Tongue in Cheek

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 fir every thought, prayer, wish, dream, hope that you sent.

Your love and friendship were felt.

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.

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)

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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.

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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...

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...

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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...

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...

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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...

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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 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...

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

This year there was an explosion of blossoms!

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...

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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......

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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....

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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...

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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...

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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.

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"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...

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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.

...

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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...

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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...

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...

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

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...

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.

...

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 

This is the church that Chelsea and Martin were married.

...

...

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...

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,...

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...

Chelsea sent me these photos as the two of them went away for the weekend, their last trip alone before the baby arrives.

34 weeks and counting.

Oh, little Boy Boy, we are so excited to meet you.

These last two weeks and counting have been wonderful, very affirming that my passion for the brocante is something many others share. I love leading the French la Vie, sharing about my life in France and what it is like to live abroad these last thirty years, I love meeting people and hearing their stories and talking about old...

...