To Nadya from Natalie

July, 20th, 1970.

Dear Nadya,

Hi! How are you. I am fine? I hope you are coming to the movie to-night. I don't know what time it will started. I'll see you very soon. Nadya do you have a nice time that you went boating with him, in the lake. I hope you are very busy to-day. I love you very much. Nadya yes-

terday we had a Baseball game team are Expo we won we have 16 & the other team are out they had 15. My mother & father are coming in July 26 at 1 o'clock. I think you will see me very soon. Nadya I feel sorry for you I alway say hi! to you that I know you are working very hard. Good-bye Nadya see you very soon.

Love Kisses

Natalie

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Letter found in a copy of Leonard Cohen's Beautiful Losers at Salvation Army. Integral text and form have been conserved.

Photos: 1, 2?.

Trusted and cherished

After reading about Madelene's attachement to her beautiful navy trench coat, I kept thinking about the few items in my own closet that hold such an important place, that are an achievement in themselves. Of course, there are blazers and boots that were made or bought for my mother numerous decades ago, but there are also the practical but nonetheless beautiful finds that, while depending on sheer luck, fulfill a daily need. My short laced-up boots belong to the second category. Reminiscent of antique ice-skates with their eyelets and brown, well-worn leather, they are the most comfortable piece of footwear I own. I have had them for almost two years, and I regard with fear the day they will fall apart, probably ending up displayed on a bookshelf as a witness of past days. After months of almost daily wear, their cut-out details and tassels still fill me with pride everytime I look down. They are familiar, trusted, but also kept together by my skillfull cobbler, who asks how they are doing whenever I visit him with other enquieries.

How about you, do you own items you constantly replace, or couldn't bare parting with?

Photo: my own.

Enlight me

Has any of you ever tried Clinique or NARS pressed powder? I need to make a decision, since the last powder I used left my face extremely dry, and cannot make up my mind* between the two of them. Thank you!

*Pun not intended but highly appreciated.

Painting, Gustav Klimt.

A misadventure

We are told not to trust strangers, but I believe we often can count on them. I was rescued by a young couple yesterday when I almost fainted on the sidewalk.
Thank you.

Photo from unknown source.

Book report

It appears I'm back to university... I am extremely busy, the very few breaks I have I mainly use for sustaining purposes such as eating and sleeping, but I am happy. The 'book report' section of this blog will benefit from my return, having to read two or three novels every week.

Books recently read:

-Simone de Beauvoir's Les Mandarins (first volume)

I finished it the day before starting school, and was quite sad I won't get to read the second volume until Christmas holidays, being so busy. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the intellectual response to the after-war already having a certain knowlege of the situation. It is intended to be an 'evocation', and I got more caught up in it after doing more research about the author; it adds another dimension to the novel.

-Henry James's Washington Square*

Beautifully written, James has a surprisingly true view of a young woman's intimate life, although not a book I would have chosen to read by myself.

-George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion*

The play on which My Fair Lady is based but with a different (and more interesting, I think) ending. I would be very happy to see it performed, with all the characters' different accents as language and pronouciation have a great importance in it. It is also very interesting to read as Shaw wrote sections for the reader that would otherwise be missed as they do not include any dialogue.

*Readings required by school

September

The September page on my calendar! Thanks Papa for choosing such a funny one!

Keystone, 1971.

A date with Bogart.

Anyone living in Montreal or planning to visit Montreal? Well, here's a reason to: from September 10th to the 26th, the Cinéma du Parc will be playing a plethora of Humphrey Bogart movies, a few of which I will hopefully be able to attend.

Bloody amazing

This is what my murder mystery addiction lead to: isn't it amazing? (The bass player and vocalist is Pauline Moran, the actress who plays Miss Lemon in Poirot Mysteries.) I am now looking to purchase an album by The She Trinity, that's goodness!

Love/Hate

I happen to have what one could call a love/hate relationship with Urban Outfitters. I am inspired by the clothing they sell when I see it on pictures, but I very rarely bring myself to buy anything in store. Yes, they sell some beautiful clothes, but the fabrics and cuts are too often of poor quality. Nevertheless, I enjoy receiving their newsletter because the pictures are inspiring... they inspire me to find copies, preferably used, of what they sell. I believe this is called anti-publicity, ha!

I would like to own and wear everything the girl at the right is wearing, and I would like to visit the countryside. I'm sure I would wear that jacket and that dress to pieces, they are perfectly in the colours I like to see and to be seen in. Also, I wouldn't mind having hair like that.

Concordia, here I come!

School starts tomorrow for me with an American Literature from 1865 to 1914 in the morning and a cup of hot coffee. I am excited to retreive a somewhat normal schedule, but not to be terribly busy and overwhelmed by work. It is getting quite cold here, as a matter of fact it went from humid, melting to windy, rainy, cold overnight, literally.

Wishlist for the fall semester:

-to be organised;

-to stop procrastinating;

-Bic 0.5 blue and black pens;

-a pair of thick tights.

I am pretty broke, so I'm keeping it simple.

Photos: 1(ph. Lauren Marek), 2, 3 (found via Lola is Beauty), 4?, 5?.

Another short visit

Into my closet.

Photo is mine.

A short visit

Self.

My neighbourhood, St-Henri, Montréal.

And my room.

Most of my furniture has been given to me be my parents and has been in my family for many years (in this picture, the dresser belonged to my mum's family, and the telephone -it's not only display!- was my parents' first phone in the 70's). I have a passion for objects with history; my drawers are lined with old wallpaper from my parents' room. It has an art deco pattern.

All pictures are mine.