On to Plan C . . . or is it D or . . .

     "The best laid schemes of mice and men do often go awry", wrote the Scottish poet Robert Burns.  It seems that is just as true today as it was over 200 years ago when he wrote the lovely poem called "To a Mouse".  I am certainly closer to my goal of moving to France, but I have had to change the move date a couple of times as I have changed my thoughts about the move.
     The idea of living in France came to me about 20 years ago.  After many years of touring France with students, I was ready to see the "other" France, the areas outside of the usual tour companies' itineraries.  So, that summer of 1996 after the tour ended and the students and adults were on their way back to the States, I rented a car and Andy and I took off on our own.  I had made a rough itinerary with towns designated as overnights, but I made no hotel reservations and had no GPS or any of today's necessities for travel.   For the most part it all worked out just as I had planned.
     What I had not planned on was falling completely in love with the southwest area of France.  I had always thought I wanted to spend time in the northwest region of Brittany.  That area appealed to me in a somewhat romantic sense in that the Bretons have their own language and roots to the ancient Celts who have always fascinated me.  Their land is almost a separate country being a peninsula jutting into the English Channel.  Andy and I did visit Brittany and were enchanted with the standing stones and the rugged coastline and, of course, the mystical island monastery of Mont Saint Michel on the English Channel.

Mont St Michel

     But it was the Dordogne region of ancient Aquitaine that grabbed my attention and didn't let go.  I have never seen so many shades of green - the forests, the fields, the land.  And then there's all those caves like Lascaux and Peche Merle which were used by prehistoric man as art galleries.  It's the land of the Hundred Years War with castles on either side of the rivers - one side English and the other side French.  It's the land of Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the most famous, powerful, and influential women of medieval history (or perhaps ever!)  The land of knights and poetry of courtly love, of jousting tournaments and music.  The land of foie gras and Bordeaux wines, of walnut cakes and macarons.

In the Dordogne area of SW France

The cliff houses near the Dordogne river

A tapestry of the "Spotted Ponies" painting in the Peche Merle cave

  
   So that was Plan A, I guess, all those years back.  I wanted to buy a house in the Dordogne region - not Provence, as Peter Mayle did which was beginning to be overrun by Brits and Americans.  But, unfortunately, that is now true of the Dordogne.  However, that is not why I decided on the region further south from there.
     Five years ago, I left Colorado Springs and moved to Liberal, Kansas to help care for my mom.  I was there for two years before she offered to move in with me here in the Springs (I never stopped thanking her for that!!!)  It was while I was in Kansas that I realized I NEED the mountains, almost like needing to breath or eat.  I grew up with Pikes Peak in my backyard and I love everything about  the mountains - the clear air the clean water, the trees, and rocks - the "purple mountains' majesty", a sky so blue that it's indescribable.  And so, I decided to look further south towards the Pyrenees Mountains and Spain.

My "backyard" in Colorado Springs

     Now, I was on to Plan B.  A year ago Andy and I went on an exploration of the area close to the Pyrenees in ancient Gascony (that's where D'Artagnan, the Musketeer, came from) - a region of tiny villages and lots of streams and valleys and more caves and great food and wine  - and mountains!!!  I fell in love with a little valley where the Neste river runs.  We had such a grand time seeing so much alpine beauty.  Yes, here is where I could live!   I came home and started looking online at houses in this area.

The Neste valley

A view of the Pyrenees

     Then, I read an article in my "International Living" publication about house sitting.  That changed my perspective on moving to France.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to not pay a cent (or centime) for rent or mortgage?  Wouldn't it be wonderful to experience living in France without the stress of finding and buying a property?  Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in different villages all around the area where I think I want to buy?  Like test driving a car for a month or so before you decide if that's really the one you want!  So, with that in mind I began some serious plans for moving myself to France.
     When I began this blog in January of this year (can't believe this is blog post #50!), my plan was to have all my renovations finished, house sold, and everything in place to be moved to France by January of 2016.  Well, as we all know, that happens this week!  But, that's how it goes when your journey has bumps and bends, and whose doesn't, right?
     And thus I am now on Plan C or perhaps beyond that, but I'm going with "Plan C."  Realizing that houses do not sell quickly in the winter months and that I still have painting inside and cleaning up outside to do, I now plan to put the house on the market the first part of March.  That gives me two months to finish the renovations and do all the other things that need to be done before I'm actually ready to start looking for house sitting jobs in France.  I will be in Delaware the weekend of April 23 for the wedding of two very dear friends.  That may be my last stopover in the States before I head overseas.  Hopefully, CoCo's training will prove to be helpful for her to make the ten hour plane ride in her little carrier.  We're playing the "in crate" game and also going to unfamiliar places to help her get over her anxiety issues.  There's still much to be done before now and April - for both CoCo and me!  Wish us luck!

