Falling out of...

 ... friendship - that's like falling out of love, but with friends.  That happens too. 

The past few weeks, I've been having dreams about people I chose not to have in my life anymore.  At some point, in the past, I made this very conscious decision to not have these specific people around.  I have given them enough, may it be physically, monetary, energy or just time. I decided it was enough.  With some people it sorts of happened or happens naturally... we just drift apart.  One day you realize that you haven't seen then in a long while and you're ok with it.  And this is pre-Covid, when we still had the option to see and fraternize with people. You don't really miss them, nor think of them often.  Others, well, for me it was harder, since they had been part of my life for a long while, they had an important role in it, I thought of them as friends, and (for me) that is something.  But I clearly remember walking away.  No explanation were giving, nor asked for, it just happened and that was that.  

Like for any breakup, common friends will feel they have to choose a side.  Some do and they will ask what happened, etc.  Some will try to reconcile, try to mediate, when really there is nothing to mend...

It is not even a question of pride, ego or being stubborn.  I just reached my max of what I would tolerate, do and accept, and decided that was it.  

It did cost me. Lots.  I gave up on something that had been part of my daily activities for over twenty plus years.  Granted my body was needing a break from the abuse I was giving it, but like everything I tend to do in life, I went from black to white, from zero to sixty, when I decided it was over, I stop everything.

Having dreams about these people, where I'm interacting with them, and seeing them, churned things in me.  It disturbed me.  The situations in the dreams were strange, unreal, and yet, I felt wary, I even woke up feeling on edge, alert.  Thinking about it, I'm realizing that it is not like I stopped caring what happened to them even if I chose to remove myself from their environment.  I don't wish them harm.  I won't go visit them at the hospital but I'll pay my respect when the day come.

I'm wondering why I'm dreaming of them, what part of my brain triggered this?  Am I missing them, or is it because we've been confined for so long that I'm reminiscing? Whatever the reason is, it was strange to dream of them...  I'm also realizing that I don't want them back into my life, so that's good!

Today I had a strange experience with a neighbor's dog.  This lady was walking her dog, a BIG Bernese Bouvier, across the street.  As I was working on our evergreen, removing its winter covering, I felt like I was being stared.  I turned around to see this big beast sitting on the sidewalk, across the street, just starting at me.  The lady was pulling on his leash, but the dog wasn't moving.  He just sat there and stared.  I wave at him, and he got all excited.  The lady was having a hard time holding him back.  He wouldn't keep on walking, just sat there and would stare. 

It lasted a good five minutes or more.  I had time to uncover all four trees, go up to get a bag and bagged everything and the dog was still there, staring at me.  The lady then asked me if I was afraid of dogs.  Told her no, and asked if I could go see her dog.  As I crossed the street the dog got so excited, jumping up and down, pulling on his leash, and at over 130 lbs the lady was struggling.  When I got to him, he was whimpering, tale going 100 km/hour, and trying to jump on me.  He was presenting me his paws, pushing me with its head.  Boris was quite happy to meet me it seemed.  I ended up petting him, scratching him and getting gobs of drool over my pants.  The lady looked embarrassed and told me he never did that before...  If one believes in signs - and I do! - was this a sign that I should be getting that pooch?

One can help and wonder!  One thing for sure, no matter how sweet that big beast was, no way am I even thinking of a big dog.  I want a little one, like a Yorkie or Maltese... some pooch who won't shed too much or not at all!  I have to work on the Husband as I showed him some pictures of these little pooches, and he wasn't interested...  He says he's starting to warm up to the idea of a cat. Of course!  

Another Month Zoomed By...

I thought it wasn't that long ago that I last wrote on here, and yet, it has been well over a month.  Geez time flies even in confinement!

As I'm writing this I feel like crap, not because I am sick, but because I feel bad, for more than one reasons actually...  You see, I've been working on that husband on mine for a while now, chirping in his ears that we should think about changing our car.  We were the (proud) owner of a Honda Civic that we bought in 2010 a recup from an end of lease that was already five years old.  When we got it, purchased following a car accident I had (while stopped at a red light some truck rammed into me, while he was on his phone planning his vacation).  We were going away on vacation, and decided to get a car, not a new one, temporarily, until we decided what we wanted.  That "for now" car became our car for the past ten years.  It served us very well.  Honda were/are good reliable cars, but like any car of ten+ years, rust was starting to show, it had a hole (made from a hitch of a pickup who backed into it one winter) right in the center of the front bumper, the doors would not stay open, the rear passenger left side window did not go down anymore, the speedometer wasn't indicating our speed at times (and according to the husband, more and more often), the AC wasn't as cold as it used to be, plus last January, while driving on Ste-Catherine downtown, some guy slowly "scraped" our car while he was changing lane.  Since it was night, and darn cold, it looked like he had peeled off some dirt.  When we looked at the car in daylight there was a little more damage, but since it was an old car, we didn't care too much.  Following that though, it had loosen the left part of the front bumper and one day while Hubby was going in to work, a piece of plastic flew off the car, exposing the window washing container completely.  Something had to be done, so I did a tape job on it!

It didn't look that bad, right?  Granted we did not fit in our neighborhood where most people are driving Audi, Mercedes, BMW, etc, so our tape job was clashing to say the least, but it still got us from point A to point B.  Hubby had been researching some models, asking friends, etc. and we agreed that the Kia Forte pleased us both.  It was in our price range (cheap! not really) and offered good warranty.  We made our way to our dealer, in Laval, and after four (long) hours, we had signed for a brand new car.  They (offensively, almost!) offered us $350 for our old Civic. Yes we could have tried to sell it ourselves for more, but didn't want the hassle.

We picked it up Wednesday evening.  Hubby drove it home.  Thursday he drove me to the eye doctor, because I have another lids (eye lashes) infection, and Saturday we decided to go for a little drive, and visit some friends in the Waste Island.  (On a side note, I will say that it was really the first people we've visited since this Covid nightmare started and it felt somewhat strange at first, but also nice to catch up with friends, and talk with someone other than my husband.  I also realized that I'm far from ready to go back to malls or even restaurants, call my pussy, I don't care.  I haven't been "secluding" for months to go into a group or a crowd, just to be social.  Nope.  Not yet. Side note closed.)
We visited our friends, and actually stayed over for dinner.  A pleasant afternoon was had by all.  Since Hubby had been drinking I was to drive home, my first time driving our new car.  I put it in drive, and I started pulling out of the driveway when I heard my girlfriend yelling "Stop, Stop!"  I had clipped a little cement triangle that was along the road... Long story short, and to spare you the drama, I scratched the car.  Let's just say that there haven't been much conversation in this house today.  We've been on different floors most of the day, and earlier we went out together to look at the damages... I scrapped the bottom of the door from the driver to back door it seems.  I feel like shit about it, it was my bad.  I didn't know (and still don't)  the feel, size of this car, and I put on its first scratch.

