October 31, Jackson, Mississippi. Hallowe'en.

It doesn't seem like fun, dressing up in costumes and pretending to be somebody else, but the children and lots of adults love it.    Perhaps I am not creative.   Both Kate and Mary Frances manufactured their own terrific costume.  Christina helped with Kate's hair and toga but the idea and implementation was all hers.  Mary Frances too decided on her costume all by herself., starting with her favorite hat, the dragon with a tail.  She wore black boots, and black fleece pants and jacket but the make up made the parts into a costume.  She looked great but not at all the scary dragon that Molly said she would be.

It is the second most important event of the year for the children.  For adults it is the second most number of parties after New Years.   Part of Hallow e'en is the trick or treating.  For the only time of the year you get candy and eat it all.

Ken and I have been invited to a front porch party, where while the children go out to collect candy, the neighbors and friends will gather and sip hot toddies and eat home made soup, while handing out the candy.  John and Greta Barbour are kind to invite us and we will enjoy watching the children as they come and go.  But I bet we won't come in a costume.

)ctober 30, 2011. Jackson, Mississippi. Baseball.

This years World Series was spectacular but not many people watched the games.   Living in the Eastern Time zone  as I did,  the games ended too late so I missed the last few innings of each game.   Then I would forget so the first person I met I would ask "Who won the game last night?"   No one ever knew.  No one seemed to be watching the games.

Finally we entered the Central Time Zone and I was able to watch the whole game,   watching the St. Louis Cardinals win the series.  It was a super series with sparkling plays and timely hitting.  I loved it, when I could stay awake to see the games.

The Baseball organization is doing nothing to appeal to  the public.   The worst part is their lack of opportunity for children.  No afternoon games and every game too late.  Games too long.  Commercials begin immediately between innings and often returning to play after two or three pitches.   And the baseball Commissioner, Bud Selig can't even make a short speech without reading and stumbling his words.   If they continue their policy, next year one in ten people I ask will know something about baseball instead of one in five for this year.   I love baseball and the World Series but the organization needs help!!

October 28, 2011. Tuscalosa, Alabama. The Radio.

The radio saved the day.   For two hours, I changed the stations on satellite radio and listened for a few minutes to each one.   When I found one I liked, I put it into the automatic system.    There are three different satellites and eight buttons on the dial so I had to find 24 stations I liked.    Now we are set.

One station I found was playing men quartets, all singing gospel songs.  It was so much fun we listened for thirty minutes.   Ken and I were brought up singing and playing and listening to gospel songs so it was like hearing voices from the past.   I put that station into the memory bank.   I must say that when I listened to the same station later in the day neither of us liked the music much, so perhaps I will remove it but it was a lot of fun this afternoon.

Today was a long drive,  raining all the way,  so we were looking for ways to amuse ourselves.   Eating helps to while away the day too,  along with talking.  But the radio saved our bacon today.

October 27, 2011. Salem, VA. The Journey.

It has been a lovely drive.  We have done it before but it looked especially beautiful today probably because of all the yellow and orange colors in the trees.   Our journey took us through Hancock and south on 522, picking up 81 at Winchester.  All afternoon we came south through the wide valley.  Two hours for Ken and two hours for me and we are done for the day.

We look like the Oakies except our truck is covered with the cap.  Fortunately, I loaded the back seat carefully with all the boxes I had packed,  so the back seat is full to the top.  This morning Ken and I loaded the five day coolers with the frozen Angus beef.  We have five coolers.  Then we filled the back of the truck with all the other stuff.  It is full to the top.

The GPS said it will take us almost 16 hours to get to Andrew and Christina's home.  As we left at 12:30, we have a long way to go but we are enjoying the trip.   The countryside is beautiful.   We expect to see them on Saturday.

October 26, 2011. Artemas, PA. Cooking in Provence.

