Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Freedom to Dream.

Mirror

The rain poured down throughout the day. Casting a constant grey and thunderous sky. Rare for the south of France. We stayed inside: I worked on the bathroom project and French Husband continued to lay tile in the hallway.

Back&white

Working steadily, side by side, with the sound of thunder reminding us that staying inside was a good idea.
Isn't it true that when doing a job that is repetitive it allows your mind to wander in and out of seemingly unconnected thoughts.
My thoughts went around the world and back as I painted grey to match the sky.

Flowers-in-vase

I thought about my Godchild Daisy and how she has improved steadily. I thought about my Uncle Phil and the recipe he sent me wishing I had bought the ingredients yesterday when it wasn't raining.  I thought about how the other day when my car didn't want to start and how I heard my father's voice telling me what to do, I followed his instructions and the car started. I thought about how good it was to have the freedom to paint and think about nothing life threatening, nor stressful, and what a gift that was!

Hallway

This is the hallway where we are going to lay faux wood tiles. The tiles showing are fine, but we are changing them nevertheless.

I hope this weekend finds YOU well, enjoying good weather and having time to profit the day with freedom.

Note: Bathroom photos are coming.

PS

I put Uncle Phil's recipe in the comments.

Comments

32 responses to “Freedom to Dream.”

  1. le petit cabinet de curiosites

    I don’t remember this part of your house . I love the painting and I would die to lay down on this daybed

    Reply
  2. Jeanne

    I love all you share
    I love you

    Reply
  3. tut-tut

    you are right indeed about the freedom to be able to do a job and think your own thoughts. Lovely, meditative photos.

    Reply
  4. Vicki

    Every photo was just beautiful Corey!! Have a wonderful weekend!!!

    Reply
  5. naomi

    These are nice thoughts. I think of that frequently when we are doing something that we do often and usually take for granted – I think, “We are blessed to live this life and to do things like this. To have this ease and freedom.” Enjoy your day. Looking forward to seeing the bathroom.

    Reply
  6. Lisa

    BOY, I LOVED THIS POST. IT REALLY SPOKE TO ME, ESPECIALLY YOUR DAD.
    SOUNDS LIKE AN AWESOME DAY. ONE OF MY FAV’S
    HUGS ALL THE WAY FROM MAINE
    http://sophie4me.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  7. ginnycartersmallenburg

    When I had my own business and would drive hours to a trade show, I loved that I could think a whole thought through without interruption.

    Reply
  8. Annie F

    Thank you Corey – just the words I needed for the day ahead of me

    Reply
  9. Paula

    I’m sitting here bleary eyed, cup of coffee in hand…just crawled out of bed, oh yeah…..it is Saturday ! The weekend.
    We are supposed to have great weather today so maybe it will be a hike at the petroglyph park today…..

    Reply
  10. Mardog

    Pruning vines or weeding in the garden gives me that time to have monkey brain. Mind wandering or other times bouncing from thought to thought. My sanity.
    What recipe did Uncle Phil send? He gave me direction on my fava bean planting this past fall and of course they are up to my waist.
    ———————
    Hi Mardog (Mardog is an old/young friend from Willows. She is my cousin’s Franca-Bollo’s very good buddy.)
    Here is Uncle Phil’s (who is Franca- Bollo’s dad!) recipe:
    Scallop and Pignoli Sauce
    ( L’Italo – Americano 16 February 2006 )
    Ingredients:
    1 pound spaghetti
    1 pound bay scallops
    ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
    2 garlic cloves, minced
    1/3 cup Pignoli (pine nuts)
    Salt and pepper freshly ground
    ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
    1/3 cup of basil leaves, fresh, packed and coarsely chopped
    Preparation:
    Wash the scallops. Remove the tough tendon on the side and dry well with a paper towel. In a large sauce pan or flame proof casserole, heat the oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderately low heat until softened but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the Pignoli, increase the heat to moderate and cook, stirring frequently, until the nuts are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and the spaghetti. Cook the pasta until ‘al dente’, 8 – 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add the scallops to the garlic and Pignoli sauce. Cook over a high heat, tossing frequently, until scallops are just OPAQUE throughout, 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain the spaghetti, add the scallops and toss. Add the butter and basil and toss again. Serve hot.
    Arberesh of Sacramento
    http://www.xanga.com/arbereshofsacramento

    Reply
  11. Dee

    Wonderful post…can’t wait for the bathroom photos!

    Reply
  12. Pinkie Denise

    Corey,
    The weather here is cold and damp. We are heading out to meet Judy today for lunch at her home and to swap family photos…We have been so busy getting our little shop open. I love reading your post every morning with my cup of coffee. I feel your love and inspiration and miss you even though I don’t always post I feel so connected. Hugs and love to you all Pinkie
    _________________
    Hi Pinkie (My cousin and my Godmother’s ultra creative daughter!)
    I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo jealous!
    Have fun! And give Judy a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGG Hug for me!!!
    C

    Reply
  13. caren

    I love the floor you have now – why change it? Don’t you just love days you can just let things roll around your mind?
    Have a lovely weekend!

