Soar-Dream-France

Paris Tears

 

Arriving in Paris on Tuesday afternoon around three, I'd already noticed that I'd left my umbrella somewhere in the Gare de Cahors before departure. Of course, it was raining. My intention had been to go out for a wander on Rue Montorgueil, but once I felt that soft comfy bed; I was off to sleep for close to twelve hours. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee is an essential for me. I was out and wandering close to 8 the next morning when it was still dark.

 

 

 

The Rue Montorgueil was magical in just a bit of a morning mist. I headed over to the Cafe du Centre for a petit dejeuner. 

I enjoyed being the only customer there for a while. Paolo and I struck up a conversation, and then it got busy with other patrons and packs of peope beginning to head off to work.

 

 

 

 

I even got to watch a Parisian move from a 3rd story in progress. It was quite a feat.

I'd been to the Cafe du Centre during 2016, so it felt a little like coming home.

 

 

Everyone was so nice that Lucie and I came back for a drink together after we had a grand "Lebanese" lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess to doing NONE (except for lunch with Lucie) of the things that I had on my list for this present to myself. 

 

 

I realized as the day and time went on that yes, having Paris waiting for me in the midst of the insanity and sadness in my life at the moment was important to me.

BUT, it also reminded me of another Paris trip in 1995 when I arrived to discover that Madam Vera had died.

It rained most of that trip too.

I felt it then and I felt it now.

Paris was waiting for me.

 

We shared our tears!

 

 

 

Happy Sunday and Happy New Year's Eve

 

Dark Departures

 

With connectivity questionable, and not knowing what I'd find all over during my travels; I promised myself to take everything as it came and to just write whenever I could. It wasn't always possible and it wasn't always easy. I still shot a few shots along the way. A lot of this was uncharted territory for me. It began leaving from Cajarc on Boxing Day morning and NOT Cadrieu.

 

I didn't really sleep much Christmas night.

 

I did have some photo fun at the bus stop in the dark. Aren't these plane trees special against a still black morning sky?

 

 

Happy Saturday!

 

 

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Paris is Always a Good Idea

 

 

Little did I know when I gave myself the gift of more time in Paris on my return to the states, just how much it would be getting me through all that's happening now. 

From time to time little snippets of Paris at Christmastime are popping up. I know that there's a tree that I want to see at Galeries Lafayette and then, there are the carousels. Apparently, there are even more out and festive and sprinkled around Paris for the holiday season. I've also noted that there's a Christmas Market near the Abesses Metro stop that continues on through New Years.

 

 

I bet a night time ride on the Vedettes de Pont Neuf will be even more beautiful than usual!

 

Looking forward to my day in Paris, and a bit of a wander after dark to soak up an even more glittering, sparkling, nightime Paris in all her holiday finery.

 

Thanks for being there, Paris.

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

 

Just Me and My Pearls!

 

In the midst of the busy of getting things done and moving forward with getting the Chatette back on its feet, there can be very strange moments of realization that smack me in the face. I've been using this shot as my profile picture on the blog and on Facebook for a while. I like it because it screams me! This morning, it screamed something else.

Everything in this photo is gone, except me and my pearls. I'd be sitting on the back terrace porch swing naked, except for the pearls around my neck and the rings that I always wear on my fingers.

Sobering to say the least, grateful even more. I know there's a message in all of this for me. I'm trying very hard to pay attention.

Happy Tuesday!

 

Always Room for Sainte Barbe

 

Saturday evening, I learned that Sainte Barbe is the Patroness of les Sapeurs-Pompiers. I had never heard of her before, but I have to believe that her spirit and presence were everywhere that night of the fire at the Chatette.

 

 

As I've said before, I'm not an organized religion person but I have always been intrigued by the saints and am a regular candle lighter in ancient churches in France. My focus has always been on gratefulness and small things with St. Therese of Lisieux, but I've now added Sainte Barbe to my list.

Actually, I now believe she was there all along and I didn't even know it.

Sainte Barbe would have lived in the middle of the third century. Legend has it that there was a man her father wanted her to marry, but she refused. Her father locked her in a tower as punishment. During that time, she converted to Christianity and was baptized. Her father was furious so he set the tower on fire, but she managed to escape. A shepherd found her and turned her in to the authorities, where she refused to denounce her faith. Her sentence was to be decapitated, by her father. During her decapitation, her father was struck down  by lightening.

