Tongue in Cheek

Thank You

                     

The tenderness that surrounds our hearts is healing. Soft and caring, full and rich. My family and I thank you. We are overwhelmed by our grief, yet your generous constant support cushions our sadness. Thank you for each and every word of sympathy, prayer uttered, thought of hope given. Thank you for every flower, fern, plant, and seeds of hope. Thank you for the plates of cookies, casseroles, side dishes of rich friendship and servings to feed an army of weakness. Thank you for the cards chosen and sent, the candles lite all over in churches near and far. Thank you for sharing your stories, your pain, your compassion, for leaving comments that have helped me and MANY others. Thank you for the CDs of music, books, sweets, and your full open hearts and virtual hugs. Thank  you for listening to me for three months, for holding my family up and telling me that my sharing was a healing ministry for you as well. Thank you for praying for my father; for keeping him in your thoughts. Thank you a million times over. Thank you for bearing witness to suffering and not running away from it. Thank you yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I hope that the tenderness that I have felt in your friendship, returns the blessing to you today.

Thank you Friends

                   

Thank you for the generous outpouring of love, affection and prayers that many of you have offered my family and myself. I am overwhelmed and blessed by your generous support.

During this difficult time I cannot respond to each and every email and comment I receive... I wish that I could. Though I do read every comment and email (more than once I might add) and take comfort in your words. Your names are familiar to me and when I see your name it is like seeing a friend's smile.

Thank you for sharing your friendship with a stranger, for adding hope and light to my days.

Gathering Wisdom

Compassion is what I feel from those of you who have left comments on my blog especially during this time with my father's illness. Many of you have experienced a similar journey, and your reflective comments on life, love, growing older, letting go, faith, saying good bye... have helped me and others.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your generosity of prayers and steadfast support, it has been and continues to give me hope.

                                           

When I first learned about my father's illness I thought I would stop blogging. I thought since my blog was about my life in France, and my French antique addiction that writing about my father would change it drastically, and few would be interested hearing about such sadness. But I realized that blogging about my emotions and experiences helped me cope and stay in touch. Plus my blog is about my personal journey regardless if it is in France, with antiques, or suffering.

What an extraordinary feeling it is to have your support. To know that there are people out there who I do not know but feel connected to, to sense community, to be able to share what I am feeling and feel understood. Thank you for sharing my journey, and at the same time sharing yours with me.

What wisdom is gathered by listening, by exposing oneself to the university and having light come and touch the path ahead with grace and gentleness.

How could anyone doubt the power of loving one another.

"It is only with one's heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."

"On  ne  voit  bien  qu' avec  le  coeur.  L' essentiel  est
invisible  pour  les  yeux ."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince (Thank you Lisette.)

Blog Family

                  

When I was younger I thought about how lucky I was to be born into a family that was large and loving. My Mother reminded me that our happiness would measure sorrow. She told me that a large loving family has a price tag, when you love someone you will carry their sorrow too.

When I started a blog I had no idea that I would meet others and feel a genuine kindness and affection from it. I have been amazed time and time again how much I receive from your words and outpouring of friendship. How fortunate I have been to know you, to receive your guidance and support. Your friendship has been a strong arm to lean upon.

The community gathered here is beyond measure... so many helpful thoughts, comments, prayers, advice, a steadfast sisterhood (with a few brothers!) It is a place were I am certain to find courage and grace. Thank you for being an active part of this blog as well as being like family to me.

Reading through the comments I see that I am not alone. Many of you like my large loving family, have experienced the same journey that I am on. You have walked this path before. Sharing your experience, your wisdom has been a light leading me, making the steps easier to take. Knowing that you have passed this way before brings compassion, lends a trust that I too can walk this journey and survive.

Thank you for being part of my world.

Charlie Bit my Finger

Over six million people cannot be wrong.

A sweet infectious laughter is spreading around the world.

Take a bite here.

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Photos: My nephew who was a newborn last summer.

Thank You

Thank you for the gift of your good thoughts, prayers, emails and the steady stream of your friendship that carries me with gentleness at this moment.

