I was reading an Italian book last night while firing some ornaments in the kiln. In the story they used the word ‘turchino’ which I was not familiar with, which led to learning about two words for two colors that came from Turkish into the Italian language: turchese and turchino. Turchese is the color and the stone Turquoise, while turchino means a dark blue. When I opened the kiln in the morning, I had octopus to illustrate the difference:
Grander than the Sea November“There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.” ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables The photo is from the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia near the great surfing wave Teahupoʻo. You can’t visit…
Four Happinesses for the month of August. The August hibiscus flowers – four happinesses show their beauty to you this month floating on a the reflection of the sky above. This tropical flower only blooms for one day. In Tahiti, this specific hibiscus flower is called ‘purau’. 5×7 pdf download for you to print of four flowers…
A woman I met in Toubab Dialaw last year at the start of a magical day with Leticia. I will call her ‘our beautiful friend’, she welcomed us and looked after us throughout the day. An embodiment of the Senegalese notion of ‘teranga’. “If there’s a set of values in Senegal, teranga would be the…
So you have planned a bareboat vacation in French Polynesia! What do you take? The less you can take on a boat the better! If possible, soft sided bags are better, because once you unpack on the boat they can be folded up and stored more easily. If you are flying inter-island to your boat…
I saw the Greek film “Notias” (Southern Wind, also called Mythopathy) a few weeks ago at the European Film festival in Chicago, by Tassos Boulmetis, the same director as ‘“A Touch of Spice” (Politiki Kouzina). I was charmed by this movie. It is imaginative, funny, and historical as it blends history and myths with day to day events as…
Transformation for May Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis on Sunflower This is the photo from my Monarch Butterfly Calendar for 2018. It shows a monarch butterfly that will soon emerge from its chrysalis. You can see the wings perfectly formed inside, the chrysalis has become transparent, and the gold dots are still there that we saw last…