Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

The Trunk at the Brocante

 

Trunk

Opening the painted blue grey trunk your heart beats stronger, you breath in deeper, and you wonder what will you find. Dreaming big you open it with anticipation of gold, pearls, crowns, paintings, old paper… and then the other voice in your head starts to whisper, dead bugs, dust bunnies, something stinky, mildew…

 

 

Pleated altar boy chemises

 

Low and behold neither is true. But what you do find makes you whistle and step back. "Nice, very nice!"

If you are like me you think to yourself, "I wanted to be an Altar boy when I was a kid, I wanted to be a priest when I got older… neither were meant to be….but now I get to wear their clothes, hot damn!"

A whole trunk, a dozen or so, of 1900s altar boy chemises, and they fit.

Lordy, lordy.

Altar boy chemise

So you buy them, plan to keep one, sell the others and give one away.

Christmas is coming, my online shop is re-opening, and hopefully, I'll be walking to the post office often these days… so one more giveaway is order.

Would you like one? If so tell me have you ever witnessed a miracle? I'll randomly pick someone tomorrow.

 

Laduree-box macaron

Notes about Yesterday:

Paula S. of New Mexico you are the winner of the box of ALSA macarons. Please send me your address and I'll send them to you.

Paula, I hope you will send a picture when you make them!

Thanks for your cookie favorites! I should have asked for recipes too. Gosh after ready all the sweetness, I had to eat something sweet! Note to self do not talk about cookies when you should be avoiding them. Maybe it is a good thing I didn't aske for recipes!

Miracles instead.

 

Comments

52 responses to “The Trunk at the Brocante”

  1. Lilly

    My son very well might be a miracle. I married at 42 and within a few months my son was on his way. He absolutely lights up our lives!

    Reply
  2. Gina

    My family was allowed to immigrate to the United States of America from East Germany. That was more than 50 years ago. It is still a miracle.

    Reply
  3. Bev

    A miracle. Well there have been many.
    When we were working with street kids in Brazil, we befriended a family that lived on the streets. The young boy, Helio, had perfurated ear drums and so we carted him for months all over kingdom come to finally get him to have a free surgery on one of the ear drums. Surgery was successful. A couple of days later, Helio was doing something wrong in the local market and one of the workers took a mango pit and shoved it into Helio’s ear. We took him to the doctor. The doctor said that we would have to start all over again. I was so upset and I went home and prayed and prayed. Two days later, we took him back AND the ear was completely healed. Even the doctor said that it was a miracle.

    Reply
  4. Dru Brenner-Beck

    My Dad’s cancer responded to the chemo and radiation, what a gift from God.

    Reply
  5. Jan

    My youngest daughter had thyroid cancer and had them removed. This problem was taken care of. A few months later by a routine MRI, because she has MS, her doctors discovered she had a tumor in her lung. They put her on a mega anti-biotic. Our prayers were many. Ater 2 days she went back to the doctor and the tumor was completely gone. Her doctor said that medically there was absolutely no way that the tumor could be gone. He said it had to be a miracle. I believe we have seen one of God’s miracles. Jan

    Reply
  6. Debra P.

    the miracle of life . . . the day my daughter was born following years of trying to concieve. 36 hours of labor had elapsed before she made her entrance at 4 am. After that last push everything turned quiet and still, and in that very low light for a few brief seconds a white light shone down on her!
    love this giveaway, my son starts his alter service this coming Sunday!

    Reply
  7. Cheryl ~ Casual Cottage Chic

    My mother-in-law, whom I loved dearly, had been diagnosed with cancer and given only 2 months to live. She decided she wanted to die in her own bed; home she went with daily care from her family and hospice. While visiting, I awoke one night as I heard her speaking {she has not been “awake” for weeks}. When I opened her bedroom door, there was a soft glow of light around her bed, her arm was lifting upward and she was speaking clearly to her “father”. She was asking for forgiveness. It was quiet; she seemed to be listening. Then she lowered her arm; the glow in the room faded. I told my husband of this that morning. We are convinced she was speaking with God, her “father”. She died peacefully a few days later. She is in heaven with her “father” now. A miracle? For me, yes!