I really feel terrible about it all, and to see Hubby this upset about it doesn't help at all how I'm feeling...  I didn't do it on purpose, and like Hubby said, I have really bad juju with new cars, or so it seems.  I have to let this go and get over it.  But it was brand spanking new!!  Within minutes of me driving it!!!

Un mois déjà fini...

...comme le temps passe vite lorsqu'on s'amuse, ou lorsqu'on réalise son effet sur notre quotidien.  Peu importe la raison, nous sommes à quelques heures de fermer janvier, ce premier mois de l'an 2020. 

Déjà cette nouvelle année se veut quelque peu difficile, elle nous enlève de notre monde, ces gens qui font partis de notre quotidien, de près ou de loin.  Il y a environs deux semaines, je recevais un courriel d'une copine nous informant de l'état de santé de sa mère.  En lisant son message je n'ai pu faire autrement que de réaliser, une fois de plus, que malgré tout nos efforts, nos jours sont comptés et surtout que la vie ou la mort n'épargne personne.  Mercredi soir j'écrivais à ma copine, j'ai essayé de l'encourager tout en étant réaliste car après tout sa mère allait avoir 92 ans la semaine prochaine.  Quelques minutes après lui avoir envoyé mon courriel, mon téléphone sonnait.  Sa mère était décédée.  Malgré toutes les préparations qu'on puisse faire, la nouvelle frappe.  J'avoue que d'entendre mon amie parler de sa mère, d'entendre les larmes et la douleur dans sa voix m'ont touchées.  Cette  dame toujours bien mise, acceuillante, une force silencieuse, une présence, malgré sa petite stature n'est plus.  Ce départ laissera un grand vide.  J'ose à peine imaginer celui pour ses deux enfants...

Dans un élan de tendresse (ou de folie) j'ai donné un coup de téléphone à ma mère en Floride.  Je ne lui avait pas parlé depuis le Nouvel An.  Non, nous ne sommes pas très proche, et pourtant elle vous dira que nous le sommes... Nous n'avons pas la même définition, mais bon.  Par moment je rage, et par moment je m'en fout complètement.  Je n'ai jamais été très près d'elle; comme toute bonne fille j'étais la fille de mon père (pas seulement pour son sale caractère, mais parce qu'il voulait une fille, alors que ma mère m'a toujours dit combien elle aurait aimée avoir un garçon).  Elle n'a pas eu cette chance, puisque j'étais enfant unique. 

Je viens de regarder les détails d'appels sur mon cell. le 1er janvier nous nous sommes parlés 1 minute 49 secondes et il y a deux jours 4 minutes 30 secondes.  Nous ne sommes pas trop jaseuses on dirait et pourtant, lorsque j'ai parlé à ma copine l'appel a duré plus de 30 minutes...  C'est dingue quand t'as quelques choses à raconter ou que tu ne parles pas seulement de la température...  Enfin bref.  Je sais que ma mère vieillit, que le jour de son décès je serai peinée, et malgré tout je ne peux faire semblant et dire qu'elle me manque c'est comme si je me suis déjà résignée... étrange et pourtant oh combien libérateur.

This afternoon I realized that my computer and cell weren't syncing as they should and that brought on some insecurities that I would forget things, important dates and such, things I did not use to worry about and now I do.  Not only am I relying on technology too much - I feel I should almost go back to my paper agenda - but I also know that I can NOT rely on my memory faculties as I once did, and I'm not that old yet. Fuck!  This is bad!

Two weeks ago a friend turned the big 5-0 (yeah, yeah, our friends are younger than us, sue us!) and we got to see some people we don't often.  As I was chatting with an ex client who lost a fair amount of weight, I did ask him about it, what he'd done.  He told me about this Intermittent Fasting thing he did for a while and lost over 40 pounds.  I had heard about someone else who did that and had managed to lose a fair amount of weight, so I've looked it up.  It seems fairly 'easy' especially since I'm not a breakfast person to start with and have weird sleep patterns.  I'm leaning towards:

The 16/8 method: Also called the Leangains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1–9 p.m. Then you fast for 16 hours in between.

Actually, I nonchalantly started it, i.e. I stopped eating after 10 pm (because on Tuesday and Friday night I have my meditation class and will eat after it, since I don't want to sleep during class), and within a week I did lose some weight!  Imagine how it would be if I actually did some sport?  ah!  Dream on my friend!

Oh, yeah, also meant to share that we will be traveling back to the beautiful island of Hawaii!  We will be there to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and our Best man and Matron of Honor will be coming too!  In seven little months!  We're already done with this month, so...

Looking up it seems...

You'll be happy to know that I did have an infection in my eyes, and after taking some prescribed antibiotics my eyes are back to normal (I think!), within a few hours of the first application of that little cream, the redness diminished and the puffiness went away!  Seeing the eye doctor again tomorrow for a follow up and all should be kosher!

Last Saturday, while sitting in the waiting area of the eye doctor, the owner of the store where they sell you the frames for the glasses, walked by me and after looking at me said: "Are you here for an eye exam?" To which I answered: "Nah, a gynecologist appointment!"  Really, sitting in a waiting room between an eye doctor's office and a store selling glasses?  He did explained that he was wondering if I was there for more since my eyes looked bad.  I swear the question some people will ask at times, and I'm told I'm the one who often says or asks stupid things!
After the 'emergency', I also had my sight checked and needed to change my glasses/prescription, my sight lowered.  I knew it since I've been noticing it's not as clear at it was, so, a few hundred dollars later, I should see the difference tomorrow.  Hopefully I won't be having a bitch of a time adjusting to this new prescription.  It's always been a pain this far, every time I've had new glasses.

Early December, I had a phone interview with a journalist from La Presse who was writing an article about correspondence.  We talked for a while and she had sent a photographer to take a few shots.  This morning the article came out, check it out!  La lettre n'est pas morte - the article is in French, but Google Translate did an ok job (English Translation).  I totally love that picture of me writing a postcard. 

Fun fact: the card I'm writing on this picture is  actually a card I've designed for a friend, from a picture taken by her cousin that she wanted to make into a postcard, that she wanted me to write and send to her. 

