Tag Archives: family

One Year On — A 2019 Mid-Year Update

It has been a year since we visited Paris, and quite a lot has unfolded in our lives. Yes, we are still in Brittany, France — for now.

We spent two months in Tuscany at the end of 2018 with Mark doing renovation work on a historic villa and me doing photography for the villa’s website and social media accounts. It is a massive and ongoing project and I’ll place links to the site in the next update — a photo essay of the Villa Francini Del Prete.

Reading a book on the elevated terrace of Villa Francini Del Prete in Fazzano, Tuscany.

The front entry door into Villa Francini Del Prete from the left side of the courtyard. Fazzano, Lunigiana, Tuscany, Italy.

Arriving back in France in late November, a stressful period of rioting, blockades, and demonstrations began. This situation continued for many months afterward as the Gilets Jaunes movement caused chaos in cities large and small, highways, and even rural roads. Yes, I understand that French citizens have the right to protest what they see as economic inequity. No, they do not have the right (in my personal opinion) to cause businesses to fail, to smash in the huge glass windows of shopfronts and restaurants, and to set fire to barricades and vehicles.

The road blockages also made it difficult to get to work, go to doctor or dentist appointments, do the weekly shopping, and even attend scheduled appointments at government offices. This has not been a happy experience, and it would seem that we are soon to be dealing with rail strikes and rolling airline and airport strikes in the months ahead. We don’t find any of this social upheaval appealing or thrilling.

Mark has had the additional stress of losing both parents within 10 weeks of each other, on opposite sides of the world. He was especially close to his father and was startled when he received a cancer diagnosis out of thin air. We spent most of February in England, and Mark drove his father back and forth to radiotherapy. The treatment was ineffective and the doctor was incredibly inaccurate when he told us we had quite a lot longer with Brian, Mark’s father. No — we didn’t. He died the week after we returned to France.

Right now we’re in planning mode. We have some adventures in mind, and I’ll share those with you at another time. For now, this was just a quick check in to say that yes, we are still ticking along. And no matter what, we always find things to be grateful for — each and every week.

***NOTE***
After dealing with severe amounts of spam and highjacking attempts, I have turned off all comments on my posts.

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©A Wanderful Life 2007-2019
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Family Time in the USA

It’s been an amazingly busy three weeks here in the USA and we are winding down to our last few days with more than a tinge of wistfulness. My sisters, Karen and Cindy, flew up to Washington State from California to come and visit with us while we were at my son Chris’s house.

The line-up below is as follows — my youngest sister Cindy, my next-youngest sister Karen, yours truly, my son Chris, and his darling wife Diane.

Family time in Tacoma, Washington with Cindy Hatton, Karen Heilbronner, Deborah Harmes, Chris Fowler, & Diane Fowler

On Friday afternoon we all went to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. Here are some random pictures from that wonderful family-oriented museum.

My son Chris and his youngest son Ryan

My sister Karen Heilbronner helping my grandson Ian with an exhibit

My sisters Karen Heilbronner and Cindy Hatton helping my grandson Ryan with an exhibit

Ryan working with magnets and iron shavings

Mark and Diane after a wee visit to the gift shop

Stay tuned for another post with more images of this marvelous museum in Seattle!

Day Out At Walden School in Louisville, Kentucky

We are having the most wonderful time visiting with our family in the USA and a particularly wonderful few hours was spent at the Walden School in Louisville, Kentucky where my grandson Johnny is in the 1st grade.

Just have a peek at these classrooms and tell me if you aren’t envious of the children that get to go to school here! It’s a wonderful and nurturing environment that encourages creativity and individuality instead of expecting each child to ‘conform’ to a methodology that might not suit their specific personality or intellect. I am quite pleased that my daughter Jennifer and her husband John are able to send Johnny to this marvelous private school.

We started our visit to the school with a meal in the lunchroom. Walden School actively encourages parents and grandparents to drop in for lunch on ANY day — not just on specific or pre-defined family days. I’ve been suffering from hideous allergy problems since we arrived in the USA due to pollen that is now ‘foreign’ to my body — so that’s why my face and eyes are so puffy in this group shot below taken in Johnny’s school lunchroom.

Mark, Deborah, Johnny, and his mother Jennifer having lunch at the Walden School.

1st Grade classroom at Walden School.

The science classroom for the elementary school. Note the ‘treehouse’ area in both the main classroom and this science room where students can just get away and have some quiet time.

Another section of the science room at Walden School.

Johnny showing the koi pond filled with live fish to Mark.

A phrase that seems to encapsulate the Walden approach to their students

Johnny’s diorama showing the cheetah that he sculpted out of clay. His accompanying report gave information about cheetahs.

Johnny walking back to the classroom after lunch.

Jennifer and her little man — Johnny.

Frolics With Family — Part 1

Have you wondered where Mark and I have been? We’ve been in Louisville, Kentucky after flying from Europe to Iceland to Canada to the USA. And my daughter Jennifer, her charming husband John, and their darling children have been my focus for the last couple of weeks.

This is a VERY quick post because I am sitting in the train station in Portland, Oregon and I have a wifi signal for the first time in days. The Empire Builder train that we travelled on from Chicago to the West Coast didn’t have active wifi. (sigh!) So I am VERY FAR behind on my posts right now.

Here are some shots of my grandchildren Johnny and Elena — and there will be more in the days ahead. We are headed to Tacoma, Washington in 35 minutes to visit with my son and his wife and their 2 children. What a wonderful whirl of activity we are having!

More soon……………