    Reply
  8. Mmd. Tortoise

    I have seen a miracle. I hope you don’t mind but I feel it too personal to write about in this venue.
    I do feel comfortable saying that it happened after the death of my dear dad.

    Reply
  9. Betty

    After my mother had her 3rd stroke and could no longer live indepently, my husband and I moved her in with us. This is a very special time for me, very, very hard but new gifts every day. I get to “tuck” mother in every night and see her sweet smile. I have been given this time….I stay home every day(which I love). Mother is almost 94 and yes, Gods ways are not our ways.

    Reply
  10. Maryanne

    I believe, amongst all the negative things that can happen… that is a miracle in itself! 🙂

    Reply
  11. Bramble

    If you are a person of faith I think you see them all around you, small “happenings” that have no explanation but divine grace. My dear sweet aunt had struggled with diabetes and arthritis way too long and was very near the end of her journey. We came to sit with her and my 4 yr. old climbed up into bed and snuggled up to her. Although she had been blind for years, she looked at me for a moment and said “Oh honey he’s blond, your Mom will be so tickled when I tell her”. My Mom had passed away too young and we all missed her. After we went home and I put my son to bed he woke me up at 2:36am. “What’s the matter sweetie?” I asked. “Mama, I was making room for Auntie, she came to say good bye and I fell out of bed. She tucked me back in but I am sad, I don’t want her to go away”. The phone call came early morning but I knew before that my Aunt had stopped to check on us and take one last look at my Mom’s only grandchild. I will never be able to explain it or understand, I just know it was a gift, and I treasure it as the miracle it was.

    Reply
  12. Everton Terrace

    I believe I did and it was on a very sad day. Both of our dogs got out of our yard and were running right next to each other as they crossed a very busy street to try and catch up with us – one of them was hit and died but somehow the other, again they were right next to each other, was unharmed. It was difficult to say goodbye to one but to have lost them both at the same time would have done me in.

    Reply
  13. Kiki

    Dear Corey;
    I am at a loss here…. is there a special message I don’t understand in this post? Sorry if I am too stupid to get this – or is it that you’d like people to tell what was in THEIR ‘broacante trunk’? Ah, I hate not to ‘get’ the message….

    Reply
  14. Celeste

    My daughter had two types of cancer in her thyroid and after surgery the surgeon told us that it was very clearly filled with cancer. When we returned for a recheck 4 days later he received the pathology report which found no cancer at all! The power of prayer. And the surgeon now believes. God is good.

    Reply
  15. waveney

    As I often did, I walked 3 dogs down to the canal for a swim. It was 109 degeees as I snaped off the leases and it must have been a touch of heat stroke as I mistakenly unbuckled the life vest on my wee scotty who is a sinker. To my horror and before I could catch her she was in the torents and sinking . I jumped in and fished around the murky waters and retrived her….. But I was unable to get out as each time I moved to the bank she started to come in from the opposite side. I knew I wouldn’t be able to reach her with out a jump. I prayed OH LORD HELP ME! In the distnce a TALL runner with long flowing blond hair. A woman. I yelled HELP. and she stood towering over me on the bridge. I instructed her to hook up the wee one to a pole a fasten the other two leaches together and snap it on the bridge grate. In my delirium, I scaled the bridge like spiderman . My eyes searched the bank in both directions, only a heat mirage. My SECOUR never spoke a word or waited to see that I was ok. But of course her mission accomplished,this Angel Unaware knew we would all be fine.

    Reply
  16. georgie

    These miracle stories are wonderful!

