The Z-Axis

Book Review: “Divergent” by Veronica Roth

By: Amira K. August 20, 2012July 10, 2013

Book Reviewbook review, dystopian, fiction, post-apocalyptic, young adult7 Comments

Hello to all my … loyal … readers! Wow, it’s been a long time since I blogged. I went from doing a post a week, to a post every two weeks, to … a post a month … well, at least I’m writing one now, right? That makes up for it, doesn’t it? Well, anyway.…

Book Review: “The Enormous Room”

By: Amira K. July 20, 2012February 19, 2013

Book Reviewbook review, E. E. Cummings, language, literature, prison, war, WWILeave a Comment

For some time now I have promised, and not yet delivered, a book review of one of the two following books: THE ENORMOUS ROOM, by E.E. Cummings, or THE GARGOYLE, by Andrew Davidson. Voters weighed in and ultimately the scales tipped in favor of Cummings’ classic, rather than the nouveau contemporary. I’m a little surprised…

Seven Phrases the French Love To Use (And A Brief Update On Life)

By: Amira K. July 10, 2012February 19, 2013

Musings, TravelFrance, French, language, literature, phrases2 Comments

Hey! Yep, it’s been a little while. Despite increased internet access and the time and wherewithal to write blog posts, I just haven’t really felt up to it. Book reviews seem to require too much thought, tourism posts seem to require too many touristy photo shoots, and general musings are being sorted out in my…

Languor in the Languedoc

By: Amira K. June 20, 2012February 19, 2013

Musings, Photography, Travel2 Comments

I’m staying at a farm right now in the Languedoc-Roussillon area, and pretty much the only thing that the Languedoc has in common with Alsace is that both regions produce a lot of muscat, a white wine grape varietal that is most commonly made into a sweet wine, intended to be served as either a…

Book Review: “Daughter of Smoke and Bone”

By: Amira K. June 10, 2012July 10, 2013

Book Review, Musingsangels, book review, demons, fantasy, fiction, magic, young adultLeave a Comment

Wrote this one out in advance—snagged a few minutes of internet time to post it online. Expect lots more book reviews in coming weeks – with internet access once every few days, I have plenty of time to read. Because I am in the process of working on a young adult fiction novel myself, I’ve…

Can I survive for 3 weeks without Internet access?

By: Amira K. June 8, 2012February 19, 2013

Musings, TravelLeave a Comment

So here I am in the beautiful, quaint, amazing village of Gimios, France. It’s in the rugged Languedoc region located between the Pyrenees and the sea. The climate is Mediterranean and the region generally has about 300 days of sunshine a year. Everything about it is wonderful–EXCEPT I HAVE NO INTERNET. So how am I posting this, you…

This Is Just About Food

By: Amira K. June 3, 2012February 19, 2013

Photography, TravelAlsace, baking, cooking, food, France, Germany6 Comments

Hi guys. It’s time for another blog entry. But today, I walked over 20 miles, hiking through the forests of the Vosges mountains, and I’m really, really tired. So this one’s going to be simple: just a bunch of photos about food. Food that we eat; food that we make. Alsatian food, German food, French…

In The Cave of a Natural Winery

By: Amira K. May 28, 2012February 19, 2013

Travel, WineAlsace, biodynamics, cave, France, natural wine, organics, wine, winemakingLeave a Comment

Whew! It’s been a crazy week. I got a really bad fever and head cold on Wednesday, was completely zonked out on Thursday, worked all day Friday, went to Strasbourg on Saturday, and yesterday spent all morning sleeping/napping and all afternoon hiking around the Vosges mountains. I hope that excuses my lack of blogging for…

Mission Statement: WWOOF

By: Amira K. May 19, 2012February 19, 2013

Musings, Travel, Wineadventure, farming, food, France, organics, tourism, traveling, wine, WWOOF2 Comments

So, a lot of people have been asking what I’m doing here, in France. Why I decided to come here. Some people seem to think I’m here on whimsy, some sort of pleasure cruise through the winemaking countryside of Europe. One friend asked me if I was a “trust fund baby”, because, of course, how…

In The French Countryside

By: Amira K. May 14, 2012

Photographycastles, countryside, Europe, flowers, France, photography, vineyardsLeave a Comment

So, I’ve got a number of blog posts planned for future weeks detailing what, specifically, I’m doing here in France, what I’m eating, what I’m drinking, where we’re working, et cetera. But I thought at first I’d just try to pass on a little bit of this world on the other side of the pond,…