I'll write more once I have some sleep and understand more about my Father.

With my whole heart my family and I thank you.

Blogger turned Match Maker

               

Last June I wrote about my French Husband's nephew Mattieu, how he was very handsome, wonderfully nice and available. Well all be darn, if I didn't became an overnight, match-making, referral agency. Many of you wrote to me teasingly: I have a daughter, a sister, an Aunt, or a cousin, a nanny, or a friend who is single and could be interested. Some sent photos. Some wrote twice.

               

I saw a need. With black book in hand I became a Match Making Agency with one male client, and hundreds of bella belles! (Slightly exaggerated number of bella belles.)

               

Well to be honest, Mattieu didn't know that I was chatting with anyone about his possible new love life. Why should he know, it was just a jestful girl thing anyway? Besides it was a fantasy, a light hearted game...the truth didn't matter to any of the single girls nor I. Not one bit, and of course that didn't stop any of us from giggling even more, and dreaming up escapades that nobody dreamed would become true.

               

Except Lily.

After the few days of silly chatter, Lily kept writing. We started to share more sincerely, the jestful game transformed into a friendship and in those few emails, I don't know why but I felt something, I don't know what, but a feeling I couldn't shake. Lily felt it too.

But here is the catch. Lily, wasn't interested in Mattieu for herself, she wrote to me asking about Mattieu for her best friend Eva. She thought Eva and Mattieu sounded alike...and how she too couldn't shake the idea of the two of them meeting.

It was odd, it was a long shot, especially considering neither of them (Eva nor Mattieu,) knew each other, nor that Lily and I were talking about them in such a way.

               

Well eventually Lily and I knew we had to take the next step, we had to break the ice, and tell them about our match-making secrets. Can you imagine that? How do you tell someone, something as off the wall as this?

I thought about how I was going to tell Mattieu, which for me was odd because I usually jump and think later. "Oh Hi Mattieu... Hey by the way, Um...ah... You see a few weeks ago I wrote a post on my blog about you being single... Then this woman from blogging, who read what I wrote about you contacted me. ...um um anyway, this woman has a best friend who she thought you might like to get to know... and oh by the way the person lives on the other side of the planet. So maybe you two could write emails like pen pals? You could practice your English and she could practice her French?"

But I couldn't say that!! Not the whole truth like that. Match-makers have to know how to play their cards, and the deck of cards in my hand were pretty tricky.

               

After much consideration, a few chocolates and a glass of wine I called Mattieu. I told him that there was this person who reads my blog and she was looking for a pen pal to practice  her French. I went on to say that, since he wanted to practice his English she might be an interested person to write.

The story continues tomorrow...when Eva flys to France to meet Mattieu...

P.S. The meeting is at my house.

Photos: Small items seen at the brocante, writing tools, ink well, black book, whistle, glasses and love notes.

Questions Answered

               

Since I am terribly behind on emails and responding to the comments you have left me I thought I would try to answer some of them today on my blog.

How did you meet your French husband?

One never knows when their life is going to take a different road. I met my French husband at a gay dance club in San Francisco, an unlikely place to meet a straight man I must admit.  I like to tell that story because at the time I was working for the Catholic church (another unusual place to meet a single man.) But as my friend Ellen often said,  "When you want to meet someone do the things you love and the people around you will most likely being do the same. You will have things in common."

Church and Gay dance clubs, now that is a mix bags of tricks. But God provides.

I went to a gay dance club (The I-Beam) because my fiance had died. I was broken. I loved to dance, and dancing was my therapy...and at a gay dance club I figured nobody there would be looking at a woman. I needed space to be alone amongst others. The I-Beam fit the bill.

French husband went to the I-Beam with a friend who told him: He had to see this club because people there loved to dance. Because it was so new, so hip! Because the I-BEAM was an institution in San Francisco a must see like the Golden Gate bridge. So he went. Saw me and asked me out.

When French husband asked me my name in his broken French accent, I looked at him as if he was a man from Mars...

What happened next is another story.

               

How did Victoria and Somerset find out about you?