Visiting Provence is worthwhile.  And learning to cook in Provence is an extra blessing.   One of our outings from the boat was visiting a lovely old town whose name escapes me.  In the late afternoon we were offered cooking classes,  Provence style.  Twenty of us made the choice so soon we were chopping and cutting and eating.  Even though I never cook, it was fun.  The three professional chefs told us what to do and we did it.  Our three groups rotated from one thing to the next.  My group ate desert first, followed by an appetizer and finally, the main course.  Of course, we drank local red wine the whole time.

The chefs were young and energetic all from the Culinary Institute of Provence, where we cooked.  One young chef asked us students what we liked to cook best, I am sure to build rapport and break the ice.  Unfortunately he asked me first and a look of horror came over his face when I told him that I did not cook.  His only response was to say, "Well, you are going to cook today so now please chop this parsley".   Everyone laughed.  He never did ask anyone else the question.

We dutifully brought back the recipes but yesterday I pitched them.  It was fun in Provence surrounded by other friendly people but back here at home, not a prayer will I cook them.

Walking 2

Cooking

Walking

Paris Points to the Sky

Paris Handcrafts

October25, 2011. Artemas, Pa. Organization.

It comes easily to me but I think I drive everyone else around me crazy.   Since we returned in March and I was busily hanging pictures, I have been filling boxes of goodies to take to both Mississippi and Texas.  I have no idea what is in the boxes, but they are neatly packed and stacked and labelled in the spare bedroom.  Now they must find a place in the truck.  In addition, we are taking two more of our dining chairs to David and Suzanne.  Somehow or other, we lost one chair so we are taking our last two Hitchcock chairs, which meant I had to find two replacement chairs for the desks downstairs.  But we are set.  Now the chair I am using is better than the Hitchcock chair, so things work out.

Also, I am trying to sprinkle my clothes around.  My work clothes will never be used here at the farm so I have organized some clothes to take with us to be left at either Mississippi or Texas.  In addition, I pulled all our camping gear out of the storage spots on the third floor of the farm house, to be taken to Andrew and Christina.  Andrew takes the two older girls camping at the Graves farm and he is forced to borrow a tent so we will dedicate our camping gear to him.  Ken thinks we will not camp again.

My life has always been organizing something,  so now I am in the midst of uprooting us from the farm and getting us and our goods, first  to Mississippi, then on to Texas.  It is a good thing I am comfortable organizing but I do a lot of it!!

October24, 2011. Artemas, PA. Bill.

I could hear a machine and thought it was coming from the main farm house.   "It is the last grass cutting for the year", I said to myself.    I was right.   Bill soon stopped by our Hill House to let us know what we owed him for his efforts this whole season.     In country style, he will never want you to pay him a deposit, even though he knows we will be gone all summer.  He prefers to have us pay him at the end of the season.  He has a small book in his pocket saying how many times the grass has been cut this year and thus, what we owe him.    From his little book, he can tell us whether it was a wet or a dry year, depending in the number of times he cut the grass.  This year, he said was inexpensive for us.  We were just grateful of his attention to our place.

Years ago, in 1973, Bill Taylor installed the drywall in our old farm house.  We met his wife Shirley, who acted as his bookkeeper with his drywall business.  In addition, in 1969, he bought  an old farm and renovated the turn of the century house, and moved into and lived there until he sold it to a young couple,  who a year later split and stopped paying their mortgage to Bill.    Bill bought the farm back at a sale, and we bought the farm from Bill, so Bill has been looking after this farm for a long time.

Bill has had nine lives.  Three times, he was run over by his tractor, but survived.  He has had three heart operations and until ten years ago, he was a heavy smoker.  Now he can not cut our grass anymore due to shortness of breath.  But he will continue to look over this property for which we are very grateful.  He is a good solid citizen, just made in a different mould.

October 23, 2011. Artemas, PA. The Other Cruise Guests.

Most of our fellow passengers on our river cruise were  experienced travelers.  About half of them were retired and  the others, who were much younger,  had been on several cruises.   The good part was they paid attention to the time.  They were always ready on time to begin a walking or bus tour.   They were all unfailingly pleasant and friendly and unpretentious.

