Outside, Inside

     With the warmer Spring weather last week and the colors that are finally appearing on fruit trees and early flowers around town, I was inspired to get outside and do a little planting.  The lilacs are lovely and fragrant.  They always remind me of my parents.  Mom said that when she and Daddy met at the USO in downtown Colorado Springs they walked to Acacia Park where they were surrounded by lilac bushes.   So, they bring a sweet memory for me, not to mention my most favorite scent.

Lovely lilacs

Do you prefer the white?

     I repurposed the base of my old waterbed to use as a raised garden.  On Monday I planted fingerling potatoes, garlic, shallots, onions, carrots and a sprinkling of lettuces.  Already the onions are peeking through!  With today's steady rain I should see more shoots in the next few days.  Wish me luck as this is the first time I've tried planting anything other than cherry tomatoes, herbs and lettuce.  Andy brought me a tray of pansies, but it's still pretty cold at night here so I've put off planting them.  They'll go in my rock garden by the ponds. 

Raised garden

     The columbines are going crazy in the rock garden!  I've never seen so many of their bright green flashy leaves.  Let's hope I get a ton of the blooms as I love our state flower.  These are a pastel pink, not the traditional purple ones that you see all over the mountains.  There are still a few months before we'll see their glory.
     I sowed some grass seeds for patching the bare spots in the grassy part of the backyard.  I'm hoping today's rain will get them on the road to being part of the lawn.  You know, the French word for yard is the same as the word for garden - "le jardin".  In France it's understood that if there's room for grass there must be room for flowers and vegetables.  Make the most of the area you have available.  Oh, how I miss French markets which are held all year in France, in good weather and in bad.  And so I always look forward to when our Farmers' Markets start up once again.  Nothing beats fresh local fruits and vegetables. 
     I decided it was time to get started once again inside.  I still need to get my neighbor's 8 ft ladder to scrape the ceilings in the addition, but that's no excuse for holding off on the ceiling in the kitchen.  So, that's where I started this week.  It was fun to find that a former owner had chosen a cheery yellow as the ceiling color.  In the photo you can see the difference between the original ceiling and the popcorn.  I will try to finish the kitchen ceiling this week.  I can only do a little a time because it is time intensive to scrape and then wash off the residue.  In case you're wondering, I don't plan to leave the ceiling yellow.  It's tempting, but I want it to match the rest of the ceilings.  And look at that beautiful glass light fixture!  I have always loved it!

Kitchen ceiling and light fixture

And I've included a couple of photos of work in the main part of the house.  I like the colors I chose for the walls and the crown molding.  I think they compliment the dark redwood trim and doors.  The crown molding doesn't even show up in the newer part of the house where everything is the same color.  What do you think?

New paint and trim

New colors on the right

     In my "down time" (which has been often in the past 2 weeks!) I have been reading books about Italy for our upcoming walking tour of Tuscany in September.  You may be wondering why Tuscany and not Provence, for example.  The main reason is because when I did a comparison of the 2 tours that Go Ahead offers, the one in Tuscany included more meals and more wine tasting!  And I do love Italy!  There will be 5 of us who will spend 4 days in Venice after the organized tour ends and most of my reading has been about Venice.  As some of you know, one of my favorite authors, Donna Leon, sets her mysteries in Venice and I am a huge fan.  I have been to Venice 3 times and could never tire of this magical city.  I laughed at something Donna Leon wrote in Willful Behavior, although perhaps I should be a little sad about the commentary:  "The Madonna had once saved the city from the plague, and now there was a church.  The Americans had saved the country from the Germans, and now there was a McDonalds."
     Whether I'm outside or inside, working or reading, I always think about my future house in France.  Some have suggested that my work here will prepare me for any renovations that will need to be done there.  I'm thinking that my work here is making me realize that I really don't want to have to work there! :-)
     Thank you for following my blog and joining me on my journey.  Merci!

Tears and Sunshine, Laughter and Snow

     The past week was as varied in weather as in emotions.  The week began with a drive to Denver to attend a memorial service at the University of Colorado Medical Campus. The service was conducted by the med students and was given to honor the families of those who had donated their bodies to be studied.  That is what my mom did.  My dad had similar arrangements when they lived in Kansas, so his body went to the KU Medical Research facility in Kansas City after he passed in 2003.  Andy and I took Mom to the service that they did.  This one was just as lovely.