Some people, like me, want to receive cards addressed to us rather than a blank one, so we (among ourselves of Postcrossing members/friends) will pre-addressed and stamped a card we would love to get in our collection and send it (in an env.) to a someone, who will write something and return it to us, as a postcard, i.e. without env.  When we do get it back, it shows that it has traveled since most cards get a few scuffs along the way, it's part of the charm for many of us.  Some people will prefer to get blank cards, without any marking or even writing, I guess they collect the images more.  Many people do think that writing a card is way more personal than sending out an email or doing a post on Instagram or whatever else kids used these days.  I just know that I've always loved to correspond and even if through Postcrossing it is only a one time thing, I did, anyway, managed to meet some pretty nice people all because of postcards and sharing that hobby.

Day 2

Couldn't fall asleep (for a change) so I colored on my tablet, in bed...

2020 will be the Year of the Rat in the Chinese Horoscope:

and this little frog...

I met up with a friend - actually we met a year ago at one of my Postal Bites monthly meet and we clicked and became fast friend, funny how that worked - for lunch and we went shopping at Michaels, since I had received a gift card at Christmas, we had a reason to go.  Managed to spend the gift card and then some!  But come on, look at this cute washi tape I found, how could I resist?

We rarely see dogs on tapes, so I HAD to get it!  Unless you do postcards, you wouldn't understand!  Trust me, it was a must, really!

Let's make this leap... again.

Ce soir j'écris en français ou plutôt bilingue... my brain feels like it.  Pouvez-vous croire que nous sommes déjà rendus à la fin d'une décennie, non seulement dans quelques jours nous allons changer le 9 pour un 0 mais aussi le 1 pour un 2, c'est fou!  Je me souviens encore de l'effervescence, du Bug de l'An 2000, pas juste parce qu'avec un geek, ou parce que j'avais décidé de le demander en mariage, mais bien parce qu'on craignait ce que l'an 2000 allait nous réserver.  Vingt ans plus tard, je dirais vraiment pas grand chose, mais bon... On est loin des autos volantes, mais pas tellement des villes sous les dômes.  Le monde a changé, et malheureusement pas (vraiment) pour le mieux.

Granted, côté technologie il y a eu de l'avancement.  Si on regarde nos simples cells, petits et plus puissants que les gros ordinateurs qui remplissaient une pièce complète à un certain moment donné.  Ne serait-ce que la caméra de notre cellullaire qui est souvent plus performante que bien des grosses caméras qui en plus pesaient une tonne avec tout plein d'équipement. Les temps changent.  Greta peut bien retourner chez elle, ce n'est pas le fait de marcher qui changera l'attitude des gens.

En ce temps-ci de l'année j'en profite toujours pour faire une introspection, je regarde l'année qui s'achève et repense aux moments passés: lost a dear friend last January, suddenly, which always makes it harder.  Ai repris un ancient client pour ses livres en mars. Looking back at my calendar there wasn't much going on, attended a few meetups, still doing Postcrossing, catching up with some friends and relatives, la petite routine quoi.  Le petit train-train quotidien, qui devient vite le train-train hebdomadaire, etc.  Petit train va loin comme on dit souvent, ou dumoins on l'espère.

I've also re-read last year's post (you can read it here, if you'd like), and despite some efforts on my parts, to remain low key (as in below the radar), to try to play nice and all that, I'm still hurt (yeah, hurt I guess is the right word for how it feels) when I hear about someone not being comfortable talking to me (for no apparent reason, since we've never really spoken) because "you know..."... I don't know, please do tell.  I haven't reach that venerable age (yet!) where I really don't give a fuck about what people think about me, I'm trying to let go and not care, and yet, there is that part of me which needs to know what the fuck did I do to this person for them to not like me...  I know (I fully understand it) I should not care, and yet, there is that part of me that is being tickled by it all.

Mon objectif pour la prochaine année: ne plus m'en faire avec l'opinion (positive ou négative) des gens.  J'essaie d'être une bonne personne, j'aide lorsque que je peux, je contribue à la société (en plus de payer mes taxes et impôts, oui! oui!).  I'm rough around the edges (actually I'm quite round, so there shouldn't be any hard edges, just sayin' ), I call a spade a spade, I'm honest, I try not to lie, and I'm very loyal.  Granted I have no patience for stupidity, so if people fear me because of that, then maybe, just maybe the problem is not me.  I don't want that type of people in my environment.

I MUST remember this:

Sur ce, je vous laisse et vous souhaite une nouvelle année remplie de santé, bonheur et amour!

Wishing you a healthy, happy and lots of love for this New Year ahead.

All the best!
xox

Living my life and (trying) to forget my age!

My need to vent quite high, so here goes:

On November 1st, we had really strong winds, so strong they actually ripped the gutter covering the thermo pumps tubing making it to the top floors of our building.  Since that day, I've been trying to reach a contractor, in either gutters and/or roofing to get someone over to fix it.  To no avail.

I'm actually being ghosted by some!  They tell me: I'll be there tomorrow after 3pm, and don't show.  I've called a LOT of them, some simply refused to even come to look at the situation, saying they are too busy.  Some I've contacted have an emergency number, but that's not "serious" enough to come.  Others offered to send an estimator for the cost of replacing our gutters.  Name it, in the past few weeks, I've heard it all!  It is utterly ridiculous that contractors do not give a rat's ass and, and as Hubby often says "don't want our business".

Last night it was quite windy again, and the noise this dangling thing was making was quite nasty... almost as bad as nails on a chalkboard, it was bad, and it was windy.  I could ear it in our unit, I can only imagine the people living on that side.  This morning I decided to try another avenue, as suggested by a friend; maybe the firemen could help.  I didn't want to call 911 as it is not really an emergency as such, so I called 411 to get a phone number of a local fire station. The first respondent was kind enough and transferred my call to  Montréal Service (not quite sure where he transferred me to).  As I started telling the reason for my call to the lady, I very quickly realized she had no idea what I was talking about.

Me:  Hi, I'm calling to see if you could maybe direct me to a service or something as one of our gutter on the side of the house got undone and I'm afraid it will cause some damages...

Phone Help:  I see.  Is this inside or outside?

Me: ...

Phone Help: Madam, is this thing inside or outside and it this a commercial or residential building?

Me:  It's a gutter like a metal cover on the side of the building.

Phone Help: So, this is outside?

Me: You don't know what a gutter is?  Really?  It's that thing that collects rain along the roof of houses...

Phone Help: So, it is outside.  And if this is for a commercial building you're not calling the right place.

Me:  Yeah, I got that, thank you.  I'll figure it out.  Thanks anyway.

I hung up feeling almost dizzy.  This was like an episode of Outer Limits!

