French la Vie

Happy Birthday Sacha

Happy 27th Birthday, Sacha! 

 

(In French to say, Uncle, it is Ton. But just like some say Auntie for Aunt, Ton-Ton is for Ton.)

 

 

 

Love Does Such Things

 

Baby Gabriel

 

I asked if I could take him home.

Need I say the answer?

My friend Lizzie said that when a baby comes into one's life it is as if one is

watching Baby TV 24/7 because you cannot take your eyes off of them.

My new favorite show "Gabriel". I will be posting baby overload.

I never want to leave.

Beautiful Boy Gabriel

 

 

 

Gabriel was born on June 15th in the morning.

He weighed 9 pounds.

Chelsea, Martin and the baby shared a beautiful natural birth

and are somewhere deep in an enchanted land of love.

 

 

 

 

Overflowing Joy

 

 

So so much more to share.

overflowing Joy.

We are in that dream state between 

heaven and earth.

The baby has arrived.

Details will follow. 

 

Thank you for every thought, prayer, wish, dream, hope that you sent.

Your love and friendship were felt.

 

Baby??

 

Soon. Chelsea feels good and is happy. Anticipating with joy, not anxious nor worried. Such a special time to wake up wondering, « Is today the day? « Then being curious throughout the day and night with giddy excitement. I haven’t had this feeling since I was a child at Christmas.

Divine Touch

 

The Mystery 

full ripe womb

sacred treasure

seen 

but unseen

felt but not held

visible but

invisible

sacred wonder

loved and loved and loved

now and forever

 

(no sign we are happily waiting)

Anticipation

waiting

for the expected

baby with 

anticipating joy.

baby to be

I see you wiggling

tomorrow maybe?

or next week's full moon?

the kitchen clock tics

Chelsea grows 

all is good

in this moment of elevated 

dreams to come true.

 

 

The House Next Door

A Repost from 2011 Chelsea and Sacha

 

Those shining stars who get under our skin, who capture our hearts, who take us beyond what we ever knew about love. Those shining stars, those who we love, and love us in return.

Have you ever known a love like that? Someone who is your star, who leads you?

Starlight.

 

 

Star bright.

What happiness I feel when I am around my children. Just being with them and watching them become who they are. How fortunate I feel loving them, knowing they love me and trust me.

I loved being their mother when they were babies. I remember thinking that each age: Newborn, Two, Five, Seven, Ten, Fourteen, Sixteen, Twenty... was the best and couldn't imagine that it would be better. 

I was happily wrong each moment was delicious.

 

 

 

 

I love that they love each other. That they get along, are never jealous and are there for each other. I am happy to watch them at a distant and or close at hand. I wish I would swallow them whole, but do what I can to stand back and let them be.

Have you ever wanted to hold someone forever?

I wish they would live under our roof or at least next door.

First star I see at night.

 

 

 

I know I am being gushy and proud, but that is what happens when I spend unlimited time with these two.

They make me happy.

 

 

 

(Goofing off but I like it.)

 

I have to take ten thousand photos (and I am not exaggerating no matter what Chelsea says!) of Chelsea to have ten without her making a face. Okay, let's say that Chelsea likes to make faces, though when I beg her not too, she will smile briefly and sometimes I am lucky to catch it before she goofs off again. And what is really, utterly strange is Chelsea is the more serious one out of the two of these potato heads. And Sacha rarely goofs off in front of the camera, well with me that is.

 

 

 

 

These two shining stars I have made my wishes come true.

 

And soon Sacha will be home, and Chelsea will have a baby...

Nothing better.

 

Photos of Notre Dame

 

As I walked around Notre Dame in Paris I could not help but cry. It was shocking to see the damage even if the facade remains mostly intact.  The Rose glass windows have miraculously survived, their supporting facades stand strikingly tall and seemingly alone. The windows around the ambulatory appeared to be missing what I could see seemed to be empty spaces replaced by boarded-up plastic shields.

Notre Dame is sealed completely off by a wall. I walked in a daze along the river and crossed the bridge behind to see the full effect of the damage I can only imagine the damage on the inside, and how horrific for the parishioners and neighbors who lived near it.

