Soar-Dream-France

Childlhood Reflections

The sun came streaming through the transom window into the piano room the other morning, spotlighting a childhood favorite of mine...Cathy. Cathy was a Christmas present one year. Plus, she came with a full wardrobe of clothes made by my Mom, and a clothes wardrobe and doll bed made by my Papa.

I brought a few of my favorites with me to France. Everyone will be staying here as Dali, Sammie cat and I head back to the states. I'm confident that they'll do a good job of holding down home until I return.

 

International Overalls Weekend-11/17 & 18-2012

International Overalls Weekend will be upon us before I know it, and I'm already pondering what I'm going to do to celebrate this year. I'm not sure what it says about my life, but this year will be the 4th different place where I've celebrated this event...2009-France, 2010-Holland, 2011-St. Louis and this year we'll be in New Orleans. We are global girls! I'm thinking it might be fun to have a party on Columbus Street on that Sunday! So, the plans are in motion. New Orleans here we come...celebrating life in overalls and so much more!

Spoiled in Stone

I love windows and doors no matter where they are. It's even better when they're mine. I've had very happy window boxes this summer, full of begonias, basil and rosemary. The flowers are so pretty with a little bit of herb mixed in. It's easy to just walk over to the window when I'm cooking and grab whatever I might need at the moment. I'm spoiled.

 

 

Hanging on to Here

Readying for return, the grand overlay for me in the adventure is how can I hang on to here? How do I frame this time and experience so that even in the going, I am bringing together all the best of these pieces of my life that I love. I've thought about it as "bridging the gap" between France and New Orleans, but what I've come to realize is that I am mélange-ing the magic of France AND New Orleans. It's more than a bridge. Mixing their magic together makes more.

I know there will be challenges to continuing to live this uncomplicated life that I've come to love. I've already been offered a TV that I've said no to. Can I make it without a car...mostly on bike and on the bus? Will I be any better at balancing my life and work than I have been in the past? Lots of questions here to be lived into as I go. One thing I know for sure, the magic flows in New Orleans and France. Mixing it together, I can't go wrong. Sharing a little New Orleans morning magic with you in the shot above. If that isn't magic, I don't know what is.

Happy Birthday Dad!

With Dad celebrating his birthday soon, I couldn't let the weekend escape without a special Happy Birthday to Dad. I searched for some different photos to share this time, even though my tendency is to always post the one of us on the bench on the patio on Kappel.

Here we are at Wabash Park in Ferguson. After Dad retired, he and Mom used to walk around the lake together. If I was in town, I'd walk with them. Quality time for sure. We'd solve the problems of the world. Sometimes Mom would feed the ducks or stop and take photos. It's thanks to Mom and her camera that I have this photo of Dad and I above.

Here's Dad growing up on Arabella street in New Orleans on the left, and a very handsome Air Force man in uniform! Happy Happy Birthday Dad-Love, Laury, Dali and Sam

Finding Happiness in the NOW

Fall on Elizabeth Avenue can be spectacular. Although this feels like our family home, we didn't buy it until I was in college so I didn't grow up here. I always say I wish I had, but living here would have probably made me a different person and pushed me to different paths. I'm happy where I am, and the path my life has taken. I always say that just one thing can change the whole course and direction of life.

There's no doubt that birthdays, anniversaries and reunions rev up the wonderment at the happenings and passings of our lives. It's natural to get into that mode of: "I wonder what would have happened if, where would I be today if...?" So here are a few of mine to share: Where would I be today if:

I had grown up on Elizabeth Avenue-not Kappel Drive; one of my boyfriends in college hadn't been killed in a motorcycle accident; I had stayed in St. Louis and worked after UMSL instead of going to TUSSW in New Orleans; I had married my first boyfriend; I had said no to my Paris love when he walked up to me on the street and asked if I had time for a little conversation; Vera hadn't died before I arrived for our visit in Paris; I hadn't met Wendy; I hadn't bought the Chatette; and, there had been no Hurricane Katrina?

I know it's just all mental gymnastics. It can be fun to play from time to time, but the bottom line is all we have is NOW...this very moment. I love the stories, but I don't want to go back. As my class from McCluer High School celebrates our 40 year reunion tonight, I will be there in spirit...grateful for the moments shared, the lessons learned, and everything I took away from there that made me the person I am NOW.

The Cheerleader in the Bathroom...Stall Wisdom

During those high school years 40 years ago now, I considered myself the smart, shy, nice girl. I didn't see myself as pretty, outgoing, or as someone who was going to "get" whatever guy I fancied at the moment. I often looked at other girls in my class and wanted to be more like them and less like me.

