Here is a short tour through my flat in London!! I'm very charmed by the place.

Finally, I have internet in my flat!!! So, for your viewing pleasure...here is a montage video I made of my trip to Paris.

Enjoy!

Portobello Road.

Today I went shopping on Portobello road. I got a Pomegrante, two red peppers, 3 zuchinni (called "courgettes" here), a sweet potato, goat cheese, 5 figs, and a loaf of Rosemary and Potato bread. All for under 5 pounds. You can bet this country girl is coming back.
It was all open air, local farmer, organic, and beautiful. Why don't we have this in the states? Why don't farmers have stalls anymore? Why do we shop in Grocery stores? THEY SUCK. Just standing next to the stall made me feel healthy and good. All of the colors and smells of the market were lovely. I talked and joked with the seller while next to her another seller was barking advertisments about what they offered.

This felt wholesome. It felt right. Flourescent lights, blue light specials, canned vegetables.....that feels not right.

Umm....did i mention I really like it here?

Tate Modern = A little piece of heaven

I spent 5 and a half hours at the Tate Modern museum yesterday. It was phenomenal. All of the artists that have moved me, inspired me, or awed me were there. Duchamp, Dali, Picasso, Calder, Picabia, Pollock, Ernst. My mind was blown.

I breathed next the Alexander Calder's mobiles, I could have touched (but I didn't) Jackson Pollocks paint, I stood next to a reproduction by Richard Hamilton of Duchamp's Large Glass. I'm not much into celebrity, but I have to admit I was star struck. I even found more art to confound and amaze me. If you get a chance look up Christian Marclay and his music/movie/collage work. It was amazing. Also the main exhibit was by a guy named Holler. He made tube slides that you could slide down from the 2nd, third, and fourth floors of the Tate. At the bottom of the slide I hung out for bit watching people. There wasn't one person young or old who didn't get off the slide with a smile. Lovely.

One room was dark with a rectangle projection on one wall. The video projected was of a lighthouse beacon rotating. It would switch from the sunset and the lighthouse beacon to a direct shot of the mirrored bulb casing that rotated. It was beautiful, hypnotic, and magical. The mirrors in the light casing would occasionally reflect the sea then reflect the light. It was the combination of nature and man. It really paralleled how the sun is our earth's beacon as a lighthouse is a ship's beacon. Gorgeous. I sat in the room for about 45 minutes and floated though the next part of the museum.

Another thing......check out the artist/mayor of Albanian and how he decided to use color (building painting) to revitalize the country. I can't remember the last name of the artist that did a video on this guy and his city. Anri Sala is his name.

Awesome. And I mean that in the true sense of the word. AWEsome.
Much Love, Jillian

So, I am getting my much needed rest time. I've been spending that time packing, planning, seeing family and friends, talking to classmates, doing copious amounts of Laundry (and I mean COPIOUS, my brother's (8 loads) and mine(3)), and watching the TV series LOST. In four days, I'm coming close to the last three episodes and trying to figure out if I want to buy the next season...if I have time to watch it.

This is the slowest my life has been in a long time and probably the slowest it will be for a long time. I'm lathering myself in free time. It's nice. I'm not feeling bad for it either. I'm enjoying it;m writing, doing meditation, taking long walks in the country side, working through myself internally.

Holy crap, by the end of this week, I will be so prepared to move to another country and start grad school.....hell yes.

I am back in the town I grew up in for a week before I leave for London. I'm going to be spending this time packing (two suitcases, a carry-on, my uke, and a purse are all I have to pack my life in), getting money ready, working for my dad and brother a little, and seeing family and friends.

I thought that this week would be a recuperation week but it definitely doesn't look like it's going to be relaxing. However the best thing about being home always is the country. It's beautiful out here.




Rolling hills, farms, ranches, and mountains. The morning after I arrived home my brother needed help sodding his backyard and boy am I tired. (I even got a blister.)

















But hey, hard work never killed anyone right?





Me and my bro, done for the day.






Anyways, t-minus 5 days and counting till I take off for England. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Woohoo!