Notre Dame will take time to analyze before restoration can begin.

 

 

 

 

 

The smell of ash was startling. Yann said there was a report that said 300 tons of lead melted in the fire the authorities are asking pregnant, nursing mothers and families with newborns who lived nearby to be tested for lead levels. Chelsea lives further away so it wasn’t necessary.

A long time blog reader wrote to me:

"Yes, I too read about the lead and was very worried for the people who live and work so close by. No one on the U.S. news talked about humans at the time of the fire, but there are so many shops and food carts and the flower market... I really love to noodle around that area and I have a favorite shop where I buy my Paris "tchochkes "...sachets and tea towels and an ugly magnet for my daughter. Apparently, they were only closed for a couple of days, and the man who owns "my" store said that business was booming. "

 

 

 

IThe bell towers and the main facade are intact, the bells survived but remain silent. 

The organ:

 

"...More recently, during the 20th century, renovations were often the result of strong or sudden changes in the weather and other environmental factors: an overflowing of the Seine, heat waves… Fortunately, the organ was largely spared by the fire that started in the cathedral in the evening of 15 April 2019. However, the dust, soot, and intense heat from the fire will undoubtedly have had an impact upon the instrument. Not to mention the site's exceptional acoustic with a seven-second echo. Its roof largely destroyed, it will be a while before we are able to hear the organ rumble once more... As for the second instrument held in the building, a small chorus organ from 1969, the assessment is far less positive since the instrument was directly flooded during the work by firefighters."

 

 

 

My friend Barbara Willis wrote to me on FB:

"...Despite this tragedy, she stands and will in time heal.

Never the same but refreshed for new generations to

worship, marry, Christen their children, pray and praise God.

So much is gone but her heart remains to rise again."

 

Waiting for Baby

Table Top Love

"Everything happens for a reason" — and other lies I've loved

 

 

The game of life is an interest and challenging game

one in which you never know how it will end, but you know it will.

 

It can be played with a combination of

feelings, ideas, goals, attitudes, thoughts... you can give it your all

or give it very little, or somewhere in between.

The outcome of how you will play out it is unknown, you can play it well or not, either way, it can change faster than a blink of an eye in a direction you never expected or for which you desired.

Some sail smoothly through it,

Some have faith with amazing endurance and grace,

Some have a rough go and come through with an abundance of joy, others kick and scream and rarely see beauty. Some ask questions, others accept, some see God, some see darkness, others just let it be.

The game is for the living.

It is for the brave, the weak, the rich, the poor, the happy and the sad.

Some see the end as a stepping stone to somewhere better, others don't see it that way at all.

 

 

 

 

In life's toughest moments, how do you go on living? Kate Bowler has been exploring this question ever since she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer at age 35. In a profound, heartbreaking and unexpectedly funny talk, she offers some answers -- challenging the idea that "everything happens for a reason" and sharing hard-won wisdom about how to make sense of the world after your life is suddenly, completely changed. "I believe that in the darkness, even there, there will be beauty and there will be love," she says.

This video was produced by TEDMED. TED's

 

 

 

Please follow the link above. I found this very interesting and beautiful, her message resonates with what I have felt in my darkest moments: With the death of my boyfriend, having ovarian cancer, my father's death... It made me cry as I felt an understanding seldom expressed by those who have not lived or held darkness in their hands. I would like your opinion, your thoughts.

Yann disagrees somewhat to her opinion, he thinks if you do something good then good comes back to you such as if you smile at someone someone smiles back if you throw mud at someone the person will probably act not favorably. I hear what he is saying, we can choose how we act or react in our lives. though when I asked what he thought about bad things happening to good people? Yann questions, "What is bad?" I was nearly crazy trying to understand what he was saying, he said why to label good and bad instead see them as lessons from which to learn and grow. I get that but smiling and having someone smile back is one thing, having something "bad" happen and seeing it as a lesson? In the end we understood we choose to step forward and live our lives faithfully to love, we might not get it right, we have and will fall short but in the end, what matters to us is that we live it well for the sake of Love and Goodness and Light and not for a reward here now or later. 

