Medieval tower, Carol

Every time I have visited Latour de Carol (Cerdagne, Pyrénées
Orientales), I’ve wanted to see the tower after which the village
takes its name. Except there are two, rising from the ruins of a
medieval château in Carol, an adjacent hameau that straddles the
river Carol, as its icy torrents course through the valley that
leads to the co-principality of Andorra.

Château riuns

The river Carol

Rocky bastion

Ardoise rooves

New snow dusts the peaks

Ardoise, traditionally hand-cut

Close to the frontière with Spain, street names are in Catalan,
painted on ardoise, and satellite dishes decorate the traditional
rooves of the same slate, which warms with the sun, keeping the
stone dwellings insulated and repelling snow.

The château rises from on a huge rock base – thought to be the
origin of the name Carol (Querol, Catalan), with earliest records
of the valley of ‘Cheirol’ dating back to the 10th century. Yet I
discovered that there was once another tower; a watchtower that
stood above Latour de Carol, on the site of the église (church)
that now sits above the village, marking its entrance and protecting
the valley.

Where ‘la tour’ once stood

Blason, Latour de Carol

Le blason de Latour de Carol est un damier en quatre parties,
identiques deux à deux. Le blason catalan rappelle l’attachement
de la Cerdagne à la Catalogne tandis que les deux tours symbolisent
la fameuse “Tour du Carol”. Le mot Carol (catalan Querol) est un
dérivé de la racine pré-indoeuropéenne kar (= pierre, rocher).
Il désigne sans doute ici le grand rocher sur lequel s’élevait le
château médiéval de Carol (commune de Porta), dont il ne reste
aujourd’hui que deux tours (première mention : Kairolo au Xe siècle,
selon Lluis Basseda). Mais très vite il a désigné l’ensemble de la
vallée du Carol, rivière dont le nom primitif était l’Aravó :
l’expression Valle Cheirol apparaît dans les textes dès l’an 1011.
Quant au village de Latour proprement dit, son nom est mentionné
en 1260 (villa de Turre). Contrairement à ce qu’on dit parfois,
il ne correspond pas aux actuelles tours de Carol (restes d’un
château), mais plutôt à une tour protégeant la vallée, aujourd’hui
disparue, qui pourrait avoir été construite sur le rocher où se
trouve l’église actuelle.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying…. (Luke 2:13).

And then I heard Sara Groves’s version.  Whoa.  It’s amazing how a different tune — a tune that, in my opinion, better fits the feel of the lyrics — can help you enter into a song for the first time.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.  I hear the song now.  The winged angels are still singing, but there’s poetry in them there lyrics, and I’m good with that.

I’m not just good with it, I’m moved by it.  It’s astonishing, is it not, that the Son of God would enter this world at all, much less as a baby, and that at his birth the Father’s message to our sinful world would be peace.  Peace!  The older I get, the more clearly I discern how much I deserve judgment and wrath, yet here is God announcing peace in Christ the Lord.  The song is wrecking me to the point of worship.

Friend, if you’ve been bent low under life’s crushing load, if your steps along the climbing way are slow and painful, this song is for you.  This Christmas, sit and rest beside the weary road, and listen to the song of the angels once again.  Receive the Father’s announcement of peace upon you in Christ, and sing your glory back to him.

Three final matters.  One, thank you for this arrangement, Sara Groves.  Two, I’ve included the lyrics below.  Three, I’m as perplexed as you by the Eye of Sauron thing, but this was the best video I could find.

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heavens all gracious King!”
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels, to hear them sing

O ye beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps so slow;
Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels, and hear them sing

“Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heavens all gracious King!”
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels, to hear them sing
Sing –Sing –Sing – Sing

Still through the broken skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled;
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o’er Babel sounds
The blessed angels, the blessed angels sing

http://www.saragroves.com/lyrics/o-holy-night/itcameuponamidnightclear/

Macario Diosdado Gonzalez was born on February 29, 1940 to parents Augusto Diosdado Gonzales y SIoco and Rosario Arnedo, both known individuals during their time. He was the youngest of seven children, but had nine other siblings with his father’s first wife Marina Escaler Gonzalez.

