Revelations of a Traveler

Tempus Fugit

Posted on 09 October 2012

I’ve lost track of time these days. Since Gill and John’s wedding day, I’ve been flying, literally and figuratively. I’ve been to Milan and Paris, viewing fashion for spring, working on presentations, and cleaning house – ours and rental. It’s a little strange to move from the job of buyer to the job of cleaning woman but I like both.

I forgot to mention in my last blog that I did not include pictures of my daughter’s new husband because he does not want his picture on the internet. I did not forget him.

Three days after the wedding, Helen and I flew to Milan for three days. Three days after we returned, Helen left for Vancouver. Gill was around for another day or two and then she flew home. I have no idea what I did when she left before I left for Paris. Time and memory escapes me.

I remember taking a slow slow train to Paris to do a new show, two new shows – one at the Tuileries and one at the Palais de la Bourse and Louvre Carousel.

The settings were so much more beautiful than the other show that I usually attend and the fashion was, for the most part, younger and wilder, and more international. I found three new lines that will find their way into the store in March 2013 and a number of other possibilities, recording my finds on my trusty little camera so I could show all to the store owner and let him decide. (It’s so much easier not having the final say.) As I only had my iPad with me, I did not download the pictures in the evening. Big mistake. When I returned home, I could not find the camera. I emptied my bags. I called the hotel. It was gone – lost or stolen.

I was shaken. I felt like an imbecile. I felt terrible. In all my years of buying, I have never lost my pictures. Thank goodness, I had lots of paper work – notes, order forms, brochures, and business cards. I began telephoning and emailing and checking websites. Four days and several sleepless nights later, I have it all together and can breathe easy.

I have one more order to put together and then I can get back to editing Gill’s book. I’d like to have it finished for her birthday next week. On Sunday, we shall celebrate Rob’s 64th. Will I ever get back to my novel? Hopefully, I will.

What is it that John Lennon said? (I had to look it up.) “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” And I found another quote by him that I like: “Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.”

I would like to waste some time. There’s a feeling of autumn in the air. The leaves are changing. The new wine is being brewed. Soon my friend Shirley will arrive and perhaps we will take a drive to the Mediterranean. I need something to clear my head. I don’t want to be always infernally busy.