Firsts

     I wasn't sure what to write about regarding last week.  No big bends or bumps or giant revelations of any kind.  So, I'm just going to start rambling (that's a journey word, right?!) and see where it takes us.  OK? 
     There were a few "firsts" last week so I thought I'd tell you about them - well, first :-)
     When I was at the zoo on Thursday I was disappointed that our big male lion, Abuto, was not in with any of the other lions.  Momma Lomela was with the 3 cubs in the indoor enclosure.   Eventually they let Abuto and Zwena (Lomela's sister) into the outside area where they promptly began "talking" to each other.  You could hear them all over the zoo.  When I saw one of the keepers I asked if they would be putting Abuto in with any of the cubs later in the day and she said they would be doing that tomorrow (Friday).  So guess where I went Friday afternoon! 
     I was rewarded with a wonderful time watching the entire pride all together inside.  The cubs are now seven months old and weigh 100 pounds!  But they are still pretty small and clutsy to be outside in the big area.  Abuto was on the highest perch (you can see that in the photo) with his sons nearby.   Aslan is next to him and Boma is on the next platform down.  Daughter Elsa was hanging out with mom and Auntie Zwena.  Everyone was calm and getting along and I loved seeing them together.  So that was a first for me!  I have seen Abuto introduced to one cub at a time but not all of them together!  That was so awesome.

Abuto and his boys

Aslan and his daddy

     Another first was taking CoCo to agility classes.  She is my little circus dog!  It's no surprise that poodles are often used as circus performers because they are quite athletic and just downright cute!  She had no trouble going over the little jumps and going on the teeter-totter.  She also did well on the ramp.  But she was not too keen on the tunnel.  At first our trainer, Patty, pushed the tunnel (looks like a giant dryer vent) into a small tunnel about 4 feet long and as long as CoCo could see me at the other end she was quite happy to come on through.  But then Patty stretched it out and put a little curve in there and that's when CoCo put the brakes on!  Otherwise she did fine and we're looking forward (I'm speaking for her!) to our next class a week from Friday.

My little circus girl

     I am writing this on my newest computer tryout.  It is the fourth one as I have continued to downsize and I really like this 13 inch HP.  I think it's a keeper!  It will take me a long time to figure out everything on it including Windows 10 so wish me luck. 
     I will not be writing a blog post next weekend as I will be in Ohio visiting my dad's family there, my Aunt Mary and cousin Sharon, her family, and cousin Monica.  It's probably been 15 years since I've been there and I'm really excited about spending time with them and also seeing my grandparents' old home place and the little cemetery at the country church where they are buried.  My cousin Sharon lives outside of Cincinnati and has everything arranged for my week there.  So I will write all about it when I get back.  The photo is an old one.  That's four generations taken in my grandparents' house about 30 years ago.  Grandma (Grandpa was already gone), my dad, me and Andy. 

Four generations in Ohio

     Oh yes!  And I finished the kitchen - walls, ceiling, trim, cabinets, counters, everything!  I'm still waiting for paint to dry so it's not picture worthy quite yet.  I'll include photos in the next post.  Until then, may your pathways be smooth and bump free.  Thanks for joining me on this journey!

Collect Moments, Not Things - Like Coats and Shoes and . . . .

     I know this is a topic I've written about a few times before, but it really resonates with me as I get closer to selling (just about) everything and moving to France.  I recently read yet another magazine article about "awe" and "wonder" in our lives and how important they are to our overall health, both physical and emotional.  "Moments of wonder do more than take your breath away.  They can reduce stress, enhance bonding and improve your health," says Jennifer King Lindley, the writer of the article.
     She describes awe as "the mind and body's reaction to being pushed outside of their normal way of looking at the world.  It takes you off autopilot and makes you feel you are in the presence of something bigger than you, but that you are also connected to this bigger thing."  Physically, awe seems to curb the fight-or-flight response.  Emotionally, awe brings us into the moment, you cease worrying about the future or stressing about events in the past.  Your brain focuses on the here and now.
     So, how do we find more awe in our lives?  The article gives seven ideas as to how we can do just that, no matter where we are.
1)  Chase what inspires you.  That could range from the beauties in nature to the astounding accomplishments of others, such as Olympic athletes or those who have overcome handicaps to do wonderful things.  Or beautiful works of art or music. 

Van Gogh's Starry Night - one of my favorites

 2)  Zero in on details.  Look with fresh eyes at ordinary things.  Slow down and examine a flower in detail, or the frost on your windows.  I have a blog friend named Kristin Espinasse.  She writes the blog called "French Word a Day."  I love the way she looks at the world.  She sees the details when I would have just walked on by.  Her photos and commentaries on her everyday life in France inspires me.