 

The Invisible Door

 

Out of nowhere like the air that passes by something triggers a memory, a feeling, a thought

that takes me to a place or an idea that I have or have not thought of before. A magic wonder, serendipity, an open

door to discovering something deeper or new. The amazing occurrence of life's tidbits to wonder and awe or simply an aha moment.

An antique china bowl with brightly colorful soup spoons, gave way to that passage the other day. Swirling me in a creative sense, that

eventually gave way to this thought.  Life's unexpected invisible doors opening and leading us further along.

 

 

 

Paper Addict Admiration

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Going to the brocante is more than an addiction it is an admiration for the past, for the discoveries I learn and gather about France, French culture and history. A living museum a rare account of the way things were. Going to the brocante is more than finding old things by rummaging through dusty boxes of past lives. Brocanting is the story of past lives, to see first hand the way life was lived and evolved. History gathered in a letter, a dish, a painting, a book, a tool... piece by piece as if a puzzle of yesterday coming together to this moment.

 

 

 

Last Sunday I found a box full of 16th to 17th-century documents, some of them from an officer from the Duc d'Orlean.

 

 

 

 

Tic Toc Waiting

Before I knew Chelsea and Martin were expecting a baby I had scheduled the French la Vie Journeys. The next one starts on the 25th of June, Chelsea’s due date is the 15th. Fingers crossed the baby is born around then and not born late... otherwise I might be leading the group through the maternity.

 

A French Riddle

 

A French Riddle engraved on a heart. What does it say?

I was at the brocante in Paris when I added a photo of this heart to my Instagram stories. Someone wrote me an hour or so later saying they wanted to buy it. Retracing my steps was as hard as finding a needle in a haystack! Luck was on my side when I found it and asked the dealer what it meant. She said to me read it and hear what you are saying, et voilà I understood. Do you know what it says?

 

This Year's Blooms

 

 

 

The roses Eden in my courtyard, lush wonders of a hundred petals. Beautiful though lacking perfume.

This year there was an explosion of blossoms!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading to Paris

 

My bag is packed.

The bus arrives soon, then I will catch the train to Paris.

The day has finally arrived, or I should say the next chapter, I am going to go wait in Paris for the baby to be born.

Chelsea is not in labor yet, I am going ahead of time I do not want to miss the moment!

This moment is around the corner how my eyes fill and my nose stings just thinking about it.

OH MY GOD!!!

A baby!

 

 

I am so happy and excited to share these next days with you.

Thank you, Susan and Barbara, for the gifts you have sent. They are neatly folded and ready to be used.

If I am crying with happiness now I can only imagine how I am going to feel the moment the baby arrives!

My Guess is:

Date June 10

Weight 9 lbs.

a Boy

Name Elijah 

And yours if you haven't already added to the post or by comment early?

 

 

 

 

Antique Discoveries St Exupery

 

One never knows what one will find while antiquing, even if one has been to the same shop or fair over a million times and knows every nook and cranny with one's eyes closed. Though antiquing is a source of magic, wonders behind a painting, tucked within the pages of a book, stuffed in a pocket, hidden in a box under a bed... antiquing shows one another world, another time, a passage to lives lived.

An antique dealer I know was allowed to enter a famous ruined home, and to purchase whatever he found interesting. The home was of Antoine St Exupery... what he found he mostly donated to the city and the local museum, plus he sold other items. A few things he kept and lends to museums and events which focus on St Exupery.

One such item is St. Exupery's flight coat.

 

"Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, Comte de Saint-Exupéry (French, 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944) was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist, and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of several of France's highest literary awards and also won the U.S. National Book Award. He is best remembered for his novella (Le Petit Prince) and for his lyrical aviation writings, including Night Flight and Wind, Sand and Stars.

