Since I could not decide on my story,
so I am giving you vignettes of my 69 years.
??
Annya and her son Jackson
My daughter Annya was one of the last babies born in the Yosemite National Park hospital,
called Lewis and Memorial. When it came time to deliver my baby,
we had to drive from the southern area of the park called Wawona (4,000 ft elevation),
up and over a mountain pass of 6000 ft to get to Yosemite Valley
where the hospital was located.
It was the first snow of the season.
Her father’s last name is White,
and we joked that we should call her “Snow.”
I absolutely love cats, kittens, and baby goats.
I have also become infatuated with the Blue Merle Australian Shepherds,
which seems to be a favorite dog in France.
My favorite poets are Mary Oliver, Rumi, ee cummings, and Haziz.
I am now living in France, a lifelong dream.
I moved here when I was 66.
Even though it took a while to get here,
it just goes to show that it is never too late to follow your dreams.
I have never been happier in my life!
~~~
I have 3 tattoos.
I got the one on my arm
a bit after I got married at 62 (not for the first time, may I say).
It is a quote by Mary Oliver,
“He is exactly the poem I wanted to write.”
I live in a small village in the south of France.
I tell time by the church bells chiming.
And occasionally looking at the clock…
Ms Amelia, our 1975 AirStream Trailer
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1486208
During the summers, we go back to our cottage in Connecticut.
We have a 1975 Airstream trailer in our backyard
(we have an acre of land), which we rent out on AirBnB.
I love the snow and occasionally insist that we go up to the mountains
so I can get a cold nose and feet. Does my husband like the snow…?
Not so much!
I have sea kayaked in Glacier Bay in Alaska
and on Baffin Island, off Canada’s northeastern coast.
(I found these at the brocante in France and dye them myself for my craft fair.)
I love going to brocantes.
While I do not have the Brocante Bug as bad as Corey,
I do love wandering the rows, finding things
I have no idea what they are and imagining their use in a prior lifetime.
I love the natural patina created by the many previous lives they touched.
While I look for linens, especially napkins
with really “heavy” monograms and old nighties,
My husband Ian is looking for old cameras, tools, and other curios that attract him.
What a wonderful way to spend a day!
I have not eaten red meat, chicken, or turkey for 38 years.
Well, except for bacon! For a period, in my career,
I was often traveling for work, and on arriving late at my hotel,
all I could get was room service.
As we all know, they would always have a BLT on that menu.
One night, I thought, “What the hell, why not!
After all, it was a self-imposed restriction.
And I never looked back…
It is a slippery slope, but I have held the line at bacon
(and lardon in France).
I love to cook and have friends over so I can try out new recipes on them.
I never use a recipe with over 10 ingredients,
and I am not particularly good at following directions.
My husband is my chief taster and almost always can let me know what the dish needs.
He is also a good cook. It
gives me great pleasure to have friends gathered around the table,
eating and talking and (perhaps) drinking till all hours of the night.
~~~
My life’s motto is “Live Creatively”
??? I am married to Ian. He was born in Scotland,
though he has lost most of his accent.
Except, that is, when he is drinking with his pals in the pubs.
Then I can’t understand a word he says!
Though I do love it when he reads me Robert Burns’ poems
in a full Scottish accent!
He is truly a kind spirit, intelligent,
knows politics and history
(I call him my personal Wikipedia),
thoughtful, helpful, and caring. I love him to pieces.
I love watching birds.
One of the great disappointments of where I live now
is that there are mostly only seagulls, pigeons, and ring-necked doves.
I also collect bird nests.
In fact, I bought an old steamer trunk,
removed the falling off lid,
put in a shelf about 4 inches from the top,
filled it with bird nests and eggs, and put a glass top on it.
I believe that I was married to Ian in a previous life.
We lived in Europe somewhere.
He was a farmer and we had three children, two girls and a boy.
~~~
For many years, I worked in a bookstore in Marin County.
I grew up loving reading and books.
I was a voracious reader and, as a child,
would ride my bike to the library a couple of times a week.
I liked "series"; I remember reading all the Briar Patch books,
then I headed on to the Greek Myths, and Nancy Drew, of course.
I often read books my parents had around the house.
I remember reading “Gone with the Wind” in fourth grade,
though many of the parts I was a little sketchy about (like that torn bodice).
?I have a craft business. I make products from items
I recycled and/or repurposed that I find at the brocante.
I hand-dye old napkins and nighties, stamp vintage butter knives,
make cashmere lavender eye pillows, and create gifts from various items I stumble across.
I (usually) sell at craft fairs and farmers' markets when I am back in Connecticut
in the summer, though, of course, this last summer was an exception.
I had been reading Corey’s blog for years.
So when Ian and I were in Aix, (I have to say I am a very shy person)
I emailed Corey to see if we could stop by and meet her.
Now, this was VERY unusual for me to do.
Of course, being the generous and gracious person she is, she said, “Of course!”
We went to her house and had a wonderful couple of hours.
And since moving to France, we have become closer,
and our husbands have become friends.
How wonderful it has been to meet so many delightful,
interesting, and accomplished people through this blog!
Thank you, Corey, for inspiring all of us to share our stories!
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"Everyman has two nations and one of them is France." Benjamin Franklin
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