure to read you again!
glad to know you are still strolling happy around the frozen woods of France
as for Autlán, yes! the photos are from 2007 and some from 2005, the orange/yellow monkish rope is actually a typical female mexican dress, remember what you wrote about colorful "kleidung" well, that was just a sample, and maybe you got to see my by-now-gone grandma too, she died in 2005...
but not to worry in case you wanted to see more of Autlán, i took about 100 pictures more the past days, i just haven't had a chance to upload them on 23, also I visited Guadalajara too this time, the 2nd biggest city in Mexico, and i was nicely surprised with the outcomes of the city... and yes! while walking in Mexico, either big or smaller towns you do feel like in Europe many times, specially like in Spain, after all all the churches and palaces that were built from 1547 'till the day we kicked out the Spaniards, of course bear their style... Mexico city, Guadalajara and even Autlán have that sense of old city, unlike the US, of course unless you are in New York or other older place
also, i took some pictures of an old Basílica in Zapopan (municipality of Guadalajara) this amazing church was built in 1690, so you can imagine the flavor of the place
anyway herr Georg, as you can read i tend to extend myself on comments/replies, but I am excited to share with you (who i know would appreciate) the glories of my country
and as for mister Barnes, yes! the lemon-sucking face am afraid won't change, as his stories although elegant and wise, seem to have that bitter sarcastic view, an interesting one although... cannot wait to read this his book, it's next on my list, are you reading it too? wondering what's on Herr Georg's bookshelf these days
well, welcome back to the blogging world herr Georg, will wait for the next break to check yours around
saludos y abrazos, y los mejores deseos para usted y su esposa en este nuevo 2009
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