A Major Score, Handmade Reproduction Tapestry "Lady of the Unicorn"

I have never seen the famous "Lady of the Unicorn" (La Dame à la licorne) at the Cluny Museum in Paris, but now I definitely will. With my beloved La Chienne not feeling well I needed some beauty in my life and so I headed to my favorite brocante in Paris, on the Quai de la Seine, for much needed retail therapy.

There it was high on the wall and immediately I was charmed, but I have not been the only one to be forever changed by the beauty of these six tapestries. Authors George Sand, Jean Genet, and even J.K. Rowling (the tapestries are hanging in the fictional Gryffidor common room) were also enchanted.

"If something happens," I said to myself, "it will be the appearance of a unicorn. Such a place and a such a place can only produce a unicorn." Jean Genet, A Thief's Journal

Not being one to resist impulse when enchanted, I promptly asked if it could be brought down from the wall. The kind salesman, who knows us well I think, climbed over a few pieces of furniture in order to get to it . A quick inspection revealed that this was not an ordinary run-of-the-mill reproduction. It was obviously made by hand and in high quality wool fibers. The colors are deep and bright and the condition was nearly immaculate and what wasn't could be easily cured with a gentle vacuuming. The previous owner or maker pre-stretched on to a canvas frame with a wire for hanging and GRANDSARD signed on the back.

This made me curious. After a quick Google.fr search turned up two GRANDSARDs who were heavily involved in tapestry making, though I was unable to discover to what degree.

Being an ebay junky I immediately searched ebay to see how much of a bargain the beautiful tapestry really was. I paid 50,00 euros for my new treasure. Ebay.fr has many reproductions, but nothing handmade for less than ten times the price.

The Lady of the Unicorn tapestries that hang in the Cluny Museum in Paris are full of symbols, some from alchemy, and each of the six tapestries has a specific meaning. Five represent the senses and the sixth known as "Mon seul desir" (My only desire). My new treasure represents "Sight" and what a beautiful sight it is!

The original six tapestries, Cluny Musuem Paris

Lady of the Unicorn Tapestry, "Sight"

The treasure, probably to be placed over the bed.

Lion detail on my tapestry.

Lady and the Unicorn detail.

Rabbit and Fox.

Good dog.

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Garden Shed Writers (which will soon include me)

When I first saw the Maisonette on Craigslist the pictures made it look small and more like a garden shed than a possible home, but me being the kooky lady I am this appealed to me. Roald Dahl wrote in a shed and is my favorite of all children's writers, but he was not alone. Virginia Wolf, Dylan Thomas, George Bernard Shaw, and Philip Pullman wrote in garden sheds. Though no one comes close to having as many sheds for creative purposes as director Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick left behind thousands of boxes in numerous garden sheds built all over his estate.

Now technically the Maisonette is a shed. It's not the bare bones, one room variety but it is still a shed. It is nestled at the entrance of a larger property (and there is another shed on the property where someone else will be living besides the family we'll be renting from) with a beautiful garden and I truly mean beautiful. The  family we'll be renting from own a florist shop and their home garden is beautifully planted and organised.

When we visited the garden was full of flowers in every color of the rainbow, trees, and emerald green grass. Inside their house is a makeshift hospital for plants to reflower and regain their strength and beauty. At the time we visited there were three or four phalaenopsis orchids in the recovery ward. It was our new landlord who called his home a hospital, but as he spoke I realised it was actually a refuge. Few people can see the beauty of a plant when the flowers have faded and fewer people have the patience to wait for beauty to be reborn. I myself didn't see it until that moment.

And the little house will be a refuge for writers. A place to work when we want to escape the hectic life of Paris.

I've come to the conclusion that the only way to write with success is to treat it like a job, at least for me. Whether this means sitting in front of the computer or the typewriter (we have two, one with an English keyboard and one with a French keyboard that both work perfectly) or going out into the world for inspiration it will be work. I've read quotes from interviews of famous writers (and my pseudo-sibling Donald agrees) that writers are always writing even if it doesn't translate to accumulated pages of genius. Every experience adds to my writing, every observation, and every person I speak with (or don't) is writing in my head until I find a place for those things in a story.

