Goldilocks and the Baby Giraffe - Part 2

     I could have entitled this "Goldilocks Finally Finds Her House and Ooos and Aaas Over the Baby Giraffe!"  But I thought that might be too long.  I now have two more "loves" in my life - my house and the baby giraffe.  Let me tell you about my house.

Need to top off that tree!

     After looking at about 25 houses, I knew as soon as I saw the online photos that the house on Gomer Avenue was "just right".  I loved everything about it both inside and out.  I think I would have wanted the house just to get the back yard!  It is a wonderful sanctuary of flowering shrubs, herbs, flowers and even a grape vine.  I can see spending lots of time out there and on the covered back porch.  CoCo will love it, too!  And from the front porch there's a view of the Peak 😊

Love this back porch!

And I love the back yard!

Green and nature - perfect!

And an herb garden!!

     But, fortunately, I also love the house.  There's a large master bedroom.  Many years ago someone took down a wall between two smaller bedrooms and made the larger one with a small sitting area near large windows.  Then there's a guest room and what I call a "bonus room".  The present owner converted the garage into living space.  I plan to get a piano eventually and that would be a great room for it along with my doll collection and other childhood memorabilia.

Master Bedroom

Love the Back Splash

Cute dining area that looks to the back yard

     The kitchen is small, but beautifully decorated with a lovely tile backsplash and a tile floor that continues into the small dining area and utility/laundry room.  The owner has taken such good care of everything and it looks wonderful!  The only change I will make is to paint the master bedroom.  She painted it green and while it isn't an "in your face" green, I'm just not a fan of green.  So I plan to paint it a muted aqua - like an Italian Mediterranean aqua. 
     Closing isn't until June 9 and I'm finding it hard to be patient!  I'm so ready to have my own house and get all my things out of storage so I can see all my precious belongings once more.  I've forgotten what all I have packed in there so it will be like Christmas when I get all the boxes out and opened.  And it will be so wonderful to get all my artwork on the walls and be able to see all those wonderful paintings again.  Can you tell I'm excited??  I've only owned one other house in my entire life - the one I sold before I left for France - so I'm so looking forward to calling this lovely little house mine.

Baby is getting checked out

Boma is probably wondering "why?"

Abuto and daughter, Elsa, claim the rock

Tahoma's antlers are getting big

Tumani was showing us her teeth

Cute little Ember playing with momma

     On another note, when I went to the zoo this past week the little giraffe was outside with the herd.  She seemed a little dazed!  Do you think her neck hurt looking so far up to the adults?  She is so adorable and we are so happy to have this new addition to our giraffe herd.  The male lion cubs are no longer allowed to be in the same enclosure as dad, Abuto.  While this is sad, it is a normal and natural progression of events in the life of a lion pride.  The cubs are almost 2 years old and the boys are starting to act like adolescents!  Dad was having none of their shenanigans, according to one of the lion keepers, and put them in their place.  So to avoid any agitation that could lead to violence, they are keeping the boys separate from dad.  They can be with the females as long as dad is not there.  In the wild, the young males would be driven from the area that the pride is in and would go find their own mates and begin their own prides.  But in captivity that is not an option.  We'll see what happens to the boys in the next few months as they may be moved to another zoo or zoos.   😞
     The rest of the animals were all wonderful to visit with, as always.  The zoo is my "happy place" and I always look forward to my next visit.
     I thank you all for staying with me on my most recent path.  I appreciate all your comments and encouragement.  I was watching the final movie of the "Lord of the Rings" and at the end, Frodo shows his book and Bilbo's book.  Bilbo's book was called "There and Back Again" and I decided that was a good title for a book I may write!  But I might call mine "Here, There, and Back Again".

