Tongue in Cheek

This randomly popped up on Facebook. 

The red pill is fascinating if I could go back in time, be aware that I am back in time, and the same people are in my life. But one choice leads to another, and having knowledge or awareness at six would certainly, bring me to another point. So, I suppose it is a question of happiness, and or if one...

Some people are just rude.

Their rudeness cannot be overshadowed even when you are kind to them.

Maybe they do not seem rude to their friends, but most likely, their friends are rude too. Perhaps not one hundred percent rude, but any negative quality can stain the clearest of water.

The other night in Paris, the neighbor upstairs was away, and...

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A daily view when I walk around my village.

at the base of Saint Baume.

The church is from the 11th century.

"Art is never finished, only abandoned."

Leonardo de Vinci

Happy Weekend.

XXX

French texture...

After thirty-five years, married to a Frenchman, having children, doing business, and living in France, I have lived longer in France than in my native homeland California by five years.

I could ask myself: "How does it feel from when I first arrived?"

"How many changes in both places have I seen?"

While the...

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Blue skies like a top hat sitting on the buildings.

Unexpected, potted plants in plastic garbage pails lined the street. My cousin Judy would say that is a sign of a frustrated gardener wanting a yard in a limited space.

The sun glowed on the building, intensifying the golden patine.

I walked along smiling and chatting up anyone with...

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At last, I feel better, the best I have felt since April. I went to the specialist, and the report was that I have asthma that is brought on by any respiratory infection. The type of asthma I have cannot be managed with Ventolin. Allergy tests were taken, and I did not respond positively to any of them, I am not allergic to dust, mites,...

Last November, my blog was 18 years old. To celebrate that, I asked my readers to submit a Guest Post for my blog to celebrate our connectedness as a community through social media. 

I hope you will send me your story or a glimpse into your life. I know so many of you through the comment section and emails; I hope this will...

Thank you for your messages. They humble me. 

My blog is an assortment of whatever is rattling around me; often, it is a message to myself to be a better person.

If it brings you something positive, then that is a bonus.

I am not a Jack-of-all-trade and certainly a master of none. 

I dabble and scribble.

Your...

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Thank you, little flowers under our feet, giving way without a cry as we pass by.

Thank you, fresh air fills our lungs, restoring us without our constant awareness.

Thank you, light that shows us today and guides us towards tomorrow.

Thank you, heart, for beating, for dancing within us, even when we do not hear your steady song.

Thank...

Let us share what we have,

Let us trustingly lean into each other.

We are one into the other

intertwined.

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In 2008, I wrote this post about my future son-in-law, Martin, and why I called him Mr. Espresso on my blog.

The Theme: A Mother/Daughter Moment Shared.

The Stage: Daughter's (Chelsea) studio.

First Scene: The Coffee Machine.

The daughter shows Mother, her...

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These trees leaned towards the river, with their roots woven into the soil. Many walked carefully along this narrow path for hundreds of years, not to hook their foot into the trees' roots. 

How often I stood there casting a stone into the river as a symbolic gesture of letting go, and at the same time, prayed that as I let go of whatever...

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Quinoa small grains that look like seed pearls.

Saute the quinoa until golden brown, then add boiling water (two parts to one) and cover, allowing it time for it to become one.

Dice red, green, and yellow pepper and saute them with olive oil and garlic.

When the stiff peppers have surrendered to softness, add chopped almonds and saute...

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My friend, Laurie-Annya, introduced me to her friend Angela.

Both of them enjoy cooking, which is a big plus for me.

They came to my home with arms full of food. 

Come on in, sit down, and grab a fork.

You gotta try this salad.

Oh my yum is what it is.

Is this in your recipe collection?

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Bird song is what I thought the French language sounded like when I first arrived in France.

After a while, it just sounded difficult.

I was utterly lost after a person would say, "Bonjour."

When I was first married French Husband and I lived in Paris. A few years later, we moved with his business to Marseille.

The first few things...

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My passport soon will expire to renew it means amongst other things that I need two identical photos of myself.

I took some.

None of them were appealing.

A prune came to mind.

Gasped!

Wrinkles. Like a roadmap, or
lines best in read in a book. 

Eyebrows doing the tango.

I will stop there.

I know the reasons and sayings about beauty,

Pet Peeves:

Over-cooked pasta.

A few things get my goat so to say, and when it comes to getting my goat "pet peeves" over-cooked pasta is one of them, and I am not Italian.

Cracking knuckles, God, I cannot stand that.

If you want to torture me just serve over-cooked pasta, crack your knuckles, play heavy metal music, seeing someone biting...

Dang, that is a long time, and still, my French is far from perfect, and I do not write it at all.

Thankfully, the language of love is perfect in its imperfection.

Last night while we were having dinner at home, a song came on the radio. It was a French song, one I had heard before but never paid attention to the words. French Husband, between...

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Setting the table has been something I have enjoyed doing since I was a little girl.

The fork is on the left, and the knife is to the right, with the cutting part of the blade towards the plate.

As I place the silverware alongside the plate, I imagine those who will sit around the table and dine.

They are hoping...