Saint-Exupéry was a successful commercial pilot before World War II, working airmail routes in Europe, Africa, and South America. At the outbreak of war, he joined the Frenc Air Force (Armée de l'Air), flying reconnaissance missions until in 1940. After being demobilized from the French Air Force, he traveled to the United States to help persuade its government to enter the war against Nazi Germany. Following a 27-month hiatus in North America, during which he wrote three of his most important works, he joined the Free FrenchAir Force in North Africa, although he was far past the maximum age for such pilots and in declining health. He disappeared over the Mediterranean on a reconnaissance mission in July 1944, and is believed to have died at that time.^"

 

 

Yann was fortunate to try on St. Exupery's flight coat, and when he put it on a tear formed in his eye.

Yann asked the antique dealer why he did not have the flight coat restored? The antique dealer responded, "And take off the patina of time, remove the essence of St Exupery, you mean to make the flight coat new? To erase the journey?"

I beamed at the antique dealer's response. So true. Why do certain people want to "restore or renovate" certain objects when the value is in the beauty of age where the story speaks, "I have been around awhile and still I have something to share."

Listening with the eyes.

Feeling the invisible story.

St Exupery knew that.

 

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry/Quotes

 

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

 

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

 

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

 

 

 

We were able to buy one of St Exupery's maps, the others had been sold to the museum in Nice, it was an early father's day gift for Yann.

 

 

Countdown to Babyhood

 

Countdown to babyhood, the dumpling that will arrive any time in the next two weeks. I do not know how I feel as it seems a bit surreal that is until I see Chelsea's growing belly. Chelsea has been the model of pregnant women: Hasn't been sick at all, started her maternity leave, feels good and has only gained about 15 pounds. Gee, I could gain that in a week.

The countdown finding a name.

Setting up a nursery:

Bassinet, blankets, diapers, potions, and a comfortable chair.

 

A mobile above the bed.

 

 

 

Eventually, sometime after breastfeeding a silver spoon and a fork.

 

 

A pin like this to hold down a baby's bib.

All the photos are things I have sold over the years.

I guess I have had a baby on my mind for some time.

 

 

 

A napkin ring... I haven't seen one like this in a long time.

 

 

 

These little shoes enjoyed being the host to someone who was learning to walk.

 

 

A rattle.

 

 

Before sippy cups.

 

 

These sorts of medallions with rings at the top were to hang in the bassinet.

 

 

 

I am going to have fun dressing up this baby.

 

 

 

 

Dressing up and playing!

 

 

Why not pretty labels attached to the basket of baby clothes?

 

 

 

Maybe I should learn to paint, or draw?

 

 

 

Happy days ahead. The countdown to another beautiful relationship, you have been waiting to come for a very long time in you will be formed with some of the cells of those we have loved great grandparents, grandparents, parents... and now you.

I long to kiss your forehead and look into your eyes.

 

French Market Any Day of the Week

 

On any day of the week all year long there is an open market somewhere in Provence. Local products are mostly sold, and rarely is anything sold that is not in season. Hence, this time of the year it is the beginning of the overflowing cornucopia.

 

Homemade tomato soup click here.

 

 

Cherry Jam to read more click here.

 

 

 

 

Cheese, wine, and bread... the classic love affair.

To read more click here.

 

 

 

Remember Annie's Orange Salad?

Click here to read more.

 

 

 

 

Have you ever had Orange Lavender Jam? If not let that be a good reason to come to the market in France.

I will have the baguette and the salted butter waiting for you when you come over. 

 

 

No words needed.

 

 

 

 

Wild dried herbs.

Sage.

 

 

Asparagus.

It is a wonder I am not asparagus with a strawberry hat.

 

 

 

Fresh peas.

Soup to be jealous about, pea green jealous!

Click here to read more.

 

 

 

 

Garlic Bundles worth the effort.

Click here for the recipe.

 

 

Last years lavender bundles.

This year I am leading a French la Vie through the Lavender fields, Photos and picnics, and of course the brocante. If you are interested in coming please email me.