I'm happy I did not rip her a new one.  So after a few deep breaths, I called 911.  I explained the issue and mentioned the exposed wires, etc. and how I didn't want it to get worst and if maybe the firemen could do something.  I was transferred to the fire department, explained the situation once more, and was told they would come by to see the situation.  Within minutes I heard the sirens and saw the firetruck.  They looked at it, one fireman told me they were best at breaking things and unfortunately couldn't really do anything.  I did apologize for making them come over, and they were quite gracious about it and understood my concerns so they put up some yellow tape blocking the passage way near it, and left.

I'm hoping that on Monday at least one of the many contractors I've left messages with will call me back.

I've been single for the past fifteen days, and let's be honest, I'm enjoying it.  You see Hubby is a walking, breathing noise maker!  I kid you not, between his coughs, sneezing fits, his efforts to move his phlegm (ah! I've used that word!!) or whatever else he has stuck in the back of his throat, his burps and farts, and let's not forget his cracking ankles and knees, the man makes noise, lots of noise.  The house has been so freaking quiet, it's unreal.  The only thing I hear (besides the gutter clapping on the bricks outside) is the low hums of the computers.  I do miss his companionship, but his noises, not at all.  I enjoy being alone, and even when he's home, we both like our time apart.  I guess the only child we were is still there and remained comfy with being alone, in some ways.  Both of us find that the evenings and weekends have been boring.  We're used to each other's company.  We've been together for almost twenty-six years now (in January) and never really been apart except for ten days or so.  Do I miss his sweaty ass in bed?  Not really.  Do I miss him preparing dinner?  I do.  Yesterday I washed the toilets and I think it was the first time since we moved here over three years ago; he's been doing them.  He also generates a lot more laundry.  He could be called Sir Changealot.  Don't get me wrong, I love the man, and I'm very thankful he's in my life, but this little break will be doing us some good, I think.  We will appreciate it (or not at all, time will tell!) when we'll get back together in a few more weeks.

Today, I'm celebrating my fifty-third birthday.  Yep, I'm an old broad.  And yes this fact explains some of the crankiness.  At some point yesterday I've realized that it would be my very first time celebrating my birthday alone.  Without Hubby (for sure) and my mom (she's now a Snowbird and is now in FL.)  It dawned on me while at the hair salon where my hairdresser, who's also an old friend (we met when we were about 12 years old), brought out a birthday cake and had a salon full of people signing happy birthday, that I was going to be alone on my actual birthday...  It felt weird.  I know it is a day just like any others, and I don't care about it as much as I used to when I was younger.  Aging isn't all that fun really.  Our body changes, not always for the better; our mind changes too, also often not for the better, our vision goes down, our waist thickens, our memory slowly goes, we discover new pains on a regular basis, but the one good thing (for me at least!) is the fact that there is more and more shit that I do not give a crap about.  A lot of the things and people I cared about are gone.  Some I let go of, some let go of me, and some life took care of...

I will say/write this though, despite not being with Hubby today I'm lucky enough (blessed really!) to have good friends. I might be home alone, but between real life and social medias,  I know I'm not all alone...  Had a delicious dinner with a couple of friends last night, will be having a good time tonight too with other friends, and I'm pretty sure I'll be getting some phone calls and messages. I have a box waiting for me to be open from Hubby which I received a few days ago and four env. from Europe and two from Canada to be open on this day, so I know what I'll be doing when I get up later...  Speaking of which, I should hit the sack now, I'm not getting any younger and need all the sleep (and beauty rest) I can get.

See you around!  Thanks for reading!

Life is so fragile...

When you're young you don't think much about life and death. At least, you shouldn't... Kids should be busy enjoying life. As we grow older, we become a little more aware... Some of us are luckier than others and don't have to face or even think about death until way later in life.  Not all of us are so lucky.  I've had to face the fact that people died at quite a young age.  The first dead person I remember seeing in a coffin, was a neighbor of ours, Clifford.  I was five years old or so.  Then it was my grand father, on my mother's side.  I held him as he took his last breath... I was twelve or so...  and then there were too many to enumerate... Yep, death has been quite present in my life.  Some death affected or marked me more than others, for whatever reasons from how unexpected it was to how much pain was present, the violence of it all, but no matter, death always has this effect of disturbing us.  The sudden ones are never really welcome, unlike the ones which comes almost as a relief.  When a person is suffering, death can be a consolation, not only for the person in pain but for those around them.  When it happens quickly, I find it shakes our foundation more, it's forcing us to face the fact that life is so fragile, and can flip in a moment.

The first time I realized that was on 9-11, as I watched that second plane hit that tower, I remember thinking : "Life as we know it is gone..."  I knew deep in me that things were going to change and not really for the best.  (OK on that one I never thought things were going to get so fucked up as having Trump as President but I was afraid of Bush and expected the worst...)  Then a few years back, one of my karate instructor and friend, died suddenly and it shook me up.  I, once again, was faced with the fact that I, too, could die like this.  We often hear or read about living in the moment, enjoying the moment, to put our fucking phones down and to pay attention to the people around us, etc.  Many of us don't do it.  We're too busy, too important, or worst we think we'll have time later!  That's our biggest mistake I think.

This is not the first time I'm learning of a friend's passing through Bacefook.  This afternoon, it was a post from the daughter of a friend that caught me off guard.  It actually blew my mind away when I first read her post, and when I followed her link to the obituary it did me in.  Our friend, her father, had passed away the night before... He was 56... One year older than Hubby...  As I'm writing this parts of me still can't wrap my head around the fact that just before Christmas his wife and I were texting that famous ''Let's get together soon''.  Of course life got the better of us and we didn't... and now I'll be seeing him, in a coffin, on Sunday.  How fucked up is that?

Life is beautiful, but it is also short and goes by so very fast.  Life is fragile and we don't have time, so enjoy it. Now.  Life has one certainty: death.  And death has no prejudice, preference or anything of the sort.  That is the one justice in this world.  No matter your color, faith, sex, poor or rich, death does not discriminate, we're all the same.

I've lost a friend today.  He was a good man, and I liked him, and this even if we didn't get together that often.  I knew he was there. 

He's not there anymore...

May you rest in peace, Michael.

Eight Posts This Year! Woohoo!

Would you look at this, it looks like I went all out this past year with eight posts.  Man, we are a long way from me writing a post almost daily to now writing a post every now and then.  Thinking back to my blogging days I will say this, I sure had fun and met some pretty cool people through those years.  I was even lucky enough to actually meet with one IRL.

Things did get messed up by the arrival of Bacefook and company.  A bunch of bloggers went on to Bacefook and that was the beginning of the end.  I will admit to getting hooked on Bacefook.  I started slow but when I created that Postcrossing group and became more active with Postcrossing that was my turning point.  Like I did in blogging, I did meet some interesting folks and many more than through blogging, but because of the group I've also seen the ugliness of little cliques. 