Goldilocks and the Baby Giraffe

     I know what you're thinking: "There's no baby giraffe in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears!" and you're right!  But it got your attention, didn't it? 😊  And today's post includes both the persistant young lady with golden hair and an adorable baby giraffe.
     The past few weeks while looking for houses I have felt like Goldilocks.  This one's too big, this one's too small.  This one is a great house but in a bad part of town.  This one has a great price but it needs too much work.  This one has a wonderful yard, but a "sad" house while this one is a great house, but no yard at all!  And so the search continues for the house that is "just right".
     Yesterday, I think I found the perfect house for me and put in an offer.  I have done that before only to find out that someone else got their offer in before mine, or the house had been taken off the market for one reason or another.  So, I'm waiting for my agent to call and let me know where I stand with this adorable house that I have fallen in love with.  Keep your fingers crossed for me and I promise to let you know more about it once I know my offer has been accepted.  I'm trying not to take it for granted that it's mine.  There are still a number of steps to go through.  But Goldilocks is feeling more confident about having just the right house for me!
     Our most wonderful Cheyenne Mountain Zoo celebrated the birth of their 199th giraffe about a week ago!  She is so wonderful.  The CMZ became part of a giraffe breeding program in the 70s and is one of the most successful breeding zoos in the nation.  It's been a couple of years since we've had a baby, so this little girl is experiencing a huge welcome!  While I went primarily to see her, I, of course, had to visit with all my other special "friends".  Here are a few photos for you to enjoy. 

Hello Baby!

She's so tiny!

My handsome Abuto

My beautiful princess!

Always fun to see the elephants outside

My buddy Tembling saying "hello"

Handsome Goma - our silverback

Ember is always entertaining!

   
     Spring has finally arrived in Colorado Springs and I have bought a few plants so that I have some green until I have a real yard.  It's so wonderful to see the grass getting green and the trees leafing out.  My favorite time of year!  The weather has definitely been our usual - snowing and below freezing one day and sunny and in the 70s the next.  But I do love seeing the snow on the mountain tops.  The Peak is so beautiful and I love being able to see her every day.  If I get the house that I put the offer on, I can sit on the front porch and see the Peak all I want! 

My favorite photo of the Peak since I've been home

     I am ready for this part of the journey to be done - the part where I have to find a house.  Although, it's been kind of fun looking at all the different houses and seeing parts of the city that I had never seen before.  But now I want my own place that I can put my own "stamp" on and settle into some sort of routine.  Don't have a clue yet what that might be! ha! 
     Thank you all for sticking with me on this journey east and back.  It's been a wonderful time for me and I hope you have enjoyed it as well.  You have all been so kind and encouraging.  I look forward to telling you about the next path. 

My new car

2010 Hyundai Tucson

    

Sweet Home, Colorado

     I should not have reread my last post before writing this one.  I am now a little teary as I begin this post - my first one since I returned from France about three weeks ago.  I had planned to write one a few days after I returned, but as I recount all that has happened since I got home you will, hopefully, understand why it's taken me so long.
     Beth was waiting at the airport to welcome me back to Colorado when I landed in Denver on March 28th.  It was an easy flight(s).  I felt bad that poor little CoCo was in her carrier for 16 hours!  But she did great!  We breezed through passport check since I have a "Global Entry" pass.  I just put my passport in a machine and went on to baggage claim.  We were slowed down a little because I had to declare my "animal" at customs.  But then we were out and there was Beth - and a cloudy, rainy day.  So I couldn't see my beloved mountains!  Darn!
     Beth took me over to Stacy's to pick up the key for the condo.  Then we went through a drive-thru and got burgers for me and CoCo.  Beth had thought of everything and had bought breakfast for me - President's butter, Bonne Maman strawberry jam and croissants!
     The next day the sun came out and there was the Peak looking so beautiful with her new coat of snow!