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moments before

the last rays 

flickering through the bare branches

caressing the fallen leaves

creating shadows

twilight’s theatre

until tomorrow 

How to recognize the brocante bug:

The person infected with the brocante bug usually is not in bed sleeping on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Their homes have a certain look about them. 

A person who has the brocante bug usually stops the car if they see --

An old table leg, a patch of fabric, or worse, a...

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...of the things we call life,

of the moments we label divine,

of those beginnings and endings,

the ebb, the flow, the ache, the challenge.

Life doesn't stand still,

not even if you blink your eyes.

Instead, it grabs us. Can we feel it?

 Oh, glorious...

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Via Instagram Nicolas G

To welcome the year, we decided we would dip into the sea, a renewal, a baptism, a fresh start...

Or, as my mother said, "Don't call me if you are sick tomorrow; you are crazy!

You are just starting to feel better, and then you do something like this!"

If the water had felt like ice, I would not...

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`

Looking back on this year, I will remember being with my family, celebrating life,

creating...

The whopper Dutch Baby I have ever seen come out of my oven. The same recipe as usual, but it seemed it had a life of its own.

Three large eggs

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup of milk (I used part coconut milk)

Two heaping Tbsp of flour

1/2 tsp vanilla powder

A pinch of baking soda,

Pinch of salt

2 tsp scoops of butter.

This...

One little bit.

Yesterday, I went for a walk to the place where the locals play "pétanque," a Provence game of balls.

It was the first time since I left the hospital that I went outside, and the weather has been flawlessly, usually warm. 

I was in a terrible mood of self-pity and frustration. Not my best look. I wasn't...

A few days ago, I asked on my blog to share a Christmas memory of yours with me, had shared about my brother Zane’s mishap with the nativity.

This memory was from Judy:

MY SINGING DEBUT

The Christmas program at District 53 was the biggest event of the school year.  Two weeks before the program, the school board built a...

Thank you Rebecca Carvin NYC , « Corey Amaro  when I saw this on your blog today, I thought "oh that's beautiful" and then, "oh that looks familiar"  I cannot even tell you how flattered and tickled I am that you shared this.  This poem has always spoken to me, and the photograph is from a visit we made to The Abbaye...

We unwrapped the gifts. Gabriel was giddy and gladly helped each of us unwrap our gifts.

We keep the tradition that my family had growing up. After Christmas Eve dinner, we do the washing up and set the table for dessert. Then, we gather in the living room, and the youngest passes out the Christmas gifts. Since Olivia was asleep,...

Christmas Eve.

Home.

Gabriel set the table.

Martin and Chelsea prepared dinner.

Yann entertained the baby.

I sat by the table admiring how beautiful Christmas unfolded.

Not as I imagined it a month ago, but it surpassed my expectations and the gift I gathered « let go and let be. »

Merry Christmas one of shared joy and peace!

Thank you...

My grandmother Amaro said to the five-year-old me while we were sitting in her car that spiritual love was stronger than physical love. She told me this because I had asked her if she died, how would I know that she was by me if I couldn’t see her? This was also around the time when her husband, my grandfather, died. I was at a threshold...

There is a common practice amongst smokers in France.

As soon as they walk outside they light up.

Inhale as their life depends on it.

When every tobacco leaf is burned they deposed their cigarette where they stand.

Disgusting.

Today, I walked outside to see an ashtray at my feet.

Dear Smoker,

Second hand smoke kills.

Please smoke away...

Be the wings.

Girl Dancing for her teddy bear, Paris, 1961. Photograph by Philippe le Tellier

Today I was to have a long-awaited rendezvous with a reputed pulmonologist in Marseille. Forty-eight hours ago, I had an acute asthmatic attack and had to go to the nearest emergency room. Unfortunately, I had to forego my rendezvous with the pulmonologist as...

Via Brad Montague

Christmas lights sparkling outside our window in Paris. This year in many cities around France, Christmas decorations are at a minimum due to the threat of electricity shortage and to protect our planet from overconsumption of disposable products. Usually, the Christmas lights extend all along our street and stay lit throughout the...

Sacha was asked and worked pro bono with a team to bring awareness to the plight ongoing in Iran.

Mahsa is the first Iranian stuntwoman, and stood on this plane during the film.

To see the film and more click here.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cl9Njr9j961/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Two parts.

...

A collection seems to catch attention more a than a single piece.

or at least it brings us in to look.

As a buyer, an entire collection saves time and energy if the price is right.

A grouping of things catches the eye, not to say that a single piece doesn't, though when a...

Dear Santa,

I would like 

A construction truck

Construction work clothes 

A remote control car 

and nothing else.

Please!!!

We are going to have apples, bananas, and crackers. And carrots for the reindeer. 

And that is all.

Please no hugs.

We will be sleeping upstairs.

You can come in...

Walking to the bus stop, I noticed An old fashion shoe shop that was closing. In the window, I saw the shoe holders from the 1920s and wondered if those would be for sale, too, considering everything in the shop had to go. I hesitated but pushed myself through the door to ask if they were for sale.

The owner, an older man, said...