We like the open seating format and we like no fancy dress events, so we enjoyed the casual nature of our river cruise.  As usual on a cruise, we end up getting to know and like two couples.  I left my e mail address with those two folks.  Now I will be interested to know if they ever contact us.

One couple we met have taken 58 cruises in the last 12 years.  I was stunned when she told me, so much so that I could not think of any way to ask politely how they could stand being on so many of these trips.   Being on a cruise is like being at a movie in that you stay on the ship and every day get off to look at a new part of the world then get back into your own world.  But there is really nothing to do, just observe and comment.

We enjoy traveling on ships but at the end of every cruise we say to ourselves "Let's not take any more cruises".   But a few years along, we get talked into another cruise.  But that couple we met last week decide right after one cruise where they will go next month.  I figure that they don't have anything else to do.

French Farm

French Windows 2

French Windows

October 22, 2011. Artemas, PA. The Day by the Fire.

Who could ever imagine that a day by the fire would be interesting and fun?   The whole day?  But we did.    Immediately after breakfast, Ken drove down to light a fire.  The weather looked promising.   I walked down after a bit, bring our lunch as I knew we would be a long time.  We had four large trash cans full and we had been unable to make a fire the last time we were here due to the weather,  so we were desperate to burn our trash before we left the farm again.

Ken makes good fires so it was pleasant watching the fire all day.    Friends used the house a couple of times when we were away this summer and unfortunately something exploded in the fire and hit me.  Fortunately, I was turned sideways to the fire and I was wearing Andrew's jacket which had a collar so whatever it was,  hit the collar that hit my earring that cut my chin.  After that we watched the burning trash from the safety of the deck while we drank our after lunch tea.

The rest of the afternoon we enjoyed the fire and the weather and our conversation.  Bill T. stopped by to say hello and to say he can no longer cut the grass next year due to his shortness of breath.  Time does march on!!    To complete the afternoon, Ken opened a 1998 bottle of wine which we sipped and sipped until it was all gone.    Great fire.  Lovely day.

October 21, 2011. Artemas, PA. Popular Science.

It is a great edition.  The November 2011  issue of Popular Science is chock a block full of interesting  information and ideas.  "Data is Power" is the topic and  features large numbers and how they can be used.  It is fascinating.   Popular Science in the past was not very interesting or enlightening but  now is one of the best magazines.  For the past five years or so it has been high on my list to read when it first arrives in the mail but this one is worth buying the one issue from the drug store if you don't already subscribe.

On page 54, they are discussing FAOSTAT.  Did you know that the world has plenty of food produced each year but that 13 % of the world population is malnourished.  The point is that the large computers can now keep track of masses of information, which then can be sorted and organized.  It is fascinating.

I knew that computers are getting smarter and larger.  We arrived from Europe on Air France and passed through immigration using the new quick entry called Global Entry.  The machine checks your passport and fingerprints.  Then you are asked a series of questions, similar to the ones on the immigration form.  Finally, we were asked to confirm our arrival on flight 26 on Air France, which we did.   After one second, a card spewed out of the machine and we left the area to head home.  Our question to each other was "How did they know which flight we were on?"  Clearly, when we checked in and provided our passports to the airlines in Europe, the computer must have passed that information through to Immigration.  It's another example of big computers.  Amazing.

October 20, 2011. Artemas, PA. A New Home.

It is true that we have been coming for weekends to Artemas since 1973 but it is also true that we have never lived here full time.  In many ways, we are starting from scratch.  Today Ken found a place to cut his hair in Bedford and we picked up my skirt that was being shortened at a cleaners.  We also took clothes to be dry cleaned so now it will be called 'our cleaners in Bedford'.   The nice lady in the cleaners told me about her brother-in-law,  who owns Barnes Auto Repair, so we now have an appointment to take the truck to them for servicing next Tuesday.  So we are organizing our life, here at the farm, bit by bit.