A close up of my rose and lavender - I love Spring!

3)  Do something new.  Most of us are so into our daily routine that we just go through the motions most of the time without considering that we could do things a little differently.  Take a different route to work, or home.  Pick up something different for lunch or dinner.  Just a couple of ideas.
4)  Take mini awe breaks.  Use breath-taking scenery as a screensaver.  Or sign up for daily inspirational quotes or images.  Last year I had photos of France and Italy delivered to me every day!

Like this one!  Those colors are amazing!

5)  Try big stuff, too.  The types of experiences that tend to elicit the greatest awe are often dismissed as being frivolous:  traveling, going to museums, gazing through a telescope, sitting on your porch during a thunderstorm.  Such experiences are essential to well-being - so make them a priority!
6)  Spend time with kids.  As a former teacher of adolescents I must admit that this one has me rather apprehensive as I spent 31 years around kids.  But I understand the premise.  Especially being around little kids who find awe in everything.  Playing in the dirt gives them great pleasure.  Remember that feeling as a kid?  Or being out after dark in  the summer playing freeze tag?  Just watching them play can help us remember those feelings of freedom before we started worrying about life.  Maybe that's why I love going to the zoo every week!

Being kids again at the North Pole

I'm in awe of lion family dynamics!

7)  Reflect on past moments of awe.  For me, this is looking through photos of past trips and remembering how joyful I was at seeing that castle, or that cathedral, or eating at that restaurant, or seeing those mountains.  For some it may be remembering the awe of seeing your newborn baby, or having seen a comet streak across the night sky.  When stressed, recall your own personal moments of amazement and enjoy the bliss
     I am at a place in my life where I want to be surrounded by awe every day.  To have new adventures in little French villages.  I am quite happy to get rid of most of my "stuff" and to live out of two suitcases with my little white fluffy dog.  I am still getting rid of things, mostly clothes and shoes, but also some kitchen things and odds and ends of things that have somehow multiplied over the 40 years that I have lived in this house.
     And speaking of the house, the kitchen is almost finished!  I leave for Ohio next week and will be gone for about a week.  So my hope is to have everything in the kitchen done before I leave.  I'm right on track for that.  Yay for me!
     So, my wish and challenge for all of you this week is to find moments of awe.  I'm not saying you all need to sell all your belongings and move to another country!  That's my bliss, not yours.  So, go find your own bliss and follow it and find awe and wonder.  Collect moments, not things.  Thank you for joining me on my journey of following my bliss.  Merci!!!

Computers, Coats, Kitchen, and Cubs

     I did not make it to the zoo this week!  I don't know how they managed without me!  :-)  It is always amazing to me when I see the cubs, even if it's only been a week.  They seem to be growing so quickly now that they are eating solid food.  When they were just a few months old they really looked like overgrown kittens.  Now that they are just past 6 months old you can tell they are the royalty of felines.  There is no doubt that they are lions.  Majestic is the only word that does them justice.

