Soar-Dream-France

Between the Bookends-A Place of Honor

Yesterday I shared some of the stuff between the Holland bookends to 2011. You saw our wagon through the mist, all duded up and in its permanent home beside the lavoir. During 2011, our wagon began here in the barn. It was always clear that it was special. And so today, lest we forget, I share not only its humble beginnings, but where I hope it will now rest happily and well-cared for in its place of honor for a very long time. Maybe there's a happily ever after for wagons too!

Between the Bookends

Earlier in the week, I wrote about how it's sometimes difficult to see what's happening when we're in the middle of it...too close. Having a conversation about the New Year yesterday, it hit me again. Standing back to take stock of 2011, I saw for the first time that 2011 began for me in Holland and will end for me in Holland as well. I'm not sure what it means, but I know I'll ponder it over the next few days as I continue to take stock of 2011 and look forward to what 2012 will hold. Last year I was feeling 'enough'. This year I'm feeling 'more'. I leave you with some of the stuff of my life between the bookends!

No Need for More

The torment on this woman's face as she holds this infant in her lap, needed no words. I was tempted to look closer at the vault in this New Orleans cemetery for more information, but rode on. There was enough pain.

Too Close to Tell

Coming to the end of another year, I found myself reflecting as I scrolled through some photos during Christmas break. How can a year that felt so difficult and challenging when I was in the middle of it; feel so rich, successful and full in retrospect? It's as if the photos smack me with the things I'm unable to see and feel because I'm too close and sometimes troubled. This is when I trust the path. Last year was the year of our barn. 2011 has been the year of the farm equipment. I was a varnishing and painting poor fool...the harrow, the plow, the huge ladder from Willie, the barn doors and loft shutters, and last but not least, the wagon. You might find a tear or two in my varnishing jobs, but we are coming together step by step. There is more digging to do inside to unearth the ancient stone. There will always be more coats of varnish and black iron paint for 'everyone'. The question now is what will 2012 hold for us? Whatever it is, I know it will be MORE. We are moving forward!

Spirit of Perfection

One of the first parts of our barn that got my special attention was the manger. It is no longer loose, detached from the wall, dirity and dangling. Each coat of varnish brings out more luster in the wood and it becomes even MORE beautiful than I imagined. On the day before Christmas, I was sitting with a young child who was making a Christmas card. The child drew a simple manger for the baby Jesus that carried me to our manger. Ours would have been the king size variety...quite a place for the baby to be born, parents to rest, animals to look on, and guests to arrive from afar. Resting under a starlit and moonlit sky beside a musically rushing lavoir...the spirit of perfection. 

Overalls Magic and Joy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating International Overalls Day in St. Louis this year turned out to hold more surprises than I ever could have planned. My friend Michel walked over to Mom and Dad's from across the street. When he took off his jacket, voila...an overalls surprise for me. But it wasn't just the overalls, they were overalls with a story.

On the hunt for overalls for the evening, Michel headed up to the Salvation Army store in Grandview Plaza. He found a few pairs in the women's clothing department and chose one particular pair. Since he was there (and no one was around), he nipped into the dressing room and tried them on...not perfect, but a pretty decent fit. He took them over to the saleswoman to check the price-only $4-and then she directed him to the men's dressing room. When he told her he'd already tried them on 'over there', she got all flustered and didn't know what to do with him. The best though, was discovering at the check-out that his overalls outfit for the evening had been reduced to 99 cents! What a deal!

Getting ready to head home to France, Michel asked me if I wanted the overalls. I knew I couldn't get into them. Then I remembered a conversation I'd had with a friend in Cajarc, about how much a mutual friend/acquaintance of ours would love a pair of overalls from America. I packed them in. When I got home, I took them to the friend's shop so the delivery could be made. It wasn't long and I received an email from the woman who received the overalls who described dancing and twirling in them. The picture in my mind's eye made me smile. Imagine...your first pair of overalls! Those overalls that travelled from St. Louis made the magic of joy in a first pair of overalls in France! It's time to put on our overalls and twirl and dance!

 

 

Abundant Gratitude

Making the most of this holiday moment means being grateful. My gratefulness begins here in this place. When I start here, my gratefulness knows no bounds. Wishing you abundant gratitude and love during this holiday season and always. Much Love, Laury

Making New Memories-the Most of the Moment

Merry Christmas from outside and inside of Room 26. It's Christmas morning here in Holland, and I thought I'd share my digs with you for a moment. I love my lights, from any angle...I even sleep with them on! I'm on my way to have Christmas lunch with my colleagues soon. As I fixed up my contributions to our Christmqs lunch, I had time to reflect on myself and the holidays. Mine have changed dramatically since I moved to France. Now that I worked last year and this year too, I feel like a pro at making the most of holidays away from family, friends and especially from home. I decorate. I cook. I make things that mean Christmas to me. I sing. I read. I take photos. I make stuff...drawings, cards, letters, ornaments, and so on. So, when my host for today's lunch called me on the phone last night and asked me to put together some kind of an activity for us, I first thought she was a little nuts. But then, as I pondered what we do here, who we work with, holiday evolutions for all families, and the essence of loss and being away; it didn't seem so nutty after all. I'm ready. Over Christmas lunch, I hope we'll share our dream of Christmas/Holidays; our best memory; and what do we do to make new traditions as our lives change to make the most of the moment. Wishing you the most of all your moments during this holiday season!

Easing into Christmas

Almost Christmas, I'm reminded of the many times when the spirit has moved and moves my life. I see it. I feel it. I trust the power I cannot see. On  Christmas Eve, regardless of your faith or creed-I wish you faith, trust and confidence in the power we cannot see.

A Bourgeois Melange of "B's"

Happy that a very full, wet week of work is over and I'm heading into the holiday weekend, I had some fun looking through photos from last year. A colleague and I had squeezed Brussels and Ghent into one Saturday...in the snow. There was: the Le Bourgeois restaurant in Brussels; beautiful bread in the windows; beer by the name of "Leffe" that I called "Jeffe" (for which I was intensely corrected); and BABAR in Ghent. Wishing you a bountiful batch of "B's" of fun and memories during the holiday season!