I think the author's name is Darcie Chan and the book is about a recluse.  I enjoyed the book, reading it on my I Pad when we were away.  It is charming and well worth the read.  I think the title is The Recluse in Mill River.  One problem with e reading is the book is never there to refer to for the author and title and it seems that the Kindle or IPad is always somewhere else.    The plot is somewhat contrived but the main characters are lovable and interesting.   I have always been interested with people who are reclusive so this book added to my knowledge as well as being an enjoyable read.

October 19, 2011. Artemas, Pa. Home Again.

We are delighted to be home although we thoroughly enjoyed our River Cruise.    The whole thing went off as planned.  Every village on the river was interesting and the walks were valuable and always in small groups.  Ken and I held up well with all the walking.  Neither Ken or I are in love with Europe.  There are so many people squeezed together that even the smaller towns and villages seem crowded, let alone the big cities.  We will be slow to return to Europe even though we enjoyed our trip.  I especially loved the old buildings and the Roman ruins.  They made the whole traveling worthwhile and enjoyable even though Ken struggled in Paris and Barcelona.

Now we are finding pleasure in the farm.  The hills are painted yellow and orange and bronze.  And we are enjoying the space and the quiet.   Eating all meals with other folks even when the people are pleasant and interesting is not normal for us.  The people on the cruise were all experienced travelers and we enjoyed meeting them.  Two couples especially we enjoyed and I will be interested if they keep in touch with us.

But we love North America and are happy to be home.

October 17, 2011. Barcelona, Spain. Walking. Walking.

This afternoon we walked right around the harbor, home to five cruise ships, and finally along the large beach, full of happy people enjoying themselves. We left the hotel just before noon and arrived back at six. The weather was perfect for walking.

Arter walking around the big harbor we came to La Barceloneta, a neighborhood of fishermen, now turning into a high priced home area. Today was Monday so all the balconies were hung with wet clothes. Right at the end was the long beach, Ken and I drank a cup of coffee on the beach. On the way to the beach we walked through a lovely market selling cheese and meat and fruit. The square just outside the market was a beehive of activity with children playing and mothers chatting. It was a very friendly scene.

When almost back to the hotel we stopped for lunch,, three thirty is a perfect time in Barcelona to have lunch. La Mar de Bo was the restaurant, right on the harbor. By then we were weary but sitting eating mussels and seafood soup was the perfect fix for weary feet. Finally, after eating and recuperating, we arrived back to our hotel.

Now we must pack as tomorrow we return to the US. As usual, we will be happy to be home and soon we will see our families, which will give us great joy.

October 16 , 2011. Barcelona, Spain. A Wonderful Town.

It ia now four forty five and Ken and I have just finished lunch, a most wonderful lunch I might add. This is life in Catalonia, where you eat lunch at three and dinner at nine, except, we will probably skip dinner. Our dinner was wonderful with excellent food and excellent service. Ken and I are calling it dinner even though in Barcelona they just thanked us for having lunch with them. Our hotel is right beside the Medeterranian so after dining we walked around outside to watch the harbor and the cruise ships. Barcelona is certainly a busy place.

This morning we took a bus tour of the city, stopping to see five different and important places of the town. This is a very old town. The Romans turned it into a main city of the area but a town was already there when they took over, in one hundred and fifty B.C. This morning we saw the old and the new and both were wonders to behold. We looked at the ramparts of the old walled city, build by the Romans, along with a. Section of the original wall. At one time it was a walled city housing ten thousand inhabitants. Now i has a population of over four Million people. It is a bit like Vancouver as it has the mountains an three sides of the city and the Sea on the other so it is a very crowded city indeed.

This morning in the old section of town, a brass band was playing and many folks were dancing in the Catalan style, all wearing special old dancing shoes. Evidently, every Sunday the folks gather in front of the old Cathedral to dance, in the oldStyle. It was charming indeed. You certainly knew that we were not in Kansas.

October 15, 2011. Barcelona, Spain. Goodbye boat.