My babies!  With Mom in the background

     I was privileged to witness the ongoing attempt at uniting the pride last Saturday.  They decided to put both the lionesses (mother and aunt to the cubs) in the large inside enclosure and bring in one cub at a time to meet their dad, the handsome Abuto.  The first cub in was Aslan who has a rather laid back personality.  He was very reluctant to get too close to Abuto even though dad showed a lot more interest in the upside down pine tree hanging from the ceiling than he did to his baby.  After about 10 minutes everyone seemed bored so they sent Abuto into one shoot and Aslan into another and then out came Elsa before they let Abuto back into the enclosure.
     It was a much different story with her!  From the beginning I had nicknamed her "Party Girl" because all she ever wanted to do (even as a little bitty thing) was play and eat!  As soon as she saw "Daddy" she was all over him wanting to play.  So very different from her reticent brother.  Abuto wasn't sure what to do.  He let her try to climb on him and jump up in his face and all was fine until she bit into his leg.  They he swatted her.  Not hard and not in an aggressive way, but she must have let out a whimper.  Because both the lionesses were up, snarling and baring their teeth.  Poor Abuto backed up and looked so confused and headed for his shoot which the keepers opened for him.  He may be "King of the Jungle", but the lionesses rule the pride!  I was so glad that I got to see this.  It takes time, I'm sure, for all of them to figure out how to be a pride.  They are so wonderful and I'm so proud of our zoo.
     I felt like Goldilocks this week trying out new computers.  One was too small, one was too big and now I'm waiting on the arrival of one that's in between those sizes and am hoping that it will be "just right".  My Sony Viao, which I love, is now 10 years old and has some geriatrics problems!  It's definitely time for a new computer.  I tried a Microsoft Surface Pro 10" thinking it could take the place of both my Kindle and my laptop.  But it was too big for a tablet and too small for a laptop so I sent it back.  Then I tried a 15" Acer laptop and really liked it, but it's even bigger than my Sony and not very good for all the traveling I plan to do.  So now I've ordered a Dell 14" laptop and hope that it will be just the right size for me.  Keep your fingers crossed!  And I will order an updated Kindle Fire as they are selling for $49.99 right now!!  Amazing buy.  I love my Kindles.
     You're probably wondering about the "Coats" in the title today.  As I was cleaning out my closet, yet again, to take donations to Good Will for the end of the year, I realized I seem to collect coats!  Some women collect shoes or handbags.  I had no idea I had that many coats.  Who in the world needs 15 coats?  And I had a really hard time getting rid of some of them because I really liked them!  So I got rid of 5 :-)  I know I'll have to pare down even more before I head to France.  10 coats will take up way too much room in my suitcases!  Oh dear!
     I started on the kitchen this week.  I had bought a counter top resurfacing kit many months ago when it was on sale at Home Depot.  It is supposed to give your existing counter the look of granite.  I watched 5 or 6 you tube videos on how best to apply the different surfacing liquids and I'm actually pretty pleased with how it turned out.  I have only done the one corner that I took pictures of.  But I did everything in that corner so I could get an idea of what the entire kitchen will look like.  Also, I wanted to practice on a small area before doing all the counter tops.  I think I like the wall paint.  I was trying to get something that would "harmonize" with the new counter top and also bring the look of Tuscany.  But I'm wondering if it is too dark.  I had a lighter shade but it looked pink and not coral.  So I'm still deliberating on the wall color.  I also repainted the cabinets and the existing hardward.

Counter before

Counter after

Corner before

Corner after

     I will do the rest of the counter tops this week and continue painting the cabinets.  I need to make a trip to Home Depot and have them come out and measure for the new flooring.  I will NOT attempt to do that myself!
     So, that's my week in review - oh yeah, and the Broncos won!!!!
     I'm still aiming for March 1 to have my house all finished and on the market.  Of course, I will let you know how the updates are coming and if I've hit any bumps or bends along the way.  Thank you so much for joining me on this journey.  I appreciate all your comments and encouragement.  Merci!!

"Into a Larger Freedom"

     Happy New Year!  I began this blog exactly one year ago having high hopes that I would be headed to France by this time.  So, the title of my blog is quite appropriate!  I still have some more bends to maneuver.  I am determined to start on the kitchen this week.  The ceiling has been scraped (and washed) for months and the room is small enough that I should be able to finish it in a week - or so . . .  I bought a kit for refinishing the counter tops and hope that it is as easy to use and as great with its result as the kit I used on my wood floors.    I also plan to paint everything - the ceiling, the walls, the cabinets, the door and window frames.  I'll get new hardware for the cabinets and drawers.  I promise to do before and after pics.
     My inspiration this week came from my favorite book by Frances Mayes.  She recounts a time when a total stranger called her to ask for her opinion about buying a cottage on the other side of the US. 
     "What's the down side?" she asks.
      "What are you thinking of doing?" asks Frances. 
     "The islands off the coast of Washington.  I've always loved them.  There's this place for sale, my friends think I'm crazy because it's all the way across the country . . . "
     "There's no downside" she answers.  Then she asks the woman if she ever heard the old motto: "Follow your bliss."
      "Yes," she answers, but then adds "I'm not sure this makes sense."
      I love Frances' reply:  "Well, does it seem that you'd be moving into a larger freedom?  I've had an incredible amount of fun here."  She says this even though the entire book has been about all the efforts made to restore their old farmhouse.  But she always thinks about the sun, the wonderful Tuscan sun that warms everything it touches, including her!

The Tuscan Sun

The Gascon (SW France) Sun

     And that, dear friends, is what I want to achieve - a larger freedom.  Freedom from debt, freedom from a mortgage and home owners insurance and property taxes.  Freedom to explore someplace new every day.  Freedom to see who I am in another culture and to speak another language and to expand my knowledge of the world, and to look at things from a different perspective, to feel that I am in the presence of something larger than myself.  Freedom to eat healthy natural food and not feel like I'm on a diet.  Freedom to walk everywhere and not feel like I'm exercising.
    So I think that is my motto for this new year.  I will weigh every decision by asking if it leads me into a larger freedom.  I want to collect moments and not things as I go around the bends and along the path.  Thank you for joining me on this journey as I continue to follow my "Eastward Pointing Compass."