Yesterday we had a torrential downpour and then in the afternoon a much needed break. I went out to my terrace to see what had become of my plants. All were water logged and needed a little attention. On a balcony across the street were three little children, who always wave to me and blow me kisses. On a whim I took a plastic jar of soap bubbles and began to blow a steady stream of bubbles hoping the wind would carry them over to the children.

I filled the entire street below us with bubbles and people raised their heads wondering where these little balls of magic where coming from. For a moment the children disappeared into their house and I saw when they returned that each of the children had their own little plastic jar of bubbles in their hands. They quickly learned that blowing soap bubbles can be a tricky task, but I encouraged them and applauded them as they succeeded and watched how closely they watched what I was doing in the hopes of achieving the same results. I observed their smiles, their joy, their frustration, how their family encouraged them. When I decided to leave them to continue on their own that for them some of the fun was lost and so the bubble-making stopped altogether.

Roald Dahl went to his shed every morning bringing with him the stories he'd made up to entertain his children the night before. I will go to the forest and my little house with all the stories I've ever made up, all the things I've seen and done, and all the hopes and dreams I have for my life.

Writing is the dream I have for my life. I am happy to know I'll be following a grand artistic tradition, but since the garden shed is pretty far away, it might take some fine tuning to make it so we have time to go out there, but we did sort of take the place on the premise we'd force ourselves.  Thankfully the whole little house is cheaper than a Paris studio apartment!

Here are a few pictures from Roald Dahl's shed courtesy of Roald Dahl's website.

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Bibliomania: Building Bookshelves

While searching for ideas for bookshelves I recently stumbled upon this quote on a blog,

“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.”

Anna Quindlen

and began to realise how my life revolves around the bookshelves. 

But bookshelves are a must.  We've run out of room and now books are sitting in the basement (cave in French).

Here are a few things to consider when building bookshelves.

1. How many books do you own?

Now who says you don't use math outside of school? After a few calculations based on bookshelves in our current apartment that we love, we realise for our massive collection of books we'll need at least 62 shelves (based on 40 books per shelf).


2. How long do you want the bookshelves to be?

This is a very important question because the length of shelves will determine which kind of wood you will have to use. Note I said have and not can. One thing you'll notice quickly as a bibliophile is that soft woods or particle board will sag under the weight of books. This sagging will worsen based on the length of your shelf unless you use hardwoods that can handle the amount of weight and stress you will put on the shelf, especially towards the center.

3. How much space do you want between the shelves?

If you're like us you have books of various sizes, but standard format for books is usually less than 30 cm high (which is just shy of 12 inches). Oversized books such as coffee table books can range in size and of course there are smaller format books. Separate your books and see what percentage of your books are standard format, oversized, or pint sized.

4. How deep do you want the shelves?

Do you like to have extra space in front of the books? We will be restricted to the depth of our bookshelves because of the space we have designated, but if you have a more bountiful floor space we hate you you can play around with the appearance of the shelves.

5. Where will the bookshelves go?

Our answer will probably be everywhere they can, but if you need less shelves, you will have more options. I like making the most of wall space and especially like using difficult spaces. A recessed area in a wall, a corner between the doors, or even where you might least expect them. I've even seen pictures of books stashed under the stairs (which is clever except for the dust and dirt the books will accumulate under there, so it's not practical). Find where the shelves will go and a lot of your questions will be answered because the space will determine your options.

Here are some bookshelves to inspire you and get your project started.

Do yourself a big favor and draft out a plan for your bookshelves. Even if you're not Louis Kahn you can still make a rough draft that will give you an idea of what you want your bookshelves to look like and calculate the dimensions. We're lucky that a professional carpenter will be helping us with this project, but if you're not you will need to plan out your shelves perfectly in order to save yourself money. Even with a professional carpenter we want to be as economical (and more importantly) and as environmentally friendly as possible.

