Sunday soccer breakfast and starting a new book. I‘m so happy to be back with Rocky and crew

Yesterday we drove to Toronto to go to the Swedish Fair (largest in North America, who knew?!) to pick up the food my husband ordered ( he‘s half Swedish) and watch the Lucia‘s parade and sing ❤️❤️ and then it was so nice out we sat on the chairs at Sugar Beach and I finished my book. Beach reading in November ✅✅ I liked this 2nd Dream Harbor story better than Pumkin Spice Café, feels spicier too. A book scavenger hunt is my jam

#littenslovesjm I just needed to be done this giant tome 😆 soon it will be time to put the Christmas tree up and that means my reading spot goes kaput - I can not believe all the happened in this book 🤯 and that I remembered nothing beyond witches and that‘s only in the vaguest sense. The next book I haven‘t read so I‘m really looking forward to it

It‘s been 52 days of joy reading this lovely book, reliving artists I already know, meeting some new ones, reconnecting with 3 amazing museums that I visited on trips to Paris and cementing a life long love affair I have had with art and the power it has to inform, move, sooth and challenge. #europacollective

Ch 52: Pierre Soulages Black is a colour. That black is the absence of all colour in art & science is ALWAYS a hurdle to believe. The Dr meets with Mona & Camille a final time, he‘s leaving his practice. He explains that Mona‘s subconscious has attached sight to her shell pendant & every time she removed it she lost her sight. He implored her to remember she has exceptional sight & not be fooled. Last trip to Beaubourg ( upper right) cont‘d

TGIF #fridayreadinghappyhour is officially launched 🍷I really wish there was a potato chip emoji 😢 Cheers to everyone surviving the week 😘 I don‘t know how we do it sometimes

#5joysfriday it has been forever since I‘ve done one of these, life gets in the way of socials time 😆 1. Monday I made bolognese sauce from scratch and used amazing new to me pasta brand 2. Scotland qualified for World Cup in a SPECTACULAR second half 3. I bought all the greenery for my urns but I‘m only ever home in the dark so maybe next week will have the finished product 4. I saw Wicked 2 last night 🩷💚 cont‘d

Ch 51: Christian Boltanski Archive yourself. Paul is going to sell the store and Mona is afraid that Mamie‘s archive will be lost ( she is quite rude to her mother). She begs Dadé to store the archive and write about their lives. Perfect pairing with CB‘s ‘The Impossible Life of C. B.‘ ( all three images ) when I looked at the photo on the dust jacket I thought I was looking at panels with quilt-like metallic pieces on them cont‘d

Ch 50: Marina Abramović Separation is an opportunity to seize. Mona‘s word in French class is euthanasia, the class is riveted & the teacher thinks she had help. Mamie was an advocate for dying with dignity right from the beginning. Dadé takes Mona to see MA‘s ‘Boat Emptying, Stream Entering, White Dragon: Standing, Red Dragon: Sitting, Green Dragon: Lying‘ ( upper right) an interactive art piece that you use your whole body to experience cont‘d

The story seriously is one damned thing after another! What a wild ride of time travel and history and collateral damages

Ch 49: Louise Bourgeois Know how to say no. Mona is still mad at her mom but realizes Camille was looking for the Drs report on her sight when she stumbled upon the journal. So Mona summarizes the report for her parents and Camille knows it‘s time to tell the truth about Mamie. Dadé also realizes that Mona has internalized Mamie‘s last message to her “Forget the negative….keep the light forever inside you” cont‘d

I was saving this until it is actually Winter but does it get more winter? Since my to do list is unending I‘m going to audio book all day and hopefully make some headway

Despite further proof that we are fucked, I loved this #nonfictionnovember

Ch 48: Jean-Michael Basquiat Come out of the shadows. The secret is out! Camille reads Mona‘s diary and learns she has not been going to therapy but to look at art with Dadé. Mona is overwhelmed with rage at this betrayal of privacy. So Dadé takes her to see Basquiat‘s Untitled ( upper right and a close up of faces lower right) Basquiat is the most popular artist in the world, with art in every major museum, and images on products cont‘d

I. Did. It. #finishwhatyoustarted #nonfictionnovember #allergictochunksters 11 years ago my brother in law gifted this to me, it was an absolute favourite of his and it makes sense to me how it resonated with him. As a woman, I feel the lack of female representation in this gigantic tome of a book appalling. It starts with son and ends with father which is a beautiful full circle for him as a gay man but leaves out 50% of the population

Ch 47: Anna-Eva Bergman Keep starting from scratch again. Mona is struggling with the French teacher, he‘s cruel and coping/preparing for him is detrimental to her learning. She memorizes Baudelaire (upper left) for him and purposely fails to gain back power for herself. The missing stanza is “Far from this place! too late! never perhaps!
Neither one knowing where the other goes,
O you I might have loved, as well you know!” cont‘d

