Blogging used to be fun. It isn't so much fun any more, since we can't be out and about as before. And at home we have an elderly cat that probably won't live much longer, and a lame dog who is just slowly getting better. Besides, the weather sucks lemons these days. Three or four days ago, it was freezing cold. Now it's warmer, but it's rainy. Tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be especially miserable days of heavy rain — an inch or more, which we need, but... Oh, and today I have another appointment with the dentist — the last in this series, I hope.
...melons, abricots, betteraves...
...poivrons, aubergines, courgettes, tomates, radis, concombres, pommes de terre...
...tomates, radis, concombres, pommes de terre, oignons, carottes...
CHM has told me several times over the years that the most interesting thing about my blog is the comments. Maybe he's right. Twenty years ago, in California, when I told him that Walt and I were going to buy a house in France and go live there, he said we were making the biggest mistake of our lives. Maybe he was right.... POISSON D'AVRIL !
As someone who tends to be a home bird, I find your blog a joy....
ReplyDeleteI shall never visit the places you blog about: especially the States, but also most of the places in France... and, like Susan & Simon's blog, I have learnt a lot about those places. Also, even places I have visited, I haven't visited them with your eyes!
I like food so those are good reading, too.... in fact, there's a folder in the Recipes.txt file labelled "Ken's"
Thanks Tim. I'm happy that you find the blog interesting and rewarding. I appreciate your comments.
DeleteI appreciate every single day of hearing from you, on your blog, and seeing what you have to share :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that Bert is maybe not doing well?
I wrote a comment to you earlier but just saw that it didn't post. Bert keeps losing weight even though he eats all the time. He eats more than twice the amount of food that Tasha eats, even though he weighs less than half as much. He's had a few accidents in the house over the past year — you can guess what I mean. He's forgotten that he was house-broken. The vet suspects his thyroid is acting up. We'll see. Bert will turn 16 in May.
DeleteDoes 'Poisson d'Avril' refer to your entire blog post or just to the last line(s)?
ReplyDeleteJust the last paragraph.
DeleteI think one of the best things you two have done is to have moved to France!
ReplyDeleteI think so too. And we did so when we were, or at least I was, young enough to start over again in a new house and country. Walt is still young, but neither of us can do all we would need to do to start over again.
DeleteYour blog is still at the top of my daily list
ReplyDeleteThanks David. I just looked through these comments and realized that five of them are from people I know personally. I've met a lot of people by doing this blog.
DeleteThere was a soap opera called "the Days of Our Lives" and that is how I see your blog. Living the life one day at a time, but in FRANCE with all that good food. Somehow we are sharing something good every day.
ReplyDeleteWe have the elderly dog here who is now deaf. So it goes.
That's funny E. and nice. All my life I thought about spending my older years in France, and I'm now doing it. I feel lucky to have been retired for 20 years now and to still be in relatively good health. By the way, I had a good session with the dentist yesterday. He said he think my teeth are in pretty good shape — for somebody my age, I think he meant. He's only 40.
DeleteI don’t comment often but I start my day with your blog, and Walt’s next. My way of staying in touch!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lynn, for letting me know that. I'd like to see you and Joel again one day. Have you started traveling again. I think my traveling days might be over.
DeleteDitto to all of the positive remarks about your writing, photos, videos, Ken!
ReplyDeleteMy cat just had his annual checkup and the Dr. said, you know, Mary, your cat really needs to have the plaque removed from his teeth. How much I asked? Oh, he'll send me an estimate but it starts at $400 and goes up from there depending on if there is further work like extractions needed. Matisse is 14.
My house has some repairs that I need to get to and like most of us, that has a variety of problems associated with the repairs.
I am no spring chicken (although I like to think differently!) so I continue to have bouts of aches here and there (thank goodness they seem to disappear quickly without my doing anything about them!).
Weather? Freezing temps this morning and higher temps and sun later in the day. I don't have a garden here but the weather definitely affects my emotions and well-being.
Ukraine vs Russia? It definitely is disheartening and I am thousands of miles away.
Covid? There is always somethin'...
So just DO IT! What we think is how we feel. I try to compartmentalize as much as possible and right now the sun is shining in my window on me so...life is good!
Bert and Tasha are there for your loving. Give them a hug and let their warmth warm you when things are not so rosy. (We are all getting older and a little slower)
BUT, please keep up creating your blog, Ken! It is my little ray of sunshine each morning as well.
Mary, what a nice, interesting comment! Sorry about the cat. Bertie has lost two of his fangs, one upper and one lower. His teeth are a mess in general. Over the past year he has lost two or three pounds even though he eats a lot more than the dog does. And speaking of the dog, she's losing weight too. We have her on a strict diet and she's lost almost five pounds since January.
DeleteNo, I guess we are not spring chickens. I have occasional pains and aches but they don't last long and seem to go away by themselves. I do plan to keep blogging. I really appreciate the support and encouragement you and all the others who have left comments on this post have shown me. Blogging is an integral part of my life now, and has been for more than 15 years. I'd have a gaping hole in my daily schedule if I didn't prepare and publish a post every day. An what would I do with all the photos I have stockpiled (digitally). If you come to France, or if I go back to the west coast, we'll have to try to get together.
I would love to meet you and Walt in person! I know when I finally get to France, again, I will want to visit that zoo near you! Not to mention the chateaux that we missed on our other trips. You have given me so many interesting locales that I have on my "to do" list! And, of course, if you get up to the NW, I would look forward to getting together, here, as well! I consider you both as my "blogging friends" and that is how I identify you to my friends when I relate your blog posts!