    Reply
  17. kathie

    my son was 4 and he found a baby bird in the middle of the back yard. the bird barely had feathers and was chirping out a muffled kind of cry. of course my son picked him up and brought him to me. i was beside myself. i had always heard that if you touch a baby bird the mother will not come back to it; and he was just way to little for me to try and care for. i could have cried. my son realized the situation and suggested that we pray for God to help this little bird. and pray we did. we set the little bird back where we found him and watched him from the kitchen window. about an hour later, a bird flew down from the sky and swooped him up and went up into a tree by the garage. we we’re able to watch that bird being fed and grow up over the next few weeks… the miracle for me was to see the faith of a child and his answer to prayer.

    Reply
  18. Natalie

    I wish these altar boy chemises were little because then I would order three of them. Why? We belong to very tiny parish with only five children who are going to their first communion hopefully next year.Three boys and two (twin) girls. The girls are going to look like little princesses (it is said they will wear very old bridemaids dresses, like little gateaux (sp?)) so the boys would look lovely in beautiful old altar boy chemises. If you have some chemises that would suit three little boys please email me. This would be a miracle for me : )

    Reply
  19. nancy

    Hi Corey, how can I be among the ones you will choose from. Nancy J

    Reply
  20. Patty Cole

    the miracle of birth. thank you for the chance to win such a lovely chemise.

    Reply
  21. Rosemary

    Yes, I witnessed a miracle and still marvel today at what happened. When my daughter was 23, she was in a boating accident. She was in the bow of a small power boat that collided with another boat. She went head first into the hull of the other. No one knows how long she was under water, but when the four young adults were rescued, my daughter had a severe head injury, broken back, broken neck, ruptured spleen and lacerated liver, among other more minor injuries. She SURVIVED it all and is okay today. Yes, that is my miracle and it proves the power of prayer!
    Rosemary

    Reply
  22. Lorelei

    OoLaLa, Corey! My day is full of miracles…the sun shining through a bright, orange sugar maple tree, pink roses still blooming in mid-November, pink skies at twilight, red cardnials chirping as they fly back and forth, friends and family far and near…. I’m truly blessed by daily miracles as well as some personal miracles.

    Reply
  23. Laurie SF

    The miracle of a small town girl from Willows marrying a Frenchman and connecting the world on so many levels.

    Reply
  24. Amy Kortuem

    It’s a minor miracle, but a memorable one: On the first Christmas Eve I played my harp in church, they turned off all the lights during Silent Night for the candle lighting. I was about to stop playing (it’s hard to see strings in the dark!) when a tiny little girl in a beautiful gray dress came and knelt beside me to shine her candle light on my music. The memory still brings tears to my eyes and shivers to my skin!

    Reply
  25. Alison Murray Whittington

    Many, many miracles.
    I like Pablo Picasso’s statement that, “Everything is a miracle. It is a miracle that one does not melt in the bath!”

    Reply
  26. Natalie Thiele

    Light weight (slight pun intended) compared to the other miracles, but my miracle, none the less. I am dieting for my upcoming 40th reunion, and lost 11 lbs last week! I can hardly wait to weigh in again this Thursday!

    Reply
  27. Jeannie

    Everyday brings a miracle. The sun shining through the window, the bird recovering from flying into said window, and the cat on the inside cussing said window. I truly believe miracles are around us every day. One just need to open one’s eyes. Thanks for always brightening my day and making me stop and see those miracles.

    Reply
  28. Jeanne

    We are always on our way to a miracle
    Life itself is a great Miracle and so Is God
    Love you
    Jeanne

    Reply
  29. Denise Solsrud

    God is our miracle worker. my mother was scheduled for her second open heart surgery at the age of 89. there was no gaurantee of success and she knew this may take her, she wanted to be around in the worst way to have the opportunity to meet our daughter’s and son-in-law’s 4 adopted children from Columbia.(they a family of 6 now,2 of their own and 4 adopted)docters warned that she may not make it thru the surgery. she made it fine. but……we were called back as she had taken a turn for the worse and would not make it thru the night. she was taken back into surgery that nite and they did surgery on her appendix. it had dried and fell off. if she were still at home,it would never be caught as our mother would have stayed at home and try to diagnose the situation as there was not much of any pain. she will be 93 this jan, still lives alone and does most of her work and book work. so, that is my miracle and i am thankful. Bestest,Denise

    Reply
  30. penny willoughby

    Dear Corey, Everyday is a miracle. The love of my husband, the joy of my children, the blessing of life itself.

