Progress and Wizards

     My bedroom smells like paint.  I finally got my bathroom painted today and since it's attached to the bedroom I can smell it pretty strongly.  I just got over a cold so I'm hoping the fumes don't send me into a coughing fit.  I was able to borrow my neighbor's 8' ladder today so tomorrow I can finish painting the 10' ceiling in the lower level and then all my painting is done - unless I decide to paint the basement which could certainly use a new coat of paint.  And by now I'm pretty good at painting!  We'll see . . .
     Once the ceiling and crown molding are painted I can start getting my house back in order so it doesn't look like a construction zone!  My West JHS teacher group is coming over Thursday night for our monthly dinner.  We always go out, but everyone has been asking me about my house remodeling and so I decided to invite them over.  This has also been a good incentive for me to get everything done!
     I'm happy to have found a handy man who will do some odd jobs for me - ones that I either don't know how to do, like electrical and plumbing things, or ones I don't want to do like scraping the ceiling in my bedroom (my back just can't take anymore of that!).  He'll be coming over the first week in March.  After he's done then I need to get the floor replaced in the kitchen and lower level (Home Depot is doing that), the wood floors on the main level redone (like the floor I did in the little bedroom), and get the carpets cleaned.

My "construction zone" house!

At least the kitchen's finished

     I'm hoping to get most of that accomplished before I leave for "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" on March 6.  Renae and I are so excited, we're like little kids!  I bought a guide book for the 2 parks and am going through it when I get the chance.  We have our flights and our hotel package all taken care of.  The package includes 3 days at the Harry Potter parks - both Hogsmead, which includes Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and also Diagon Alley which is connected to Hogsmead by the Hogwarts Express which leaves from Kings Cross Station at Platform 9 3/4!   Universal Studios has completely recreated the sets from the Harry Potter movies and added rides, interactive wand stations, outdoor stage productions - just about anything you remember from the books and movies can be found in the parks.
     This will most likely be my last vacation in the States before I head overseas.  But I still don't know exactly when that will happen as my house will need to sell first.  I hope to have the house ready to put on the market when we get back from Orlando.  And then keep my fingers crossed!
     Once all my house projects are finished (and I am getting closer!) I will post photos.  I'm also thinking about having an Open House/Bon Voyage party so I can invite all of you to see what I've done and party with all my friends!  One last time!  And then you can all come visit me in France, right?
      Thank you for staying with me on this part of the journey.  I feel like I've accomplished a lot in the past year and I must say that your encouragement and enthusiasm have helped me tremendously.  A huge "Merci" to all of you!  

On Being Homeless

     "The Art of Being Homeless" is a title that caught my attention.  It was offered on one of my free ebook websites that I get regularly and thinking it was a philosophical writing about minimalism or down-sizing I downloaded it on my Kindle without reading the summary.  Come to find out, it was a novel about a woman who lost everything in a nasty divorce and decided to move to Greece on a whim!  I have yet to read it . . . .
     As I get closer and closer to putting my house on the market (next month) and think more and more about not having a place to call "home", I have started to see things a little differently.  I'm finding that being without a permanent address - in the US or in France - will cause some difficulties.  I had thought about getting a PO box, but credit card companies and the DMV require a street address.  I suppose I could ask Andy if I could use his address (as he has used mine in the past), which would solve some problems in the US.
     However, without a permanent address in France I will not be able to get a residency visa or buy a car or open a bank account.  So, what do I do?  I'm going to use this blog post to put my thoughts "on paper", as it were, and list some pros and cons regarding housesitting vs home buying.  (I think I might be on to Plan E!)
     Here  are the pros of housesitting:
1)  No mortgage or rent payments (that's a big pro for me).  That would free up about $1500 a month if you include insurance, utilities and taxes.  I love the idea of having that much more money a month to play with - literally!
2)  I can experience different towns and village and even different regions before I decide to buy.
3)  If I delay buying a house until I am 65 (in about 30 years! ha!) I will qualify for reduced property taxes, utilities, etc.
4)  Many houses come with the use of a vehicle so I wouldn't have to buy a car right away.
5)  I would not be responsible financially for any problems that might arise with the houses such as pipes bursting or an appliance not working, etc.

Here are the cons of housesitting:
1)  I would not be able to have guests unless they are willing to stay in a hotel.
2)  From what I have read in my house sitting manuals and newsletters, many homeowners prefer couples to house sit.  I guess they think that a single woman can't handle problems that might arise.
3)  If the homeowners have pets they want me to take care of they might not want CoCo there as there is no guarantee that their pets and mine will get along.
4)  If the homeowners do not have pets, it's probably because they don't want pets in their house and therefore CoCo would not be welcome.
5)  I need monthly massages and CoCo will need a vet and a groomer.  If we are constantly moving I think it will be hard to have consistency with any of those professionals.
6)  I will need to rent a storage unit - one with climate control for my art and collectibles that need to be in a place with constant temps.  That could get expensive.
7)  Without a permanent address I will only be able to stay in France for the 90 days that's allowed on a visitors passport.