DeleteDitto all of the above!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how many times I've been in Morehead since I first virtually met you and we've never gotten to meet each other. I probably will go back to Morehead at least one more time in my life, the rest of which I plan to spend in France. But I don't feel confident about air travel any more. I hope you have a nice spring this year.
DeleteThe same here.....I really enjoy the great pictures and lots of interesting information. It sure brightens my day.
ReplyDeleteYour comments brighten my day, Linda. You know I have good friends in Birmingham. If I ever fly across the Atlantic again — I've flown across it about 85 times in my life and I thought in the past that I might do 100 or more crossings in my lifetime — Maybe we'll be able to meet face to face.
DeleteI am a daily reader of your blog, and I certainly appreciate peeking into your daily lives. In some respects, I think you're fortunate living in France, although there are challenges in your lives, as it is clear from your very candid posts. Bottom line, your blog is very refreshing, humorous in its own ways, and very human. Your readers do appreciate the time you spend writing, selecting photos, commenting on them and just being you. For all of that, we thank you.
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Thanks, DR. I wish we had gotten to know each other all those years ago in Illinois. Or in California. As for challenges in our lives, well, that would be the case wherever we live. I would be very unhappy now if I were living in the U.S. and were unable to come to France on a regular basis. In fact, I would probably just wither up and go into a tailspin. Are you still in touch with people we knew at the U of I? I keep in touch with Bob F. and with Harriett W. and her partner Tom. All of of them have visited, and I've visited them several times over the years. I was really good friends with Cheryl Shapiro in Illinois and then after she and then Walt and I all ended up moving to California many many years ago — maybe you knew her — but she passed away a few years ago. Nearly all the professors I knew there have passed on now too. Debbie M. and Steve C. came for a visit a few years ago. I'm just trying to think who from U of I I'm still in touch with. Not many people any more. Harriet McLean... did you know her? She owns a house about 15 miles south of Saint-Aignan, but she spends most of her time in California. Anyway, thank you for the comments and encouragement. Thank you for your comments. As I've said to others, I'm not sure I'll ever return to California.
DeleteThanks, Ken. So if you and Walt are ever back in CA to visit, my partner Arturo and I would love to meet up with you two. We live in Laguna Niguel, just a few minutes away from the ocean. Those Illinois years have pretty much faded away. I do remember you from those days, but we were all so busy trying to finish our degrees and move on, never had a chance to develop good friendships. Bob F. was my office mate, but I haven't been in touch with him at all since leaving the U of I. It was, in fact, Harriet W. who introduced me to your blog a few years ago. Thanks, Harriett! I don't believe I ever met Harriet McLean. And yes, most of the profs have passed on: Barbara and Vincent B., Emile T., Herbert D., Robert N., Stan G., (https://www.news-gazette.com/obituaries/stanley-gray/article_50be6ede-0dd5-11ec-927c-7b2b63efdcd2.html). And the list goes on. So here's wishing you and Walt good health, happiness, and many more blog posts (I also read Walt's posts daily).
DeleteDR
I like your blog and the comments both. I've learned a lot here. It's like a fricasee of life in St. Aignan and France. And our wonderful chm adds a little spice to the broth. Santé and hugs to all.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, D. As I've said, I don't believe I'll ever return to California now. If you come to France, please do let me know ahead of time. I really miss CHM. I haven't seen him since 2017, and that was for a fairly quick dinner at the Japanese restaurant near his apartment in Paris. He's been a major figure and force in my life. If he hadn't hired me as his assistant editor back in 1983, when I was in my early 30s, I don't know what my life would have been like. I had left France in 1982 and didn't return until 1988. Until 1986, when Walt and I moved to California, I spoke French every day at work with CHM and other translators who worked at USIA. CHM's partner Frank lived in Salton City, so he came to Calfornia every year, and Frank's daughter lived in Mountain View (Silicon Valley). In other words, we stayed in touch and saw each other either in Calif. or in D.C. every year for years. And I kept up my French, teaching classes as SF City College for 4 or 5 years. In 1992, CHM happened to be in Paris when Walt and I were there, so he learned that Walt and I had been living as a couple since 1983. And I learned about Frank being CHM's partner. Anyway, I miss him and I don't think I'll ever see him again. That's cause for sadness. But he may well outlive me!
DeleteWhat they all said. I appreciate all the time and effort you put into the blog postings, and the pictures of travel and food have been a lifeline over the last couple of years.
ReplyDeleteI posted this earlier and got an error message, so it if turns up twice, go ahead and zap one of 'em.
Thanks Emm. If I ever get back to N.C.... well, maybe we'll be able to meet. I enjoy your comments. I have never known how it was you ended up living in N.C. I hope you enjoy it. Did I ever tell you that I spent the summer of 1966 in W-S? And then I spent four years in Durham, so I know about the central and western parts of the state a little. W-S is a long drive from Morehead City.
DeleteSame here Downunder, Ken. Your (and Walt's) blog(s) are number 1 (a & b, he he) on my daily list and they always make me feel good. Thanks for that! Greetz from Perth, Jan (& Dean).
ReplyDeleteThanks Jan. I wonder how often you come back to Europe, if at all. It would be fun to meet you one day, but I don't think I'll every make it to Perth... Thanks for your good comments.
DeleteBeen to Europe for the last time six years ago now. Using Skype for family-contact very often I sincerely don't have any homesickness at all. Living now in the land of my dreams is also a main reason. Covid also made it still impossible. And I have to admit, such 24 hours travels (door-to-door) are not attractive to me. But who knows? And if so, I'll let you know.
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