Retirement Musings and Everyday Delights
A headline in last week's Toronto Star read, "EVERYONE I KNOW IS BLUE. EVERYONE." It sounded a bit extreme, but it's probably a fair assessment. One line that hit home for me referred to "a tendency to states of longing, poignancy and sorrow, an acute awareness of the passing of time...the recognition that light and … Continue reading Trading Places? Exploring home exchanges
I wrote about Trusted Housesitters in a previous post, but that was before we'd actually tried it. Now that we've completed four pet sits - three in England over a 5-week period and a 9-week sit in France - we've picked up a few tips. Last spring, a Hollywood casting agent named Amberlee got in touch … Continue reading Pet Sitting Tips
For our final week in France, we stayed closer to home with no major adventures planned, but as the week drew to a close, Ray could resist no longer. He had to at least try to reach the summit of Pic d'Anie (8,225 feet), so he headed out for a final climb. He didn't quite make it … Continue reading Barefoot in the Sand
La petite train d'Artouste, Europe's highest train, chugs along at an altitude of over 6,000 feet through the French Pyrenees. The narrow gauge railway was built in the 1920s, originally to provide access to hydro-electric power stations in the Ossau Valley. Today it's been converted to a tourist train. We had a clear, sunny day so we … Continue reading Mountain magic
That's not a typo in the title. We're overdue for a Nick update. He made it through a tough first year of university - including the notorious Calc 2 class - and, starting in September, will be specializing in civil engineering. He's back in Ottawa now, looking for summer employment, doing odd jobs for neighbours, … Continue reading Son, sand and surf
We've had a few days of rain so we haven't been getting out as much, but we made it to the coast last week to visit Bayonne, another city steeped in history. It also just happens to be the "chocolate capital of France". Bayonne's cathedral and cloister We also browsed the covered market and the … Continue reading When fantasy and reality collide
Ray was planning a solo climb to the summit of Pic D'Orhy, at 2,017 metres (6,617 feet), so he was disappointed to learn that the starting point for the climb was at 1578 metres (5,177 feet), making it not quite as epic as he'd thought. Since that was a manageable elevation for me, we decided to … Continue reading The caps of the snow-capped Pyrenees
Ray has cycled into town to pick up baguettes and pastries, while the cats and I lounge in the sun. Rain is forecast for the next four days, but we've made good use of the sunny days while we've had them. On day 1 of this lovely sunshine, Ray went for one of his solo … Continue reading Pyrenees, peppers, picnics and phobias
When I moved to Sweden for university, and later to England for work, I received virtually identical talks about the four stages of culture shock. There's the honeymoon phase when everything is all wine and baguettes, then 'frustration', where you get annoyed because things aren't what you're used to or how you expect them to … Continue reading Well, that’s annoying.
We came across a "wishing" fence last week where you tie something on and make a wish. Ray dug in his backpack and attached an elastic band to the fence. As we walked away, I said, "You wished for a wife who likes to climb mountains, didn't you?" He just laughed. I didn't recognize it as … Continue reading The making of a mountain woman
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