Br. Andrew hails from a family who has been known to produce successful and influential individuals such as Dr. Joaquin Gonzalez, the University of the Philippines’ first president, Dr. Bienvenido Ma. Gonzalez who served as the president of the University of the Philippines for many years, Fernando, Jesus, and Virgilio Gonzalez who were successful medical doctors, and Assemblyman Fausto Gonzalez who earned his doctor of laws degree in Madrid, Spain. Personalities like Dr. Jose Rizal, Gen. Arthur MacArthur, and President Manuel Quezon are indebted and grateful to the hospitality provided by Brother Andrew’s family.

Brother Andrew finished grammar school and high school at De La Salle College where he was a consistent honor student and even graduated as salutatorian. He then went to Baguio to pursue his postulancy and novitiate, and received the Christian Brothers’ habit on November 20, 1955. He also enrolled at Saint Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota where he graduated summa cum laude at the age of 19, and at the age of 20 garnered his Master of Arts in English Literature from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Brother Andrew returned to the Philippines in 1960 and taught English Language and Literature at the high school department of La Salle College, Bacolod. He then served in several administrative positions in De La Salle College from 1964-1967, and made his final vows as a De La Salle Brother on May 30, 1965. Though a Lasallian, he pursued graduate studies in linguistics at the Philippine Normal College and Ateneo de Manila University. In 1967, Brother Andrew was accepted to a doctoral program in linguistics at the University of California at Berkely as a Regents’ Fellow in Linguistics and as a Stanley Tasheira Scholar and finished his degree in 1970. He returned to the Philippines in 1971 and was chosen to be the chairperson of the Humanities Department of De La Salle College, then later promoted to Academic Vice President of the said college from 1971-1978. He took the Philippines’ first ever Board Examinations for Teachers in 1978 and placed first with a score of 86.12%.

Because of his extraordinary performance, he was elected President of De La Salle University and served from 1979 until 1991. After serving as Brother President of the University, he was assigned to serve as the President of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation in 1994, and once gain served as president of De La Salle University from 1994-1998. In 1998, Brother Andrew was designated as Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports of the Philippines in July 1998 and served that position until 2001. From 2001-2003, he returned to DLSU to serve as Vice President for Academics and Research, and from 2003-2005 as Presidential Adviser for Academics and Research. Brother Andrew also served as president emeritus of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, a position he held until his death on January 29, 2006.

During his term as president of DLSU, Brother Andrew founded the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, a center for innovative teaching, and took over a college of medicine which eventually became the De La Salle University-Dasmarinas.

Brother Andrew envisioned De La Salle University as the prestigious university it is at present, and it is thanks to him that DLSU is what it is and will be in the years to come.

Leandro Locsin, born August 15, 1928 in Silay City, Negros Occidental, is a known architect, artist, and interior designer. He was proclaimed National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture by the late President Corazon Aquino in 1990.

Before World War II erupted, he studied in what was then De La Salle College, and returned to Negros because of the war. Locsin took a pre law course when he returned to Manila, but shifted to taking a degree in music at the University of Santo Tomas, but shifted again to take architecture just a year before his graduation.

Locsin is known for his distinct and original designs which utilize concrete and reflect Philippine Art and Culture. It was from his visit to the States when he realized that he could use concrete for his buildings since it was cheap in the Philippines and was easy to form.

Locsin’s works include the Theater of Performing Arts of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the Ayala Museum, the Folk Arts Theater, the University of the Philippines Los Banos campus library, the Manila Hotel, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, Philippine International Convention Center, the InterContinental Manila, and many others.

In his lifetime, Leandro Locsin has produced 75 houses and 8 buildings, of which include 11 chapels and churches, 23 public buildings, 48 commercial buildings, six major hotels, and an airport terminal.

At present, the De La Salle University campus in Canlubang is named after him, and his son Leandro V. Locsin Jr. continues his legacy of designing timeless structures.

