Stratum emoticum

<layers of the epidermis. These layers consist of the stratum germinativum, stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum, stratum lucidum, and the stratum corneum.>

As I was reading this, I could feel the analogy with perception, experience and behaviour. You are born, you spin around for a while in a pram pushed by adults, free-wheeling, then you grow a bit and become grand, then reality kicks in and you realise you are not so grand and finally you grow a hard shell to protect yourself from all that.

My mother passed away peacefully on August 4th.

Séjour is a stay, a holiday, and also a living-room in a house.

The word Ottoman to me is a blanket box. When I first noted it down I saved a link to the Wikipedia article on Ottoman furniture. However, I have not been able to post for a while and the article has now been deleted. The blog is truly a medium of the moment. There is no way of telling how long what we are “building” here will last. Maybe some of it has already disappeared. Like Denis Martinez filming himself drawing on the sand in the desert just before the evening breeze gets up and swooshes the traces away. Like Andy Goldsworthy’s ice sculptures and other ephemeral land art.

Part of me is far too slow in some ways, but not all.

Here is a beautiful typing error – reproduice

It stresses the similarity between deduce and juicy.

Freize – freeze - freesia

“Oeillet” in French is carnation or buttonhole in English

Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) is “Oeillet des poètes” in French – does the English name refer to the Bard, I wonder?

œillet d'Inde (Tagetes patula) is French marigold.

Reminds me of the incomprehensible translation of Indian ink as encre de chine…

We were in the carpark at the foot of the Puylaurens Cathar castle, eating our picnic. Someone came along this road and bubbled excitedly that you only had to walk ten yards to get a fantastic view of the castle. So I set aside my sandwich and off I went in search of the view. I walked for a long time, and met Marty coming back from where I was going. We thought we had been sent on a wild goose chase. But when we were almost back at the carpark, the chateau came into sight. It would have sufficed to walk ten yards to get this view, if only we had turned around and looked back!