Here is the 1st draft:

This draft was sort of like the dream draft where our books vs. the amount of space duked it out and the amount of space won because we then had to make another draft.

The wall we will use for the books is the most difficult wall in the living room because it's blocked on every side. It's blocked to the left (the draft is facing the as yet not made bookshelves) by a small cupboard and the slant of the ceiling. On the top it's also partially blocked by the slant of the ceiling. To the right it's blocked by a corner and a doorway to the terrace.

What I decided to do is to divide up the space based on the slant of the ceiling on the left-hand side. The shelves cannot be as tall, so what I've drafted here means building the sides of the bookshelves as high as they can go and placing the shelves based on the smaller sized books we have. The top shelf can then be used for a decorative object or to put more books. The first three columns of shelves are for smaller books, the fourth column for odd/oversized books, and the last three are for the standard format books.

Keep in mind this set up isn't a bibliophile's dream. It means the books cannot be placed on the shelves with the same organisation. For example alphabetical order or the Dewey Decimal System is not an option. In the end I think this is the most practical option because it allows us not to waste the space under the slant in the roof and will display the books in a sort kooky way without losing the whole "wall of books" impact your library can give to your apartment or house.

"Books are awfully decorative, don't you think?"

from Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell (a must see)

Whatever your budget or plans, look online for inspiration, and for the DIY-ers to get material and construction tips. Stand alone bookshelves and customised bookshelves can be very expensive and in my experience places like IKEA have cheap options but they look cheap very quickly. I bought some cheap temporary bookshelves made of particle board in February and already in July they have bowed dramatically in the center. We're only renting, so we plan on using good quality hardwood that we can take with us when we move to either reuse as shelving or for another project. Keep this in mind as you build because while a great bookshelf is very cool, wasting wood and depleting the world's forests not so much.

As we say in France, bon courage (literally good courage, but really means "crap you have something difficult ahead of you, I hope you survive and/or get what you want)!

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Thai "Tandoori" Chicken with Green Beans

As the thermostat keeps going up and it seems impossible to think of cooking anything. If you're like me the heat makes me feel not hungry, but this recipe will give anyone an appetite.

The way I write my recipes out is in the way that makes sense to me, which is to show the steps in order of how I prepare my meals. I like to show how you can save time between the steps and in the end I think this makes for the best meal. Timing as they say is everything. This applies to cooking as well.

Thai "Tandoori Style" Chicken with Green Beans

The Day Before - Making the curry paste marinade.

Curry Paste

You can easily buy a number of premade curry pastes that taste as good as anything you can whip up, except you won't be able to control the level of the spice, the amount of oil, or the quality of the ingredients. Curry paste tends to be cheap, so you could try several different brands until you find the one you like best or, you could follow this simple recipe.

You will need a mortar and pestle for this recipe. In fact, you cannot cook Thai cuisine properly without it. No kidding. I have tried and I can pulverise almost anything with a good kitchen knife. Two types of mortar and pestles are used for Thai cooking either a granite mortar with a matching granite pestle or a clay mortar with a wooden pestle. The accepted rule is for anything you have to smash into a pulp such as curry paste you use the granite version and for things you only "lightly bruise" such as the ingredients for papaya salad, you use the clay version.

A mortar and pestle are not cheap. I looked for ages for an affordable model and bought my granite mortar and pestle at an Asian restaurant supply store located on Place de Torcy (Paris 75018) because it was cheaper than the clay version (15,00 euros for granite as opposed to 27,00 euros for the clay).

I use it to make papaya salad, but pay special attention to not use too much force. I think overall the granite version is more practical for other cuisines that might call for a mortar and pestle this is the best option. I also use it to make my own green and red pestos for example.

Here are the two different types of mortars and pestles used in Thai cooking.




Granite mortar with granite pestle.


Clay mortar with wooden pestle.