We said a farewell to tHe boat this morning, boarded a comfortable bus and headed to Spain. Our lunch spot was a beautiful old town with a P word that I can not recall but Ken and I ate a wonderful, very French lunch sitting outside on a lane that was about eight feet wide. As a bonus, we sat a block away fro a group of musicians entertaining the crowds. It was all very European and delightful. The bus ride through the Pyrenees was lovely. One aspect of the trip was odd in that in the P. Town, we switched to Spanish buses which seemed odd.

Now we are living in a big beautiful hotel in Barcelona, overlooking the mountains and the Meditaranian Sea and within walking distance of down town. In other words, we are perfectly situated with just roam around the big city. Soon, we will wander around and eat some tapas. The old ramparts are still to be seen from our hotel but most of Barcelona is new and modern and vibrant. The Catalonians are very energetic people and we will a different speed here from our sleepy French towns of the past week. Now we will expo lore.

October 14, 2011. Arles, France. Les Baux De Provence.

This stronghold at the top of the mountain has painstakingly restored and is the most popular attraction in the region, and I might add, for good reason.  It is a beautiful old village with medieval narrow lanes wandering up the hill  to the castle with shops and houses to look at all the way.  I was surprised at the rocks which were everywhere as were the views.  It was a great place for a fortress because it could be defended in all directions.  The Catholics and Protestants tangled here often over many years.  I am pleased to be here in 2011 rather than 1011.

Provence is a beautiful part of the country and is also famous for the cultivation of  olives.  After walking around Les Baux, we visited an olive farm.  We learned a lot and were impressed with the energy of the owners.  It was a thriving business.

This is our last day on the boat so Ken and I elected to stay on board this afternoon rather than take a walk around Arles, the town made famous by Van Gogh and Gauguin.  The Romans made it a metropolis complete with an arena, amphtheater and baths but we decided that we had enough of the Romans on this trip.  Tomorrow we drive to Barcelona.

October 13, 2011. Avignon, France. A Roman Aquaduct.

The sun is shining and the mistral wind is roaring down the Rhone River.   I studied human geography in the 11th grade and I learned  about the history and development of the Rhone River.  It has come back to me during this trip that I knew a lot about this fierce wind even though I had not spoken about it for almost sixty years.  I wish I had saved all my notes but really, I must now look it up on the Internet to learn more about it.

This afternoon we will journey to a wonderful Roman Aquaduct, still intact after over two thousand years ago.  Those Romans built for the ages.  On the way back we will stop at a small medieval city, still enclosed by the walls.   At sundown, the walls were locked every night and those late were left out in the cold.    We would do just fine as Ken and I don't like to drive much at night so we would be safe at home when night falls.  People don't change!!

October 12. 2011. Viviers, France. A Special Boat.

Duck Down.... A bridge is ahead!!  It is surprising but true.  The bridges on the Rhone River are low, at least when the water is high, so several things must happen  to the top floor on our boat.  The wheel house lowers down to below the level of the railings.  The plastic shelters on both side of the wheel house are lowered flat on the floor and finally the shade roofs are removed.    Depending on the height of the bridge, people standing must sit or lie down on the floor, below the level of the railing.  I could touch some of  bridges as we passed.   The Rhone has 35 bridges on this trip, at least 10 so old that we must duck.  Interesting but true.

Boucieu-le-Roi is a charming town,  a true medieval village.   The whole town came up to welcome us, including the men's choir.   The old houses are in perfect condition as are the roads.  Everything is as it was in the middle ages.  It was a perfect gem of a town, right at the top of the mountain.

The sun is shining.  The boat is driving us to Viviers, another once thriving medieval village.  All is well in our world.

October 11, 2011. Vienne, France. A Roman Town.

This little town was important during the time of the Romans.  Every time you turn around you stumble upon more ruins and remains.   You can see the 1st Century Roman Temple of Augustus and Livia, also the ruins of a Roman theater.  It is all matter of fact.  Not the least of things to see are the medieval churches, which in themselves are remarkable.

The speed of the Rhone River is impressive too.  It is one thing to read that the Rhone moves at 10 miles per hour but it is another to watch the river racing past our state room just outside our window.   We are docked right beside the town center,  which during the day is busy, but by nine oclock is as quiet as Liverpool, Nova Scotia.  In other words, this is a sleepy French town.  