CoCo, my travel companion

     So that, my dearest friends and family, is my newest Plan for moving, barring any further bumps and bends along the way!  But I won't rule those out as I am now quite used to them cropping up in front of me.  And every time they do, I think of my dad and all those unexpected, and usually quite memorable, bends on our family vacations of long ago.  And that makes me smile.
    

Christmas, Noël, Navidad . . . Celebrations!

As we are at that time of year when everything points towards the celebration of Christmas, I thought it might be fun to share with you some information about how and why we celebrate this holiday the way we do.  I think it's very interesting that so many of our traditions actually had their beginnings in pagan cultures.  But I can't imagine Christmas time without them.  I hope you enjoy this little history lesson and the significance of the practices which we think of as purely Christmas!

Why December 25th?  December was likely chosen as the day of Christ's birth so the Catholic Church could compete with rival pagan rituals held at that time of year and because of its closeness with the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, a traditional time of celebration among many ancient cultures.  It seems pretty evident from scriptures that it must have been springtime since the shepherds were all out in the fields with the sheep and lambs.  This holiday (or "holy day"), along with Easter, were chosen specifically to offset the Roman celebrations happening in winter and in spring and some of the ancient Roman traditions stayed.

The evergreen fir tree has traditionally been used to celebrate winter festivals (pagan and Christian) for thousands of years. Pagans used branches of it to decorate their homes during the winter solstice, as it made them think of the spring to come. The Romans used Fir Trees to decorate their temples at the festival of Saturnalia held during the last 10 days of December.  Christians use it as a sign of everlasting life.  In 16th-century Germany fir trees were decorated, both indoors and out, with apples, roses, gilded candies, and colored paper.
It is held that Protestant reformer Martin Luther first adorned trees with light. While coming home one December evening, the beauty of the stars shining through the branches of a fir inspired him to recreate the effect by placing candles on the branches of a small fir tree inside his home.

Mistletoe was used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the plant since it had no roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter.  The ancient Celts believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward off evil spirits. The plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace.
Scandanavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and it may be from this that we derive the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.

 Boughs of holly, believed to have magical powers since they remained green through the harsh winter, were often placed over the doors of homes to drive evil away. In Northern Europe Christmas occurred during the middle of winter, when ghosts and demons could be heard howling in the winter winds.  Greenery was also brought indoors to freshen the air and brighten the mood during the long, dreary winter.
Legend also has it that holly sprang from the footsteps of Christ as he walked the earth. The pointed leaves were said to represent the crown of thorns Christ wore while on the cross and the red berries symbolized the blood he shed.

Saint Nicholas Feast Day is an important celebration in some European countries.  The children emulate the life of Saint Nicholas as the bringer of the gifts for children. On the night of December 5, the children wearing angel and devil costumes carol from house to house and receive presents. In some countries, Santa Claus (also called "Father Christmas") visits the children on the morning of December 6.  The children place their shoes near the fireplace or the door so that Santa will leave them candies and fruit.  In many countries the traditional gift giving day is January 6 which is the final day of the Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelfth Night or Epiphany which marks the day the Wise Men brought gifts to Baby Jesus.  Also on this day in France, the Galette des Rois, or Kings' Cake, is eaten.  It is baked with a small charm inside and whoever gets the piece with the charm gets to be King or Queen for the day.

