Happiness is happening...

Today has been a wonderful day both outside, and inside! I could literally hear the wedding bells chiming all around me... David Bowie and his Fill your Heart was for me today! Happiness is happening...It started with an unusual meeting, whose subject will be revealed after August 17th, it went very well and the outcome should be a great experience! After that meeting, Marco and I went to B Espresso Bar, on Queen East. Hmm, for a second we put the blame on our detox diet (that will last all of August) as it prevented us from drinking a deeply unctuous, black Italian espresso, but we compensated our crave with a very flavourful green jasmine tea. Happiness was happening then, all the same! B for Buonissimo...

The rest of the day just gracefully unfolded, you know, like one of these Victorian fans, richly adorned with evocative and picturesque details.

Lunch was fun, I had just an hour to get it all ready so I prepared a ratatouille with lamb chops and roasted garlic, which were greeted with great success by my two co-lunchers, Marco, and his twin brother, Miguel. Note that a ratatouille is very tasty hot (don't forget the coriander seeds, it is the secret touch for me!), but I find it even better cold, at dinner time or the next day...either with cold meat or with just an avocado and a few sardines on the side. Vive la Provence!

My espresso ratatouille of the day!

The afternoon was devoted to work and to house-cleaning - now, everything is in order. I like it like that too. You know when the tiles are shiny, the shelves, rid of the dust, and when the wooden floor smells of polishing wax. Ahh, reclining on the sofa, I am now writing this post and as I look around, I think to myself 'what a wonderful life!' Have I forgotten to tell you that, to top it all, I am listening to an incredible vinyl (a 1963 Angel Stereo recording), CRRRRrrr! The crispy sound is part of the pleasure, isn't it? Well, I am playing the complete orchestral works by Maurice Ravel (conducted by André Cluytens and interpreted by the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra), impressively dramatic and intimate: Le Tombeau de Couperin, La Pavane pour une Infante Défunte, Alborada del Gracioso, (Listen! This piece is conducted by my favourite conductor of all times, Sergiu Celibidache) to name but a few...If you don't know them, try them - and tell me how it feels!

Ravel at the piano, accompanied by Canadian singer Éva Gauthier, during his American tour, March 7, 1928. At far right is George Gershwin.