    Reply
  31. Paula S In New Mexico

    Miracles are all around us. We just need to see them.

    Reply
  32. Rebecca C

    These are lovely, including Laurie SF’s noting the small town girl from Willows touching the world.
    The transformation of my life from before to now, thanks to Jesus, is miraculous in my eyes.

    Reply
  33. Helene

    I have witnessed so many miracles it is hard to keep track: The birth of my grandson, David, nine years ago with 16 friends and family in the birthing room singing “Let me call you Sweetheart”; the birth of my granddaughter, Della, in the same room, same song, not quite so many people; and then last Wednesday my husband, Larry, tripped and fell into a air compressor with sharp metal fins that cut his face requiring 13 stitches in the Emergency Room. The whole time in ER I prayed “Thank you, God” because no permanent damage was done and nothing cut his eyes or a vital part. The result are just some “manly scars”. Thank you, God

    Reply
  34. shea

    I have two little miracles that keep me busy every day. I love my girls.

    Reply
  35. Jenna

    That will look great on you. They would also look wonderful matted and framed like a kimono.
    I think life is one big miracle, so I don’t qualify for your contest. Not so much witnessed as felt.

    Reply
  36. mimi

    When my son was about nine years old, he was scheduled for surgery for an undescended testicle. We were told the recovery from surgery would be very painful.
    We prayed that God would heal him. Three days before surgery he told us that he was OK. We went to the Doctor and he said “I hate it when things like this happen.There is no logical explanation. This could never have been done so perfectly surgically.” God heard our prayer and healed our son.

    Reply
  37. Bonnie Buckingham

    Iwould say my most recent is having both my hips replaced. My life is coming back ~~ out of constant pain walking or just ordinary things like walking UP the stairs. I am very, very thankful. To top it off, my brother is a PA Orthopaedist. If I had to have something wrong with me, it would be osteoarthritis and a family member who knows how to fix it. Only God designs that!

    Reply
  38. Jamie V

    What makes me happy is witnessing someone else’s miracle! I’ve had that happen a couple of times plus a few of my own! Jamie V in MT
    http://rem-nants.blogspot.com
    amzanioli@yahoo.com

    Reply
  39. Jo

    Funny how a post about the discovery of a
    trunk of choir boy chemises could move me to
    tears. Many, many miracles in my life
    beginning with my father surviving a horrible
    military battle. If he had not survived,
    I would not have been born. He calls it fate,
    but I am not so sure. I pray for peace
    everyday. That would be a miracle!

    Reply
  40. becky up a hill

    My husband walked into my life 32 years ago. He is my amazing miracle.

    Reply
  41. robin williams

    Not a miracle but a mystic connection of people from around the world gathered at a small chapel in Austria at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve singing “Silent Night” in his/her own language without any musical instruments. This was where the song was first written. Upon leaving the chapel, it began to snow, and three musicians were on a balcony across the street playing “O, Thrice Holy Day” with brass instruments. Truly a moveable feast for the soul! Robin

    Reply
  42. Kimberly

    I have witnessed the birth of 3 beautiful babies. I believe that babies are miracles. Blessings, Kimberly

    Reply
  43. heurebleu

    Corey, Leave it to you to make miracles your subject as you transition home. I always wanted to be an alter boy so I could walk around with that long stick and put out the candles. No miracles here yet…except my 3 sons. Birth is so amazing. I will be in Africa soon. Maybe I’ll see the miracles there. Can I stop by on my way home in late Jan? 🙂

    Reply
  44. Elaine L.