Mom, Dad and me in 1954 (just because . . . )

     My dear friend, Beth, came with me and we were overcome with emotion during the one hour service.  It was so wonderful to hear the warmth and caring in the voices of the med students who spoke about what a great gift it was to have the cadavers to study.  They learned so much more about human anatomy with the bodies than any textbook or research paper could offer them.  There were 6 students who spoke, their words filled with love, honor and respect.  Then they asked if any of the family members would like to speak and about 8 people spoke briefly on why their loved one was so determined to leave his/her body to research.   The student acapella choir sang 2 songs and the MC offered her comments as well.  A beautifully heart-felt, thoughtful service.
     I knew exactly why Mom wanted her body to go to research.  She had lived with a damaged heart since she was 13.  Her death had been predicted numerous times throughout her life!  She enjoyed telling people that she had outlived all those doctors who had predicted her death over the years :-)  Her heart had mysteries to reveal and she wanted the young medical students to find out and learn from those mysteries.
     After the service they provided refreshments.  Beth and I filled our plates and then sat outside in the beautiful sunshine.  The warmth was most welcome and as refreshing as the fruit, crackers and cheeses on our plates.  Lifting my face to the sun I remembered how much Mom loved for me to help her outside on the patio on those perfect Colorado days so she could soak up that vitamin D.  I have found myself more teary in the past few months than I did in the year after her death.  I know that grief comes in waves and sometimes when we least expect it and are completely surprised by it.  I was blessed to have had the parents that I had and to have grown up surrounded by love.  I miss my mom and dad.  And so the week began rather teary, but was blessed with the warmth of friendship and sunshine.
     As the week progressed I realized I still had not started on the rest of my house!  And, you know what?  I really didn't care!  :-)  I was glad that  I was able to help out a good friend who is going through a rough time.  And I enjoyed spending time in solitude and reflexion.
     Then . . . . we had snow!!  On Wednesday, Andy brought me a tray of flowers to be planted but warned me that they are called "pansies" for a reason and not to plant yet as we were expecting a storm.  It was almost 70 at the time and hard to imagine.  But, we are notorious for our Spring snows so I brought the tray inside with hopes for a quick storm and warmer days to follow.
     It was colder on Thursday and rainy for most of the day until suppertime.  And then we had huge wet snow that came down like rain!  And it continued for most of the night.  I woke up to "booms" on Friday morning and realized that it was thunder.  In the midst of our snow storm we were having thunder and lightning!  We call it "thunder snow" around here.  That continued all morning.
     Then around noon the sun slowly made an appearance and by about 3:00 it was warm enough to sit out on the patio - which is something that CoCo and I love to do.  Here's where the laughter comes in . . .
     I was sitting there, minding my own business, drinking my ice tea and reading my Kindle when I hear this crazy chattering.  I looked up and saw Mr Squirrel sitting at the top of the utility pole which is near the fence which separates my house from my neighbors.  He was mad!  I looked around to see if there was another squirrel that he was talking to and did not see any other critters at all.  Then I realized he was mad at me.  You may remember that I had tree trimmers out last Saturday and they did a great job of cleaning out lots of dead branches from the giant elm in my backyard.  The elm that the squirrel used to be able to jump to from the top of the pole!  And, therein, lay the problem.  He could no longer make the jump.  I was so tickled by his scolding that I came inside to get my camera so I could post a picture of him on facebook.  And it didn't matter to him that I was no longer outside - he continued the chatter for another 5 minutes, at least.  This, after having scolded me for a good 15 minutes while I was reading.
     He finally went down the pole and across the fence and disappeared into the alley.  I'm sure he'll be back and will probably have more scolding to do.  I really messed up his ability to show off his jumping skills to the lady squirrels.  Not to mention that now in order to get to the tree he'll have to go into the dog run.  Poor thing!

Angry squirrel at top of pole

No lower branches on the elm now

     Yesterday was our monthly Wasson HS girlfriend luncheon and there are always plenty of laughs with those gals.  And I loved starting the day with a John Wayne scene as I was flipping channels to see what was on.  I caught the moment when he said, "Douglas, I thought about killing you many times when we were younger.  I'm saddened that I did not!"  Ups and downs, ins and outs, laughter and tears, bends and more bends - the road goes on and on (as JRR Tolkien wrote).  And, as always, I thank you for joining me on mine.  Merci!

Monday! Oh, my!

     It was 10:00 last night before I realized that I hadn't written my Sunday blog post!  I hope you don't mind that I'm a day late (and many dollars short! ha!)  I had a busy weekend.  Well, truthfully, I wasn't the one being busy, but I had two tree trimmers (say that fast five times!) who spent eight hours Saturday cleaning all the dead branches out of my 100 year old elm in the backyard.  What a project! 

Before

Still before

     In the process of getting all those branches out, one of them caught on the cable line and stretched it to the point that there was no signal coming into the house.  And Comcast couldn't send anyone out til first thing Sunday morning, so I had no tv or internet for the rest of Saturday.  Which was no big deal as I love to read and enjoyed lots of peace and quiet til 7:30 Sunday morning when the cable guy came out.  Maybe that's what threw me off.  My entire weekend was a completely different schedule than usual. 

Elm tree after!

     The only work I, personally, did last week was to begin a raised vegetable garden in my backyard.  And now it will get a lot more sunshine since the elm was cleaned out.  Wish me luck with potatoes, onions, garlic, and carrots.  My neighbor is a horticulturalist/botanist and is beginning plants for all of us who are interested.  So I have her starting tomatoes, parsley, basil, and lemon verbena for me.  She'll let me know when it's time to plant them.  I love this time of year!
     I decided on those Sundays when I do not have much to report that I will share with you some of my favorite excerpts from books written by "expats" who have taken "the plunge" and landed themselves in another country.  The first of many books I have read regarding "the plunge" is Peter Mayle's delightful "A Year in Provence", a witty and warm-hearted account of his realized dream of owning a farmhouse in the south of France.
    