I am looking across the river at a lovely home built in the seventeenth century.  The only problem with this lovely old home is that I now want to get inside to see the furnishings and the room arrangements.  But I don't think this will happen, so I will walk around town admiring these simple old homes from the outside.  But I will definately look into every window!!

Trevoux, France. October 10, 2011. Peace and Quiet.

Everyone has gone off to tour the vineyards of Beaujolais but I have elected to remain on the boat.    The bus will take them through old villages, finally touring a vineyard and tasting the wine but I want to stay on the boat and go furthur up the Soane to pick up with them just in time for lunch.   Yesterday the boat ride was pleasant but I took a nap just when we went through a lock so today I will sit on the deck and take in the scenery while I enjoy a bit of peace and quiet.

The next part of the journey will be to join up with the Rhone River, finally ending up this evening at Vienne, an attractive Roman town.  You can't not be impressed by the construction in this part of the world.  The Roman footprint is everywhere.  And the medieval glory of these towns are still obvious in their buildings.   The good folks of the region have done a good job preserving their past probably because their population has not grown too fast.  It is wonderful to share this history.

October 9, 2011. Trevoux, France. What is Old?

Is a building old when it was built in the  eighteenth Century?  Or is it only old when you are looking at Roman ruins from 45BC?   Or perhaps from the Middle Ages from the twelfth or thirteenth Century?   Today we saw the whole gamut.  

The city of Lyon is the second largest city in France and dates from Roman times.  It has a most interesting history.  It was the center of resistance during the Second World War.   We spent all afternoon tromping around the old city.  It is worth another visit.

The journey from Paris to Lyon, a distance of 285 miles, took us two hours in the comfort of a fast French train.  A bus tour of Lyon followed by another walk, then our boat left for Trevoux along the Soane River.

Trevoux was an important town in the Middle Ages and is charming.  I love the history and I love the architecture.  This morning we looked at two buildings still in use today, that were built in 1445, the well still in the corner of the courtyard.  People were still living in the apartments.  I was charmed.

October 8, 2011. LYON, FRANCE. The Old Town.

It is right on the Rhone River and the town is verzy old.  I am using a nice young mans computer but he bought his computer in France and things are in the wrong place so bear with me.

Today we took a very fast train from Paris to LYON,  then walked around the old town admiring the buildings.  Lyon is known for the cooking so  this afternoon forty of us went to a cooking demonstration with three dishes we helped to prepare.  I loved it, even though I do not cook.  The down town area was jammed with people so when driving our bus to the ship the traffic was terrible.

Our boat is lovely and small with 110 passengers and zillions  of staff.  Our babin is tiny but comfortable.  I am looking forward to some luzury but we should have brought our computer.

October 9, 2011. Paris, France. Sharing The Lanes.

It is an amazing sight.  On the drive into the city, I saw more motor cycles than I have ever seen in my whole life.  The cycles don't stay in the lane along with all the cars but drive between the lanes very close to the cars.  There were three lanes on our highway.  Our bus drove in the center lane the whole time.  I was sitting by the window looking out at the traffic.  We were in heavy traffic and driving quite slowly but the motor bike just blew past us, right beside me to the left, riding right along the paint dividing the lanes.  The vehicles in the left lane had moved over to the left side of their lane, thus leaving a small area for the motor bikes.

The motor bikes keep their lights flashing the whole time as they drive very quickly on their own lane.  Truth be told, they are very close to both vehicles but they just speed down the road.  It was constant roaring past my elbow as all those bikes sped into Paris.  It was amazing to see but evidently  common in Europe.  Freddie, who spends every summer in Switzerland and drives his moroecyle there,  tells me it is normal and very convenient to avoiding the traffic.  He tried it once in Maryland and got a ticket for not staying in his own lane.  But here in France it happens all the time.  The accidents must be many.

October 5, 2011. Paris, France. Coffee and a croissant.