Ingredients:

5 whole dried Thai chillies, seeded and soaked
5 shallots sliced
10 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon galangal sliced
1 Tablespoon lemon grass sliced
1 Tablespoon kaffir lime rind finely sliced
2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro/coriander root
5 whole black peppercorns
1 Tablespoon ground roasted coriander seed
1 teaspoon roasted cumin
1 teaspoon shrimp paste







From left to right: Dried Thai chillies,Galangal,Kaffir limes, and Fresh Coriander

Coriander root, galangal, and Kaffir limes will be difficult to find outside of an Asian market that specialises in produce from Southeast Asia. I have tried substituing coriander stems, regular limes, and regular ginger but the taste is not the same.

If you don't have roasted cumin or coriander seeds this is simple enough to do. Simple roast the seeds beforehand in a dry skillet until they start to crackle and jump around. If you need the spices ground as part of the recipe, as you do with coriander seeds for this recipe simply dry roast them and grind them and spoon them into a small bowl.

Using lemon grass can be tricky. To prepare lemon grass for use in Thai cooking, remove the outer hard shell and cut off the straw-like end on top. For curry you use the green part of the stalk specifically, where for cooking you use the bulbous lower part and for soups you slice the entire length of the stalk into very thin rounded slices.

Preparation:

Pound cumin, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle and spoon into a bowl.

Pound the chillies and the salt together then add galangal, lemon grass, Kaffir lime rinds, coriander roots, garlic, and shallots and pound well. Add the cumin, coriander, peppercorns, and shrimp paste to this mixture and pound until you have a well-combined paste.

Marinating the chicken.

I used 2 large whole breasts of chicken for today's meal. Whole breasts are breasts cut from the chicken and they are usually still connected. You can use any chicken you like whether it's pre-sliced breasts or the thighs and legs (with bone or without). Just keep in mind you will have to cook the chicken different depending on the cut of the meat.

Slice the two whole breasts starting where the meat is thickest into two inch strips, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Meanwhile combine 2 Tablespoons of the curry paste with 1/4 of coconut milk and 6 Tablespoons of Fish Sauce. Make sure the coconut milk you're using is for cooking.

Pour the marinade over the slices of chicken making sure the pieces are entirely covered in the marinade in a shallow dish. Cover the dish with plastic cling wrap and leave in the fridge overnight. When you wake up in the morning, turn the pieces on to the other side, and return to fridge for another 4-6 hours.

The reason why I call this recipe Thai "Tandoori" is because Indian tandoori uses a similar method of combining spices in a liquid with active enzymes in order to give the chicken a tender and juicy texture. In the case of tandoori yogurt is used and in this recipe coconut milk replaces the yogurt and gives the meat a nice sweet taste.

Make enough jasmine rice to serve everyone a sizeable portion. When it comes to perfumed rice such as jasmine or basmati, I like to buy the broken rice they sell in bags. Not only is this rice generally cheaper, but because it's broken I find it becomes more fragrant when you cook it in a rice cooker.

While the rice is cooking, add enough oil to a frying pan to barely coat the pan. When the oil is just about to smoke, add a few pieces of the chicken and fry on each side until the chicken becomes "blackened". Make sure not to crowd the chicken or turn it too often else it will not blacken properly.

While the chicken is cooking prepare your green beans. If you can, use Thai green beans for a more authentic flavor. Simply cut off the ends and set aside.

Prepare about 2 cups of finely chopped fresh coriander and set aside for garnish.

After all the chicken is cooked, keep the heat high and saute the green beans in the leftover oil in the pan until they are cooked through but still have a nice crunch. Remove the green beans for the oil and add the last of the curry paste, frying and mixing the paste with the oil until the spices are fragrant. You'll know the paste is properly prepared because the spices will rise up with the heat and attack your nose!

Add 1/4 of coconut milk (for cooking) and lower the heat, stirring to mix the paste into the coconut milk evenly and remove from heat before it comes to a boil.

To plate, scoop rice onto a big plate, add chicken, green beans, and juice a fresh lime (Kaffir preferably, but regular limes are also okay) over the chicken and green beans. Pour the curry sauce over generously and garnish with fresh coriander.

Et voila! Authentic Thai food at home.

Here is the final product of today's cooking efforts. It was delicious!

Bon appetit!

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