Almost at the Sixth Month Mark, Can You Believe It?

You hate me now if you played the song above – you’ll be humming it the whole #%&@ day!  Heeheehee. That’s SO MEAN.  I know.  Couldn’t help myself.  🙂

Found another specialty grocery store, like Fresh Market or Petty’s, and was struck by both the vastness ~ and smallness ~ of the world. The gorgeous tomatoes, apples, papayas, and beans were from Ecuador, South Africa, Brazil, Spain ~ traversing continents and oceans to end up in a small little store in the middle of France.

  A guy did fuss at me for taking pictures of his produce. TDB, IMO.  (If you don’t know, don’t ask. LOL.)

I did have my first serious pangs for some REAL American food…sweet pickles, Chicken of the Sea tuna, turkey for sandwiches, Rotel dip…STEAK! REAL steak.  Not fake steak. You may see packges labeled “American” but seriously…a frozen pizza with PICKLES?  Mississippi Ketchup?

  

The bad news – I took quite a spill on the rainy street last Wednesday and seriously banged up my elbow and knee.  (Coach Espey said I should know to always ‘tuck and roll!’)

  Volcanic lava rock streets are completely unforgiving.  A women even got out of her car to make sure I was okay, which was really nice.  Although whining a good bit about it for several days, at least I didn’t break it – a friend from Greenville did the same thing this week and snapped her bone just below the arm socket!  #Strawberriesaren’tfun

News of the day – yours truly just couldn’t say no.  Wasn’t that the slogan several administrations ago?  JUST.SAY.NO.  If you don’t say NO, OUT LOUD, it’s a de facto YES.  So…

     I’m now the ‘president-elect’ of the International Women’s Club of Auvergne. https://www.iwc-auvergne.com/

The WHAT?!?  The IWC is an outreach and social program designed to be a source of contact for English-speaking women in the region.  About 100 members from all over the world, who leave in our region – some expats, mostly permanents, British, French, Canadians, Belgians, Irish, Scotch, Africans…

How tough can it be???

https://youtu.be/1yIn2PeoZjA?t=1m17s

All women = TROUBLE.  🙂  Consider it fodder – er, ‘material’ – for ToFranceandBack.com.  hahahahahaha.  If you have some good TEAM BUILDING exercises and ice-breakers, let me know!  

Finally put gas in the car since December, at $6.53/gallon. You read that right. $6.53.PER.GALLON, at current conversion rates, which are killing us anyway. Have some GREAT pictures to show you of a few day trips – Charroux, Issoire, and Le-Puy-en-Velay – working on them right now!  They are three of the many official “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.”  Here are teasers for the next blog…

 

In the meantime, lessons with a serious French professional tutor, planning our journeys, getting the rooftop terrace set up with some flowers and seating, slogging through FRENCH taxes/FRENCH insurance/FRENCH driver license protocols and issues, hosting some Greenville work folks coming this week (read: dinner at our home)…and even with all this circus – and beauty – around ~ we miss you all!  Almost six months….crazy, eh?

Love,

Mindy

Proverbs 18:24  One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

PS ~ extremely missing my chilluns!  They are busy with their lives (good) and hard to find with the time difference (bad).