Ch 46: Hans Hartung Go like lightning. Mona and Camille go back to the dr, mom is mad! It‘s been a year and she wants answers. Cryptically the dr says he thinks the source of blindness is psychotraumatic and it appears Mona knows it too. Mona and Dadé go to see Mamie‘s favourite painting ‘T 1964-H45‘ ( right) HH, who was significantly hurt in WW2 adapted his painting style using paint spray guns, like with auto painting, cont‘d

#fridayhappyreadinghour Cheers Litsy Peeps! I hope this weekend brings you all the reading time you need ❤️ this #littensloveromance is delightful and hard to not inhale in a single sitting

Ch 45: Niki de Saint Phalle The future of man is woman. Never has a title been more of a desire! Mona continues to write in her journal to get caught up to present day and all she‘s learned and question how Mamie died. Outside the Beaubourg is the Stravinsky Fountain ( centre and lower middle) with sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle ( colour) and Jean Tinguely ( black), a Bonnie and Clyde of the art world cont‘d

Ch 44: Jackson Pollack Go into a trance. Mona starts school and is dismayed to learn her new French teacher is someone she met with Dadé and stuck her tongue out at ? an ominous start to the new school year? Mona‘s pick at Beaubourg is Pollack‘s ‘Silver Over Black, White, Yellow and Red ( upper right) which makes Dadé happy, he feels “(Pollack)‘s esthetic was actually easier to grasp the smaller the work‘s scale” cont‘d

No “shitters full” or “yippee ki yay motherfuchaw” so I guess my score makes sense 😆🤦🏻‍♀️

Taking another sick day - I step forward, 2 steps back 🤷🏻‍♀️ so I will be reading and drinking warm beverages all day. I‘m drinking a Citro Booster : Your favourite mug

1 lemon juiced into mug

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/16 or 1/8 tsp ground turmeric (to your taste)

1/2 tbsp maple syrup (can substitute for Honey)

Dash of cayenne pepper

Top up with hot water and mix with a fork until frothy

Lemon peel for fanciness

Botanical Gardens is coming along. This book was AMAZING on audio! The tension at the end had me struck still listening - people must think I‘m bonkers with my audio books 😆 space travel, women ruining the work place 😉 LGBTQ so much to love in this book

Ch 43: Pablo Picasso Everything must be broken. Mona is back at the dr, is there a connection between Mona‘s shell necklace and her sight? Dadé gifts Mona with a straw hat of her grandmother‘s and takes her to see Picasso‘s Aubade (a poem or piece of music appropriate to the dawn or early morning) ( upper right) which was inspired by Titian‘s ‘Venus of Urbino‘ ( lower right) Aubade was painted during German occupation cont‘d

Ch 42: Frida Kahlo What doesn‘t kill you makes you stronger, words that belong to Friedrich Nietzsche & also Kelly Clarkson ?? Mona discovers some newspaper clippings about her grandmother & euthanasia which she does not come right out and tell her Dadé but he catches her drift and takes her to see Frida‘s ‘The Frame‘ ( upper right) oh how I LOVE Frida!!!! A self portrait with reverse painted glass on top cont‘d

Breakfast in bed and finishing my book 🤧 I didn‘t love this AJ book as much as the others 🤷🏻‍♀️she handled dementia care really well, what Xavier was going through was a lot too. I know romances are supposed to show things can work out but it seemed too lightweight

Ch 41:Hannah Höch Compose your being. Mona is in her own little world and the older kids can‘t stand it so they bully her. It backfires. Dadé takes her to look at HH ‘s ‘Mother‘( upper right) it is from the Dada movement and an example of photomontage ( upper left) which is different from collage; an artwork made up of mixed materials. Picasso‘s ‘Still life with Chair Caning‘ ( lower right) is an example of collage cont‘d

It‘s been a long week ( it‘s Monday) I‘ve bought pre-made sandwiches for tomorrow and a premade dinner for tonight, the boys should be able to function with this scaffolding 🤦🏻‍♀️ I‘ve put myself to bed to try and beat the germs that want to consume me

Just realized I completely forgot to read up for my #sundaybuddyread 🤦🏻‍♀️ I ended up working Tuesday - Friday to cover for a teacher off with the flu and I‘m in again tomorrow. My weekend got thrown driving to Toronto to pick up oldest who‘s come home from Uni to start a teacher practicum tomorrow, these chunksters are killing me #readingforecast #nonfictionnovember #europacollective #littenslovesjm

Ch 40: Constantin Brâncuşi Look up. Mona has a second MRI ( I‘ve had one once and I never thought I was claustrophobic until that day) Mona and Dadé stop outside by the funnels ( lower left) actually called the ‘Igor Stravinsky Fountain‘ to watch a bird charmer which segues well into CB‘s ‘Bird in Space‘ c 1941( upper middle) which isn‘t housed in the main museum but in the Atelier Brâncuşi, a side building ( lower right) cont‘d

I went out for coffee today. In the snow. I shall retire to my books for the remainder of the day.