People in groups can be mean, to say the least.  There were cliques too in blogging, but I never felt that it was personal really. It was more like you'd prefer the writing style of this person, the humor of that one, but it didn't feel personal.  On Bacefook, it often feels personal.  It actually reminds me of high school.  I would lie to say I had it easy in high school; some parts were pretty rough, but I always managed to make a few friends and plow through.  I find that on Bacefook,  if someone doesn't like you or if they assume you're this way or that way, and they want to foul things up for you, they can.  It is (almost) scary at times.  I've told a few people they could leave the group (I manage) if they didn't like me; some did and others I took out myself.  Managing it all can be stressful at times, but I do enjoy it.   I think I have a good bunch.  Some, like on here, are only lurkers.  That's fine I respect that.  Not everyone cares to be out in the open, to express themselves or to share.  For some it is simply due to the fact that they are technically challenge; for others they might be too shy.  Whatever, it's all good!  It's been going good for the last few months, and I'm happy about it.

Can you believe 2018 is coming to an end? I can't! It feels like not that long ago I was celebrating its arrival in beautiful Hawai'i and now we're about to close it but this time from our home... 2018 has been a somewhat challenging year.  Health wise, both Hubby and I were good.  We had colds, pains, Hubby even had a little bout of Shingles, but overall we were good.  Work wise,  Hubby had to make some decisions and only time will tell how those turn out.  I, in this new year, will have to make some as well.  Time for me to review and decide what I want to do and how to pursue it. Friendship wise I've faced some disappointments.  I've been hurt but someone I thought of as a friend.  I've worked on forgetting about it all, and concentrate on others who are there and have been there for many years.  Not always easy to deal with unknowns, and for me this is I think the hardest:  the "not knowing" part, the reason why.  I'm learning to let go.  I'm growing up (or old!) I guess.  Family wise well... that is something on itself.  As time goes by, I'm more and more convince that blood is not thicker than water.  Family is what we decide it to be. 

For this new year coming I don't have many expectations.  I don't watch the news, so I have no clue what Trump and cie are messing up, how bad the climate is (other than when I can see around it, and let's be honest, it IS fucked up!), or how things are going in general.  I keep to myself as much as possible, trying to fly under the radar - yes, that is very selfish of me, and I assume it completely! - I do my things, try to avoid conflicts, and find refuge in our comfortable home.  I haven't done New Year's Resolutions in years, and I'm not about to start again.  I'm resolute in trying to do my best daily, how's that?

In closing, here's my wish for you:

May this new year ahead be filled with 

less stress,
genuine friendships,
more laughter,

no drama,
lots of health, 

peacefulness
and
time to enjoy it all!

All the best xox
 

Post Christmas Blues

Ok, so, Christmas is over.  Already.  All this preparation for one day.  Each year, despite me loving this holiday, I can't help but think it is crazy to put out all these decorations, spend all this money not only on gifts, but on food, clothing, etc. for one day!  It's crazy when you really think about it.

We celebrated Christmas' Eve with Hubby's side of the family, at a cousin's.  It was a pleasant evening; good food, good talks, good company, the kids seemed happy with the gifts, so overall a pleasant evening. Today we (Hubby and I) did sweet nothing but watched TV (finished watching "Bad Blood" - watch it if you can, a series about local (as in Montréal) Mafia), also watched a few movies; we took it easy and enjoyed our time alone.  Spoke with my mom, she called from Florida.  Christmas isn't what it used to be... I have very fond memories of past Christmas, as a kid, and even older.  It used to be a fun (but stressful) time.  We got to see relatives that often we only saw at that time of year.  Now that my mom does the Snow Bird thing, we don't really do anything with on her side of the family.  It's a shame really but since they all live far away (as in six+ hours from here) we don't visit often and we all have our families, so it is what it is.

This year again, I kept true to myself and sent many Christmas cards, and got many back as well.  Between the cards I got through Postcrossing and those from friends and relatives I almost filled up both my doors, check it out!

I will be sad to take down the lights... I love how everything looks with Christmas lights, not only indoor but outside too.  It makes everything prettier...

We've had a few parties leading to Christmas, starting with my birthday one month before.  Had invited a bunch of friends over, played games and spent a few hours together which was nice.   One of the parties we had was for my meditation group.  That is always a fun night.  We do a big pot luck and a gifts exchange.  It is not really a dance party or anything of the sort, but more a fun night among people sharing an activity together and getting together for Christmas.  This year, I had made thirty of these Santa sleighs, as a gift for each member.  They came out really nice and were well received.
 

I think the worst party this year, was Hubby's company.  After being there a few hours I left him there and went back to our room.  He had reserved a room at a hotel nearby (thankfully!)  and that was great; I could escape and he didn't have to drive back so he could party on...  Corporate parties are often a bore for the spouses, and that one sure was!  For me at least!

I've been thinking about this past year overall, and I won't be too sad to see it end... it's been an interesting year to say the least.  A few things have changed, hopefully for the better (time will tell!), some friendships were lost, new ones were created, and who knows what the future holds... One thing for sure, time is flying by and before I know it I will be taking down my Christmas decorations and feel a little sad... I'm most likely to have the Post-Christmas Blues... not because of what I've spent, but because the most wonderful time of the year is now over...

 

Alive She Is!

Well hello there!  Yep, still alive!  Don't really know why I feel the need to write today, but I do!

It's only been four months or so, not that bad, really.

Life has been keeping me busy, somewhat, and I managed to stay out of trouble, so trust me that does take time, and skills!

I think I'm starting to master the art of avoiding some people, you know those juice suckers and always drama happening.  I've been keeping to myself, and even if one could think it might be lonely, one would be wrong... it is actually nice.

Our condo association(s) have been keeping me somewhat busy too, and having to deal with people who want everything and expect it all, makes it hard for this one to remain calm and quiet.  There were some rocky times, but overall, it is turning out good.  It's a slow process but changes are happening and for the better, so one has to remain positive.  I'm not really hopeful, because, after all, I do know who I'm dealing with, but having lowered my expectations helped a lot.

I'm still writing postcards and enjoying it.  If only I could get this enthusiastic about going to a gym, ah! not happening!  Deep down, I know, I've trained for so many years, that I fell like I've given all that I could, and now the thought of dragging my ass to a gym makes my skin crawl.