He is most famous as a scholar, writer, and biographer. Some of the highly acclaimed biographies he has done in his lifetime are those of Quezon (Man of Destiny, 1935) and Rizal (The Great Malayan, 1938). But he wasn’t only about biographies. In his time, he was also responsible for a subject-wide collection of literary publications such as political pamphlets and travel literature, as well as book chapters, proposals, prefaces, postscripts, book reviews, and the like.

His works are a great influence on future historical resources not only because of the timeliness, but also to the incredible writing of Mr. Quirino. Just think about it, without this man, we might barely know Jose Rizal.

Such contribution to the Philippine society isn’t worth disregarding, and that is why Mr. Quirino is such a national treasure.

He was the first ever recipient of the National Artist of the Philippine for Historical Literature.

Here are his other works: Man of Destiny (1935), The Great Malayan (1940), Magsaysay and the Philippines (1958), Philippine Cartography (1959), Damian Domingo: First Eminent Filipino Painter (1961), History of the Philippine Sugar Industry (1974), Filipinos at War (1981), Amang, the Life and Times of Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr. (1983)

REFERENCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Quirino

http://www.clickthecity.com/events/details.php?id=7301

http://www.yuchengcomuseum.org/press-room/Carlos%20Quirino%20-%20About%20the%20Carlos%20Quirino%20Birth%20Centennial.pdf

View from Mont Louis

30th November, new snow

Looking towards the ski station Puigmal

A few days in the mountains brought a multitude of new experiences.
Following the route along the Têt valley to Cerdagne, and then
crossing the border into Spain, the mountain air was fresh, as the
first significant snowfall of the season paved the way for the
opening of the pistes this weekend.

The Pyrénées Orientales

My journey started in Roussillon as I passed through Conflent
into Cerdagne, then across the border at Bourg-Madame to Cerdanya,
the ‘Catalunya Sud’ counterpart of the Parc Naturel Régional des
Pyrénées Catalanes, on the route that heads to Barcelona…

Thuir, famous for the tonic Byrrh

Carline protecting door, Eus

Eus, perched high above Prades

Bread oven – four à pain

Climbing to the ramparts

Crossing from Bourg-Madame, France, into Puigcerda, Spain…

Villas line the lake, Puigcerda

A façade in the town centre

Puigcerda library – a converted cloister

Latour de Carol, France, heading from Bourg-Madame towards
Andorra…

Lintel, Latour de Carol

Inside the église

La commune est située en Cerdagne sur le Carol, à une altitude
minimum de 1 209 m, près de la frontière avec l’Espagne. En catalan,
le nom de la commune est la Tor de Querol ; les habitants sont
els Querolans.

And back across the border into Cerdanya, only minutes away…

Château, hidden in a valley, Alp

sharing the road with horses

The village of Das, Spain

Pyrénées, view to France

The heart of Bellver, Spain

Opposite, in shadow, Bellver

Ermitage de Prat, Spain

Santa Eugenia, leaning tower

Likened to the tower of Pisa

The village of Montella

The sun setting, Pyrénées

Roman bridge, Bellver

Sierra del Cadi

Dusk at Saga, eroded ‘organ pipes’

Merci beaucoup Christiane et Claude !

Valera never had any formal training in fashion design, but his works have been the standard of fashion students for intricate sewing, embroidery, and handiwork.

In an interview with Ramon Valera’s nieces Paching and Aton Valera, they mention that their Ramoning did not prefer being called a designer, but an artist. He would put high value on manners and propriety, and would not think twice to call out their attention when they did something inappropriate.

Valera is known to the public as the “High priest of local fashion” and wearing garments of his creation would be considered as an honor. He was the only male counter his contemporaries had, and he would do the designing, cutting, pasting, and sewing all by himself. Ramon was a fastidious worker, discarding finished garments that weren’t of his liking when they were done, and was one who worked directly from his imagination and never worked with patterns.

Ramon introduced to the Philippine society the one-piece terno fastened at the back with a zipper, and transformed the traditional Maria Clara outfit into a wedding gown with bell sleeves, which at first was considered a disgrace to the Filipina standard. Though he received contrasting reactions to his creations, Ramon continued to defy tradition and staples through his creativity and unique concepts.