A beautiful early morning photo of the Peak

    Beth picked me up and we went to lunch at Hacienda Colorado, my favorite Mexican restaurant.  Then she took me to get my rental car which I would need until Cindy came on Friday to be my "wheels" until I could find a car to buy.
     I was able to get my TV and internet set up, buy groceries and run a few other errands before heading back to the condo to check on little CoCo!  She's a trouper!  She got groomed -professionally, not by me! - on Thursday and looks so much better now.
     Cindy came on Friday and we were pretty much non-stop until she left yesterday morning.  She drove me around to look at cars and houses and in between all of that we ate at our favorite restaurants, visited our favorite places, saw "Beauty and the Beast" and had a wonderful fast-paced time!

Our French breakfast in Colorado!

     I was pretty firm about what I wanted in a vehicle and what price I was willing to pay, so after looking all over town I ended up buying a car in Castle Rock!  It's a 2010 Hyundai Tuscon.  I had hoped to find another RAV 4, but people seem to hold onto those til they die!  But I think I'll be really happy with the Tuscon.  And it's an automatic!!!  (If you read my posts about car buying in France, you'll understand that last comment!)
     We also looked at a few houses.  The housing market in the Springs has really taken off so houses are going quickly, especially in my price range.  But thanks to my precious friend, Stacy, I don't have to be in a hurry and can wait for the perfect place for me.  It needs to "sing Hallelujah", as Beth says!
People have asked if I regret selling my house of 40 years. The answer is "NO".  I would have wanted to down-size anyway so it would have been gone in a few years no matter what.  I want a much smaller house.  It has to have a fenced in back yard and a garage.  It's been fun looking.  I'm sure that just the right place will show up.
     I have been to the zoo twice since getting back.  It's so good to reconnect with my "babies".  Yesterday I had a wonderful greeting from Asha and her daughter, Tumani, two of our lowland gorillas.  They both came over to the glass where I was sitting and patted the window.  Tumani took off, but Asha stayed and "visited" with me.  Sorry I don't have photos of them as I was so busy "visiting" that I forgot to take pictures!  And the lion cubs are getting so big!  They are absolutely beautiful!  What a joy to see them again.

Elsa is looking so grown up!

Tembling came over to say "hello"

It's hard being a bear!

One of our beautiful mountain lions

Tahoma's antlers are looking good

     The next few weeks will be filled with more house-hunting and settling in to life back in my beloved Colorado.  Do I miss France?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  I miss the little churches and the big cathedrals, the castles on the hillsides, the abbeys in the woods, the lovely family owned restaurants, the little villages. And I miss H and G!  But it is nice to be able to run errands between noon and 2 and know that places are open! ha!  I am already making plans to return next year. 
     I will continue to write my blog posts.  They may not be every week, but will help to chronicle my return to Colorado.  You have all been so wonderful to me on this journey and I do so appreciate every encouraging word, question, comment, virtual hug. And may your journey be as wonderful as mine!  Merci!! 
    
   

Leaving is Bittersweet

     As I write this, it is 8:30 pm in my little corner of France.  Europe went to Daylight Savings Time last night so now we're back to being 8 hours ahead of Colorado time.  I am all packed.  I have cleaned the cottage the last two days and so have very little that needs to be done tomorrow before I start loading the rental car to head to Toulouse.  I will spend Monday night there near the airport and then will take the hotel's shuttle Tuesday morning to get me to the airport around 7:30ish.
     My flight leaves at 9:55am.  The first leg is Toulouse/Frankfort.  Then it's a long Frankfort/Denver flight.  CoCo is all set with the paperwork that she needs to reenter the US.  I took her to the vet in Vic on Thursday.  We met a goat coming out as we were going in.  I love rural France!  (I doubt the goat was getting his traveling papers.)
     This afternoon I was given a lovely "going away" party.,  H and G had invited their (and now my) English friends, Elaine and Tony.  Elaine baked two wonderful cakes - a Victorian sponge cake with strawberry jam and cream, and a chocolate cake.  Hélène made tea and my French neighbor (staying in the gite nextdoor) brought beignets and a lovely peach wine spritzer. 
     It was a beautiful sunny afternoon so we helped set up the patio furniture, which had been in storage for the winter, and sat outside to enjoy the sunshine and blue skies as well as the flowers and greenery of Spring.