Last week, I played tourists with some friends in town for the week.  The weather was nice so it was pleasant, even if it was here, not some exotic location or new place to discover.  I'm not used to do that much social in a week.  They think we're acting old, and maybe we are at times, but both Hubby and I like our time at home, and if that makes us old, than be it.  I don't care.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying being home.  And if there is, then call me wrong!

Oh and I've come to the conclusion that some people, even if they do say nice things to you, will let their actions speak louder than their words.  I'm sure we all have that type of friend who often says ''I'll call you'' and never does, or that one who comes to town but doesn't say a thing nor try to get together with you... I have a few of those, and sadly decided not to let them play with my feelings anymore.  If I get to see them, good, if not, too bad.  I'm often the instigator of get together with people, not sure I want to call them friends anymore, and I've made a conscious decision not to do it anymore.  I've made enough effort and I'm tired of being the one trying... so if they want to see me/us, they I'll give them the chance to do so.  I'm not holding my breath though!

Anonymous vs Identified

When I started to blog it was mostly to post my Friday Smiles.  Every Friday I would post a joke.  Then I took a liking to writing and started to post more, about everyday life, what ever happened that I felt I could write about.  I've met some pretty neat people through this blog, and through their blog as well, and I miss those days of logging in to see what Preppygirl was up to, or Marius... I miss them, reading them.  I miss my Blends (BLog friENDS) as I used to call them.  Most of us moved on to Bacefook, Twitter, Instagram or whatever else tickled our fancy, but in the process we lost touch.  I have kept in touch with some, I even met one person a few years back while driving by her town.  It was cool to meet IRL.

Since blogging became less present in my life, it was replaced with Postcrossing.  Doing the official thing only, i.e. sending/receiving registered cards through the site doesn't lead to meeting as many people as blogging did, but they have a Forum and on there we can exchange more.  Some people are intimidated by the Forum, so I've started a Bacefook group for Canadians wanting to exchange about postcards within Canada.  That was in April 2014.  We now have over three hundred members.  It's a fun group where we play many games, and share our addiction of postcards.  Through that I've also managed to meet some interesting people, develop some virtual friendships as well as real ones.  It's interesting to see the interactions between us.  Like in every group activity clicks develop, some become regulars, others are lurkers, it's quite a varied group.  We're a good bunch.  After all, we're all Canadians, eh!

Back in 1999, I had started to work on a manuscript.  I even sent it to a few publishers in town.  I didn't push it much, I was shy and (to this day, still) not sure I really want to share it.  Then again, I did had a few people read it. I did choose with whom I would share it.  The idea of sharing my story, dates back a long way (thus the original title of this blog: Stories 2 Tell), and the past few months the idea of actually sharing, here, one of my stories has been trotting in my head.  I'm thinking of using my blog as a 'publishing' tool, but then again I'm debating if I shouldn't instead start a new blog, completely anonymous so that nobody knows who the author is... because here many people know who I am IRL.  What started out very anonymous, slowly became more opened even if I never (I think?!) revealed my name on here nor those of the people I've mentioned.  Over the years this blog became for many a way to keep in touch with me, to know what was happening in my life even if we could talk IRL, some keep on reading for whatever reason.

I don't know what to do... I want to share my story because deep down I hope that what I did go through could maybe help at best one person to deal with a similar situation.  Writing about my father's suicide on here did trigger some reactions. I did tackle some subjects that made people angry, laugh and at times touched them too.  I still believe that everyone has a story to tell and in doing so, it might help one person to cope with something.  I'm just not sure... do you have any thoughts?  If so, please do share.

International Day of Happiness!

Today is so many things to celebrate.  Who knew March 20th was such a busy day!

1. First Day of Spring
2. International Day of Happiness
3. Alien Abduction Day
4. Atheist Pride Day
5. Bibliomania Day
6. Franch Language Day
7. National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
8. World Sparrow Day
9. National Bock Beer Day
10. National Jump Out! Day
11. National Kiss Your Fiancé Day
12. Won't You Be My Neighbor Day

Those are the events being celebrated on March 20th, there are more for today being the First day of Spring or today being the third Monday of the month of March, unreal how we need to mark things.  Anyway, today being the first day of Spring, I thought I'd show you what Spring looks like in Pleasantville...

View from home office, March 20th, 2017 @ 1 pm

Nice and Springy, isn't it?  Today being the International Day of Happiness, that view doesn't convey that for me at all!  Quite the contrary.  I'm done with snow, I'm done with winter really!

I hurt myself thirteen days ago, in the back yard which at the time was all grass and ice.  I was touring the property with engineers and a representative of the builder as I slipped on the grass/ice.  I fell hard, and since I have a really hard time sitting down or getting up.  I've seen my osteo twice thus far, and according to her it was a good thing I fell on the grass rather than the cement, but still did some damages to by lower back.  2017 really sucks this far health wise for me, but I'm keeping at it, slowly and on pain killers but still not giving up.

Let me tell you about what brings me happiness these days, in no particular order:

• my lovely husband, who takes care of me and makes me laugh daily
• where we live, I like this place, our home...
• being able to be home...
• writing
• my postcards
• our friends
• getting closer to cousin's kidlets
• reading
• creating (postcards, scrapbooking)

So, you see overall every day  is a good day to celebrate!

Another one bites the dust...

What a year we are about to close, and I would lie if I'd write that I'm sad to see it end.  It wasn't the worst year, but it sure wasn't the best either.  Weird how it feels like many things happened and at the same time, it seems like a relatively quiet year, busy but with no big drama, which is for sure a nice thing!  I like the drama-free part!


If I look back at 2016, I can say that January was not drama free, but we did manage to get away from it all by putting our condo up for sale, and actually finding a buyer! It went up for sale fast and we were lucky enough to also sell fast.

The initial move and storage of our stuff went relatively well, and having to move to a furnished place for a few months wasn't really fun, but during our time in the rental place we did manage to escape for a week in Toulouse and a week in Vegas, so it wasn't all that bad.

During our time in Vegas we went to see Rod Stewart at Ceasar's Palace and what a treat that was.  The old man still got it!

We moved in our new place in April, as promised by the builder, and that was quite a freaking nightmare.  Besides most of our furniture being damaged (either in storage or during transits), we ended up with a shit load of boxes and not enough room, again.  Let's just say that eight months later we still have some boxes that have not been unpacked.  I don't care (at least try not to!), there is so much stuff for so much room, right? Right!

Since we've been in the new place, things are good.  Busy but good.  We're now away from the toxicity that was our old place, and are enjoying our new bled.