Since I don't have any photos that match today's topic I'll just throw in one of CoCo! :-)

Here are the pros of buying a house:
1)  I'll have a place to call my own and I can decorate it like I want and have all my favorite things there.
2)  My things won't have to stay in storage forever.  And I can have all my art and collectibles around me.
3)  I won't have to worry about CoCo with other pets.  She can have a house and a yard all to herself which will make her so much more comfortable as she does not adapt well to new places.
4)  With a permanent address I can get a residency permit to allow me to stay up to a year before needing to return to the US. 
5)  I can open a bank account and get a French credit/debit card.
6)  I can buy a car.  There are 2 door RAV 4s all over France and they are so cute!  I'd love to find a used one of those. 
7)  I can find a massage therapist and a vet and a groomer that we can use all the time.
8)  I can really be a part of a community and be around for all the festivals and celebrations and holidays.  I can get to know my neighbors and the local market days and where to buy the best bread (that's really important to the French!)
9)  The housing market in France is great right now for buyers.  The prices are the lowest they've been in many years so now (or at least within the next 6 months) is a great time to buy.  I could get a lot for my money.  Hopefully, with what I make on the sale of my house here I could buy a house outright in France which would be wonderful!
10)  I can entertain guests whenever I want and they don't have to stay in a motel.
11)  I can have a garden with the plants that I want - herbs, flowers, tomatoes.  And I can landscape it the way that I like.  And hopefully have a hot tub!  I will certainly miss mine.

Here are the cons for buying a house:
1)  There's a lot of red tape involved in a non EU person buying a house in France.  It can be a long and expensive process.
2)  I would need to be a quick learner in regards to French utilities, plumbing, electrical, etc.
3)  I would need to buy home owners insurance which is not cheap.
4)  I might be stuck with a house and a village that I decide I really don't like after spending a year or so there.  (Although I can't imagine that happening, but you never know.  Of course, that could happen in the States also)
5)  If the house I fall in love with is more expensive than the money I have available then I will need to take out a mortgage which I really don't want to do.
6)  In order to get a house that I can afford it may be somewhat of a fixer-upper which means more painting and remodeling.  Do I really want to go through all of that again?

So, here's my Plan E:
     I think I will try to house sit for the 90 days that my passport will allow and during that time I will be looking for a house to buy.  If at the end of the 90 days I have not found anything that "sings Hallelujah" (ask my friend, Beth, about that!) then I can go to the UK for the next 90 days.  For some very odd reason their passport restrictions are different than the Continent so while I would no longer be welcome in France I could go to the UK for the next 90 days and find some house sitting jobs. Then I can return to France for another 90 days to look some more and hope to find a house before I have to return to the States having stayed the maximum amount of time in both places.
     If I can't find a house sitting job in the area of France where I want to look for a house to buy then I will look into a rental property.  I would really like to avoid this as I want to save my money which is why house sitting is so wonderful!   I can stay for free while I'm looking for a house - I don't want to be homeless for an extended period of time.
     I feel odd using that word because, of course, I'm not homeless in the sense that many all over the world are homeless.  I am fortunate to have a retirement salary and can choose where I want to live and can live comfortably.  So my use of the word "homeless" in this post is that I would be without a place that is truly mine.  I have been a home owner for my entire adult life and I've grown rather fond of it.  Many of the people who write the blogs and newsletter articles about house sitting actually do have a permanent home somewhere.  They then will take off on their house sitting ventures and look at it as vacation time and then can return to their home whenever they want. 
     I have almost finished the entire house painting job!  I still need to paint the ceiling in the lower level but need to borrow my neighbor's tall ladder and have been doing everything else that I can so I'm not tying up his equipment for a long time.  I'm debating about painting the basement.  It could really use a new coat of paint, but for now I'll just think about it . . .
    I'm still planning to put the house on the market the middle of next month after Renae and I get back from our trip to Orlando.  I'll write about that next week!  So time is really flying.  And all these thoughts about houses and yards and other people's houses vs a house of my own are taking over my brain.  It has long been a dream of mine to own a house in my little corner of France.  I think I want it to happen sooner than later.  What do you think?

My little corner of France - sigh

     As always I thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  Your comments and encouragement are very much appreciated.  And I wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!  Merci!    