          "In the end, it had happened quickly - almost impulsively - because of the house.  We saw 
     it one afternoon and had mentally moved in by dinner.  It was set above the country road that 
     runs between the two medieval villages of Menerbes and Bonnieux, at the end of a dirt track
     through cherry trees and vines.  It was a mas, or farmhouse, built from the local stone which
     two hundred years of wind and sun had weathered to a color somewhere between pale honey
     and pale gray.  It had started life in the eighteenth century as one room and, in the haphazard
     manner of agricultural buildings, had spread to accommodate children, grandmothers, goats,
     and farm implements until it had become an irregular three-story house.  Everything about it
     was solid.  The spiral staircase which rose from the wine cave to the top floor was cut from
     massive slabs of stone.  The walls, so of them a meter thick, were built to keep out the winds
    of the Mistral which, they say, can blow the ears of a donkey.  Attached to the back of the
     house was an enclosed courtyard, and beyond that a bleached white stone swimming pool.
     There were three wells, there were established shade trees and slim green cypresses, hedges
     of rosemary, a giant almond tree.  In the afternoon sun, with the wooden shutters half-closed
     like sleepy eyelids, it was irresistible."

     Don't you just love it?!  And so, after reading this, I was determined to find my own little farmhouse in my own corner of France.  And I'm so glad you are all "coming along" with me on my journey.  Merci!

Renovation, Rest and Renaissance

 

The rose among the lavender - 2014

   I am happy (and I must admit, somewhat proud) to tell you that the main level of the house - the 89 year old part - is finished!!  I started from the ceiling and worked my way down to the floors - popcorn all scraped, ceiling patched, washed and painted; everything taped for the next part; walls all painted a putty/beige; crown moldings all painted in a vanilla; baseboards, doors and window trim all restained in a lovely deep redwood color.  If I didn't already own the house I'd be in line to buy it! :-)
     Many have asked if I will have an open house once I'm completely done just so everyone can see all the work that's gone into it.  I will certainly consider that as so many of you have known me since I moved into this house in 1975 so you have seen lots of changes from the little 850 sq ft house to my adding the addition in 1994 and finishing the half basement.  But this is the first time I, by myself, have put this much work into the house and I am really pleased with it so far. 
     The next phase is to renovate the addition which will be a little tricky as the ceilings are 10 ft!  Wish me luck!  I think I have earned a little time off from all the house work.  So this week will be a time of rest.  I just renewed my zoo membership so I will make a trip up there - always a wonderful day!  I may go see a movie - or two.  I would love to start some gardening, but I learned my lesson last year about starting too early, so perhaps just sitting outside with my ice tea and books and soaking in the lovely sunshine.
     "Renaissance" is a French word that means "rebirth".  We usually apply it to that period in history from about 1400 AD to 1600 AD, but we can use it to express what the earth does this time of year.  I would like to share with you an excerpt from my most favorite autobiography about the rebirth of the earth.  I do not want to tell you ahead of time who the author is as I want you to be pleasantly surprised.  I'll let you know at the end of the excerpt.  Here it is.  Enjoy:
     "How noiseless and undisturbing are the demolition, the repairs and the alterations of nature!  With no sound of hammer or saw or stone severed from stone, but a music of rustles and ripe thumps  on the grass come the fluttering leaves and mellow fruits which the wind tumbles all day from  the branches . . . The same serenity reigns when all at once the soil yields up a newly wrought creation.  Softly the ocean of grass, moss and flowers rolls surge upon surge across the earth.
    "Curtains of foliage drape the bare branches.  Great trees make ready in their sturdy hearts to receive again birds which occupy their spacious chambers to the south and west. . . The meadow brook undoes its icy fetters with rippling notes, gurgles, and runs free. . .
     "The thousand soft voices of the earth have truly found their way to me - the small rustle in tufts of grass, the silky swish of leaves, the buzz of insects, the hum of bees in blossoms I have plucked, the flutter of a bird's wings after his bath, and the slender rippling vibration of water running over pebbles.  Once having been felt, these loved voices rustle, buzz, hum, flutter, and ripple in my thoughts forever, an undying part of happy memories.
    " Between my experiences and the experiences of others there is no gulf of mute space which I may not bridge.  For I have endlessly varied, instructive contacts with all the world, with life, with the atmosphere whose radiant activity enfolds us all.  The thrilling energy of the all-encasing air is warm and rapturous.  Heat-waves and sound-waves play upon my face in infinite variety and combination, until I am able to surmise what must be the myriad sounds that my senseless ears have not heard."
                                 This excerpt is from "The World I Live In" by Helen Keller
     Once again, I thank you for taking the time to read my blog and for joining me on this journey of renovation, restoration, renewal, even rebirth as I head towards my beloved France.  (And I am getting closer!)  Merci!!