A Writer's Notebook

A Writer's Notebook

Notebook Entries

Jasmine Flowers, Ghosts, and Vanilla Ice Cream

Going Through Old Notebooks Part 27: "If you want to start believing in ghosts, stop sleeping at night and write a book about dead people."

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Summer Brennan
Feb 26, 2026
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Buttercups, by Lucien Freud, 1968.

I went out for dinner at the Café de la Mairie on Place Saint-Sulpice, and watched the last of the bright blue evening sky deepen into navy behind the gold-splashed facade of the church. Through the browning leaves of the chestnut trees in the square, the front of the mairie was flooded with light that was brilliant red, and cool lilac, and two shades of cerulean.

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