Lists and More Lists

(If I were to list all the things I love about living in Colorado this blue blue sky would be at the top!)

I have a confession to make. I am obsessed with making lists.  My lists are made by putting pen or pencil to paper and writing down what I need to remember. I need that kinesthetic action of brain to hand to pen to paper. It's just not the same if I try to type it into my phone.  

I have always been a visual kinesthetic learner and nothing works better than writing things down. I still use a physical day planner (this year's planner has Impressionist paintings) that sits on the desk (that my dad made when he was in high school!) where I can see it every time I pass by and can be reminded of what I need to do today and in the days to come.  

When I'm preparing for a trip I have numerous lists going - in the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen - so that when I think of something I can immediately add it to the closest list.

I do have packing lists that stay in my luggage and in my carry-on. But there are lots of things that need to happen for me to be ready to leave my house and my dogs for any amount of time. 

As you can imagine I had looonnnggg lists leading up to my move to France. So much that had to be done! You can read about the beginning of those lists in my original post. (Click on the Web version icon at the end of this post. Find 2015. Then January)

But all the lists in the world can't prepare you for an emergency like the one that hit me in July. That was so much more than a bend in the road! That was a major detour!!  As the poet Robert Burns wrote, "the best laid plans of mice and men do often go awry." But I'm happy to say I'm back to making lists again as I plan for the future. (I do look forward to the day that there are no more doctors appointments for the week ahead!)

And I am proud to say that I keep the pen, pencil and paper manufacturers in business 😊

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!  A bientôt, mes amis!

My Eastward Pointing Compass

I have an important question for you to start off the new year. Do you own a compass? An actual tangible compass with the rotating needle that always points true north? I do! The week before I moved to France eight years ago my good friends, Ken and Beth, gifted me one. "If you get lost you can find your way home." I actually used it a few times before I got the GPS unit for my car. It's easy to get turned around in the Pyrenées. Every bend in the road looks very much like the one before it. I remember pulling over to the side of the road (which is difficult in rural France because there are no shoulders), getting out my trusty compass, comparing it to the map I always had with me, and figuring out where I needed to go to get me to my destination.

A few years before my new compass, I spent a few days in Venice with Ken and Beth along with my cousin Cindy and good friend Dave. One gets lost in Venice even with a map! There are no through streets (all pedestrian, of course) and no street signs. Just a labyrinth of walkways and paths that only the residents can easily maneuver. Ken's compass was very handy! I would check my map for where we wanted to end up and give Ken the direction that we needed to go. He would then get out his compass and turn me to face in the right direction and off we would go until we ran into yet another brick wall - literally! Then the process would start again! Not sure what the locals thought but we certainly enjoyed ourselves!

In our modern life of convenience and technology we always have a GPS nearby - either in our car or on our phone. So, unless you're a scout, you probably don't have an actual compass.

Did you know that the compass was first used in ancient China? It was a lodestone, which is naturally magnetic, placed in a basin of water so it could swivel easily. It wasn't until the 11th century that someone experimented with magnetizing a metal needle and placing it in a small non-water instrument. Amazing that it would always point  North! Imagine how that changed the ability to travel and explore.  Not only could people travel but they could find their way back home! It was magical!

The first blog that I posted in January of 2015 attempted to explain the pull that SW France had on me. The passion I felt for wanting to live in the country that I love so much.  I was in love with France the way someone falls in love with a person. It was an all-consuming desire! You can read that first blog post by clicking on the "View website" icon at the end of this post. That will take you to the blog home page. Then you can find the year - 2015 and find the list of posts I wrote in January. (Wish I knew of an easier way for you to get there!)

We may not all have a tangible compass but we all have a moral compass. I've thought a lot about that since hearing of the death of Jimmy Carter. Now there was a human who not only had a moral compass but who honored that compass in every decision that he made. What a wonderful example of a life that meant something and touched so many lives in many positive ways every day of his life.

In this new year of 2025, may we all ascribe to be like Jimmy Carter and live a life of service. Make something of every day and celebrate being alive. Follow your compass and follow your heart.

HAPPY NEW YEAR and BONNE ANNÉE

The Road Goes Ever On (Tolkein) The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles)

in 2015 I began writing a blog called "Just Around the Next Bend".  It was a way to chronical the changes that were happening in my life as I prepared to sell everything I owned (except for what would fit in a 10x10 foot storage unit, two suitcases and a backpack) and eventually move to France with my miniature poodle, CoCo. I was following my dream of living in SW France.

I continued writing every Sunday for the next two and a half years, sharing the ups and downs, the successes and mishaps of a new life.  I'm not a diarist, but this was a way to tell my stories and to share my life with my friends.