My Going Away Party on the Patio

Me with Hélène and Giuseppe - my "family" in France

     This has been my home for the past seven months.  I can't imagine a better place to have lived for my French experience.  And so saying "Goodbye" has not been easy.  It will be hard to say farewell to H and G tomorrow.  It will miss seeing them everyday.  I will miss seeing Hélène at her computer when I take CoCo out for her morning walk.  We wave as I pass by her window which looks out onto the walkway.  It will miss seeing Giuseppe as he's working in the yard and garden.  They have been so good to me!  Their friendship has been a constant source of help and comfort.
     I know I'll be back.  This place is in my soul now and I must return!  But for now the bend in the road is taking me back to my beloved Colorado.  I am so anxious to see everyone there again!  Andy, and my dear friends.  Cindy is coming on Friday to spend a few weeks.  It will be great to see my "babies" at the zoo and to get back to my weekly and monthly routines with friends.
      I am so thankful that all of you have joined me on this journey.  I had no idea when I set out that I would be returning quite so soon.  But that's the fun thing about a journey - you are never quite sure just how everything will turn out! 

Countdown to Colorado

     There's a flurry of activity surrounding me at the moment as I prepare to return to Colorado a week from Tuesday.  I have lists and piles and more lists and more piles . . .  And I must admit to shedding a few tears as I think of leaving this beautiful place that has been home for the past seven months and that I have come to love - almost as much as I love Colorado.
     But I am ready to return to my life that I love in the Springs and to see all those people I love and have missed since I left the end of August. 
     I had a busy past few days which I will tell you about today as they were quite eventful - each in a different kind of way.  Thursday I drove south towards the mountains to visit with friends who live outside of Lannemezan and have a fabulous panoramic view of the Pyrenees!  I first met Marianne and Brian on Facebook a few years ago.  They own a holiday cottage and bedrooms that they rent out and are dog lovers - Marianne is active with a rescue group in that region.  So we have many things in common. 

A view of the mountains that I took on my last visit with Marianne and Brian

     I had visited them when I first arrived in France and spent the night in one of their bedrooms on a return trip from Spain.  CoCo did OK with their dogs, Monty and Maddie, who really wanted to play with her, but she just doesn't understand the concept of play.  This time she seemed more at ease with them, but still spent the entire visit in my lap!
     Marianne had baked an apple walnut cake and fixed a pot of tea.  We sat outside and enjoyed the view and were entertained by her dogs and the neighbor dog who seems to prefer their home to his!  I had some doggy items that I wanted to give her for the rescue group as I have no more need of them and don't want to pack them.  So it all worked out great.
     Friday was the "selling the car" day which didn't go as well as I had hoped.  I left for Toulouse (about an hour and a half drive) in the morning and arrived a little early for the appointment I had booked at the "sell your car" ("vendezvotrevoiture") business.  After looking it over, he gave me a much lower estimate than had appeared on their website calculator.  I was really disappointed!  However, I did not want to have to advertise and try to find a buyer and deal with all the paperwork myself, so I agreed to their price.  Other than that everything went quite smoothly - paperwork taken care of, title transferred as well as the money which was sent to my French bank account.
     Then I took a taxi (rather expensive, I thought) to the airport to pick up the rental car I had reserved.  That was a pleasant surprise as they put me in a much larger/nicer car than I had booked for the same price.  Of course now I have to get used to driving a stick shift again for these last few days.  I don't know what the French have against automatics!!
     Yesterday was one of my favorite days since Beth left.  H and G took me to a most wonderful restaurant in the tiny medieval village of Basaste about 45 minutes north of us.  The restaurant, called "Le Moulin des Saveurs", is in what used to be part of a 13th century fortified mill on a little stream.  We ate inside a stone cavity that went back into the limestone hillside.  It was so charming and the cuisine was superb!!  Then they drove me around to some nearby villages that I had not yet visited and we enjoyed the beautifully sunny day and the very enjoyable company.

