This poem by one of my favorite WordPress poets is an exquisite expression of the world and humanity as it is, vibrating always between polar opposites.
Mayhem And Love.
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Category Archives: Karen Stephen Author
Chateaux of the Loire – Day Five: Chateau de la La Ferté Saint Aubin
The history of Chateau de la Ferté Saint Aubin goes back to the 17th century. We found it a delightful place to visit not only because of the gorgeous restoration but because of all the marvelous things to see and do. My favorite was the exquisite doll museum with dioramas of antique dolls and children’s toys. 
My daughter enjoyed the goats and chickens in the farm.
And we both loved the cooking demonstration of madeleines in the chateau kitchen using techniques of past centuries.
On the way back to our car we discovered how they trim those enormous hedges that surround many of the entrances to the chateaux.
A delightful place to bring children–although my granddaughters were at their Centre Loisir that day.
Chateaux of the Loire – Day Four: Chenonceau
Of all the beautiful chateaux along the Loire, Chenonceau, built in 1513, is the one I have visited and loved the most. Which is why I can always go back again to walk that grand gallery over the Cher river, delight in the exquisite floral arrangements in each room, and read about the rivalry of Catherine de Medici and Diane de Poitiers and visit their competing gardens.Their iron, but very feminine, fists in their velvet gloves always preserved Chenonceau in times of conflict and war.
This year with my six-year-old granddaughter as my tour guide, I visited places in the 70 hectares that I had never seen before–the Maze, the extensive greenhouses and gardens where the flowers for those beautiful displays are grown and arranged (did I think they call 1-800-FLOWERS ??), the stables, the XVI century farm, and the historic display of the chateau’s use as a military hospital during World War I.
The castle chef’s at work
One of the many beautiful bouquets designed for each room
This lily pad display even mimicking the pond scum
The photo display of WWI as a military hospital
One of many garden areas
Enjoying the tour
Chateaux of the Loire – Day Three: Chateau Chaumont-sur-Loire
This is the third of nine posts about our visits to Loire chateaux this summer. Chaumont was distinctive for its annual International Garden Festival and a lovely lunch at Le Grand Velum which features spices, vegetable species, rare and relevant plants from eco-agriculture.
Less than 200 km south of Paris, nestling between the cities of Tours and Blois, is a haven of poetry stretching out 40 meters above the wild Loire, Whatever the season, Chaumont-sur-Loire, once the home of Catherine de Medici, Diane de Poitiers and Princess de Broglie, beckons visitors indoors to admire its cozy and lavishly furnished interior. Installations by an array of contemporary artists in the château and along the footpaths of the park catch you by surprise. Every year, more than 400,000 visitors flock to its International Garden Festival, held since 1992.
Our photos include the chateau itself with all its elegance and grandeur on the banks of the Loire, its fabled stables, its unusual eco-friendly restaurant, and, of course, the Garden Festival
Catherine de Medici’s bedroom in her usual somber hues
Modern stained glass art installation in attic niches filled with restoration materials
Grand dining room
Huge stables filled with carriages and harnesses
The chateau’s floral borders
Garden Festival entry portraying top of home sunken by nature’s forces in this future themed competeition
All that is left is the attic with the survivor’s few precious belongings
Parfumery entry.
Another unusual entry
Look closely for Maggie popping up in this one
And on to lunch at Le Grand Velum
Cushion of veal cooked like a boiled ham, with grilled bacon from the same meat, seasoned with lovage. Heads of broccoli and duxelles of finely sliced chard served on home-made wholegrain bread roll
Beef eye-of-round and Carrots cooked in mild
“ices (Voatsiperifery pepper, paprika and turmeric), cumin potato bubbles and saffron
yellow zucchini, beef gravy and cress shoots
Milk chocolate and pollen flavoured
streusel biscuit, organic honey parfait, served with a smooth peach-apricot cream.
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Mormon Meteor at Blackhawk Museum
I enjoyed learning about the Mormon Meteor III (video by Jay Leno) and hearing historian David Fetherston’s speak (video of lecture) about “Bonneville Then and Now” last Saturday September 10th as part of the Blackhawk Museum’s Speaker Series. Took Meteor will be there for only a few more days before returning to the Price Museum of Speed in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Next Sunday is annual trek to the Go Pro Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway. It is the final of this year’s Indy series.and my last chance to see my favorite driver Helio Castroneves race this year.