In the girls bathroom in M-1 one day, I was already in one of the stalls when one of the cheerleaders came in with a friend. She was beautiful. Someone I admired. I could hear everything she was saying to her friend. She was crying. She was having problems with her boyfriend and other troubles at school. Walking down the hall back to Biology Class, some light went on for me: "See Laury, beautiful cheerleaders can be unhappy too."

Even as adults, it can be easy to project perfection and ease onto the lives of others when looking in from the outside, instead of paying attention to what makes us special and being grateful for our own. That day of "light" in the McCluer M-1 girls bathroom, I became more me!

McCluer Mentions & Memories-Forty Years Later

It's hard to believe that it's been forty years since I graduated from McCluer High School in North St. Louis County. The reunion celebration is this Saturday night at a Sports Bar in Bridgeton, but I won't be able to make it. This is the first reunion I'll have missed.

With the levee tumble in New Orleans, my yearbooks are all gone but I did manage to bring a few small meaningful things from high school to France with me. Each has their own special memory. The '72 necklace was a birthday present from my folks. I was pleased to be elected to the National Honor Society during my junior year. The name card on the far right was enclosed in our graduation announcements. The rest are more than a mention...they hold memories.

I was a counselor at Camp Comet every summer from 9th Grade at Ferguson Jr. High School all the way into some of my summers at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. My freshman year, I was a Jr. Counselor. My lead counselor, Barb Sigoloff, gave me the blue and red McCluer High School pendant on a chain. I loved that necklace and wore it constantly. Of course, the next year I was going to McCluer.

I also loved working on the school newspapers. I was involved all through Junior High School and into my Senior Year at McCluer. On my walk this morning, I remembered a journalism conference I attended in Chicago one year. I believe Virginia Navarro was our faculty sponsor that year and I think I went with Regina Ahrens, Mike Boothby, and Steve Schmidt. Someone said: "There's a room of Thespians down the hall from us." I still laugh about it today, because I heard "Lesbians" not "Thespians". I believe we got the Quill and Scroll pins at that conference.

Last, but not least is my junior year bus pass. Julie Moreno's Dad, Buddy Moreno was a local radio celebrity and he got tickets for a group of us to go to the Jackson Five Concert at Kiel Auditorium. I believe that it was Julie, Marcia Rausch, Sally Carpenter and I who went that evening. It was a blast until we were waiting for our ride home in front of the auditorium. Fortunately, I'd only brought a dollar, my camera, and my bus pass along with me in my purse for the concert. A group of girls came up and surrounded me, stuck something very sharp in my back, and said give us your purse. I said: "Take my money and my camera, but please... let me have my bus pass!" As you can see, they did just that.

To all my friends and former classmates-Have fun Saturday-Wish I could be there!

 

Music Magic and More

With all the natural music magic in our place, I've often asked myself why I need to make music magic of my own. The birds, the river, the lavoir, all do such a good job by themselves. They inspire me.

Then, I discovered that some people actually travel with their music magic. Bodil arrived with the instrument you see in the photo below. It's called a "Chalumeau" and makes the sweetest sound. Bodil explained that it can form 11 notes. We spoke about playing "Moon River" together, after all it was a blue moon on the Friday that they were here! We sat at Msr. Winkelmann together and began. The first two pages went well, but the ranges on the last two were out of reach. It was so pretty together that we tried: More, Love is Blue, and a version of la Maison de Laury a la Marina!

Those worked, and how wonderful to share a new experience in successfully playing tunes with another person. Those of you who know me, know that I play for myself. I play for others when asked, but I'm not someone to play for a crowd, have people singing behind me, talking, or touching my piano and my music when I'm playing. I am easily distracted, to say the least. Playing with Bodil showed me that maybe I'm not as distractable as I think. Huge merci to Bodil-I'm so happy you brought your music magic to the Chatette!

Overalls Karma

With Niels and Bodil off somewhere hiking in the Pyrenées, I think they should be getting close to returning home. Having shared so much with Niels through our blogs, it was incredible to have him and Bodil with us for a few days. It was easy, fun, surprising and really just couldn't have been more perfect. I'm not always a good third, but this time it was grand. 

 

Prior to their arrival, I'd mentioned on the blog that I was needing a new pair of overalls. Niels jumped in and offered the gift of a pair he had purchased at a second hand store in San Francisco. He said he was a little hesitant-afraid I'd think it was too personal...not on your life! We share overalls. Overalls started our friendship and brought me Bodil too! In addition to my perfectly fitting overalls, Bodil knitted this beautiful shoulder/shawl in very heavy wool to keep me warm by the fireplace and pitched in to patch the spots on my overalls gift that were a bit worn. I'm anxious to hear how the rest of their trip went. Having them here with us was a pleasure, with I'm sure many more visits to come!

Do you know what this instrument is in the photo below? A story of Bodil and Musical Magic to follow soon! Don't forget: International Overalls Weeknd 2012: November 17 and 18!