The 13th century fortified mill and stone bridge

A closer view of the mill

The outside of the restaurant

Inside the restaurant

Walking from the car towards the restaurant and mill

     So now comes the final week of getting everything done - packing, cleaning, sorting, washing, etc.  I will leave my fairytale cottage in the Gers on Monday to drive back to Toulouse, return the rental car and spend the night near the airport for my Tuesday morning departure.  It is coming up fast.  Then who knows what might lie around the next bend once I return to Colorado?  If you stay with me a little while longer, you can join me on my next great adventure. 

The Colors of the Gers - A Poem

I am convinced the maker of
That box of sixty-four
Crayons that I loved so as a child
Had spent some time in Southwest France
And noticed for himself
The myriad of colors - tame and wild

I never knew that there could be
So many shades of green
Oak and laurel, cyprus, birch and pine
Moss and cactus, yucca, palm
Winter wheat and grass
The dainty leaves that dance upon the vine

And then there are the other varied
Crayons in that box
The artist's palette - every shade and hue
The colors of the rainbow there
And every shade between
Pink and yellow, violet, red and blue

The deep blue of the mountain sky
Pink blossoms on the trees
The yellow daffodils which welcome Spring
The golden stones of farms and barns
The wispy clouds at dusk
In shades of rose, the hawks upon the wing

What color would you give to frost
Which sparkles on the trees
And makes the spider's web appear like lace
Or how about the water in the
Ponds which fill in Spring
With shades of blue and green upon the face

I walk along the country lanes
And wonder at the views
Of nature in this region I adore
The colors of the Gers are bright
The shades are dipped in Time
Memorialized in poetry and lore

I am just one more pilgrim on these
Paths in woodlands old
Who gazes on these colors - tame and wild
And feels so small surrounded by
The pull of Life so vast
And once again I am that little child

Colors of the Fall

Colors of the Mountains

Colors of a Vineyard

The golden stone and the blue blue sky

The artist's palette of colors

The Kaleidoscope Turns, the Compass Shifts

(I couldn't make up my mind on which title I liked best for this post so I decided to use them both!  You'll understand why if you keep reading.)
  
     I have always been fascinated with kaleidoscopes.  I love how the little pieces of colored glass fall into different places each time you turn the cylinder.  And then somehow you have a brand new pattern - a new perspective.  It's the same number of pieces of glass, but now they look different.  Just as beautiful, but different.  Isn't that the same with life?
     One of my first blog posts was entitled "My Eastward Pointing Compass."  I talked about how my heart was looking towards France and my desire to move there, to follow my dream of living in France someday.  And what a marvelous dream it has been!!  I wouldn't change it for the world!
     But . . . .  I think it was towards the end of November, around Thanksgiving in the States, when it hit me that I would be spending the holidays away from Andy and everyone I loved back in Colorado.  I also found that when I talked about "home", that it was Colorado that I meant, not France.
     I had planned to fix a traditional American Thanksgiving meal for H and G and my neighbors in the next cottage.  I brought all my recipes, but then found out that many of the ingredients I take for granted as being able to get in the States, are not available in France.  So I was disappointed that I couldn't make a Thanksgiving meal.  I eventually made a "sort-of" Thanksgiving meal - just for me as my oven and fridge are small and not able to hold all the usual dishes.  But it was far from what I had planned.  
     I loved being in France at Christmastime.  I had never experienced that before.  And here in the beautiful SW of France it was truly magical with the village Christmas markets and lights and traditional activities.  But, oh how I missed Andy and my usual Christmastime activities in Colorado.
     After the exhausting search for a car, I was in no mood to start looking for a house knowing that would be many times more difficult and stressful.  It was then that I realized I am living my dream right now.  I don't have to own a house and stay committed to living in France indefinitely to enjoy being here.  I love being here, but I want to go "home".
     My definition of home has changed some.  I used to think "Home is Where the Heart Is", and to an extent that is true.  However, I have come to realize that "home" is where the people you love are.  I love being here, but I love even more my family and friends back in the States.   And I miss them terribly.
     One of my realizations while living here and talking to ex-pats, mainly from England, is that most of them moved here to escape a life that they found unfulfilling or stressful; they didn't like the weather where they were, they were searching for sunshine and warmth, somewhere they could be outside most of the time and be healthier.  They moved here as a way out of a place they no longer wanted to be.
     But that was not at all why I came here.  I have never stopped loving Colorado!  I just wanted to be able to see what it was like to actually live in this country that I love so much.  I've been here almost seven months and have loved all that I've been able to see and do as a "resident alien".  Oh, I've had my share of stressful situations and difficult times with bureaucracy.  I think that exists in every country!