To be clothed by Valera was an honor, and being dressed by him is not by appointment, but by invitation. He chose his clientele which included Manila’s then socialites like Susan Magalona, Gloria Romero, Baby Araneta-Flores, Chito Madrigal, and the Philippines’ first ladies from Aurora Quezon to Imelda Marcos.

Ramon proved that having a college degree or formal training in a field is not necessary for one to be successful in life. He used his creativity, imagination, and will to defy tradition to his advantage and came out as the one of the Philippines’ most treasured artists.

Ramon died at the age of 60 in 1972, and was proclaimed National Artist for Fashion Design by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2006.

Ramon would have been 100 years old if he had lived until present.

Doble Vista directed by Nix Lanas and Nisha Alicer.

At the Cinemalaya 2007 her film together with Nisha Alicer, Doble Vista, was a part of it. It won the Audience Award for Best Short Film. The same film was nominated for the Gawad Urian Award for the same category which was Best Short Film.

After graduating she did not cut her ties with De la Salle University, in fact she was a part time faculty of the Department of Communication and she taught the course VPRODUC. Also during the Centennial Opening Celebration she was the cinematographer of the Centennial Tree video.

Currently, she works as a director at Channel [V] and owns One Door Productions (1DP) which is a manila-based digital video production company.

If you want to check out the trailer of Doble Vista you can check it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sg257efeh0

References:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2747523/

http://1dp.tumblr.com

http://www.facebook.com/nixlanas

http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/offices/osa/cao/alumni.asp

Ryan Agoncillio, has been in the business for more then 20 years and has credits in the mediums of television, movies, modeling & even photography.

Ryan Agoncilio, one of the most famous showbiz personalities in the Philippines graduated from De La Salle University with a decree in the Arts taking up the discipline of Organizational Communication. Today, he is on the height of his career with credits as not only a respect actor but also in mediums of modelling, music and photography. He is certainly one of Filipino showbiz treasures as well as a proud Lasallian student from our humble community.

Starting his career at only 15-years-old as model, Ryan instantly gained attention from the two most famous television networks in the country. Eventually choosing GMA, Ryan became one of the original hosts of the early morning variety show “Mornings at GMA”. He eventually moved to ABS-CBM where he became a talk show host in the show “Talk TV”. After doing a show in TV5, Ryan moved back to host “Eat Bulaga!” to replace the late Francis Magalona.

Apart from his jobs in television, Ryan was also a part of a string of hit motion pictures. Most notable are his appearances in the fllms “Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo” and “Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo” where he co-starred with his wife Judy Anne Santos. He also boasts credits in photography as he opened his own photo exhibit in 2007 for Fuji Film in 2007. He later published a coffee table photography book entitled “Ploning – the Making” where he took shots of the behind-the-scenes happenings of his wife’s latest movie at the time.

Agoncillo is certainly a Lasallian treasure who has made his alumni proud. He holds many awards the highest honour being an award for Best Male Emcee from the Aliw Award Hall of Fame and a nomination for Best Actor at the FAMAS Awards in 2006 for his turn as Jed in “Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo”.

We all know of the two Homerian epics: The Oddysey and the Iliad but did you know that the Philippines has its own epic too? Oh yes, it’s called The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus written by none other than Cirilio F. Bautista.

Bautista is one of those writers that put us on the map It is safe to say that he is an international sensation because he received fellowships from the United States and Britain, having been the only Filipino to ever receive a fellowship from the University of Iowa and Trinity College respectively.  His poems, anthologies and novels are also published in those countries as well as Japan, Malaysia and Germany.

Locally, he is a winner of the Palanca Hall of Fame Awards and he was also awarded as Makata ng Taon in 1993. Also, he has won the National Book Award five times! Bautista has won many others, multiple times that one post is not enough. He has made us all proud to be a Lasallian who has achieved such prestigious remarks and awards and he has been a great service to the Philippines as he spreads the word about our literary capabilities.