During the summer months, we actually managed to catch up with some people from out of town passing by, like a friend from Switzerland we hadn't seen in over ten years if not more.  We also met up with the kid who had stayed with us for a few nights while passing through Bodø, Norway last year.  We've managed to also get together with some local friends which we hadn't seen in a while, show them the new place.  It has not been easy keeping up with friends for some reasons.  Between life, the daily buzz and whatever else thrown in the mix we both feel that it is getting harder to keep in touch. We do manage to see people, still have a social life, somewhat...

I naturally kept up with my postcard addiction, that has not gotten any better, I'm afraid.  If I look at my stats (generated by the site), I've sent 524 cards (that have been received as well), but my stats say that I actually sent 555 cards.  That is to 45 different countries.  I've received 514 cards from 45 countries as well.  The country I've sent and rec'd the most from is Germany followed by Russia.  If I look at my stats for the cards I've sent through games, trades, and just because, I've sent close to a thousand cards!!

This could explain why this year, for Christmas I've filled out not one but almost two doors full of cards!  I know it represent a lot of money, but the joy I get out of it, and the people I get to meet, some I actually do meet in real life not just through cards, like the friends we've met in Toulouse because of this, it is well worth it.

Many think of it as a crazy hobby, a waste of time and/or money.  That is fine.  Some people smoke, others drink, or shop, I write and send postcards.  At Christmas time, I love to write and send cards too, always have and probably always will too.  What can I say I'm a paper kind of gal!

Fall brought a tooth ache and a serious wallet ache.  What started out with a little discomfort after my annual check up at the dentist, turned into a root canal, an infection, a trouble adjusting to the new bridge, crowns, etc.  I had reached a point where I was thinking of having that tooth pulled out, despite the thousands of dollars already spent.  The pain had to stop.  It did eventually, but man oh man, those were rough weeks.

November also marked another big milestone, in my life, anyway.  We escaped for a week in the sun to celebrate me turning fifty...  I don't feel it, most days, but the days I do, damn, I know what hit me, the BIG 5-0!  We had a good time, ate well, relaxed much, and enjoyed our time away.  The reality remained the same though, time only goes one way, and it is going fast in that one direction...

Just thinking back of all those known people who past away in 2016, it seems unreal...  Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), George Michael, Alan Thicke (Mr. Seavers from Growing Pains), Castro, Florence Henderson (Mrs. Brady), Leonard Cohen, Gene Wilder (the original Willy Wonka), Gary Marshall, Muhammed Ali, Prince, Doris Roberts (the mother on Everybody Loves Raymond),  René Angélil (Céline's husband), Alan Rickman (Professor Snape), David Bowie... and then there was an aunt of mine, the daughter of a cousin only 21, a friend from karate who was in his fifties, the wife of a cousin also on Christmas day... it makes you think and reevaluate time, that is one thing for sure.

Life is short, we should prepare and live accordingly.  Be in the moment, enjoy the day, we don't know what tomorrow has in store for us, live like it is your last full day with that special someone, tell people you love them and don't be shy to do what your heart desires.  Be yourself, but be your best self.  Wishing you all the best 2017 has to offer, with health, peace and time to enjoy life!

Writing some more, kind of!

Here I am, again, not dead yet!  I've been keeping busy, between having to have a root canal and non stop pain for a week and antibiotics and the whole shabang, I'm still alive, somewhat.

To be honest don't feel much like talking or writing so decided to post some images that do express what I'm feeling or have been since my last visit here...  Here goes:

love that bracelet too, imagine that!

I've been told it's all bout how we see things and choices we make...

been doing that for a while now, and it works!

Some people are really hard to get with for whatever reason... but then again...

I try twice, third time if it doesn't work - they're out!

That "rule" of mine applies to everyone, except my mom... she has a special status I guess... because otherwise she'd be long gone!

'cause in all honesty I have a good life!

I am thankful for my great hubby, my health (overall, despite the hiccups), the people in my life, near and far and the fact that I am enjoying it all...

Of course, I can not please everyone...

What can I say?

Not that I'm trying... as I am aging I've come to realize that no matter how much you try there will always be haters, so might as well enjoy every day, fully, since nobody knows what tomorrow holds...

No matter what. When your time comes...

No matter what we say about Bacefook, one thing is for sure it does keep people in communication (or whatever you want to call it).  I find out stuff about people, not because I'm being told directly but because of posts on Bacefook.  It is a way for us to keep in touch, an impersonal one for sure, but a way nonetheless.  Granted sometimes I would rather not know or read about some of the stuff people post, but eh... Some people share just about anything, others  share very little, some only superficial crap... I try to keep it general and not go into personal stuff too much, but then again I have this blog, where I've shared TMI at times.  Sometimes it bit me in the ass, but thinking back it was maybe a way for the Universe to cleanse my environment, get rid of juice suckers or too sensitive people with whom you have to watch every little thing you say and do and how and when, etc.  Way too much work for what it's worth.

Last night, or rather earlier this morning, I was looking around Bacefook, when I came around a post from a guy I used to train with in the late eighties. We weren't close friends, but we would see each other regularly at the dojo and didn't mind each other, I guess.  His post was about the death of one of the higher belts in our local organization, a known figure in themartial arts scene.  I read his post twice and then went on to other people's pages to see if this was a bad joke or what.  As I read and saw pictures of the defunct being posted many places, I realized that it was not a bad joke, but that fifty-six years old man had really died of a heart attack, of all causes.  I offered my sympathies to his sister (which I kept in touch with through Bacefook only) and his wife and went to bed.  I was really shaken by this news.  Of all people to die this way... unreal.

Today, I went back to Bacefook and seeing the quantity of messages on his wall, and his family's it made it ever more real... He was really gone.  I've met him in a dojo in 1984, I was training and we were to do a demonstration together for a local TV show.  The daughter of my instructor had the hots for him and they were always flirting and fooling around.  I've had some uncomfortable moments once, at a karate summer camp, when he end up in our room (room that three of us girls were sharing) with the daughter for a "short (or rather quick!) visit".  Throughout my years of training, he was always around, always training and always the same funny guy.  He was a nice guy.  I never thought of him as a friend per say, but more than an acquaintance too... weird, he was there and it was a fact.  He always remained loyal to my instructor, even when politics got in the way.  Their friendship was real.  They were the three or four amigos, always traveling together, hitting the bars, and being fools together.  As they aged, they somewhat calmed down, had kids, and find a mate.  They were still the three (or four) amigos, always ready to laugh and play.

For the past ten years, if not more, I'm no longer active in karate.  Between all the political crap going on, my body talking to me, and life in general, I stepped down from the dojo floor.  I haven't kept in touch with many people either.  Whenever we would run into each other, we were always courteous and could enjoy a drink together.  Last time we met I think was for the funeral of Lowe Shihan in Hawai'i.  I was in touch with his wife, through Bacefook, and would communicate every so often.  As I sit here, thinking that he is now gone, feels really strange, as if I'm being made aware that life is short, that we truly are here only for a short period, and that we never know when our time has come.