The custom of burning the Yule Log goes back to, and before, medieval times. It was originally a Nordic tradition. Yule is the name of the old Winter Solstice festivals in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe.  The Yule Log was originally an entire tree, that was carefully chosen and brought into the house with great ceremony. The largest end of the log would be placed into the fire hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room! The log would be lit from the remains of the previous year's log which had been carefully stored away and slowly fed into the fire through the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was believed to be important to rid the house of the "old" and bring prosperity for the "new".
Today many emulate this tradition by baking a special "yule log" cake - the French call it a "Buche de Noël", made and decorated to look like a log, but made out of yummy creams and chocolate and sometimes some dried fruit.

I'm hoping to spend Christmas in France next year.  I look forward to learning about new traditions and seeing all the French decorations and food and celebrations.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I hope you enjoyed this "lesson" in Christmas celebrations.  It is true: "once a teacher, always a teacher!"  And I do wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël, and Feliz Navidad!  

Taking the Leap

     "What if one of us is hit by a potato chip truck and can't work?  I run through a litany of diseases we could get.  An aunt died of a heart attack at forty-two, my grandmother went blind, all the ugly illnesses . . .What if an earthquake shakes down the universities where we teach?  The Humanities Building is on a list of state structures most likely to fall in a moderately sever quake.  What if the stock market spirals down? . . . What if you did not feel uncertainty?  Why not call it excitement? . . . Think: What if the sky doesn't fall?  What if it is glorious?"

     This is one of my favorite passages in Francis Mayes wonderfully written memoir, "Under the Tuscan Sun."  It is human nature to feel concern about the future.  Am I absolutely positive that everything will work out the way I hope it will?  Can anyone be absolutely positive about their plans for even next week, let alone the rest of your life?  When I read Mayes' books and Peter Mayles' books about Provence (and many others), I feel a huge reassurance that following my dream is more than just a whimsical wish.  If others have achieved it, why not I?

     This past week, an article in my "International Living" publication caught my eye.  Its title is "The Huge Rewards of Taking the Leap", by Glynna Prentice.  She left her life, apartment, job, friends, family in New York City and moved to Mexico.  Talk about a leap!  I would like to share some of that article with you in this blog post as she says so many things that I want to tell you all.

     "Maybe fate favors the bold?  Maybe we plan better when more is at stake.  Or maybe, in taking that bold leap, we leave ourselves open to all the many opportunities out there.  The world is a big place, and it's filled with promise and opportunities, if we're just willing to look."

     I must admit that I also run through all those lists of "what ifs" just like Francis Mayes.  But what's the point in that?  Instead of all the "what ifs" that are followed by something bad, I try to do all the "what ifs" followed by something wonderful.  What if I get to house sit in a medieval village with a 13th century church?  What if the village has the most wonderful market?  What if I get to spend Christmas in Paris?  What if I can find a lovely house on the Mediterranean or a farmhouse in the Pyrenees?  What if I can visit Italy as often as I like?  Those are the "What ifs" that I want to focus on.

The town of Rocamadour, France

Christmas in Paris

Farmhouse in the Pyrenees

     "Moving abroad is not a snap decision, especially as we get older.  It requires planning, organizing, and often saving up money to pull off well.  It requires doing all the evaluating of later life concerns, like healthcare and pensions, which we all do at home . . . but for another country instead.  And while some of the planning is fun, overall it's definitely more work than simply hopping on a plane."

      My list of things to do before I can even buy my plane ticket over there is growing.  It includes a visit to the French Consul in Denver to see what I need to do to get an extension on my passport, setting up a post office box here, getting a storage unit, getting Coco microchipped with the international code, getting Coco used to travel in a carrier (she is presently in training . . .me, too!), checking on how my healthcare works overseas, and the list is ever growing.  But the writer of the article goes on to say:

     "But all too often, people's biggest hurdle to making the move isn't planning and preparation.  It's simple fear - of taking a risk, of leaving the familiar, of facing the new and strange.  Fear . . . inertia . . . Too often they keep folks settling for less."

     But, as you know if you've been reading this blog from the beginning of the year, or if you knew my dad, you know that I was born with that adventure gene.  I have always looked forward to the next step on the path with excitement and anticipation, whether it was going off to college, studying in France, taking students to Europe, taking lots of people to Europe.  I love that my dad gave me that sense of adventure and longing to see what's around that bend up there.  And certainly my mom lived with that sense of future happiness.