Céret, architectural detail

This time last year, I started hiking in the mountains with a local
group, which involved rising at 5am. Today’s activities began at a
more civilised hour, as I drove to the nearby village of Céret
– attracted by the vide grenier (‘clear the attic’, or car boot sale,
like a flea market). Anyone who has experienced a vide grenier knows
how addictive they are – even if you aren’t looking for anything,
you always find treasure (or two…).

Decanter 1 euro, glasses 1 euro elsewhere

Large tablecloth, embroidered linen, 5 euros

I was searching for a deeper ‘mushroom panier’, and instead found a
table cloth, tiny liquer glasses (for the liquer de mirabelles, mûres
and coings maturing in the cellar), and ‘rescued’ a little Virgin
Mary shrine from being trampled on.

To contain holy water, 1 euro

As the afternoon began, so did the mushroom hunt for dinner, as I
ventured into the forest where the track is overgrown and arrives
in another valley. I found what I was looking for – ‘pied bleu’ which
smell a bit like raspberries and have a culinary rating of ‘three
knives and forks’ (the highest in my guidebook). I took a chance on
the others, which are in the lactaire family (they resemble ‘lactaire
à lait abondant and leak a milky substance) but turned out to be
inedible. As I didn’t need to prepare them I had time to make an
apple tart… for Sunday isn’t Dimanche without a feast.

A cèpe, pied bleu and lactaire selection

Pale violet, with a delicate flavour

Tarte aux pommes

Jesus was born to Ignacio Villamor, the first Filipino president of the University of the Philippines, in Abra. He finished his grade school and high school education at his hometown and took up a business course at what was then De La Salle College.

He joined the Philippine Army Corps in 1936, where he stood out and was selected for advanced flight training in the United States. In 1937, he graduated from the U. S. Air Corps Flying School at Rudolph and Kelly Filed, Texas and from the U. S. Air Force Technical School in Denver, Colorado in 1938.

Villamor returned to the Philippines to become director of the Philippine Air Corps Flying School, and when World War II broke out, was chosen to lead the 6^th Pursuit Squadron as Colonel. Onboard a P-26 Fighter, Jesus and his squadron engaged in fight after fight with the Japanese in the skies of Zablan and Batangas, only the weapons of the Japanese overpowered those of the Filipinos.

On December 27, 1942, Jesus established communication with Gen. Douglas MacArthur and planned his return to the Visayas. He coordinated the guerilla activities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and was the “clearing house” of all the information that was key to the Philippines’ liberation.

He was appointed as director of the Bureau of Aeronautics and assisted in the planning of the Manila International Airport, where he served as director when it was finished.

Awards he has received in his lifetime include the Medal of Valor, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit, and numerous other decorations from the U. S. and Philippine governments for his service in the war.

His career started when he was 18, still in college, Rhandee Garlitos wrote his first children’s book called, Ang Paglalakbay ni Pepito Piso, which was illustrated by an art staffer colleague in Malate Literary Folio. He wrote this to join a children’s book making contest by a publishing company, he won the contest and they published his book.

Currently he has already written nine children’s books and translated over ten books. One of his most famous children’s books written in 1999 under Adarna House is called “Chenelyn! Chenelyn!,” which was illustrated by Liza Flores. The book received the 2000 Gintong Aklat Award, Best Children’s Book and 1998 PBBY-Salanga Prize Honorable Mention.

Clémentine coloured leaves

As agrumes (citrus) come into season, with a sweep of Nature’s brush,
the mountains are ready for their vernissage (the opening of an art
exhibition). Rather than gradual progress, this year there is a sudden
fanfare. The roadside is now carpeted – as if when closing my eyes
to sleep, and opening them to a new day, was all the time needed to
prepare this display.

Crossing our stone bridge

Walking down the mountain

And then back up the road…

The forest plunges to the river

Trees hug rocks

The bergerie perched on rocks

Contours are revealed, as it is now possible to trace the hillside
that holds the forest as it drops steeply to the river below.
Trees hug rocks – the very earth we live on, as our home clings
to the promontory, their roots embracing the entire mountain.