One of my favorite sights ever!

     Life here has truly been grand - like living in a fairytale.  Everywhere I look I see something that I love - the rolling green hills, the church steeple in the neighboring village, the castle tower on the hillside as I drive the 30 minute route into Auch, the absolutely breathtaking beauty of the cathedral in Condom just 20 minutes away, the Thursday morning market in Eauze .  And add to that, my wonderful new friends, Hélène and Giuseppe!  I don't know what I would have done without their constant help, guidance, encouragement, laughter and daily presence in my life!  I owe them a debt of gratitude and have offered them a standing invitation to come spend time with me in Colorado - if they can figure out how to leave their business for that long.

The neighboring hillside

The church in Vic

A medieval tower in a nearby town

Inside the Cathedral St Pierre in Condom

     I will be moving back to Colorado three weeks from Tuesday - March 28th.  As a good friend has said, "another chapter of your life begins".   Who knew there could be so many chapters of your life beyond retirement? ha!  The thing is, I miss my life in Colorado more than I love my life here.  I never left the Springs because I was unhappy or unsettled or looking for a better place to live.  I have always loved living in the Springs.  It has always been and always will be "home" for me.
     I am so happy that I followed my dream and came to this lovely little corner of SW France - if only for seven months.  It has all been worth it.  (Not sure CoCo would agree with that!)  AND, I'll get to enjoy two Springs this year - my favorite season.  How is that possible, you ask?  Well, Spring has arrived in the Gers.  The daffodils and pansies are blooming.  The irises and tulips are ready to bloom.  The farmers are getting ready to plant their summer crops.  The grass is green and the leaves are beginning to show on the trees that didn't lose their leaves over the winter.

Flowers at the cottages

     When I get back to Colorado the end of this month, it will still be winter.  Colorado has our biggest snows in March and April and then we'll start to see green appear.  So I'll be back in time to see Springtime in the Rockies.  There is so much about the Springs that I have missed and can't wait to get back into my weekly/monthly routine of lunches and dinners  and movies with friends (I have really missed Mexican food and buttered popcorn!), my weekly zoo visits - my babies won't remember me! - seeing Andy every week, hiking in the Garden of the Gods and seeing Pikes Peak everyday.
     You have all been so wonderful throughout this journey!  I never thought I would have so many followers and readers of my blog.  I have felt your encouragement and love all along the way.  Sorry I won't be here for those of you who said you would come and visit me.  But let me know when you're planning to come and I can give you the names of some great holiday home owners! :-)
      I plan to continue the blog for awhile as I turn over this next chapter in my life.  It won't  be the same, obviously, as sharing my adventures in France.  But I will have a car to buy and eventually a house and that will offer its own kind of adventure if you're still willing to join me.  
     I am so very appreciative of your willingness to accompany me as I have traveled around the many bends in the road to get here.  Your presence has been felt everywhere I go.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart - a piece of which will always be in this little corner of France! Next week I'll share with you some of my favorite things from my life in France.   Merci!.