Désolée

Helas, I have been tres remiss at keeping the blog up to date and reading Proust. The crazy thing is I see Proust references almost every day, as often as Hemingway and more than Joyce. Haven't made madelines, haven't read a single paragraph. I do listen to French pop songs often. Love the names. Zazie, Pascal Obispo, love the sound of the voices, the ambiance.

Now to get down to Proust. Since I am sort of a foodie I thought it would be cool to note all the food and drink in Proust and see if anyone is still eating it anymore. I have a fantastic book, Monet's Table, The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet, which I got out yesterday. The recipes are so simple. Very minimal seasoning. I suspect that the ingredients were so prime, that little in the way of spice and herb was needed.

At Giverney, Monet had the perfect life. He had a beautiful house, a lovely garden, his family was there, and his friends came to visit. He could paint at much as he liked and everything was tuned to HIS SCHEDULE.

Yesterday, while the wind howled outside, I clean out my "idea" file looking for short story ideas. I found Art in the City, a program from Monet and the Marvels of New Orleans at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Now, of course, anything from New Orleans, especially something this lovely has a heartbreaking poignancy and brings tears to one's eyes.

In the New York Times Crossword Puzzle today, Swann was the answer for the clue 'a main Proust character.'

While I've been postponing Proust, I finished a novel and re-wrote (for the umpteenth time,) the beginning chapter of another novel. I plan to do short stories for a while; two for children, and 4 or 5 for adults. How long will this take? No idea. An update of my web site, so old and neglected I won't even publish the URL, if also in the offing.

It is good to have projects and plans, even if they do not include one of the great novels of our time.

Au revoir,

Odette