It was the highlight of the morning.  Definately a true Paris tradition.  Ken and I did what we always do in Paris, that is,  go walking.  We walked and we walked, taking in the sights and sounds.  After almost two hours of walking, we stopped at a little old cafe and drank a cup of strong coffee and ate a fresh croissant.  Both were delicious, and both a reminder that we really were in Paris.  It was a perfect start for our visit.

Today at dinner with Fred and Phyllis we ate mussels.  The weather is not hot nor cold and the food has been wonderful.  After a good night's sleep we will be ready to tour the city tomorrow.    In the morning we will take a bus tour and in the afternoon we will take a walking tour of Marais.  We are ready for some explorations.  But tonight, we sleep.

October 4, 2011. Sterling, VA. The Package.

This package has taken on a life of it's own.    Now it is even more complicated.   It started when I forgot a package of eye drops in Nova Scotia.  These drops must be kept in the refrigerator and over the summer  the container moved right to the bottom corner where it stayed until I opened my drops at the farm and realized my stupidity.  My eye drops were still in Nova Scotia

I did what I always do when I need help in Nova Scotia, which is call my friend Mary MacDonald to help me out.  Jackie, our caretaker took the drops to Mary who kindly sent the package to us at the farm, via Fed Ex.  Soon it came back to Mary,  with a note saying that in order to send medicine across the border they needed a passport to accompany the package.  Is this reasonable?  We sent a copy of our passport to Mary who then sent the package back to FedEx.  So far so good.  Except, now we will be out of the country and no one will be at the farm.

Now the plan is for Brian to open the gate on Wednesday for the delivery man and hope the package will be left on the porch.  If not, the eye drops will once again be returned to my friend Mary.  Nothing is ever simple.

October 3, 2011. Sterling, VA. Another Journey.

Fred and Phyllis told us all about this trip.   It was last October 2010, and we four were having dinner in our condo in Chevy Chase.    They talked a lot about a trip they had booked,  coming up in October 2011.  This conversation was unusual because normally, they tell us where they are going and the conversation moves on.  I congratulated them on their choice of a vacation, as it sounded lovely.   Fred finally admitted that they were telling us because they wanted us to come with them.  We laughed and quickly said yes.  By the end of the evening, Ken and I had signed up for the journey.

Up until now, we have not paid much attention to this trip, perhaps because we did not put the details together.  But now we are about to go so I am excited.  This afternoon we have checked into a hotel close to the airport and tomorrow we get onto the airplane.  We  are ready to go.  For over two weeks, neither of us have any responsibilities except to show up.   I am expecting a good time even though my French is not good!!

October 2, 2011. Artemas, PA. The Quiet Life.

Day after day the rain has fallen.  All night it rained too.  We are water logged at the farm.  Dull and overcast and cloudy has been the forecast every day.  The result for me is that I have stayed indoors most of the time.  The quiet life is what I am living.  Twice this past week we have driven to Bedford but mostly we have stayed at home.  I can't think of a time in my life when I have had so few events in my life in any given week.

I'm not sure if this a good thing or a bad thing.   We exercise in the house.  Ken walks up and down both sets of stairs five times each day and we both use our weights every other day.  But we drive down to pick up the mail and we have not seen our friends all week.  Actually, I have enjoyed my quiet life.  Maybe I am getting old.

October 1, 2011. Artemas, PA. Madame Curie.

It seemed like such a good idea.  Madame Curie was interested only in science but she knew that every so often she would be required to attend receptions or accept awards, so she purchased a basic black dress which she wore for the rest of her life, but only for special occasions.  When I was young and reading her biography,  I was charmed with the idea.  Such a sensible thing to do.  Now a new biography has been published and although I read a review of the book,  I will not read it.  First of all, I have read two books in my life telling of the life of Madame Curie.   In addition,  this new book seems loaded with interpretation,  with the view of a modern woman.

But I enjoyed being reminded that Madame Curie won two Nobel prizes, and one of her daughters and her husband won one too.  Both are records.  She was a remarkable woman and I am pleased that the modern women are paying her some attention.  But I won't read the new book.