My plan for this new series of blog posts is to use the titles of the original blog posts, which I will reference, as inspiration for the present. How did I get from here to there and back again to Colorado? "The Long and Winding Road".

I will provide a link to the previous blog post in case you would like to read it as I make references of the old to bring me to the new. "The Road Goes Ever On."

This will begin the first Sunday in January - exactly 10 years from the first blog post I ever wrote! How could that have been 10 years ago? I hope you will find it entertaining and consider it worth your time to read.  I have missed writing and am looking forward to the challenge! Happy New Year!

The Extraordinary Life of CoCo from Puppy Mill to Paris - Part 4

I apologize for not getting this out sooner. Time is flying . . . But I wanted to make sure to finish this lovely story of CoCo being my travel/adventure partner in my move to France. So here we are . . . With much practice I figured out how to maneuver 2 large suitcases, a backpack and CoCo's carrier with me on the long journey from Colorado Springs to Justian, France. She was considered my carry-on so she could be with me in the passenger area, but had to be under the seat in front of me for take-off and landing. I was able to upgrade my international segment so that I had an empty seat next to me and once we were in the air I was allowed to set her carrier on that seat and, while I couldn't take her out, I could unzip the top enough to fit my hand in there and reassure her that all was well. Yes, I had to pay to have her on the flight. And I had observed all the regulations that are required to take your dog overseas. But it was totally worth it! Because of poor planning on my part (at the time I thought it would be helpful to take stopovers rather than travel the 15 hours straight to get to SW France) it took us four days, four airports, three flight segments, four hotel rooms, planes, trains, taxis and finally my rental car before we arrived at our little rental cottage where we would live for seven glorious months! CoCo did so well with all of those changes and lack of a consistant schedule. She was my little trooper!! This was September of 2016.

I brought her bed and her carseat with us so she had some familiar things as we journeyed from Colorado Springs to Toulouse, France and then by car to Lassénat St Georges - our final destination. Everyday was a new adventure which we thoroughly enjoyed. I even loved all the crazy things that happened, like trying to open a bank account (they questioned my nationality even with showing them every bit of ID I had!), buying a car with an automatic transmission (those do not exist in France!), getting car and rental insurance (for a foreigner) It was certainly a learning curve and I couldn't have done it without the help of my wonderful landlords (who became my "famille française").

When CoCo and I arrived at the cottage for the first time we were greeted very warmly by Hélène and Giuseppe, and not so warmly by their three cats, Penny (la grande dame!), Kitty and baby Misty. The humans were happy to see us but the cats weren't sure what to make of CoCo. It didn't help that CoCo hated cats! After taking a few days to unpack the two suitcases I had brought and the two boxes of things I had mailed over before we left, we were ready to go exploring. So much to see in this part of France which used to be known as Gascony and only a couple of hours from the Pyrénées mountains and Spain.

Something that I loved doing every week was visiting the Thursday morning market in the nearby town of Eauze. This is by far the largest and best outdoor market in this area of SW France - everything from produce to farming equipment, linens to trees, books to kitchen tools. Any and every thing you could possibly need or want can be found at this year-round market. It was in visiting this market that I realized I needed a way to carry CoCo around with me and still have my arms free. She was so little that I didn't want to keep her on a leash in this really crowded area. I was afraid she would get stepped on! So I went in search of a purse that was large enough for her to sit in comfortably and would go cross-body. A clothing and accessory store in a nearby town had the perfect one! CoCo seemed very happy with it and "rode" quite easily in it never trying to jump out. A "win-win" for us both!

She went everywhere with me. When the weather was warm enough, we followed some walking paths through the forests and countrysides. We went shopping and on short over-night trips. In November we drove north to visit the Loire valley with its magnificent chateaux. We saw Fontevraud Abbey where Eleanor of Aquitaine, her husband Henry II and son Richard the Lionheart are buried. And we visited one of the most beautiful zoos anywhere - the Zoo de Beauval! And CoCo could come along everywhere -even to the zoo! The purse idea was so helpful! And it came in very handy when I started having visitors in January and February. The French are very dog-friendly and most businesses, including restaurants, are quite happy to welcome canines! One of the many things I love about France. In fact, many family run restaurants have their own dog who is the "greeter"! So as my visitors came and I wanted to show them as much of my little corner of France as I could, it was great to be able to bring CoCo along on some of those really long days. In February, my good friend, Beth arrived for three weeks of fun and adventure. I had planned a 5 day road-trip to Paris for part of her stay. It was Beth who coined the term "pooch in a pouch"! I loved it! Everyone in Paris fell in love with CoCo. The problem with that was that CoCo didn't like people and I would have to warn everyone who commented on how cute she was that she was not friendly: "elle n'est pas gentille!". Some of them didn't think I was serious and would reach out to her. I was very proud of her (and relieved!) that she never showed any aggression! whew!!