Saturday night is brought to you by a G&T and a new read

I admire his transparency about his anxiety - it sounds so debilitating and exhausting
I‘m glad he thanks his wife becasue holy shit she lifts and carries the family often

Ch 39: René Magritte Listen to your subconscious. It‘s August and Mona has a birthday. She gets a puppy that Dadé refuses to bring on museum trips. So she will recount her visits to Cosmos like Marcel Broodthaers did with a cat ( lower left and middle). Surrealism is today‘s genre with RM‘s ‘The Red Model‘ ( upper left) the paining is classically painted with oils and technique but it‘s unsettling cont‘d

Saturday morning reading in bed to finish this. Please note the death tower in the background - all unread, not causing me any stress. I wanted to love this book and there are parts that I did, the magic, the sisterhood but the miscommunication went on too long and then wrapped up too fast and the bad guys weren‘t as awful as presented and all I know is it took way too long to finish it when I should have inhaled it 🤷🏻‍♀️maybe it‘s me

Ch 38 Georgia O‘Keeffe The world is one flesh. Summer holidays are here & Mona is missing her friends, she decides to write a journal including all she has learned with Dadé. They go to see Georgia O‘Keeffe‘s ‘ Red, Yellow and Black Steak‘ ( upper right) GK is an American artist who exemplifies the Bigger is Better ideal that the US is well known for because of its size and fountain drinks ?. GK‘s painting is of Lake George ( lower right) cont‘d

#fridayhappyreadinghour apparently I‘m in my chunkster era on a few levels 🤷🏻‍♀️ wishing all who celebrate the happiest of Friday reading hours

Bag #5 this book is expressing really well how exhausting anxiety is 😢

Ch 37 Kazimir Malevich Make yourself autonomous. Mona gets multiple eye tests done and passes all with flying colours. Her eye sight is exemplary. So Dadé takes them to see KM‘s ‘Black Cross‘ ( lower right) which is part of a new movement; Futurism. “..a movement that advocates constant change, the metamorphosis of everything, all the time, often with violence”. He wants to take painting back to elementary forms, pared down abstractions cont‘d

Ch 36: Marcel Duchamp Stir everything Up. Paul causes a stir at the Sunday market with his prototypes of old dial phones converted to allow cell phones ( top left) & gets quite a few orders. Dadé and Mona head to Beaubourg walking by the Bazar de l‘Hôtel de Ville, BHV ( top right) which is where MD‘s ‘Bottle Rack‘ ( bottom right) originated from, he called it ‘ready-made‘. Later on MD would submit ‘Fountain‘ ( bottom left) to an exhibition cont‘d

Next up on audio and bag #3

Ch 35: Vassily ( Wassily) Kandinsky Find the spiritual in each thing. The school year is ending for Mona and so is elementary school too, a major milestone. A new museum for us, Centre Georges-Pompidou ( upper left photo) but called by most French “Beaubourg” the place, instead of the modern art loving French President. The art today, ‘Study for the cover of the Almanach Der Blue Reiter‘ is actually a journal cover for a group of artists cont‘d

Doubling up on coffee this morning

I‘ve had my air pods in all day! I‘ve vacuumed, washed toilets, made apple crisp, made Rice Krispie squares using Count Chocula cereal, done bag #2 on the Botanical Garden, multiple loads of laundry and dug up the tomato plants just in time for yard waste pick up 👏🏻👏🏻✊🏻 and finished this book in a day. I had no idea you could get TB beyond your lungs! Also we need to take better care of each other! #nonfictionnovember

I have waited forever for this but now that it is #nonfictionnovember the timing is perfect

Ch 34: Piet Mondrian Simplfy. Mona‘s last hypnosis session = the truth is out about her sight failing twice, Mona‘s last Wednesday at Musée d‘Orsay but art therapy will continue over summer vacation ? PM‘s ‘Haystacks III‘ c1908 (top right) what?! This can‘t be Mondrain! says everybody everywhere. And so we learn. ‘Mill of Heeswijk‘ c1904 is an early Mondrian when he was doing a Vermeer-ish realism style. Then he found Expressionism cont‘d

Bag #2 of Botanical Gardens. I LOVE Ali Smith ❤️ and I love this book! Written in 2016 the divisiveness of Britain is reflective of the US right now, the art talk fed into my obsession with Mona‘s Eyes, and the relationship between young Elisabeth and old Daniel creating a bridge between generations ❤️❤️❤️ I can‘t wait to listen to the next 3 in this quartet

I am committed to finishing this, hopefully in November but absolutely in 2025. I started it in 2014, it was a gift. My plan then was to read a chapter a month. It is so full of information and real life stories, it can be overwhelming and break your heart. Today I read schizophrenia; “autism is characterized by an over abundance of synaptic connectivity, schizophrenia is marked by a dearth of it.” #nonfictionnovember #finishwhatyoustarted

I‘ve been waiting forever for this audio book and to start this massive Lego set - both are spectacular

Where did I hear about this? Here, obviously, but from who? Holy Hannah this is freaking fantastic on audio and gruesome and unput down able when everything starts going to shit!!!!