    Reply
  14. Denese Vlosky

    Oh, I wish that my husband or I were handy. As my husband says, “we support the service economy.” We also get highly irritated when things don’t “come together” right. So, I can’t see us laying tiles together! ha!
    _________________
    Hi Denese
    Yann and i are not handy. It is a giant learning curve for us. But we are so proud of ourselves.
    C

    Reply
  15. Jill Flory

    Can’t WAIT to see those bathroom photos!
    I’m planning to paint my kitchen this spring. It is in dire need of gutting and a complete redo but that may be another few years off. So I’m sprucing what I can. I may end up doing grey! I want to do a color other than the creamy white my husband likes and we have put in the rest of the main rooms. I have a lot of red in my kitchen and may paint the few cabinets red. So to get a color and still not put my husband into a tizzy, I may go grey!!
    Blessings,
    Jill
    ________________
    Hi Jill Red and grey are VERY POPULAR in France. I have a friend (Ciel Orage in the Links section on my about page) who LOVES red and grey. My neighbor as well decorates with red and grey.
    C

    Reply
  16. tamara Riley

    Oyster is the color of my sky. Puddles scattered as randomly as my thoughts. The holes feel like my heart. Open and gaping. Being filled by the abundance of your being. Thank you dear friend for painting your picture for me. Bisous.

    Reply
  17. Cindy

    It’s a grey day here. It snowed a lot yesterday, big fat flakes. I like watching them fall slowly, it’s peaceful.
    Today I’m doing some cross stitch. It’s funny but I have to concentrate and I can let my mind wander depending on what part of the pattern I’m working on.
    My husband says his tool box is a phone and the yellow pages. I’m more of a handy person, painting is one of my favourite things to do.
    You’re right Corey about freedom. It’s an absolute gift to have so many freedoms in our life.
    ——————–
    Hi Cindy
    What a clever response your husband has. Yann and I are NOT handy. This has been our first project together. We have laughed, cussed, walked away, hugged and decided it is worth every effort we have put into it, and at the same time worth every dime you pay someone too.

    Reply
  18. Alina

    Grey skies here have put me in a blue mood. The daybed looks so inviting.

    Reply
  19. Julie Ann

    What a lovely kind of togetherness Corey. Both occupied in the home, both working with love and with the mind free to dream. Rain on the windows. Perfect. You will both enjoy coming together over a glass of wine & an improvised supper I hope, Jx

    Reply
  20. martina

    Just the other day a friend and I were talking about how our deceased fathers “speak” to us when we need advice. Keep having fun and learning with your bathroom and hall projects! p.s. Uncle Frank’s recipe sounds fabulous.

    Reply
  21. Franca Bollo

    Father Phil has been feverishly forwarding food formulas. Forthwith I fire the furnace (f-word approximate to oven).
    Fondly, Franca
    °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
    Dear Readers… Do you know that my cousin Franca is the world champion when it come to scrabble.
    And she doesn’t cheat! My cousin Franca knows at least a thousand words that have just two letters.
    I thought you should know.
    Fondly Corey

    Reply
  22. Cousin Linda

    I’ve been painting and futzing around for a couple of weeks. First I laid/glued some precut carpet pieces on my stairs. Then I did a touchup on kitchen cupboards and trim. Next, I totally redid the bathroom, but had to go back for a darker color for one cabinet and the trim. I’m in Home Depot today and give them my paint sample chip and they tell me to come back in 10 minutes for the paint. I wander around for a few other things and when I return, my paint is nowhere to be found. Worse yet, the paint sample chip is also missing and I don’t remember the color name, only that it was Ralph Lauren. I have to start over, going through the wall of paint samples and I nearly had a melt down. A couple of gay guys also buying Ralph Lauren were very sympathetic to my plight, more so than the HD guys behind the counter. Arrrrrrrrrrgh! I am home now, and back in the groove, paint clothes on and paint brush in hand. I just took time out for a late lunch of mac and cheese. The sun is out today, but we badly need rain here in ever-so-sunny California. We are nearing drought conditions.

    Reply
  23. freefalling

    No, no, no.
    No good weather here.
    Extreme conditions.
    The state engulfed in bushfires.
    40 lives lost.
    Just awful.

    Reply
  24. Rosemary

    Hi Corey,
    A wonderful post today!
    It has been raining and gray in sunny California too!
    Your hallway floor is great, but everyone needs a change now and then.
    We just finished a kitchen remodel, so I know how it is.
    Have a lovely weekend,
    Rosemary

    Reply
  25. Tammy

    It was a beautiful sunny day in my corner of the world. God must have known that I needed a shot of spring inbetween all these cold gray days. So I have been enjoying it to the max. I can’t wait to see photos of bathroom.
    love and blessings

    Reply
  26. SweetPeaSurry

    Being from middle America, we get a lot of inclimate weather. In the winter-time I tend to hibernate. I hate going out in the cold and the wet. However, when spring comes … I love puttering around with plants on my balcony … playing with my nieces and nephews outside, and stuff like that. But a lovely rainy day is always good for curling up with a good book, a project, or just spending some daydreaming time. I can hardly wait for the spring rains. 🙂

    Reply
  27. Mountain Mama

    Lovely thoughts for a rainy day. Your gray room with it’s tasteful trimmings is beautiful.

    Reply
  28. erika b.

    Great to hear that Daisy is recovering. Thanks for letting us know. Have a nice weekend, Erika

    Reply
  29. karenc

    Hi Corey, Lovely to see your latest project up and running. Very inspirational.
    Sadly, here in Victoria Australia we are in the middle of our worst drought on record. Yesterday we had horrific bushfires on a day of 46 degree heat. One whole town has been destroyed and hundreds of properties at other locations have been lost. Many are dead.
    Please pray for those that need to rebuild their lives.
    Thank you everyone who reads this. Karen C
    _____________________
    Hi Karen
    My prayers and thoughts, are with yours and your country’s.
    Corey

    Reply
  30. Emily

    I cannot wait to see this finished hallway. I already love it, especially the painting. Pretty please post when it is completed!!!

    Reply
  31. Karin

    There is nothing better than a day inside where it is safe and warm with a thunderstorm roiling outside. I think of those as perfect days. 🙂

    Reply
  32. denise

    lovely blog. beautiful.

    Reply

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