 

A Note From a Guest Who Stayed in the House Next Door

 

 

 

 

 

My stay at ‘the house next door’ was perfect.  The small but mighty home exudes instant calm as each room beckons…napping in the comfy queen size bedroom upstairs, soaking in the copper tub, whipping up flavor-filled food in the elegantly functional kitchen or just watching Provence from the window on the backyard.  Provence is ribbons of poppy fields lining the roads, vineyards that reveal their age through the strength of their stalks, crisp radishes and lettuce, extraordinary dried mushrooms (kept behind the counter in the local epicerie), church bells marking the hours, happy dog-walkers with happy dogs at every turn, streets of pastel houses filled with flower boxes and friendly folk chatting from their balconies, rosemary bushes everywhere, the rose wine, the rose wine, the rose wine, children playing at the nearby school, cafes where conversation is live, animated and always fun, wee mountain towns,  daily sunshine streaming in the kitchen, delicate flaky pastry with flakes upon its flakes, and people from all over the world landing together with steady, comfortable, curious ease in a storybook countryside…all presented by Corey and Yann, who make you feel that you belong in this dreamscape…and so I did for an unforgettable month.  Paradis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Shelley Wildgen for sharing your thoughts about our village and the House Next Door.

Shelley is from Ontario, Canada and stayed with us April 15-May 15/2019

 

 

I Have Been Gone Antiquing

What else can I say?

The last group of the French la Vie leaves tomorrow.

And the next one starts at the end of June, I will be a grandmother by then. 

I still have places left for the June trip if you or someone you know would like to come.

 

Live it Fully

"In this house

we share

we talk and talk about nothing

Everything

we are happy

WE DREAM, WE PLAY

we make errors and we forgive

we listen

WE COOK EAT DRINK

We love to receive We say thank you

we kick back and

laugh

We work

we do chores we grow we become 

we read we argue we wonder

we explore

we profit each instant"

 

(Taken from a sign I saw in a restaurant.)

 

 

 

A Day with the French la Vie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happiness, French la Vie

 

My first couple has come to Provence to join me on a French la Vie Journey. We will be exploring places slowly, tasting our way through the countryside, of course antiquing and dipping into things that make us smile. 

Tomorrow we are going out to sea for the afternoon and later to have dinner in Marcel Pagnol's countryside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The colors of Provence are flying high. 

I can tell it is going to be a fantastic week, I am so lucky to meet such lovely people. I thank God for bringing so many of you into my life,

for giving me such good moments of friendships and shared joy!

I would have never thought my life in France would have come to this, to meet so many like-minded people from all over the world, to start a blog and have it bloom into all sorts of fun-filled adventures and creative projects. I count my lucky stars and kiss God on the cheek, and smile deeply for the community I feel with you.

 

 

Oh, Provence you Glorious wonderland.

How happy I am to share your richness is simplicity.

 

 

Chelsea and Martin's Apartment in Paris

 

Dear French La Vie Readers,

 

As you most likely know, Martin & I are expecting a baby very soon. 

We will give birth in Paris and stay here for a few weeks before heading down to the South of France, to our parent's homes for the summer. We are looking forward to being together as a family.

We are therefore hoping to rent out our apartment to someone we can trust for a month or two while we are back in our childhood homes with our newborn.

 

 

 

Below is some practical information if ever you or someone you know may be interested:

Availability & Price: 

July and/or August 2019. For one or two people. 1500 Euros for one month or  2800 Euros for two months. 

Location:

Central Paris, 10th arrondissement. 

 

 

 

The Apartment:

-             Two bedrooms (one is the baby’s room with a fold out couch),

-             One bathroom with a bathtub/shower,

-         A washing machine is available,

-             A fully equipped kitchen,

-             A living room/dining room with large screen TV & cable & Wifi,

-             On the 3rd floor (with an elevator) of a building inside a courtyard (no view of the street, calm),

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Neighborhood

-        A lively local neighborhood with many shops & restaurants, theatres. Many metros & buses around,

-        A five-minute walk from Gare de l’Est & the Canal Saint-Martin, a ten-minute walk from Place de la Republique, 10-20 minute from Le Marais (bus or metro),

-        Direct metro to Chatelet, Notre Dame, Montparnasse train station…

-        2 covered markets within walking distance, Grocery store a minute away.

-               Practical, Safe, Charming... Paris.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note:

We are renting the apartment as it is (with our belongings in it).