We came back to Colorado in March of 2017 after having an absolutely fabulous time, seeing and visiting places that I had long wanted to see, and making life-long friends. Our journey home was easy. We flew from Toulouse to Frankfort and then it was a direct flight from there to Denver where Beth was waiting to pick us up. CoCo spent about 15 hours total in her carrier and again was perfectly behaved. She did mellow some during the 11 years that I had her. She finally would let Andy give her treats (but not pet her!) That was progress, as far as I was concerned. There's no way of knowing the trauma that she had endured in the three years she was kept in a cage at the puppy mill. For those who did not know her story, they probably thought that she was a little crazy. I always tried to warn people about her possible aggressive behavior and it was an opportunity for me to educate people about the horrors of puppy mills. But, I know how far she had come. She had overcome so much. She was smart and beautiful and I still miss her everyday. I'm so thankful for Bella and Max - and now Gwinnie - all of them are puppy mill rescues. All of them have different stories. The best feeling in the world is adopting a shelter dog and knowing that you are giving them the life they deserve. Thank you for reading my blog. It means the world to me! Merci!! Now what will I write about???!!!

The Extraordinary Life of CoCo - From Puppy Mill to Paris Part 3

First of all I must apologize for taking so long to write Part 3 of CoCo's story. There are 2 very good reasons for that. The first one being that my computer and my blog app do not seem to like each other as of December. It has become frustrating to try to figure out how to combat (yes, I mean that!) this difficulty. The format looks very different and it is not as user friendly as it used to be. The second reason is a little white fluffy dog named Gwinnie! She joined our household the Monday after Christmas and is worthy of her own blog post - later. But now back to CoCo! In the year leading up to my move to France there was a flurry of activity as I prepared my house for sale and CoCo for the long flight in a small carrier. I hired a trainer so we could work on her getting comfortable being in a carrier for hours at a time. We had 3 private sessions with her and they were very helpful. Then I started taking CoCo to as many places as I could that were dog-friendly - sometimes keeping her in her carrier and sometimes just carrying her around stores in my arms. The trainer suggested putting her in an agility class as those sessions were good to build confidence and help with command obedience. It just so happened that the training center was going to have agility classes for small breeds and so I signed CoCo up for those. I know why poodles were so popular with circuses in years past. They are not only cute and playful, but they are great athletes and performers. This was another example of CoCo doing things to please me! I'm not sure she was that excited about performing all of those tricks, but she was really good at them and I had a great time!

One of the places where she was welcome was the Garden of the Gods Trading Post. I started taking her there to be around people and to have lunch. On our first four or five visits CoCo shook the entire time, even in my arms. She was so little that I seldom put her on the ground when we were in crowds. I wss afraid she'd get stepped on. Eventually, she came to be quite comfortable being at the Trading Post with me. I always had to warn people that she was not friendly. Most people wanted to pet her, but she was known to bite, so a warning was in order. I also took her on a few car trips and on a few domestic flights to see how she would do in her carrier. I did a lot of reading about flying with dogs and checking with airlines and, of course, with France, to see what their requirements were for transporting dogs. She had to stay in her carrier while on the plane, but it was ok to have her in my lap in the airport waiting areas. She adapted really well!! I read that take off and landing were usually the worst for the dogs in their carriers under the seat because of all the vibrations of being on the tarmac. To help allay that anxiety it was suggested that I unzip the carrier just enough to fit my foot inside to assure her that I was still there and wouldn't let anything happen to her. This seemed to help a lot. She would settle down and stop whimpering as soon as I did that. Depending on the flight crew I was allowed to put her carrier in my lap once at cruising altitude (not all crews on United flights were ok with that, so I always asked.) We made a road trip to visit family in Texas and another one to Albuquerque to apply for my Global Entry pass (the Denver airport didn't have any appointments available in time for me to insure that I would get the pass in plenty of time before I moved to France.) That was her first experience in an airport. I was curious about what airports required when it came to having dogs inside. It was a good learning experience for both of us. It was also good to have her sleeping in a few different hotel rooms on those trips to see how she would do. I always took her bed with us so she understood that we were sleeping in these strange places. While all this was going on with CoCo I was getting my house ready to sell. That meant scraping popcorn ceilings, painting walls, refinishing wood floors, getting rid of most of my earthly possessions, taking things to Good Will, renting a storage unit for those things that I didn't want to get rid of, and eventually putting the house on the market. My days were full. I'm sure CoCo knew something was going on but she was such a little trooper!