Through my blog. They read it, liked what they saw and contacted me. When they wrote me I had to re-read the letter several times just to be sure I was reading it right. Then I started screaming! French husband thought something terrible had happened and came running downstairs. When I told him that the editors of Victoria and Somerset contacted me, he smiled a mile wide and went out bought me a new lens.

               

Are your Children more French or American?

Well if you ask Patti, Andy, Sam, Jack or Joe (the older nieces and nephews in America, Chelsea and Sacha's cousins,) they would say Chelsea and Sacha are French with an American twist.

Two examples:

The other day when Sacha was talking to his cousins on the phone I heard him say, "I have never played basketball...well you know other than throwing the ball in a hoop..."

When Chelsea's graduated from Lycee (French high school,) her classmates chipped in some money to buy some Champagne. Then in the class room with their teachers and the director of the school they toasted each other farewell.

               

What was it like to live in a monastery?

I was 19 years old when I went to live in a monastery in New Mexico. We prayed most of the day. As it was semi cloistered we didn't get out much. Other than praying each of us had tasks to do during the day. I worked in the kitchen and cut hair (and no I did not use a bowl!)

The daily life followed this pattern:

7:00 a.m. Morning Prayer

8:00 a.m. Breakfast

9:00 a.m. Private prayer

10:00 a.m. Activity tasks (I was in the kitchen, or cutting hair, or up to mischief.)

Noon - Lunch

3:15 p.m. Eucharist

5:30 p.m. Dinner

7:30 p.m. Vespers (community prayer)

8:30 pm Compline (evening prayer)

9:00 pm The Grand Silence.

Will you write more about your experience in the monastery? Yes, I will...promise. It was an amazing experience. Full of depth and full of humor too. The humor is the easy part to write about, though it would be unfair to share just that part. I am still thinking how to share this story on my blog.

               

Do you take the photos on your blog. Yes, I do.

What do you miss most about America? Other than my family and friends, I miss Mexican food, being understood in English, and the American attitude that if there is a will their is a way.

How is Shelley doing? Thank you for asking. I believe prayer and positive thought can send healing energy and gives courage. I appreciate the prayers and energy you send to her.

Shelley is on a breathing machine, she is having a hard time talking, she has an amazing amount of love and support around her from her family and friends. She can move one finger barely, though with that one finger she can access the Internet and she surfs all day long. Shelley loves your emails and comments, if she could she would write you all a mile long letter to thank each of you.

Thanks for asking.

A Secret Revealed

                   

Several months ago to my surprise a magazine, a well loved one at that, asked me to take some photos for them. Sure why not, I thought what a crazy world this Internet is. Poof just like that. The Editor asked me if I could scout-out four or five stories in France for their magazine. I told her that the hardest thing to do would be to select only four or five. Teasingly, could I do a hundred stories instead? With that she comes over to France to see what I had. The editor is delighted. Before we set out to work we go to a flea market, of course why not my blog began because of such a place. Then afterward we start to work.

The Editor and I go to the pre-selected sites, she ohs and I click.  She erases a few. I click some more. My smile is so big my face is cracking, I am loving this. By the end of the day my hands are killing me, my eyes cannot focus, my soul is humming, I have found my groove. The photos start to come alive, the tri-pod and I act as one, and then in an instant I see a happy miracle: That the star in the sky, that prayer on my lips, those crazy thoughts in my mind have been heard and have granted a small opening.

A new world has opened up and I have jumped in... Thank you Internet, thank you blogging, thank you readers, thank you French brocante, thank you camera, and thank you little self for taking on a dare and finding a missing key to my happiness. 

Victoria magazine will feature my photography. This month my home in France is dotting the pages.

Note: The photos I have used for Victoria I cannot use on my blog for six months. I have yet to see the issue. But I have heard it is out since some of you have noted by emails and in the comment section of my blog.

Daisy

               

Bossy's darling, sweet, little angel girl named Daisy has had a terrible mishap. One that is unimaginable. Please go to Bossy's Blog and show your support.

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The results to the Guessing Game will be posted tomorrow.