Chateaux of the Loire – Day Two: Chateau Sully-sur-Loire
Gallery
This gallery contains 17 photos.
Now THIS is what a castle is supposed to be! Visit the Chateau’s website and be sure to play the Presentation Clip and you too can experience what we did, traipsing up and down endless spiral stone staircases (hanging on … Continue reading
Chateaux of the Loire – Day One: Chateau Villesavin
Gallery
This gallery contains 18 photos.
This summer I spent three lovely weeks in Orléans with my daughter and granddaughters, ages four and six. During the week, the little girls, who are bilingual in French, attended a Centre Loisirs pour les enfants (see news photos here) … Continue reading
Back To School Eve
My daughter-in-law is a middle school science teacher and this is her delightful and educational blog for her students. Enjoy!
Hands down…This is THE most beautiful shade of blue I have ever seen!
I took this picture somewhere between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean after leaving the port of Labadee, Haiti this summer. I remember staring at this water and feeling so grateful to get the opportunity to see such beauty in person. I spent a long time waiting for wildlife to jump out and say “Hello” to me. Not a single fish or mammal greeted me that day (our big ship was too noisy, I imagine) but, the sound and color of that amazing body of moving water, I will never forget.
Tonight is Back to School Eve for me. I leave this summer with such special family memories and adventures including the addition of a new puppy, our loving and energetic pointer named Patch.
September is a busy month! In a few weeks I venture to…
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Looking forward to my journey to France
I will be joining my family in Orléans France two weeks from today. Here are some photos of the neighborhood of our Airbnb accommodations at the Place du General de Gaulle in the center of the city. 
And here is our lovely apartment with a very un-French American style kitchen, a delightful room for the granddaughters with a play area, and a couch for me should I still be sleeping sitting up for my broken shoulder. It’s got to hurt less in France! And all at an extremely reasonable price. Weekend trips to Paris, the Loire, and other destinations are very easy. And Drivy is our source for car rental (the European Airbnb for cars!). A nice elderly woman is renting us her car for the entire stay.
My sleeping accommodation if I’m still sleeping sitting up
Master BR
BR for Grandmas and Grandkids
An invitation to share your thoughts
I do a daily writing meditation each morning. First I chose a passage or two from one of my daily readers or other 12-step literature and re-type the passages so that they sink in. Then I write my own responses. I have done this over many years and sometimes I like to go back and read what I wrote about the passages in prior years.
This year I’ve decided to start afresh and just write in the present without plowing through the past, thinking of it only as the compost that allows me to grow and bloom in the present and not feeling it necessary to stick my hands back into the muck.
In the tradition of anonymity I will not cite which 12-step program the following passages are drawn from, yet fully acknowledge that they are the published words of others and not mine.
I share them today because they have special meaning to me and so encapsulate the struggles I have had since childhood adjusting to this imperfect world we all live in. I’ve highlighted the thought in each that most struck a chord with me.
Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts if one of these passages has special meaning for you.
Passage One
Live and Let Live reminds us that we cannot control the actions or decisions of other people. If someone chooses to end a relationship with us, that is their right. If we’ve ascribed to the belief that the success or failure of our relationships is solely our responsibility, we may blame ourselves when a relationship ends. We can remind ourselves that each person played a part in the relationship. If a relationship ends, that doesn’t mean we’re necessarily at fault. Whether or not someone wants to be around us, we are still worthy of love and respect. Just because we don’t choose to end a relationship doesn’t mean we don’t have any choices. We still have the power to choose how we will respond. In the past, we have punished ourselves or assumed our role as victims. We don’t have to see ourselves as victims anymore. Today we can choose to be around healthy people who want to be around us.
Passage Two
Do not consider painful what is good for you. My reaction to things that were “good for me” was one of pain. Today I know that pain puts me in touch with what I need—something from which I have cut myself off in blind obedience to habit. What pain tells me today is that I have to change. I am willing to examine old ways of thinking.
Passage Three
People have disappointed you, hurt you, and let you down by being imperfect. Can you let go of the idea of perfection and accept reality, loving people just the way they are? Love the imperfect people around you. Love your imperfect self and your imperfect world. For if you cannot love life the way it is, you will suffer from eternal loneliness. We all live in an imperfect world, surrounded by imperfect people. The ability to love yourself and those around you is a gift from God that enables you to live fully, bravely, and meaningfully in an imperfect world.
Dr. Karen Stephen aka Doc Flamingo 