Family

     Last week I spent 6 days in Ohio visiting my dad's side of the family.  I hadn't been back there for about 15 years!  In the past 2 years every time I spoke with my Aunt Mary (my dad's baby sister) on the phone she would ask me if I was ever coming to see her again.  My Aunt Mary is my dad's only sibling still living.  My grandparents have both been gone for a long time.  I have only two cousins on that side of the family, Sharon and Monica.
     I had the great joy of traveling in Italy with Sharon in September!  That was the first time in many years since I had been able to enjoy spending time with her.  So I was anxious to see her again and to also spend time with Aunt Mary, Monica and Sharon's family.

Aunt Mary with Sharon (standing) and Monica

     They rolled out the welcome mat!!  Sharon's husband, Bob, and son Aaron picked me up at the Cincinnati airport and drove me back to Sharon and Bob's house in Oxford.  They spent the next couple of days entertaining me and showing me all around their "stomping ground" and feeding me!  If they were busy it fell to Tucker, the amazing wonder lab, to entertain me and he did that quite well.
     On Friday, Aaron and his adorable wife, Song, drove me to Aunt Mary's house in Adams County, about a two hour drive east along the Ohio River.  It was so good to see Aunt Mary and Monica.  Aunt Mary had a stew fixed for us for lunch and then Aaron and Song headed back to Oxford (which is a suburb of Cincinnati).
     Aunt Mary's land goes right down to the Ohio River and is surrounded by rolling hills and farmland.  Years ago this was tobacco country.  I remember going to a tobacco auction with Grandpa in a huge old barn where the giant tobacco leaves were hanging from the rafters.  You still find barns that have the old tobacco advertisements on them.  These days you find more corn and soy being grown.

Looking towards the Ohio River from Aunt Mary's kitchen

Two of Sharon's paintings - the large one is of her mom's barn

     Aunt Mary drove me across the river to Maysville, Kentucky, (home of the Clooneys) where we visited a lovely little museum which has an amazing collection of miniatures.  These are tiny houses decorated like real houses from different time periods in history or from different countries.  I loved it!!
     After lunch she drove me to the cemeteries where my grandparents and great grandparents are buried.  One of those cemeteries is next to an old church called Moore's Chapel.  Up on a hill outside of the little town (although it isn't a town anymore) named Blue Creek where my grandparents lived.
The other cemetery is on High Hill where the Manchesters had land two hundred years ago.  The family still owns the hill and it is called the Manchester Cemetery.  It was pretty awesome being able to see all the old stone carved grave stones with family names on them.

My great-grandparents

Morse Chapel Cemetery - graves date back to early 1800s

My grandparents

A new sign for the cemetery on High Hill

The old old gravestones marking the Manchester family graves for three generations

     Aunt Mary and Sharon both have done a lot of research on the Manchester and May family lineage so I got lots of stories while on the winding hilly back roads of Adams County.
     Saturday night Monica and her boyfriend, Ed, came to Aunt Mary's for dinner.  Monica lives close by which makes it nice for all of them.  Many many years ago Monica went to Europe with me on one of my tours.  Aunt Mary has gone with me twice.  So it was about time that Sharon went on a tour with me! ha!

Aunt Mary on a trip with me long long ago

     Sunday Aunt Mary and Monica drove me back to Oxford where Sharon had a huge family dinner all prepared.  Her daughter Sara came with husband Jeremy and kids Olivia and Curtis.  And Aaron and Song came also.  So there was a house full!  Tucker was beside himself with joy at such a full house and so many people to love on him!

Cute Olivia with Tucker

     Monday night was my last night to spend at Sharon's and she decided that I should go to her painting class.  Sharon is a wonderful water color artist.  I am so impressed with the things she has painted.  Her instructor was very knowledgeable and a good teacher as she showed the class every step along the way.  She would call everyone up to her table in front to demonstrate a step, then send us back to our own tables so we could attempt it ourselves.  Then after a short time she would do that again.  And continued with that pattern until it was time to go.  The two hours flew by!  I can see why Sharon loves it.  (She was very sweet and complimentary of my attempt!  I told her it was because she loves me and didn't want to hurt my feelings! ha!)

One of Sharon's paintings - the Colorado mountains

She made this one into a card.  I love it!

     Tuesday morning Aaron, Song, and Bob took me to lunch on our way to the airport.  And then I had quite a time getting out of Cincinnati - none of which was weather related!  In fact, there were no problems with the weather until I got to my car in the Colorado Springs Airport parking lot and had to dig it out of 15 inches of heavy snow at 9:30 at night!
     All in all it was a great adventure and I'm so glad I was able to visit my Ohio family before I move to France.
     Oh yes, and one last thing - THE BRONCOS WON THE SUPER BOWL!!!
     Thank you for reading about my Ohio adventure - one more step on the path to France.  Now I'm back to painting - the walls and ceilings, not lovely watercolor paintings like Sharon does!  Silly me, I invited my West teacher group to my house for our monthly dinner.  So that keeps me motivated to get things done!!  Wish me luck :-)

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."