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Not everyone is lucky enough to have a carousel in their town or village, much less one in almost every neighborhood as it seems to be in Paris. Can you pick out the horse that isn't "French" from the photos above? I'll be back with the answer tomorrow. I hope everyone is looking forward to a nice weekend!
Each time I look through the photos from that "evening" in Montmartre, there's just more and more and more! I know that I'm totally out of control, but who cares? Evelyn commented that she enlarged the photos from yesterday to enjoy them more and both Ann and Kat are ready to return!
ME TOO!
Hoping you had fun with our little window shopping excursion in Montmartre today. There are very few words left to say other than: ENJOY!
Jean has some of the most beautiful blooming trees I have ever seen. She has been in England, unable to return as scheduleld for an extended period. During her absence, all of her trees have been blooming. I've managed to get a variety of shots to share with her. I hope that most of them will still be blooming some for her Thursday return. I have noticed a lot of blooming one day and green foliage the next. I'm casting my vote for a blooming welcome home for Jean!
Saturday's trip into the Carrefour for groceries turned into one of those affirming days for me. I seem to be saying "I live in France" regularly to friends and family, but Saturday it became MORE once more. As the bus made its right turn for the first Figeac stop, I noticed my petit vin rouge tabac was covered in wysteria. Even though my purple backpack was loaded down with groceries on the return; I stopped across the street, rested it on the wall, got my camera out of the front pocket and began shooting. There were conversations with passersby, and I didn't once feel the need to say: "je parle un peu français". I ordered my petit vin rouge from the regular bartender, possibly owner, and kept shooting from inside and out. When I finished, I sat on the bench at my table and finished my little red wine before I headed to the bus. The sun was shining through the wisteria outside. The bus would be down the road to pick me up soon. I heaved my back pack up, got it situated with my camera still in my hand, waved to the bartender, and said: "a prochaine fois!" There is a next time. I will be back. I have a life in France.
...TRENDY! Or, should I say DUNGAREES? I don't have to "dare to wear dungarees"-I love them and live in them! I gave my friend Joan Spinks a call the other day, and she told me she had sent me a welcome home card with this article on the left! What better welcome home for a girl who had been going through overalls withdrawal for two months! I'm still over here missing Joan-we talk pretty regularly but it's coming up on two years since I've seen her. Joan and her good friend Sue will be back for a visit in Cadrieu this July.
No more OVERALLS or Joan WITHDRAWAL for me!
All of that for THIS...a new water line for my new neighbors that starts at the street, cuts across my property next to our first live Christmas tree, is metered in the back on his property, and I don't know about you...the results aren't very "jolie" as I was promised. My sapins, lavender and yuccas are still standing but everything else is a disaster. I'm going to go out at some point later to rake and even it out and maybe throw some flower seeds out there for this season and just see what happens. It was never a perfect lawn, but each season it was getting greener and prettier and now-well, it looks like we're starting over. Does anyone have any ideas they'd like to share? Have a great weekend-other than my trip into Figeac for groceries...you can imagine what I'm up to!
This pastoral scene through the archway of the addition to the Chatette, is not quite so pastoral today. It's a very different site. (And of course, I've taken pictures.) My new neighbor is in the process of getting everything set up, and today was water day. The problem being that the pipe was suppose to be on my land. I was pretty sure I understood everything that was going on in French...I wanted to be sure that I'd only be paying for my water, that if anything happened they would be responsible for repairing it, and it would be returned to the shape it was in before they started digging. Just to be sure, I walked up to Christiane's to consult. I felt much better after we talked, but Jean-Paul came down anyway and pretty soon Raoul had stopped too. So much excitement and problem solving going on. There is no pipe anywhere on this land for my neighbor to link up to! Tomorrow-the rest of the story!
Today our Nannie would have been 104 years old. There is so much I want to write, because she and Papa have been two of the most important people in my life. You may remember her from when I blogged a collage about "Nannie and Papa". They are both regular visitors in my life today. Their love transcends time, place, and boundaries that would get in the way for most others. The day my Papa died, I had a premonition of what was to come. After the funeral, I told Nannie about what happened and she said: "Laury, your Grandpa loved you very much. And sometimes, when people love you that much they can communicate with you in ways that don't happen every day. He wanted you to know he was going. He loved you so much that he came to say goodby." I've always remembered that day. There were so many other things she could have said to me. Since then I've had many other such premonitions, but I particularly love when after the premonitions they stay. Nannie has stayed strongly and continues ever present in my life. I always wear the wedding band that Papa gave her. Nothing can ever change how much I love them. I had been to an art therapy workshop once, where we were asked to draw two times in our lives: a time when we were happy and a time when we felt safe. Happy was Paris, but safe for me was out in the country with my Nannie and Papa digging in the rocks. I've always believed that Nannie's comments to me came from deep within her own experiences. More recently, I am certain that's true. To honor our Nannie on her birthday, I want to leave you with a photo of a handkerchief quilt that my Mom made from handkerchiefs of women in our family...and this isn't the end of the story.
I'm such a mess...here she is again because I just couldn't resist some of the better shots and angles that were available to me on my most recent visit to Montmartre! I am home in the Lot these days, but I have so many wonderful shots that I still haven't shared with you that I'll be popping them in from time to time. I have to confess to spending a little time reframing one of these shots to make my musical friend more prominent. What I didn't count on was seeing the background even more clearly, et voila...a wisp of a hazy, beautiful, piano in the background. It makes me want to jump in in play with my friend. Or maybe, just play for her. I've learned over the years that it's difficult for me to coordinate my playing with others, whether it's singers or other musicians. I've always said that I play for myself and my own enjoyment. When I play for others, the singers always want to join in...especially on La Vie en Rose!