The menu is pumpkin soup, carrots and squeezed orange juice, a homage
to Autumn’s ‘ouverture’.

Oranges and clémentines in season

Potiron (pumpkin)

Météo: After a Sunday of heavy rain and mist, we are now back up to
18ºC under blue skies, as Paris recorded 12ºC.

Les Personnages, old textbook collection

Leçon Un

Although I studied French at school, it was not enough to prepare me
for life here. I vaguely remember a project ‘Costumes Throughout the
Ages’ and sketching a robe that Madame de Pompadour might wear.
One year as an ‘intensive option’ that then went missing – not utilised,
lessons quickly faded. As an adult, I was more studious, and as my
passion for France grew, I enrolled in classes at the Alliance Française
(de Sydney), moving up through the levels and fêting all the important
occasions on the French calendar, along with being part of the Festival
du Film Français – as the photographer who captured the ambience of
the opening evening and immortalised stars for the Alliance magazine.

One thing led to another – working with the French-Australian Chamber
of Commerce, covering exhibitions, and being invited to exhibit in Paris,
to mark the opening of the Sydney Olympic Games. ‘Un Conte de Deux
Villes, Sydney, Paris’ was born, and my hand-printed black and white
photos given special permission to travel with me on the plane. It was
the first time I had to translate – working behind the scenes to create
the catalogue and quotations that would accompany the display – my
fingers not sure how to navigate their way around the strange keyboard.

The next challenge, a few years later, was more ‘immersion’ – as I
joined a yacht with a French skipper and guests as the cook and
housekeeper – an initiation in nautical terms, most of which have
stayed with me due to the intensity of the experience; there is no
room for any misunderstanding when a storm starts to rage.

I continued to attune my ears, mainly through the many films featured
on SBS in Australia and Le Journal – with the same presenters I now
see on TV here. I realise how far I have come, yet at times think
how much further I have to go to really comprehend and to be able to
express everything I wish to articulate – with all the nuances intact.

Each day, without doubt, I gain ‘new words’, integrating them into
my vocabulary. Often, if they are complicated, I have to ask again;
sounding them out or seeing them written, before they can be slotted
into a sentence. At first it was exhausting – like the continuous
effort to listen and then speak took too much concentration, and there
was ‘nothing left’ after such directed focus. Now it is more ‘a word
here and there’ vs. great chunks of knowledge to digest.

Practice makes perfect, and necessity drives this process, as to
function – to be here fully – communication is perhaps ‘of the highest
importance’. Yet all the while, in spite of being an adult with much
worldly experience, there is the child, ever present. For the journey
is one of regression; starting from scratch, eyes open with wonder
and questioning ‘why’, the workings of things, is what makes this
‘learning curve’ so interesting. Coming from a space of naivety,
and layer by layer, building understanding – as we in turn ‘become
heard’, breaking through the language barrier that divides the worlds.

“French, How to Speak and Write it’

French Without Tears, by Lady Bell

Galerie Vivienne

Hours pass in a flash when occupied outdoors, and it doesn’t matter,
for it is not a schedule that dictates, just intuition that creates a
framework. Completing something before it rains, or harvesting what is
ready at the right moment… nothing else matters in the flow of the cycle
where nature is the one in control. ‘Making hay while the sun shines’
applies, and equally, in all dealings must be remembered. For it is
impossible to apply a different standard and expect anything to adhere
to ‘normal’. In France there is a natural pause, as all grinds to a halt
in honour of food, and Sunday shopping is limited to ‘the market’
– for lunch of course. What could be more important than sharing in
the abundance of the season, and conversation, while time passes with
sips of wine, and slivers of cheese that stretch a repas into hours,
and then a siesta.