Thank you Mom and Dad for my sense of adventure

     I look forward to the fun and challenges of living in another country.  Of seeing the medieval villages, the ancient ruins, the unfamiliar culture quirks, the wonderful cuisine, the breathtaking landscapes.  And all of that will become a part of my everyday life.  I'm quite willing to take that leap!   Here's Prentice's last paragraph in the article.  And I will leave you with this:

     "Taking a risk can bring huge rewards.  Most expats I speak to feel the same way.  Not one has said they wished they made the move later.  With the benefit of hindsight, almost all wish they'd done it sooner.  So, just do it."

     Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I really do appreciate it.  I feel like I need to thank you every time I write because I am so amazed that people actually want to read my thoughts!  Next week I'll write about "Plan C"!  So I hope you'll "tune in" next week as you follow around all those bends.  Merci!

Happiness is . . . a Little White Dog and 3 Lion Cubs

     Remember the Peanuts book back in the 1960s called "Happiness is a Warm Puppy?"  I've been thinking lately about what makes me happy.  With all the tragedy and evil that is talked about, argued about, commentated on, etc, etc, ad nauseum on all the news stations 24/7, I choose (and it is a choice) to find what makes me happy.  I'm not ignoring the fact that there is and always has been and will always continue to be horrible things that happen in this world, I just don't want to dwell on it and let it rob me of my peace of mind and happiness.
     So, I've been thinking this week about what really does give me joy and I decided to share that list with all of you.  And I encourage you to do something similar and to see how happy you can be if you choose to.  These are in no particular order.

Happiness is . . . .
     my little white fluffy dog, CoCo

CoCo

     my weekly visits to the zoo, especially to see the cubs and the gorillas

The precious cubs at 5 months

3 year old Dembe is mimicking big sister Tumani

     that blue blue Colorado sky sitting above a snow-capped Pikes Peak

Snow on the Peak behind the Garden of the Gods

     the little chickadees that sing so sweetly on the tree outside the kitchen window
     watching the squirrels frolic in the branches in my backyard
     my son's hugs and smiles

Me with Andy in Tuscany - September, 2015

     my monthly dinners with my West BFFs
     my monthly lunches with my Wasson BFFs
     my monthly "dates" with good friend Renae
     my weekly movie "dates" with my sister/friend Beth
     my weekly phone talks with my sister/cousin Cindy
     dreaming of France

"My" valley in SW France

The beautiful Pyrenees

     traveling someplace new

The church of San Biagio near Montepulciano, Italy

     seeing someplace old through new eyes

Me with cousin Cindy at the North Pole last summer

     Christmas carols (sung traditionally)
     Broadway musicals (most of them anyway)
     dog shows on TV (hope to see one in person someday)
     a Thanksgiving meal
     memories of camping with my parents

At Spruce Grove campground many years ago

     remembering Rocky (my 140 lb rottie/lab) playing in the sprinkler and chasing Tinkerbell
     dreaming of France (yes, I know I already mentioned this)

The castle in Foix in SW France

     eating gelato - preferably in Italy
     Paris

The very recognizable Tour Eiffel

     Venice

On the Grand Canal, Venice

     Christmas lights around town
     a baby's giggle
     sitting in the sunshine (no matter what season of the year)
     reading - anytime and anyplace
     smelling the lavender and the rosemary around my patio

A rose among the lavender

     the smell of lilacs

One of my lilac bushes

     playing the piano
     smiles - on anyone
     movie buttered popcorn
     being surrounded by nature - like in the mountains or on a beach

The Tuscan countryside

     a beautiful piece of art

Michelangelo's Pieta in Saint Peter's in Rome

     dreaming of France (see a pattern here?)

Beautiful landscape in the Pyrenees

The flower market in Old Town Nice

I love this old postcard of Paris

     I will leave you with this suggestion which I have paraphrased from the Apostle Paul.  Spend your time thinking about things that are noble, good, kind, lovely, honorable, truthful and beautiful.  Fill your mind with these things and you will find peace and happiness.
    Once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read my blog.  Merci!  And may your week be filled with happiness.