There will be service for him this week.  I will go and pay my respect.  I will run into many people I haven't seen for many years.  We will reminisce. A lot of these people still train.  I would lie if I said that I miss it.  I do miss the hitting something on a regular base, that yes.  I miss some of the people, but not enough to contact them, I guess...  

Strange how one random look at Bacefook reminded me of how fragile life is, how not matter what, how much you keep in shape or not, when it is time for you to go, that is it.  You're done.  He was "dangerously in shape" as he used to say... and yet... Sad.

Cleaning, Painting, Packing and Forgetting...

 Already at week 17, or day 109 of 2016.  Man time flies even if we're not having fun!  Since I last wrote  we went for a week to Vegas, a week of rest, good eating and soaking up some sun.  It was a good week away, that we both enjoyed before coming back to our "go, go, go" lives.

We finally went to the notary and signed for our new (and final, for a long while, I hope!) place.  We did the inspection in the morning and signed in the afternoon.  They delivered as promised.  They say it was ready to move in, but since their standards of cleanliness and different from ours, we spent the weekend cleaning, getting it ready for our stuff to be delivered tomorrow.  Actually, Hubby did all the cleaning and I was in the locker painting it.  It was the only thing that was not painted, and since it was "the time" to do it, otherwise it would never get done, I did it. 

Our new place

This is our new home.  It will be different for sure.  Last night, in between two trips of us moving our clothes, cousin, who leaves a street over, came by for a visit.  Our first guests.  It will be our first place where we are so close to family. Exciting.

Lately I've been feeling like I'm neglecting people in our lives.  Between the traveling, the temporary move and now this (final!) move, I feel like we never stop long enough to catch up. 

Yesterday, was the first time in seventeen years that I didn't think of my father.  I would lie if I'd say I think of him daily, I don't think it is a daily thing, but I do think of him often and also often talk about him.  I feel that with all the commotions in our lives I (finally) let go of him...  It is a strange feeling and yet, I do believe it is a good thing.  A new beginning of sort.

Now, I need to get packing so that the movers have boxes to bring from this noisy apartment to our new place.  Can't wait to be home!

Toulouse in a week

Today was our last day in Toulouse. We've been here for a week now. We arrived last Sunday, for Hubby's work. I tagged along because I could and especially because I had never been here before. There wasn't much planning, since Hubby found out a few days prior to our departure that he was being sent to France for his client's client. Through Postcrossing I had contacted a member who lived in Toulouse to see if we could meet during our time here. We actually met up with her on Sunday evening, a brief encounter where she shown us the main things to see while here. She was super friendly and we hit it off.

The next morning Hubby went to work, and I walked around the city by myself. I will say this, I'm not crazy about doing the tourist thing all by myself. It is much more pleasant to visit with someone else, to have someone to share with, than being by yourself. Toulouse is a nice city, people are friendly and you can see a lot on foot. Our hotel was well located, right smack in town, so I could tour, on foot, easily.  I took a map and hit the streets.  I got lost (like every day I've been here!) and ended up by La Garonne (river).  Along the way I walked on "La rue du Taur" (top right). 

Bottom left, the flat bell tower of  "Église du Taur" and the St-Sernin Basilica.  It was interesting and very old buildings, all made out of bricks, orange bricks, even if they call Toulouse The Pink City, it is more orange than pink, for sure!

It was nice to see all those gorgeous buildings, and walking along these narrow little streets and back alleys, seeing all those shops selling local delicacies, postcards (which I bought!) and multiple little cafés.  Once Hubby came back from work, we walked around some, and made our way for a good dinner at Grand Café de l'Opéra on the Capitol Place.  It is what they call a Brasserie, which is very different from what we (in Québec) call a brasserie.  Their brasseries have a lot more class than ours.  Our dinner there was delicious, expensive by really good.

Tuesday, I got up later than the first day and made my way down to the Tourist Office, since a friend from Montréal, whose sister lives here, suggested to do a guided tour of the city while here.  Since the weather was nice, I was alone and didn't really know what to do, I decided to go for a tour of  ''Toulouse's Monuments''.  It was a walking tour of two hours.  We went to the Capitol, visited the Chambre des Illustres, where they now celebrate civil weddings and such, then made our way to Basilique St-Sernin, which I had seen (the outside of) the day before, but then got to go inside and learn about its history, construction.  Then we made our way to le Couvent des Jacobins, which is also gorgeous and so impressive.  Our guide knew her history and was (obviously) passionate about her city.  She gave us so much information, I was starting to zone out at the end; between being loaded with info, and having to walk and stand for over two hours (our tour started at 14:30 and ended by 17:15), I was cooked by the end.  She left us at l'Hôtel de Bernuy.  I got lost again on my way back, but did manage to make it back to our hotel.

The tomb (bottom left) is of St-Thomas d'Aquin, the center picture is of "le palmier" of the Jacobins and their refectory.  That building was among my favorites.  So much history in there, how Napoléon's men used that Church as a barn is almost unreal, and yet... the History of this place is unbelievable.

On our third day I spent it with C., the local Postcrossing gal.  We went to the market, get some local cheeses, bread, meats, and chocolates.  What a treat that was.  It is fun to hear them talk, with their Southern accents, and expressions, I love it!  We even managed to do a mini meet, the two of us, and send out about twenty cards.  After work, Hubby met up with us at their place, and we enjoyed a delicious meal of local food together.  It was a very sweet evening.  All four of us got along, talked a lot, laughed and ate well together.  We really hit it off with them both.

Thursday was a bit more slow for me, walked around a little, and crashed for a nap in the afternoon.  When Hubby got back from work, we stayed around and went to a place near by for dinner which wasn't that great, but they did have delicious fries.

Today, Friday, Hubby managed to leave the client at around noon, so that he could visit the city some.  We walked around some, and made our way to the Garonne River.  He wanted to see the bridges.  Along the way we stopped for lunch where we both had delicious meals; pizza for him and pasta for me.  We did some shopping, bought some souvenirs like a beautiful painting, a thin box representing the city and more postcards.  Today the weather wasn't all that great, but at least we did manage to finish this trip together.  Since I had been on a tour, I could share of the information I knew (and remembered) with Hubby.

We both agreed, Toulouse is a beautiful city and we would love to come back.  It was a fun, loaded week for both of us, in very different ways.  Worth the trip, for sure!