We moved in this year, so we haven’t spent the summer months there yet. It shouldn’t be too hot there isn't an AC though there are electric fans.

Our old but renovated building has many young families with children, so you can sometimes hear them running around or crying but it usually doesn't last long.

Our home is a NON-SMOKING, NO PETS apartment.

Please respect our neighbors: NO PARTIES allowed.

Don't hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions,

Chelsea xx

chelseaetmartin@gmail.com

 

Babies are Sugar Lumps

 

 

There is something about a baby...

their baby smell, their little hands, their plump ruby lips, pinchable cheeks, silk ribbon tied wrists, their little bald heads...

Babies I am sorry to say I could swallow them whole like a lump of sugar.

 

Oh, and when they coo.

When they smile in their sleep.

When they want to stay in your arms and do not want you to put them down.

When they are, just as they are, chubby little deliciousness. 

 

When they nibble on your finger, and drool, soaking their clothes.

When they try to stand.

When they want what they want, trying to let you know by their little sounds.

 

 

 

When they hold your finger.

When they make you a family.

When they look into their eyes letting you know your world is no longer your own.

I love babies, I do.

Thankful am I that I had two... even when one of them didn't sleep through the night until he was five years old.

Oh those long sleepless nights, how I would take one of them now with absolute joy!

But only just one... 

Love is letting them go into their tomorrows, no matter how much you want to keep them a baby forever.

 

SuperHero

While sourcing furniture at Isle sur la Sorgue for our friends Gary and Ching for their new home in Cassis we ran into Superman.

 French Husband or Superman who is the real hero?

I am going to say French Husband because I know it is true for me. Even if today at lunch when he ordered strawberry cheesecake a delicious one at that then said he would save me a bite for me and seconds later polished off the cheesecake plus every single crumb.

I guess superpowers need their fuel.

He is a hero even if he eats in record speed and forgets to share he is still a hero.

What Superpower do you wish you had?

 

Loved Child

 

I am already in love.

We all are.

To love without knowing. 

A baby. A Grandchild that is already deeply loved.

 

 

Martin's parents are first-time grandparents as well, they are in love already too.

Giddy.

Martin's mother knitted baby clothes, darling ones at that. She asked if I knew how to knit at this moment I wish I did.

I took out the antique baby clothes I have been buying over the years. The little child will be head to toe 19th-century eyelet and white cotton... well when he is at our house that is.

Baby clothes in France are beyond darling. I cannot go into baby stores I just want it all.

Maybe Chelsea will have to install one of those "take a ticket" things in her home as we are all going to want to hold the baby forever.

Already in love.

Period.

 

 

Chelsea says that she rather that I did not use Va as that is my mother's Grandmother name (Portuguese). I told her I called both my Grandmother's Va. She asked, "How did you know which one was which when they called or when your mother said, "We are going to Va's house?" I smiled at the memory that brought up. I said, "My brothers and I would say, "Va with the gum or Va with the coffee?" 

I guess I could be called, "Sugar".

What name do you have or

will have or would take if you were a Grandmother?

___

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Lilacs

 

 

Walking around the countryside as Spring unfolds has allowed me to see nature's secrets. The barren branches, the buds bursting, the petals unfolding... I now know where the flowers bloom wildly, and where I can pick from the unattended fig and cherry trees.

Yesterday I went to pick some lilacs.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I gathered some long branches with tiny white roses.

My home has never had as many bouquets!

 

 

 

Darker lilacs grew further up the path so I gathered some of those too for the living room.

On the way back I saw my neighbor, she asked if I was hopping fences to steal flowers. I knew she was teasing, but to be sure I shared my source.

 

 

Today I saw an older neighbor, her arms overflowed with lilacs, she said, "Up the road, to the left, down the path and across the field there are wild lilacs bushes..."

I guess I am not the only one to find the secrets unfolding in wild places.

Pregnant and Beautiful

 

Chelsea came home for a few days as she is on maternity leave.