Administration follows the same routine – wait for a response and it may
never come – the only way is to ‘let go’ and release it in to the ether,
hoping that one day there will be a surprise. For somehow there always
is, it just doesn’t conform to ‘hurry or appointment’; there is a different
Roi who resides and reigns over the pace, and surrender is necessary.
The first adjustment when arriving is to relax, for to survive in this
environment there is only one rule: remain in the moment and enjoy the
pleasures of each day. The warmth of the sun, and what graces the table,
washed down with a smile, for in a twinkling, it is once again night
– “Where has the day gone?” we might well ask, “What has been achieved?”

The signs are hazy: contentedness, or a full belly; remembrance of birdsong;
or a new observation, life all the richer for contemplation.

Image: Cadran solaire. One that doesn’t help divine the hour, as perhaps
the terrace roof was added later?

For the month of November, Tahanan Sta. Luisa is currently participating in the 2012 Girl Effect GlobalGiving Challenge, which is an opportunity for girl-focused organizations like Tahanan to connect with the Girl Effect movement and compete for an opportunity to win a one-year spot on the Girl Effect fundraising page.

WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE?

The challenge is to raise USD $ 4,000 from 50 unique donors from November 1 to November 30, 2012. The highest number of unique donors will be selected.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP TAHANAN STA. LUISA

Tahanan Sta. Luisa needs you to vote with your dollars! Donate to Tahanan Sta. Luisa by CLICKING ON THIS LINK to know more about what project you are supporting, and what donation options you have. For as low as USD $10, you can help Tahanan Sta. Luisa win!

For more information, take a look at the screenshots below. But don’t forget to click on the LINK TO THE PROJECT PAGE above to donate! Donations can be through the Giving Cart, credit card, PayPal, checks, mobile phone, wire transfers, and more.

We need your help and support to get more unique donors, and another way of doing that is sharing our project page to your family and friends! Who knows, we could be able to reach more and achieve more with something as simple as clicking the SHARE button in the PROJECT PAGE.

Thank you very much, and let’s change the world one girl at a time!

Sincerely,

Mercy Cabrillas
Center Director

Click here to view Wikipedia: Celtic Calendar

Carline in the village Evol, Pyrénées Orientales

Souvent recherché et cueilli pour son aspect très décoratif, ce chardon
sert de baromètre : la plante voit son capitule se refermer à l’approche
du mauvais temps. Le capitule se conserve séché et est souvent accroché
aux portes des maisons de certains villages, en guise de porte-bonheur
et de protection. La carline à feuilles d’acanthe (Carlina acanthifolia)
est une plante appartenant au genre Carlina et à la famille des Astéracées,
ou Composées, comme l’artichaut.

The seasons here are quite abrupt; plants naturally stop growing and
quickly depart as Winter now raises his head and makes a start.
Rubbing his hands together he embraces his task with relish, “Right,
I am here and you shall have snow,” as all he touches changes. In a
twinkling, the summer clothes are packed away, and a fire is glowing
in the grate. This is it, there’s no looking back, for the mist has
rolled in and he has all under hand. The menu is now hearty, the
results of the harvest, as soups and casseroles simmer away – for
‘indoors’ is cosy and shelter most welcome. Winter is an adversary
when he raises his baton, “Wind it shall be” as he whips it to a pace,
or “frost you shall see” – it has arrived, yesterday. Thus the routine
changes to reflect what’s happening outdoors and feathers the nest,
as books are opened once more, and cooking, more lavish than before.

With time to write and contemplate, the joy of the season is also
‘initiate and create’ as focus returns to ‘heart and home’, and
hunkered down or nestled in, ideas are born and formed through
incubation. Projects take precedent and blossom, while in nature
they abate, thus closing the porte to the outside is but an opening
on the other side – as an inner world waits to be explored, and
imagination comes the fore.

The reading and writing chair

But wait, there’s more…

As if to say it is ‘impossible to stay indoors’, nature put on a display
as the clouds abated, clinging to the top of the mountains, and the view
to Canigou cleared – Winter has touched his upper slopes – resplendent
he is cloaked in white.

Following a shifting canvas

Clouds cling to upper slopes

View to Col d’Ouillat

The storm now in Spain

Evening falls, 31st October

The clouds lift

The bergerie at dusk

Click here to view some of the highlights of October 2012