If you have suggestions on how to help bring change pleases leave your ideas in the comment section. 

Have you ever waded with your thoughts? Vaguely remembering where they started and unsure where they will end? I know I have. The waters with their sirens and whipped seafoam are uncharted, rendering a certain uncertainty. 

Why are we still here? Where are we going?

Is there another way? Will we reach the shore? What...

"Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let There Be Peace on Earth
The peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.

With ev'ry step I take
Let this be my solemn vow
To take...

I saw this on Instagram. 

A lot of things I do not do but maybe would like to are not based on fear. Most have to do with not having the talent, nor wanting to put my resource towards it. Fear is not often the reason I do not do something unless it is something like parachuting or bungee cord jumping.

And you?

After reading the...

Maybe it is because nobody has come into our home since mid-March, 

Maybe it is because it is very hot today,

Maybe it is because I tossed and turned most the night,

Maybe it is because I am missing the owl's nightly mantra,

Maybe it is because I run a small part of my walking path for the first time,

Maybe it is because I am...

Finally a moment together.

Yann, Chelsea, and Gabriel spent a few days in Cassis.

The strongest of all warriors are these two

— Time and Patience.

― Leo Tolstoy

War, and Peace

May we have both. May all of us poor, rich & in between. And while this becomes more our reality may I know how to help, encourage and be calm instead of wanting to throw my shoe at the TV and repeat soundbites. Is it...

”The cover of Sunday’s New York Times. It lists the names of 1000 Americans, dead of Covid-19. One thousand is just one percent of the number of those officially counted as dead of coronavirus we will likely hit this Memorial Day weekend.

It is “AN INCALCULABLE LOSS,” the headline reads. “They Were Not Simply Names on...

Every day I go for a walk around the rice fields behind my mother's home. I can walk along the dirt roads that the farmers use to check their crops for miles and miles endlessly around rice fields that are taking root. The pleasure of seeing nature take its course and farmers working steadily with the season.  The blackberry vines are...

As the evening started to fall Sacha and I saw that mother nature's elements were in place for another spectacular night. So off we went back up Hwy 162 heading towards Elk Creek to see if our good fortune would strike twice.

To see Sacha's photos please follow him on Instagram.

At first, the light was too harsh and the sun kept disappearing...

Sacha my son often asks, "Why did you leave?"

And my heart stings.

Following your heart is not always easy.

Especially when it divides you in two.

Oh, distant geese that fly overhead where are you going?

Rolling gold along the long grey paved road.

...

While on my daily walk around the rice fields Sacha pointed out a red wing crow's nest in the ditch amongst the reeds. I would not have noticed it as it was well concealed and neatly created. A masterpiece exactly as nature is.

We marked the path so we could go back and check to see when the blue eggs had hatched.

Yesterday two of them...

This quote was on a friend’s Facebook, it resounded in me so I thought I would share it.

After these endless days that have turned into weeks, that have stretched into months with no end in sight some of us are shifting our position and some of us are wondering what is next to stay safe shelter if we can or to venture out...

 
I miss you 

you know that

I don’t need to say it

and I know you miss me.

Missing feels sad and tender at the same time

like an arrow piercing and an invisible hug

missing you and you and you and you...

I wonder what it is like not to be missing someone?

Years ago there was an interview about Mother Theresa who was in India caring for the dying.

In this particular interview, Mother Theresa was feeding a starving baby while reporters pestered her with comments such as: "You cannot save the dying, you are only one person, look at you care for one baby in the sea of many dying...

 Over the last few years, Yann and I toyed with the idea of my coming over to California to spend a few months with my mom while she was/is in good health. Yann and I wonder what the best time was, and like things that are not urgent, it was pushed back to let's wait and see maybe next spring, or after the baby is born, or maybe...

We have little control over how life will unfold.

We can plan, create, directed our desires, and dreams into a hopeful reality. But in the end, it is life's currents that take us down the stream. It brings new meaning to the children's song

"...row, row, row your boat gently down the stream..."

Life is graceful, enduring,...

Gabriel is walking.

The silver lining being home with my mother and son during COVID 19 is this extension of time, together as we pass these uncertain days I get to be with them with quality and quantity of time on hand. Plus the space and fields around my mother's home allow us a freedom that many do not have. A friend who lives in Milan, Patricia, said...

The frame is very old, missing a few pieces, and crooked.

The tiny metal shield has two angels painted on it with a monstrance.

Behind the two objects a page out of French book with words such as Holy Family, Take Courage, Contrast, Divinity, Faith... a page out of a religious text that is certain, but not intended.

Why am I posting...

My mother found one delicate pink iris in her garden.

I have been posting a photo of a flower every day on Facebook.

So far over forty photos since I started six weeks ago. I started posting photos because the news of coronavirus was overwhelming and I wanted to do something to bring peace in the storm.

Today it was a pink iris that...

Gabriel is ten months old and he loves to crawl up to his mom and dad and take their hand so he can walk. He loves to walk and walk and walk but not by himself not just yet.

He knows who he can trust and who to turn to when he wants to walk.

Simply by going towards them and taking their hand.

We are stronger together than...

Roses from my garden back in France. Chelsea and co. came to stay with Yann for several days. Our garden is at its best in May. But this year the roses bloomed in advance as did the Irises.

Chelsea and Yann both have been sending me photos that please me.

Those Eden roses give perfume as beautiful as they look.

...

Looking out to this view that I know by heart even with the ever changing rice fields as they alternate between seasons. Change and rebirth constant companions feel like nothing compared to this gigantic shift. Serene from my window brings me what I need for the day x

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot...

My mother is a baker. Baking comes to her naturally. My mom would love to bake all day long but I prefer to walk than to roll. And roll I would if I eat all her would be goodies. I am no fun as I do not want her to bake.

But breakfast cream puffs oh yes bring them on!

M o n d a y

T u e s d a y

W e d n e s d a y

T h u r s d a y 

S a t u r d a y 

S u n d a y 

Tangled in the black and white

nothing seems certain 

once where your fragrance guided me to such a sweet place

now the ache of not knowing leads the reins

I took for granted the littlest of things not knowing how they could change 

not ever questioning the possibility

a rose with its enchanting perfume 

standing in the...

When walking in what feels like a dark tunnel what brings hope is a flicker of light, no matter how small, at the end of the tunnel.

Faith is something personal and either the person has it or doesn't and one might start to look for it because of need.

Encouragement from others can help with focusing on the light at the end of the...

My sister in law is a well-loved elementary school teacher. The other day while she was at the grocery store trying to go quickly and being mindful of her every movement a child-student saw her and came running up to her with open arms, "Mrs. Amaro!!" Then as fast as her excitement mounted the little girl abruptly stopped and stood back...

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

Source: Leaves of Grass (1892)

Blackbirds flew in a perfect pattern landing gracefully on the freshly toiled field while

Dust billowed in the distance behind the farmer’s tractor

As the sun’s golden fingers touched the earth and redden my face, the canals filled with water made ready to flood the fields where the rice seed will float and root. The raw endless...

A very blurry photo of you sleeping,

I see you in my dreams.

hearing you in my heart and in my days without you, I send you my love.

Happy Ten Months Old Baby Gabriel xxx