The house sold faster than I thought it would and I needed a place to stay for about 2 months before the move! My dearest friend, Stacy, offered me her mom's empty townhouse for as long as I needed it! Such a blessing! So CoCo and I moved out of our big house (which I had lived in for over 40 years!) and into a place that CoCo had never seen before. Once again, she was such a good girl! She seemed to realize that if my luggage was there and her bed was there then she was safe. There was no yard, just a small back patio area, so we got used to sitting on the front porch with her on a long lead so she could enjoy the grass and do her thing. She was always really good at going potty on cue! If I was gone, she was so good about staying in the townhouse and watching for my return.

I had to get her into the vet for a certificate of international travel. It stated that all of her shots were up-t-date and she was healthy. Then I had to make an appointment at the USDA office in Denver so they could certify that the vet was a licensed vet in the US and then I received another certificate from the USDA that would be recognized at customs once I landed in France. For a fee, of course! And all of that had to be done withing 10 days of our international flights. After many months of preparation we were ready to go. I had two large suitcases, a backpack and CoCo in her carrier. I had sent a couple of boxes ahead of me to my rental cottage in France. I was soon to find out how blessed I was with the friendship of my landlords! Cindy came four days before my departure. During those days I sold my car, had one last visit to the zoo, had my going away party at the Stroup's house and did final packing. Cindy, CoCo and I stayed our final night in a hotel close to the airport as I had an early morning flight. Andy met us at the airport so he and Cindy could see us off. I was so excited I didn't have time to be sad at leaving the two people I love most in the world! Somehow having CoCo with me helped the transition on this epic lifetime journey on which we were embarking. Goodbye USA and bonjour France! I guess I'll need one more blog post to actually get CoCo to France and eventually to Paris! Until then, thank you for joining me on this written memoire. Part 4 coming soon!

The Extraordinary Life of CoCo - From Puppy Mill to Paris Part 2

A number of years ago I read an article about rescue dogs that said dogs think of their adopters as their saviors. I really do believe that to be true for CoCo. She adored me and wanted only me in her life. She had no desire to form relationships with anyone else and only accepted the dogs in her "pack". This was obvious in her being aggresive towards others. In order for her to not bite or go after someone who was in our house or walking towards our car I would have to hold her. Then she would settle down. But I had to warn people not to try to pet her. She was such a cute little white fluffy dog that everyone commented on how sweet she looked - and I had to tell them the truth. "Unfortunately, she is not as sweet as she looks. She will bite." But she did anything I asked of her. After I retired from teaching I moved all of us - CoCo, Huck and my 20 year old frog Whiskers - to Liberal, KS to help care for my aging mom. I rented out my house in the Springs and, with Andy's expert moving skills, moved everything to Kansas to a lttle rental there. I continued to learn a lot about CoCo and mill dogs in those two years. She was great in the car, but then she was great as long as she could be with me and near me. Huck, being part Husky, loved to run so I would let him and CoCo out in the alley about once a week. It was so funny watching CoCo's little legs try to keep up with Huck. She, of course, had never run before - not much chance to do that when you live in a tiny cage. Her body would get more momentum going than her legs could keep up with and she would do sommersaults! She had more courage and tenacity than any dog I've ever had! I started doing some traveling during those years and found someone to come over and take care of the dogs and the frog while I was gone. I made sure they came to meet the dogs first. Huck was always happy to see someone come. CoCo wanted to get rid of them! I told the sitters that the best thing they could do would be to not try to engage CoCo in any way. I had treats available and told the sitters to toss treats to her - she would not take them out of anyone's hand but mine. And I told them that she would not jump up on the bed to sleep with her (it had to be a female sitter) so to put CoCo's bed on the floor next to where Huck slept. Eventually, she got used to my being gone and would tolerate having a sitter around. She also tolerated the move back to the Springs when I moved my mom to live with me here. That was also an adjustment. She wasn't sure what to think of Mom's walker! But she was tolerant (I seem to use that word a lot with CoCo) of my mom and her presence in our home. Mom was with us for 2 1/2 years before she passed away and she really enjoyed having the dogs around.

One thing that stayed persistant in CoCo's life was her love of sunshine. She loved to find a ray of sun coming through the window and she would lie there and preen, like a cat. It was so cute to watch her. She started her life never seeing the sun and so she wanted to absorb as much as possible. If we were outside she would start in my lap, but if the sun shifted so did she!

CoCo and Huck were best friends. In the next post I will write about our move to France. What a grand adventure we had! Thank you so much for reading my blog. I always appreciate your comments.