 

 

 

Saint Barbe was very quickly recognized as the patroness of all professions related to fire, lightening, explosions and digging in the ground. Her worship took off in the 13th century and again during the Third Republic. She is usually depicted as a young girl with a wreath, palme and a book, and is also associated with conviviality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The obvious fire connection is important, but the real aha for me about Sainte Barbe's presence was that her worship took off in the13th century (the age of parts of the Chatette) and that she is also the Patron Sainte for miners and diggers.

 

 

The Wikipedia article used the words "tunnel penetration!" With all the digging I've been doing at the Chatette over all these years in the tunnel, in the barn, on the lower terrace, and beside the train tracks...I like to think that Sainte Barbe has been with us all along. She was already there and ready that night when the Sapeurs-Pompiers du Lot-Cajarc and I needed her.

And for that, "we" are eternally grateful!

 

The images of Sainte Barbe and the information I provided came from Wikipedia and I want to be sure to credit it here.

Learning So Much-Saints and Sapeurs-Pompiers

 

With the addition of color to my Sapin de Noel and my tiny, curly-coated Christmas Bear survivor to make me happy, I jumped into yesterday's morning meeting at the bank with both feet. Christiane was by my side once more, as we adjusted my house/barn insurance to reflect my life in France and put some banking things in place to make all the pieces of house repair go smoother. Christiane is the "smooth" in my life.

 

 

We headed over to the PMU for my cappuccino and Christiane's chocolat chaud, once we'd finished. Christiane mentioned that there would be a ceremony for the Pompiers later last night at the WWI memorial at 6:15, and then music at the church  at 8:30. 

 

I really wanted to go to the pompiers ceremony. Before our meeting, the guys had come by the apartment with their annual calendar. I opened the door to the familiar face of Jean-Marc, who had come to get Vicki and I at Evelyn's and to walk us  back to the Chatette for our first post-fire walk through. 

 

At the ceremony later on, we stood with the pompiers, their families, dignitaries, and friends. Flowers were put  beneath the monument to honor those who died in the line of duty, with each name read individually. The Marseillaise was played to salutes, sing along, and me humming through my tears. I was overcome with the facts and feelings that these French men and women had put their lives on the line for me. They had saved me and my Chatette, and had done all they could for my Sammie Cat. 

And, that wasn't the end. We regathered at the Fire Station for a ceremony of speeches, awards, and of course, aperos. I was honored to sit beside Christiane and be able to be a part of these ceremonies where I learned about Sainte Barbe, The Sainte Patronne des Sapeurs-Pompiers

I'd never heard of Sainte-Barbe before and had to check it all out. More on Sainte-Barb tomorrow. I think I have a new saint in my life, maybe she already was!

Happy Sunday!

 

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Just Different

 

Life at #1 Rue Centrale is very different from life at the Chatette, as I'm sure you can imagine. I am in the center of Cajarc just directly up the hill from the President! It's those two windows on  the first floor in the center.

 

My studio apartment is a cross between my efficiency at the Eden Park in Brunssum, Holland AND my hotel room at the Pullman Fontana in Stuttgart when I was working those two month contracts. It's also interesting to note that I was always working somewhere during the end of year holiday season or Easter. 

As with my contract work, I'm making the most of a holiday season  "away" so to speak.

Of course, this was not quite the picture I had of "our" first Christmas in France in five years, but I'm feeling flashes of festive. 

 

 

It's often the silly little things that help. 

 

 

I am loving my cute little almost 3 euro GIFI tree that fits perfectly in  the window. We began with white lights from Jane and then she arrived the other day with colored and a few perfect tiny wooden ornaments.

Just the lights on the tree make smile! 

 

 

 

The only Christmas Ornaments that were left are some beautiful faux hummel china ornaments that Mom had sent our first Christmas at the Chatette. They are small and  perfect and make me think of Mom and how happy she'd be that at least they made it.

 

I have Momie's pearls, some of Grandma's jewelry and a few other oddities that just seemed to need to be on the tree for now.

 

 

And of course, Babar, Eeyore, and the rescued bears are having some treeside fun.

 

 

I'm just a big kid.

 

I'll be spending Christmas Day with Evelyn and Lucie as already planned. We had decided easy and fun long ago...nibbles, champagne and wine early. We both have phone calls to the states to make and I've got a bus to catch to Cahors on Boxing Day so I can catch the train to Paris and then on to the states on the 28th.

I'm very excited about making little smokies, finger sandwiches, and recreating a foie gras presentation that I loved from the restaurant that used to be at the Gare d'Austerlitz.

 

I surrendered the deviled eggs...hooray for Evelyn who is making them this year!

Wishing you a holiday season of finding joy in the small and special!

Happy Saturday!

 

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Not a Once in a Lifetime

 

I know you can't see all of the writing on that sign, but it says: "Free to a Good Home!"

