Questions and Answers

“Stop Pussy, stop, stop, stop!”

The concierge looked toward the window and just shook his head.

“Those Americans, in the middle of the afternoon! I will wait a few moments.”

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‘Twas some weeks before Christmas,

At the rue de Fleurus,

Alice stood in the kitchen,

Just basting the goose.

Gertrude sat in the foyer,

Festive thoughts in her head,

And ignored ol’ St. Nick

Doing Nick things in red.

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As we move from one season to another, it’s common to reflect on where the time has gone and can it really be time to exchange one set of clothes in the closet for another? (Those of us who live in the San Francisco Bay area or similar climates, usually have both spring/summer and fall/winter clothes ready year round.)

Come September, it’s also time to look ahead to things happening by the end of the year and those that will inaugurate the coming year. In my GertrudeandAlice world there are a few items in the offing if all goes according to plans.

My anniversary-obsessed mind has pinpointed two in 2016, though as the new year gets closer and closer, I’m sure there may be others.

This coming year marks the 5th anniversary of my picture book GERTRUDE AND ALICE AND FRITZ AND TOM and (drumroll, please!) the 90^th anniversary of Gertrude’s famous, Caesar haircut! Since the book is set in 1925, Gertrude still has her woman bun.

Ooops, that’s not The Gert! All Hail, Brando as Mark Antony!

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I’m writing this in London a few days after the official beginning of summer on the calendar. (London was a city Gertrude didn’t particularly like though GertrudeandAlice crossed the Channel several times for various visits and lectures.)

For almost 20 years, summer for GertrudeandAlice meant packing up the Paris apartment to head to their country place in Bilignin. The village was in the heart of foodie heaven in one direction, as it was not far from Lyon, one of France’s gastronomic centers, and the grandeur of the Swiss Alps in the other direction.

a birds-eye view of the house and gardens at Bilignin

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As mentioned in the previous two posts, it has been eighty years since GertrudeandAlice returned to the U.S. for Gertrude’s headline-getting lecture tour.

The tour wrapped up in April of 1935 and in that final month,  GertrudeandAlice returned to California. Gertrude had turned her back on the Golden Gate in 1893 and Alice had last trekked the earthquake-rubble strewn hills of San Francisco in 1907.

Alice a bit droopy, Gertrude still smiling!

In a nutshell, here is their April itinerary:

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At last, 140 characters or less to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Gertrude Stein’s jubilant 1934-35,  U. S. lecture tour.  But not just any words, but tweets from Alice, based in fact. (All dates are accurate. Twitter address and tweets, liberties taken!)

22. Oct 1934

SS Champlain grande experience. Food wonderful, seas calm and we both a bit nervous about seeing the Old Country again after 30 years.

#

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The conversation begins:

A:

Lovey, I promise to never again move all of your notebooks while dusting without first asking!

G:

I’ll believe that when I see it. Pussy, I promise to never stand over your shoulder when you’re cooking, whispering in your ear any secret ingredients to add to your recipes.

A:

Right! I promise to always use the fine, horse-hair brush to brush your corduroy skirt in the same direction, so that the nap is smooth and velvety to the touch.

G:

Thank God, nothing worse than uneven, nappy corduroy. And I promise to do the dishes and pots and pans on weekends when Helene is gallivanting about Paris.

A:

Right! And rough up your writing hand!?

B:

Promises, promises! We’ll see, I’ve been around the block with these girls for a long time.

HAPPY 2015!

A post from Paris via Fogo Island, Toronto and San Francisco.

As the year ends with the usual holiday celebrations, it is also time to celebrate another event, the 3rd anniversary of the publishing of GERTRUDE AND ALICE AND FRITZ AND TOM.

Sometimes it feels as if this happened a long, long time ago, but whenever I pick up a copy of the book to send out, there are still very positive feelings of accomplishment, newness and satisfaction.

A few weeks ago, those feelings hit an all time high when a package arrived from Toronto. In it was an exquisite bottle of Turkey Hill maple syrup – “Canada No. 1 Light,” some Mary MacLeod’s Shortbread – “Handmade All Butter,” two, attractive greeting cards (one with the Cat in the Hat, the other with the image of a folk art style elephant), several photographs, and a block letter written note, which looked very much like the one from Fritz and Tom in my book.

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More than thirty years ago I began collaging postcards for the holidays and mailing them to friends.  At one point they began having only GertrudeandAlice themes.  I wonder how that happened?!

Here is this year’s card which is only available in this online version. Sorry to all of you who used to receive them the old-fashioned way via post.

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In November 1954,  the first edition of The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book hit bookstores in the U.S. and U.K.  Since then it has never been out of print. Here is my tribute to this culinary classic in the online magazine scene4.

http://www.scene4.com/1114/hansgallas1114.html

copyright 2014 S. Maude Thornton