There is something surreal to see my daughter full and ripe with a baby in her womb. I have felt the baby move, watched her belly roll around, have witnessed the glow of love in her eyes and yet a baby is hard to imagine, a living person, a reincarnation of family cells.

Surreal beauty with deeply felt anticipation stirs within us.

 Forever life growing amongst us. Tender are these days ahead.

 

 

I have one more French la Vie before the baby is to be born, it starts next week I hope the baby isn't born then. After the French la Vie I will leave for Paris for a month. Then around July third Chelsea and Martin will come and stay in Provence for two months. And they think that after two months they will return to their home in Paris. I think I will keep the baby, how will I ever say goodbye after two months of doting?

 

A full circle embracing past, present, and future.

 

My Mother's Influence

 

Antiquing or the Brocante Bug as I have called it has been in my blood since I was a girl. The first thing I ever bought was a brown glass ink bottle, a small bone hand mirror, and a blue beaded 1920s clutch was when I was twelve years old with my own babysitting money. I left them in the States when I moved to France. At first romantic sweet things appealed to me, though for some reason I never thought of it that way until Jennifer my friend came to help me with the French la Vie. Watching her buy antiques rusty, country style gems that my mother loves showed me that I rarely look at those type of things, though they appeal to me and remind me of home and my mother's style.

My mother's influence on buying and selling antiques has had a major impact on my life, but more than her attraction for old things, her passion for creating a magical creative life stirs deeply within me, she taught me to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.

 

Use silver and your "good" plates every day.

Put a tablecloth on the table.

Bake for the whole community.

She says, "Use your stuff or give it away. Why keep it in the closets? When you die your children might not want it and sell it for 25 cents at a yard sale."

Do you know that my mom decorates funeral luncheon's for our church community? And has for over twenty years.

Life is meant to be celebrated even at death.

 

We learn. We grow. We change and we become. 

 

 

What My Friend Found at the Brocante During the French La Vie, and She Wasn't Going to Buy Anything

 

My friend Jennifer came to help me with the two back to back French la Vie Journeys that I led. She was Godsent. A ball of energy. Funny no really funny. Swore like a truck driver or better yet worse than me. Drove like a French person which is a big plus, and I could go on an on with singing no shouting her praise. I forgot how much I miss my life in the States when old dear friends come to visit. I wish she was my neighbor, heck I wish she was my roommate!

Jennifer said she wasn't going to buy anything. But I know that brocante bug, I know how it bites and it bit Jennifer from her toes to the top of her head.

She bought and bought and bought.

My mother and Jennifer have a similar style which made me miss my mom and see her in every move Jennifer made which brought a rush of happy feelings.

 

 

 

 

I posted and post daily on INSTAGRAM especially in the "Stories" when I posted photos of what Jennifer found I had a flood of comments asking to buy what she had. Unfortunately, she did not want to let go of anything... well except a bag of nuts she bought at a shop. 

The French la Vie Group enjoyed Jennifer so much that Gloria and Barbara said, "When we come back we want Jennifer to be here too."

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next French la Vie is at the end of June, it is for one week. An adding plus is lavender will be in full bloom. Picnic and photos will be on the agenda along with brocanting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you think she likes Red?

Rust?

Tin?

Metal?

Check and stripes?

Cooking utensils?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Jennifer, I cannot wait for you to come again. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eight Months -Soon To Be

 

Soon Chelsea will be a mother and Martin a father.

Their baby is loved.

 

Do you want to play a game?

 

 

Guess:

The birth date?

The sex of the baby?

The name?

The weight?

Will the baby have a lot of hair or not.

Chelsea was born after her due date: December 20th, 1989

She weighed 9.7 pounds without a single hair.

I had a cesarean after hours of labor at the hospital of Dr. Michel Odent, Dr. Laboyer, and Dr. Lamaze

 

 

 

What a beautiful Mother you will be Chelsea girl!

The Feast of Being a Mother

 

Next year my daughter Chelsea will be celebrating Mother's Day differently as her baby will be in her arms.

I will be a grandmother,

and my mother a great grandmother.