    A series of Coincidences or Miracles?
    My husband and I had tried having a baby for ten years. We finally pursued adoption. Adoption is not as easy as those who have children may think. I exhausted many avenues without success until I realized that I had my “ace in the hole” and used it. I’m Mexican and have never used my minority status for any type of gain, up until then.
    The usual process with the Children’s Home Society was to attend a group meeting and then be put on a five year waiting list for a child study. When I told the worker I spoke to that I was Mexican (although my husband was not), and that my husband and I wanted a baby of Mexican descent, the social worker said that it was the policy of CHS to match children to parents with the same ethnic background. Although my husband was not Mexican they thought we were a close enough match. They made an appointment to see us the following week.
    We immediately began the process of the Home Study. Our Home Study took six months to complete. We completed it in March and our daughter was born in December, which means she was conceived the month we finished our Home Study.
    December rolled around and I felt this urge to put the stuffed animals and a rocking horse I had bought under the tree.
    On Christmas Eve, we went to church with some elderly friends. They had never had children and were very excited about the prospect of becoming adoptive grandparents. Lorraine continually prayed with me.
    As we arrived at the church I saw all these parents with children and turned to my husband and said, “I just don’t think I can make it through another Christmas without a baby, how long does God expect us to wait?” I didn’t know it, but he told Lorraine how sad I was feeling and she told the minister.
    Before the end of the service, the minister told the congregation that there was a couple in attendance that had been praying for a baby for 12 years and that he wanted everyone to pray for a Christmas miracle. Later my husband told me that he prayed to his mother that if there was a baby in heaven that needed parents to please send it our way. He said that a feeling of peace came over him.
    Now, forward to March. We were awakened by a call from our social worker on March 11, 1984, at 6:30 in the morning. She said, “Mrs. L, I have a beautiful baby girl for you and she was born on Christmas Eve.”
    On Good Friday, we met Lauren’s birth mother who was 21 years old. Here’s another piece of the miracle. She was in the military and told us she had had one encounter with the birth father after meeting him with some friends at a bar and never saw him again. She didn’t know she was pregnant until she was 6 months along. There were none of the usual signs and she only gained five pounds during the whole pregnancy. I have no doubt that had she known sooner, she would have had an abortion. She never told anyone in her family about the baby and said she was raised by a VERY traditional strict father.
    She read all the information on three couples. A doctor and his wife, an attorney and his wife, and us – both teachers. I was the only working mother. She said she picked us because her sister was a teacher and she was wonderful with children. She liked that we did a lot of traveling, because she said she was the only person in her family who had ever left the small Arizona town where she was raised.
    Her hobby was photography and so was my husband’s. She liked that we did not adhere to a strict religious dogma as she had been raised by an overly strict catholic father.
    When we brought Lauren home, my father-in-law was very quiet and kept looking at her. Finally he said, “she looks so much like I would expect Etta Rose to look like as a baby.” That was my husband’s mother. Lauren is half Mexican. She was a perfectly fat baby and looked like the type of baby my mother-in-law would think was healthy. By the way, her birth mother named her Rosalinda, which mean “Beautiful Rose” in Spanish.
    We got Lauren when she was 3 1/2 months old, because the agency had to make an effort to locate the birth father, so he could sign off on his parental rights. She was in a foster home until then. when I was looking through some notes the foster mother had written, I saw that she slept through the the night on March 11th, which was the day that our social worker called to tell us we had a baby. I can’t help but believe that some how Lauren knew she had found her parents.
    By the way, it’s amazing how much Lauren looks like my husband’s side of the family. When she was a baby people would always comment, “boy you can tell who her father is.”
    My daughter is my miracle.
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  45. Kiki

    Had to come back and read some more…. I still have no idea what exactly triggered all those heart warming micracle stories but they make me happy too.
    My whole life is an ongoing miracle and the best bits of it are my Hero Husband and my wonderful son; but the rest is pretty amazing too.
    @Elaine: You had me in tears… Bro in law and wife went through that process, twice – One cannot understand it…. Every day, millions of children are born by mothers unfit of having babies and as adoptive parents you have to go through hell to get permission to adopt children. Very touching tale!!!
    ALL the best to ALL of you. You are wonderful people with amazing and very touching experiences.

