http://sparkwoman.gather.com Recent Articles on Gather by Susan Sparkman en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:19:37 GMT 2010-01-05T17:19:37Z en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 http://www.gather.com/images/header/logo_gather.gif http://www.gather.com/ http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977440499 By the grace of a wonderful British neighbor and botanist, I grasped the opportunity to photograph a number of wild orchids in the countryside surounding our tiny French village.  My friend . . . Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:57:38 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977440499 Susan Sparkman 2008-09-05T13:57:38Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977440418 A walk around the lower village of Eze sur Mer presented an opportunity to collect photos of gates and gardens.  Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:36:37 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977440418 Susan Sparkman 2008-09-05T12:36:37Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977440410 The studio in Eze is tiny, and just perfect for the two of us!  We love it; Mille mercis to Muriel for mailing me the keys!  Just down the steps and we are on the beach... Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:52:06 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977440410 Susan Sparkman 2008-09-05T09:52:06Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977440386 Through the generosity of a friend, Susan and Emily got to spend five great days at the start of May, on the French Riviera, just 8 kilometers from Monte Carlo, Monaco.   Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:13:48 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977440386 Susan Sparkman 2008-09-05T09:13:48Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977299489 Originally established as National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month,  National Donate Life Month is a time set aside in our nation for celebrating and raising awareness of organ, . . . Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:01:16 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977299489 Susan Sparkman 2008-04-02T14:01:16Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977285441 In past posts on my blog and on Gather, I've mentioned my Italian voisin, Armando .   It was with Armando and his family that we traveled to Italie  and spent a whirlwind . . . Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:50:52 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977285441 Susan Sparkman 2008-03-16T02:50:52Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977274308 Each time I have published an article on Gather, telling all of you about my life in this tiny provencial village, I receive messages and comments from my Gather friends, indicating they would like to . . . Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:57:17 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977274308 Susan Sparkman 2008-03-03T19:57:17Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977267763                   Printemps arrive! Here you see a spectacular yellow mimosa tree in bloom, as I see it on my daily . . . Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:15:41 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977267763 Susan Sparkman 2008-02-25T18:15:41Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977264048     A s I reported  on Monday, Friday drew to a close with champagne, courtesy of Olivier, celebrating my birthday! We stayed the night in comfortable beachfront bungalows . . . Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:05:40 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977264048 Susan Sparkman 2008-02-21T17:05:40Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977261762 Early Friday morning we loaded into Armando's voiture avec remorque vide (car with trailer attached and empty), for our weekend voyage en Italie . The six of us, Armando, . . . Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:14:44 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977261762 Susan Sparkman 2008-02-19T00:14:44Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977258792   Before I head off to bed, I just had to post these two photos of beautiful Valentine's Day treats I saw in a pâtisserie window today in Vaison la Romaine, France.   Today . . . Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:27:00 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977258792 Susan Sparkman 2008-02-14T22:27:00Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977252438 I t was a dark and stormy August night....ok, so maybe it wasn't stormy, but it was dark! So dark in fact, that we huddled together carrying flashlights. As we tiptoed through Monsieur Gonfalone's . . . Sat, 09 Feb 2008 22:49:37 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977252438 Susan Sparkman 2008-02-09T22:49:37Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977254113   Simply irresistible Love letters found, in modern day abbreviated form Text messages on a portable phone Express in tender terms Love promises made in sweet surrender Though the . . . Sat, 09 Feb 2008 20:26:02 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977254113 Susan Sparkman 2008-02-09T20:26:02Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977251974 Tuesday was Mardi Gras , literally "fat Tuesday." This was the last day before le Carême ( Lent ) began: Forty days of wandering through the desert of introspection, with a hope . . . Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:33:27 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977251974 Susan Sparkman 2008-02-07T16:33:27Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977240143 R euniting after a brief time apart, two lovers embrace. "Tu m'as tellement manqué," (I've missed you so much.) she whispers.  He leans in to kiss her.  As they part, . . . Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:59:57 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977240143 Susan Sparkman 2008-01-27T21:59:57Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977226743 One day this week, while I was surfing the net, I had the good fortune to discover a great recipe for Tarte à la Tomate , through a link on Kristin Espinasse's French Word a Day . . . Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:28:36 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977226743 Susan Sparkman 2008-01-11T15:28:36Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977226698 One day this week, while I was surfing the net, I had the good fortune to discover a great recipe for Tarte à la Tomate , through a link on Kristin Espinasse's French Word a Day . . . Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:07:18 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977226698 Susan Sparkman 2008-01-11T13:07:18Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977222457 Recently, I read a humorous article written by fellow Gatherite,   John Philipp .  His article, posted on Gather.com  December 31st, is entitled Waiting in Line...a new approach . . . Mon, 07 Jan 2008 03:42:39 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977222457 Susan Sparkman 2008-01-07T03:42:39Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977202003 Celebrating holidays abroad can be challenging for families with young children.   When my daughter, Emily and I moved to France last summer, we left all of our Christmas decorations . . . Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:00:18 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977202003 Susan Sparkman 2007-12-21T00:00:18Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977198382 I originally fell in love with Kristin Espinasse's touching memoir, Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language from the South of France , while standing in a Borders bookstore in . . . Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:07:09 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977198382 Susan Sparkman 2007-12-10T20:07:09Z