The wonder of giving birth, bring life, loving another, helping and watching a baby become their own person, it is an utter miracle, a masterpiece, a workout, a rollercoaster ride of emotion, a full circle of everything, anything and beyond imagination.

A child is a gift like no other.

I was fortunate to have a mother who loved me and showed me how to be a good person by setting an example in her life. I was fortunate to have a mother who loved my father and that they shared a beautiful life together, who was unwavering in her love, devotion and doing things right the first time so she didn't have to make up for it a second time. My mother loved me even when I was a pickle, a pear, and a banana I was a moody often judgemental person yet she never bowed under my uproars she remained consistent in loving me and letting me find my own way. I am a better person because my mother let me challenge everything she stood for, demanding change that could not be, and did not banish me from my lack of understanding. We cannot change others, but we can change ourselves and in changing or growing in ourselves we see others differently. I had a rare gem in my Mother's love.

 

Love is an amazing everything.

 

Though hard to follow when it feels like freefalling.

 

Chelsea soon you will be a mother, writing that Chelsea/Mother seems so normal and so strange. You have wanted to be a mother since Sacha was born you were such an easy little person. To think I use to let you push Sacha in your doll stroller when you were two and a half years old and he was three weeks old because I trusted you like a little mother. I hope your baby is as loving and as easy as you have been. This I know to be true you will be a wonderful mother, as my mother is.

Happy Mother's Day Mom,

 

Happy Soon to be Mother Chelsea,

 

I am happily sandwiched in the middle because I am a pickle that is fortunate to have two such strong women on either side of me. 

 

 

 

Textiles in Provence at the Brocante

 

 

What can I tell you about love? The way it begins, the way it the journey unfolds, it will take you. Love how it comes how we are often caught without knowing and if we do feel the arrow that pierces through our wall to our heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every Season in Provence

 

When is the best season to come to Provence?

Anytime.

Each season has its own unique beauty and bounty.

These photos were taken in different seasons around where I live.

 

 

 

'tween Winter and Spring.

 

 

 

Autumn 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring

 

 

 

 

 

Summer's Eve

 

 

Late Spring

 

 

 

 

 

Spring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early spring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer

Every season in Provence

 

 

Winter.

A blush of snow usually falls in Provence but doesn't stick around long.

 

 

 

 

The season of romance is constant.

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn, near my home.

 

 

 

 

The last wave of winter and a hint that Spring is arriving.

 

 

 

 

Saint Mary Magdalen Basilica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the church that Chelsea and Martin were married.

Saint Mary Magdalen Basilica is known as the third tomb of Christendom.

The patron Saint (Mary Magdalen) has been declared as an apostle of Divine Mercy.

10 Place de L Hôtel de Ville, 83470 Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

French Letters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vine and Flower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty in Provence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Clementine, Holding on to What is True

 

 

 

 

 

18th Century French Plate Designs...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the next few days, I will be posting photos with little text, as I have been these last few days as I need a little break.

The French la Vie groups were amazing, and the next one is coming up in a few weeks, but in the meantime, I need to focus on my friend's apartment that I have been working on in Cassis. 

I will keep posting but wanted you to know that I will be doing so with photos and a few words as to catch up and give myself a little space.

xxx

 

 

 

In My Garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

French la Vie

 

The last two weeks of the French la Vie ended today.

So many memorable stories, new friends Carol, Susan and Jane, good belly laughs, treasure hunting, pounds gained in more ways than the weight of antiques in boxes, miles spent in the car with snacks, part of the car flying off,  Gloria and her cat expression, Jennifer's humor, discovering antiques I have never seen before (more about that later)...

A lovely full two weeks I am grateful for every moment that went by without a hitch.

Now back to the house project in Cassis, but first a nap.

xxx

May First, Lily of the Valley

 

 

In France today is a public holiday which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labor movement.

On May 1st, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a Lily of the Valley (Muguets) as a lucky charm

and thereafter decided to offer one each year to the ladies of the court. From the first year, I arrived in France, to this present day French Husband has given me a brin of Lily of the Valley. He is so French and this American Wife appreciates every bit of it, well maybe not all of his Frenchness.

xxx