Once it was time to begin renovations to the house on Columbus Street after the flooding from the broken levees after Hurricane Katrina, the dumpster was delivered. The pitching began.

 

Walking down the drive with a load for the dumpster, it began raining stuffed animals on my head. I looked up and burst into tears. My contractor was throwing all of my stuffed animals out of the second story window, with no questions or warning at all.

I gathered them up and decided to put them out on the porch for people in the neighborhood to take. I know. I'm a grown woman, but I work with children and many of those stuffed animals were meaningful to me. See that big brown bear with the Santa hat on!

He belonged to one of my friends who had AIDS and had passed. 

 

Almost all of them found homes. If you look really closely at the far right edge of the photo, there is a tiny curly-coated bear with a Santa hat on. He was left. He came to the Chatette with me in France.

I did not expect to have to be doing this a second time in my lifetime!

So, as I am embarking on yet another pitching experience but en francais; I've gone from keeping and throwing away to garder/jeter. It does sound better in French, and to be honest-it has been a much more sensitive experience. I now have a dumpster in the driveway of the Chatette and I have had to go through and decide what to keep and what to pitch. 

I was really happy the other day when the head of the decontamination team didn't think I was crazy when I wanted to keep my stuffed animals-les peluches! When I returned yesterday to look for some papers for my piano, everything was stored nicely in the vernissage cave AND...I brought a couple of guys home.

 

 

They reclined in their bleach and kitchen soap hot-tub while I ran out to run a few errands on my bike. We're getting really good at this...Babar and Eeyore are already done and by the Christmas Tree.

Do you recognize that little dirty-faced bear in the tub on the left?

 

My little New Orleans Katrina survivor has made it again. This time, through the great fire at the Chatette. Ah, that my other little Katrina survivor had been as lucky this time around.

Once they dry, they'll be joining the others under the Christmas Tree.

Happy Friday!

 

Lots of Legume Love in the Lot

 

 

With Glenn winning the beautiful plat of vegetables and pounds of potatoes, we knew they would not be returning to the states with me via Paris at the end of the month. Glenn had said:

 

 

"Think of us while you're cooking and enjoying them!"

Little did he know, but there was a whole lot of love in those vegetables and a very big share in their future.

 

I knew there was no way I could eat/use them all, so on Monday we began to share.

I chose some for me to keep. When I reached my hand in  the potato sack, I thought I had two potatoes...

...turns out it was only one AND heart-shaped!

Christiane chose some for herself.

She'd been telling me about this little Romanesque guy (Romanesco Cauliflower), so he and a few other items went with her.

 

 

Greg took some. Then we took the rest of the box to Evelyn.With the lion's share of the potatoes, Evelyn is going to be making potato leek soup at least till the end of the year and maybe beyond.

It was fun sharing the pretty and the healthy with everyone who has been so wonderful. 

 

 

 

I hate to say it, but this little green guy would have probably been too pretty for me to eat and my heart potato...for now I'm just taking photos of it and finding the love wherever I can.

Huge MERCI to Glenn AND Bill, Mike and John for their rather hefty Telethon ticket purchases. It really has been a fun way to share Cadrieu life with them. It doesn't seem to stop!

Happy Thursday!

 

 

Sam's Place is...

 

 

...always in my heart, but also in the garden. I'd held out hope that Sam would be okay up until the very last minute, but after the first walk through the Chatette with the Sapeurs-Pompiers when I began to call for her one of them told me that they had found her. She was "propre"-meaning that the smoke had gotten her and not the fire. He had her somewhere and wanted to know what I wanted him to do with her.

 

 

It's so hard to think at a time like that. I was so heartbroken. I had to do something soon, but decided I would try to get over the shock and think things through in the morning. The sweet pompier put her in a safe tucked away place for me so I could get her when I was ready.

 

 

 

Wednesday came, and after discussion with friends I'd pondered under the plum tree, and then there is a stone fixture in the garden that had a nice space on the end. I chose to put her there, and then went into the Chatette and played Moon River for her on Monsieur Winkelmann.

I wanted to mark her spot somehow.

 

 

We talked planting flowers and other ideas, but as the week wore on there were Jane's dried flowers in a pitcher out on the terrace. Then, there was the Altoid Altar I made for Sam on our Altoid Altar evening with Stew and Eric over at Deanna's. It was upstairs. I had to yank it off of the journals it had melted to, but the final results were worth it.

 

 

With the arrival of the decontamination team and cars and the dumpster...

I've taken her markers up to the covered terrace to be returned when everything is finished.

 

I'll always know right where she is...

...with me.