    Reply
  46. nancy n

    Corey
    I have seen miracles that other’s would explain as coincidence. Just last night we were short in our finances and someone stopped by and gave me cash, because they just wanted me to have it. I can put the cash in the bank today knowing it was God
    who really provided for our needs.
    Other person’s miracle that I was privileged to “see”. My sister’s friend had 2 miscarriages late in pregnancies. Of course she was devastated. She went to the cemetary to visit their graves and take pictures. When she had the pictures developed, their was an angel in the picture. She said she felt God gave her this “gift” to enourage her. She actually sent my sister a picture without saying anything about the angel and when my sister got it she of course could see the angel also. Then of course my sister did the same with us, just handed us the picture and of course we could all see the angel. The picture blessed alot of people.
    No one could deny seeing the angel and no one could explain it away. It was an angel!

    Reply
  47. Tamara

    My miracle is our son Finn, without a doubt…100%.

    Reply
  48. Ladelle

    Having you and Yann in my life is one of my miracles…Amore!

    Reply
  49. Judith Humphrey

    Hi Corey, What a fantastic post. Reading all of these stories has me in complete tears!
    The birth of my son is of course the most amazing miracle to me for so many reasons, however, a moment that replays in my heart and mind everyday is so special to me.
    My Mother, best friend, partner in crime, and inspiration was sick with Thyroid cancer for so many years. When it was time for us to say goodbye to her she told us she had no regrets in life and that all she had to say to us was “I love you”. After sitting by her bedside for days praying for peace and release from all of the pain she had been in, my brother, Father, and I all held hands with her and said the Our Father. At the moment we said Amen I felt a warm, tingling, loving hand on my back. I didn’t want to open my eyes and look for fear that it would be gone. After a few seconds I looked up at my brother who was sitting across from me holding her other hand and the look on his face told me he felt the same thing. After our eyes met the feeling was gone and she took her last breath. She was clearly saying goodbye to us and I am so grateful for that moment.
    xoxo
    Judith~

    Reply
  50. Beth

    I have been blessed to witness several miracles in my life. The first was my son being healed of myasthenia gravis, the second was my father-in-law’s healing after a severe heart attack. Doctors told us he had no chance of survival, and yet here he is, 10 years later, doing very well. My most recent miracle is that my kidneys were failing and I was told 3 years ago that I needed a transplant. My husband was a match, and two years ago at Thanksgiving time, he gave me one of his kidneys. I am doing so well and am so grateful for a second chance at life!

    Reply
  51. Susan

    I’m late in adding to this wondrous list – I just wanted to say a big Thank You to you, Corey, for starting such a wonderful chain of comments.
    The reminder of the miracles and blessings that abound is a precious thing. I’m thankful for the mercy of God and for His boundless love. Daily they feel like a miracle to me!

    Reply
  52. Patricia Kahn

    I’m very late in posting this but, yes, I’ve definitely seen a miracle. This happened in the 60s in Los Angeles. I remember reading about people who would file a small hole in a car’s brake fluid line. As the unsuspecting motorist braked over the course of a day or so, the brake fluid would slowly leak out and one would suddenly find oneself without brakes.
    I was studying to become a nun and was driving 4 nuns back to the convent on one of LA’s freeways. Our exit ramp was a steep one which ended abruptly at an incredibly busy street.
    When I got to our offramp and tried to slow the car I realized that we had no brakes. We were barreling off the freeway. I quickly told my companions and many prayers began to be said. I kept trying to brake but there was nothing there. No slowing whatsoever until the last several yards. And suddenly the brake kicked in and held. We lurched to a stop just past the stop sign at the bottom of the hill.
    I got help from a mechanic from a gas station across the street and he towed us into his station. He said there was zero brake fluid and absolutely no reason that would explain the brakes suddenly kicking in to save us. My companions and I smiled and told him of the whirlwind of prayers on our exit ramp descent.

    Reply

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